So Alice and Alfie said goodbye and wished all the teddies sweet dreams. Alice and Alfie went back to the windmill. She said, “What a lovely day we have had with the teddy bears. We will have to go again and next time we will take some food.” They lay down on the windowsill and went off to sleep.
That night the moon shone down with Nichole’s star on his back and said, “sweet dreams, Nichole is not far away and will be back some day”.
“Alfie, that was a sticky end!”
It was a warm summer’s day and the birds were singing in the trees. Alice opened her eyes and saw the sun was shining bright. Alfie looked up and said, “Wow, the sun is smiling.”
Alice said, “I know, I think it is going to be a special day, there is magic in the air.”
The windmill sails started to turn and they saw the wind blowing them. Alice and Alfie climbed down the ladder and ran to the river to see what they could see.
Jacques was downstairs having his early morning cup of tea and looking at his silver cup on the shelf over the fireplace. It was the cup he had won at the cake competition. He was so proud of it, even though he didn’t know how he had won it. He thought that it was all to do with the magic windmill.
Jacques had just started his breakfast when there was a knock at the door. It was the postman. The postman said, “Just one letter today, Jacques.”
“Is it a bill?” asked Jacques.
“Definitely not,” the postman replied. “It is a letter from England.” Jacques took the letter, said goodbye to the postman and sat down and opened it.
The letter was from Nichole’s mummy and daddy, it read, “Jacques, we hope you are keeping well. We will be driving past the windmill in the next couple of days on our way to the South of France.” They said they would love to stay for a few days so Nichole could pick up her rag dolls. He phoned them to say that it would be O.K.
Jacques also phoned his friend Kimmy to ask her to help him clean the mill. Jacques went upstairs but Alice and Alfie weren’t there. He looked everywhere but there was no sign of them. He thought Nichole would be so sad so he decided to go to town and buy some new rag dolls for her.
Alice and Alfie were playing down on the riverbank.
They saw Jacques driving his van down the lane so they thought they would go back to the mill and through the door to the magical garden.
Jacques drove into town and went to a toy shop. He looked around for a long time for new rag dolls but could not find any exactly the same. He decided that the two he found were near enough, so he drove back home and put the new rag dolls back in the box next to the fireplace. Jacques made some flour and baked cakes and bread for the family for when they arrived.
Alice and Alfie were having fun in the garden. They were playing a game with Mr. Snake called snakes and ladders. He would climb the ladder and then go hiss, hiss, hiss and then Alice and Alfie would pull him down again.
The rag dolls watched the hedgehogs. They were rolling around everywhere. Alfie picked one up but it was so spiky so he threw it away. It rolled and rolled and knocked over Mr. Mole, who had just popped up for some air. He said, “Ouch, that hurt.” and gave Mr. Hedgehog a good telling off.
Alice and Alfie had had a busy day so they went back to the windmill and had an early night. As they dropped off to sleep the moon shone down and said “What a lovely day you have had.” He then told them, “Tomorrow is going to be a magical day.” And they fell asleep as the moon slipped away.
When they awoke the next morning it was another beautiful day. They heard Jacques whistling and singing to himself. The mice came into the bedroom and said, “Look we have found a book on games and one is called blind man’s buff.”
Alice asked, “What do we have to do?”
The mice replied, “We tie a piece of cloth over your eyes, then you must try and find us, even though you cannot see. We move around the room and if you touch us the game is over and someone else has a go.”
Alice said, “Please, please let us play.”
Alice and Alfie did not hear the car coming up the drive to the windmill, nor did they hear the front door open. It was Nichole and her mummy and daddy. Jacques made them some food and drink. Nichole said, “When can I see Alice and Alfie?” Jacques said, “straight away.” He went over to the fireplace, picked up the box and said to Nichole, “Here you are.” She opened the box and wailed “No, no, no. These are not Alice and Alfie.” and she ran out of the room and up the stairs crying.
Alice, Alfie and the mice were making so much noise, they did not hear the door open, Alice had the blindfold on whilst Alfie and the mice were hiding behind the bed.
Nichole ran into the bedroom and Alice grabbed her and shouted “Got you!” Alice took off her blindfold and Nichole just fell to the floor in surprise.
Alice just stood there and saw that Nichole now knew for the first time they were not just toys. Alfie came out from behind the bed with the mice squeaking away. Nichole jumped with joy and she shouted, “How come you are real?” She then sat on the bed with the rag dolls and told them how much she had missed them. Alice sat next to her and told Nichole about all their adventures.
There was a knock on the door it was Nichole’s mummy. As she walked in the rag dolls fell limp on the bed. Nichole said, “Look Alice and Alfie were here all the time.” They went back downstairs and Jacques confessed that he had bought two more rag dolls because Alice and Alfie had gone missing, He told Nichole that he was so pleased she had found them.
That night Nichole went upstairs to bed with Alice and Alfie as her best friends once again. Before they went to sleep the moon shone down. Nichole opened the window and the moon said, “Hello Nichole, I knew you must be here as your star is nowhere to be seen, only a glow over the magic windmill.”
He said, “Alice and Alfie have come alive, Nichole. You have two little friends for life, so keep them with you all of the time and I would love to come and see you all sometime.”
“Alice and Alfie have come so far keep them safe wherever you are…………..”
TO BE CONTINUED
Alice and Alfie and the magic windmill Page 8
