Three Wishing Tales

by Ruth Chew

“Right now,” Tom said, “I want to see what Merlin did to his cave.” He climbed up to the vines, pushed them aside, and wiggled into the cave. “Wow!” he said.

  A candle was burning on the wooden table. Beside it was a fat book. Tom opened it. The writing in the book was very beautiful, all in red and blue and gold. But Tom couldn’t read any of it. A picture of a dragon curled halfway around the margin of the page. Tom sat down on the bench.

  Alice and Merlin came into the cave. “What’s keeping you so long, Tom?” Alice asked. When she saw the book she sat down beside Tom and began to turn the pages.

  Merlin came quickly up behind the two children and closed the book. “There are secrets in here that even I did not know,” he said. “You are not yet ready for them.”

  “Where did you get the book?” Alice wanted to know.

  “Long ago I heard about this book,” the magician said. “With the magic herbs I caused it to appear.”

  “Maybe if I describe an ice-cream pop you could cause that to appear,” Tom said. “Can you do anything you want with the herbs?”

  “No,” Merlin said. “There is a charm yet more powerful. But I have never found it.”

  “Well, we have to do something about the wading pool,” Alice said. “If we let all the water out, could we make a different enchantment?”

  Merlin pulled at his beard. “I can’t let anyone but myself use the herbs. I’ll go with you and look at your pool.”

  Freckles had been nosing around in all the corners of the cave. Alice whistled for him. He came tearing out of the shadows followed by a flying mass of angry brown feathers.

  Merlin waved his arms. “Stop it, Owl!” he said. “Remember your manners. The dog is a guest.”

  The bird flapped down onto the table and perched on top of the book. He cocked a large yellow eye at the two children and clucked to himself.

  “The owl flew into the cave last night,” the magician said. “He seems to like it here.”

  Freckles lay on his stomach and put his spotted nose on his paws. He looked up at the bird. Alice patted his head. Slowly his tail began to wag.

  Merlin looked at the bird and the dog. “There’s no reason you two can’t be friends.” The owl gave a soft little hoot. “Now,” Merlin said. “I’ll take a look at your enchanted pool.” He walked to the opening of the cave and lay on his stomach to slide under the bottom bar. The children followed him, and Freckles galloped after.

  When they reached the house Alice opened the front door with her key. Merlin walked into the hall. For a moment he seemed to be sniffing something. Then he nodded his head. “It’s all right,” he said. “There’s only white magic here.”

  The magician went into the living room. He stopped in front of the bookcase. His eyes lit on the book of King Arthur. Without a word Merlin pulled the book from the shelf and began to leaf through it. Near the end he started to read. His face became sad.

  “What’s the matter?” Alice asked.

  “I wasn’t around when my friends needed me,” Merlin said. He put the book on the shelf and followed Alice and Tom through the house and out of the back door.

  As soon as he stepped into the yard Merlin held his nose.

  “What’s the matter?” Tom asked.

  “Keep back!” the magician said. “Something is very wrong here. I can smell it. Whatever you do, don’t go near that evil pool.”

  Alice found it hard not to go near the pool. It seemed to pull her forward.

  Merlin grabbed her arm. The plastic bag of herbs was hanging by a string around the magician’s neck. He pulled out a few leaves and stems and waved them in the air while he chanted something. Then he threw the herbs into the wading pool.

  As the children watched, the level of the water in the pool began to go down. In a minute the pool was empty. The sun dried the drops of water on the plastic lining. With a clatter the aluminum wall of the pool sprang open and fell to the ground. An ugly black beetle scuttled away from the fallen pool. Merlin pointed to it. “That’s all that’s left of the black magic here.”

  The big beetle dived into a flower bed and hid among the rosebushes.

  Alice looked around the sunny yard. A striped yellow bee climbed out of a rose and flew away. Up in the peach tree a gray squirrel was inspecting the fuzzy little green peaches. Tom was bending over the plastic folds of the wading pool lining. “Can’t you magic it back again so that it’ll be safe, Merlin?” he asked.

  Merlin stroked his silky beard. “I can,” he said, “if you know exactly what you want.”

  “We really only want the wading pool to be deep enough to swim in,” Alice said.

  Merlin chose one of each kind of herb. He laid the sprigs in a little circle on the plastic lining of the wading pool. Then he waved his hands and spoke a few strange words.

  When the last word had been said, Merlin grabbed Alice and Tom and pulled them back against the house. All the parts of the wading pool went into action at once. The aluminum wall whirled back into a circle. The plastic lining flapped into place. With a rushing sound the pool filled with water.

  Merlin rubbed his hands together. “That should be what you need,” he said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be getting back to my cave. I have some studying to do.”

  Alice and Tom took Merlin back to the park and then returned to try out the wading pool.

  Alice put on her bathing suit and stepped over the rim of the pool. The water came up to her chin. Her feet rested on soft sand. A blue dragonfly flew over her head.

  To her surprise Alice found that the pool was a wide lake. In the distance she could see the peach tree. Tom was standing near the back door of the house.

  Alice paddled to the middle of the lake. Overhead the summer sun blazed down on Brooklyn. “Come on in, Tom,” she called. “I’ll race you across the pool.”

  The next day was Saturday. Mrs. Nelson always cleaned the house on Saturday. And everybody had to help. Alice was dusting the woodwork. Mrs. Nelson scrubbed the kitchen walls. Tom was mopping the bathroom floor. Mr. Nelson went from room to room, gathering trash from the wastebaskets. He came downstairs with a big plastic garbage bag full of trash. “Alice,” he said, “I found this coin on your dresser. Where did you get it?” He held up the gold coin that the pirate Barney had given her.

  Alice didn’t answer. Her father put down the bag of trash. “Alice,” he repeated, “where did you get this coin?”

  “In the yard,” Alice said.

  “Are you sure?” Mr. Nelson asked. He was looking at the coin.

  “Yes,” Alice said. “You can ask Tom. He has one too.”

  Tom had finished washing the bathroom floor. He was coming downstairs with the sponge mop and pail. “What do I have too?” he asked.

  “A coin like this, Tom,” Mr. Nelson said. “Alice says she found it in the yard.”

  Tom stared at the coin. “That’s right,” he said, “in the yard.”

  “You’re certain, Tom?” Mr. Nelson rubbed Alice’s coin hard with his finger. He squinted at it. “Tom, I’d like to see the coin you found.”

  Tom pulled his pirate coin out of the back pocket of his jeans. “Here it is, Dad. I think it’s a pretty old coin.”

  His father rubbed his chin. “I think it’s an old coin too, Tom. If it’s what I think it is I’m going to dig up every inch of that yard.”

  Mrs. Nelson came out of the kitchen. “What’s this about digging up the yard? I’ve just got those rosebushes growing nicely.”

  Mr. Nelson held up the two pirate coins. “Look at these, Jane,” he said. “The children found them in the yard. I’ve read about the early days of Brooklyn. There were pirates coming in and out of port all the time. I think these coins came from a treasure buried right here years ago.”

  Mrs. Nelson looked at the coins. “Oh, George,” she said, “you’re such a dreamer. These are just toy money. Don’t go spoiling my garden. Put those things away and let’s get finished with the housecleaning.”
r />   Mr. Nelson turned the coins over and looked at the backs. “Steve Brixner collects old coins. I’ll take these over to him and see what he says. If they really are old doubloons your rosebushes will have to be transplanted for a while.”

  Mrs. Nelson laughed. “All right,” she said. “Now throw out the trash.”

  Tom and Alice hurried through their work. “We promised Freckles we’d take him to the park, Mom,” Tom said.

  “Get something to eat first.” Mrs. Nelson began to set the table. “And you’d better feed Freckles or he’ll really try to catch a squirrel.”

  On their way over to the park Alice said, “It would be awful if Daddy dug up the yard. We couldn’t use the wading pool, and the peach tree would die.”

  “Don’t worry, Al. Merlin will do something.” Tom smacked his lips. “Maybe he’ll change the coins to foil-wrapped chocolates.”

  “He’d better do it before Daddy shows them to his friend who knows about coins.” Alice pulled Freckles across the street. “Hurry, Tom.”

  When they reached the park the children took the leash off the dog. All three began to run. They raced across the meadow, climbed over the bridge, and hurried along the bank of the stream.

  As soon as they got to the cave Freckles squeezed in and began to sniff around. Alice and Tom followed him.

  It was dark in the cave. There was no sign of the magician. Freckles nosed about until he found the owl. It was asleep on a little ledge. Freckles stood on his hind legs and put his paws on the ledge. The bird opened one eye and looked at him.

  Freckles wagged his tail. Then he took his paws off the ledge. The owl went back to sleep.

  “They’re friends, Al,” Tom said.

  Alice was peering into the shadows. “I wish the owl would tell us where Merlin is.”

  The owl opened an eye again and hooted softly. Freckles looked up at him in the darkness and gave a bark. Then the dog raced to the back of the cave where the old pipe led back into the hill.

  “Freckles seems to think Merlin went through the tunnel,” Tom said. “Maybe he’s gone back to the botanic garden for more herbs. Why don’t we follow him?”

  “We don’t have a light,” Alice said.

  “But look at the tunnel, Al.” Tom stepped into the pipe. It was now big enough for them to stand up in. “Merlin must have been magicking it,” Tom said. “Even in the dark we could follow this.”

  “I don’t think we should take Freckles,” Alice said. “Dogs aren’t allowed in the botanic garden.”

  “We’ll leave Freckles in the cave with the owl.” Tom patted the dog. “You won’t mind, will you, old boy?”

  Freckles went back to the corner of the cave where the owl was sleeping. He lay down on the floor under the ledge and put his chin on his paws.

  Alice started walking into the tunnel. “Stay close to me, Tom. I still wish we had a flashlight.”

  The tunnel got darker until it was completely black. The children walked close together. Alice remembered how scared she’d been when Tom dropped the matches the first time they crawled through the pipe. Suddenly she remembered something. “Tom, suppose this doesn’t go to the botanic garden?”

  “We have to take the chance,” Tom said.

  The tunnel seemed longer than ever. Alice and Tom walked on and on. “Let’s turn around and go back,” Alice said. “We’ve been walking for hours.”

  “It only seems like hours, Al.”

  “Let’s walk five minutes more,” Alice said. “Then if we don’t come to the end of the tunnel we’ll go back.”

  “How will we know when it’s five minutes?” Tom asked.

  “We’ll take turns counting to sixty.” Alice began to count slowly, “One, two, three, four—”

  Before Alice got to fifty, Tom said, “It’s getting light, Al.”

  Alice stopped counting and strained her eyes in the darkness. Far ahead there was a faint grayness in the tunnel. The children walked faster.

  At the end of the tunnel Alice and Tom walked through a doorway into a long room. Stiff statues stood all around. In a corner was a large mummy case. People were walking about, looking at things in glass cases. At the far end of the room Alice saw a barefoot figure in a long blue robe. “There’s Merlin.”

  “But what’s this place?” Tom asked. “I’m sure I’ve been here before. Oh, I know. It’s the Brooklyn Museum!”

  Alice and Tom walked over to the magician. “Hi, Merlin,” Tom said.

  Merlin was looking into one of the glass cases. He pointed to some pieces of blue-green stone. “Feldspar,” he said.

  Suddenly the lights in the museum went out. “What’s the matter?” a lady asked.

  Someone answered, “It must be another power failure. Everyone is using an air-conditioner today.”

  “It’s a good thing we’re only on the third floor,” someone else said. “The elevators aren’t running.”

  A man lit a cigarette lighter. The little flame glowed in the darkness. “Follow me.” The man led the way to the stairway. Tom and Alice stood beside Merlin and watched the rest of the people file out of the room.

  When the man with the cigarette lighter was gone, the room was dark again. Alice’s eyes began to get used to the gloom. The huge statues looked spooky. She noticed that some of the things in the cases gave off a faint light.

  Merlin walked from case to case. He seemed to be searching for something. For a long time he looked at a tiny bottle in the form of a woman holding a horn. Alice could see it because it glowed with a soft blue light.

  Merlin stopped to stare at a piece of an old scroll. It was covered with picture writing. “A shame it isn’t all here,” the magician muttered. The scroll also seemed to have an inner light of its own.

  Suddenly Merlin caught sight of a greenish oblong. It was some sort of openwork design, and the light from it quivered as if it were alive.

  “The Eye of Horus!” the magician whispered. He pressed the diamond of his ring against the glass and cut out a circle large enough for his hand to reach through. Merlin grabbed the greenish oblong and started to walk quickly back to where the children had come out of the tunnel.

  “The tunnel won’t be there,” Alice said. “It never is.” To her surprise the magician walked through a low archway into the drainage pipe. It was still large enough for them to stand upright. Tom and Alice ran into the opening after Merlin.

  They walked through the dark pipe. “That was stealing,” Alice whispered to Tom.

  Merlin heard her. “The Eye of Horus belongs to no man,” he said. “Whoever put it into that case had no more right to it than I do. At least I understand its value.”

  “What’s it good for?” Tom asked.

  “The whitest of white magic,” the magician said.

  “Maybe it can help us.” Alice told Merlin about her father and the gold coins. “Tom thought you could change them into foil-wrapped chocolate coins,” she finished.

  “You forget that I’ve never seen these coins of which you speak,” Merlin said. “What is chocolate? I could change them into coins that I know.”

  “I don’t think that would help,” Alice said. “Oh, dear, what shall we do? It will be just awful if Daddy digs up the yard.”

  Merlin didn’t answer. All three walked in silence for a while. Alice was thinking of the wide lake with the blue dragonflies. Her father would never believe her if she told him about it. She wondered if Tom would mind as much as she did not being able to use the wading pool. Then he said, “Gee, Al, it was such fun being able to race in that pool. And I even swam underwater yesterday. There were minnows down there.”

  The tunnel began to get light. In a few minutes Merlin and the children stepped into the cave. Freckles was still waiting near the owl.

  Alice and Tom had never seen Merlin so excited. His eyes were shining and his bare feet skipped across the floor of the cave. He held the Eye of Horus up and almost danced. “I can go home now,” he said.

  “What do you m
ean, Merlin?” Tom asked. “Aren’t you happy here?”

  “I don’t really belong here,” the magician said. “I’m going back through time to where my friends need me.”

  “But we need you too, Merlin,” Tom said. “Aren’t you going to change the coins for us?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t,” Merlin said. “But touch the Eye of Horus for luck.”

  Tom stepped forward and touched the green oblong. He gave a little start and jumped back from it.

  “You too, Alice,” the magician said.

  Alice gently touched the beautiful old charm. It seemed to vibrate beneath her fingers. Alice felt as if a faint electric shock had run through her whole body.

  “We have to go now,” she told the magician. “Good-bye.”

  She and Tom slipped under the twisted bar. Freckles came after them.

  Merlin called good-bye to the children through the leafy vine. Tom and Alice slid down the bank to the stream. They crossed over on the stones and hurried toward home.

  Mrs. Nelson was waiting for them. She looked as if she had been crying.

  “What’s the matter, Mother?” Alice asked.

  “It’s your father,” Mrs. Nelson said. “He’s found out that those coins really are old Spanish doubloons. He says if there are more of them buried in the yard we’ll be rich. I don’t want to be rich. Can’t you persuade him not to dig up the yard?”

  “Where is Daddy?” Tom asked his mother.

  “In the yard,” Mrs. Nelson said.

  Tom ran through the house and out of the back door. Mr. Nelson had unrolled the hose and was getting ready to siphon the water out of the wading pool. “Stop, Daddy!” Tom screamed.

  Alice came out of the house too. When she saw what her father was doing, she ran over to him and touched his arm. “Daddy, please!”

  The instant Alice touched him Mr. Nelson seemed to give a little shiver. An ugly black beetle ran out of the garden bed. Alice’s father stepped on it.

  He rubbed his forehead and looked at the children. Then he put down the hose. “I don’t know what came over me,” he said, “to want to dig up your mother’s rosebushes. Did you really find those coins here in the yard?”