Milly-Molly-Mandy’s Autumn

by Joyce Lankester Brisley

  “You have your uses, William,” said Mr Rudge. And he waxed the string, and arranged it to hang from the anvil along the ground. And he struck a match and lit the end. And everybody ran back again in a hurry, and made a big half-circle round the anvil, and waited as before.

  And the little flame crept along, and it paused and looked as if it were going out, and it crept on again, and it reached the anvil, an it began to creep up, and everybody waited, and Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan put their hands over their ears and smiled at each other, and Billy Blunt put his hands deep in his pockets and frowned straight ahead.

  And the little flame crept up the string to the top of the anvil, and everybody held their breath, and Milly-Molly-Mandy pressed her hands hard over her ears, and then she was afraid she might not hear enough so she lifted them off – and, just at that very moment, there came a great big enormous

  B A N G !

  And Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan jumped and gave a shriek because they were so splendidly startled (even though they were expecting it). And Billy Blunt grinned and looked pleased. And everybody began to talk and exclaim together as they went forward to look at the anvil (which wasn’t hurt at all, only a bit dirty-looking round the hole).

  Then everybody shook hands with the Blacksmith and his Bride, and told them they certainly had been properly married, and wished them well. And the Blacksmith thanked them all heartily.

  And when it came time for Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan and Billy blunt to shake hands and say thank-you-for-a-nice-wedding-party, Mr Rudge said:

  “Well, now, what sort of a wedding it would have been without you bridesmaids, and Billy Blunt to provide all our requirements out of his ample pockets, I just cannot conceive!”

  And everybody laughed, and Mr Rudge smacked Billy Blunt on the shoulder so that he nearly fell over (but it didn’t hurt him).

  So then Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt each knew that they had been very important indeed in helping to give Mr Rudge a really proper Blacksmith’s Wedding!

  Milly-Molly-Mandy and Guy Fawkes Day

  Once upon a time Milly-Molly-Mandy and some of the others were coming home from school one afternoon. It was getting dusk, and fallen leaves were chasing each other along the road.

  When they came to Miss Muggins’ shop Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt stopped a moment to look in Miss Muggins’ shop-window. Miss Muggins’ shop mostly sold uninteresting things, like stockings and dusters and baby-clothes. But it sold some interesting things too, like sweets and toys and pencil-cases. So it was worth looking in sometimes to see of there was anything worth looking at.

  And – do you know! – there was something! There was a bright-pink cardboard face with slits for eyes, and a box full of blue and red sticks and curly things of odd sizes.

  And directly Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt saw them they said loudly and all together:

  “Oh! It’s Guy Fawkes!”

  They weren’t sure when the Fifth of November was, but of course it must be soon, what with the dark afternoon and the fallen leaves and those things in Miss Muggins’ shop window.

  “We ought to have a guy with a horrid face on it!” said Milly-Molly-Mandy.

  “We ought to have a big bonfire and dance round it!” said little-friend-Susan.

  “We ought to buy some fireworks,” said Billy Blunt.

  “Let’s start saving our pocket-money and collecting things for Guy Fawkes day!” said Milly-Molly-Mandy.

  So, to begin with, they all went along together to the nice white cottage with the thatched roof (where Milly-Molly-Mandy lived) for Milly-Molly-Mandy to ask if they might start making a bonfire out in the yard for Guy Fawkes night.

  Father said: “Go ahead. I’ll be sawing some dead branches off the big walnut-tree soon, which you can have for it.”

  Mother said: “Here’s an old hat of Father’s which looks about right for a guy!”

  Grandpa said: “I’ve torn my old raincoat on the gate and I’m afraid it’s past mending now. You’d better have that too.”

  Grandma said: “Take it, quick, Milly-Molly-Mandy, before he changes his mind. I’m tired of trying to patch it.”

  Uncle said: “I suppose you’ll be wanting some squibs to make me jump. Here’s a shilling for you.”

  Aunty said: “I’ll say this for Guy Fawkes day – it gives you a chance to get rid of the rubbish!” And she handed over a pair of gardening-gloves with the fingers in holes.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt were very pleased.

  They went out into the yard to decide where to have the bonfire, and Billy Blunt carried the old hat and coat and gloves, which were exactly right for a guy. “I’d better take these home and put them in our shed,” said Billy Blunt. “They’ll be safer there.”

  There was a bright-pink cardboard face

  Then he and little-friend-Susan had to hurry off to their teas, and Milly-Molly-Mandy went in to hers.

  For the next week or so after school they were all very busy collecting firewood. It was quite hard work to find enough for a really big bonfire. They lugged home fallen branches and bundles of twigs and baskets of fir-cones from the woods and hedges. Sometimes they found bits of loose fencing too, but they knew they mustn’t take those, so they always tried to fix them back in place (because, of course, you mustn’t let cows and sheep get out to wander on the road or lose themselves).

  They clubbed together and bought the horridest pink cardboard face in Miss Muggins’ shop, and as many squibs as they could get for their money. Billy Blunt had charge of these (because you could trust Billy Blunt not to let them off before the time). He took charge of making the guy too, as he had its clothes, and he promised to bring it along on the Fifth, ready for the burning.

  Soon the bonfire had grown to a fine, great heap, so that only Father or Uncle could add things to it, because nobody else could reach high enough.

  And then on Guy Fawkes day – would you believe it! – it rained.

  Going to school, Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt did hope it would stop in time for the bonfire that evening. It wasn’t far for little-friend-Susan to come from the Moggses’ cottage, but it was quite a walk for Billy Blunt, right down in the village.

  “We wouldn’t want to light the bonfire if you couldn’t come, Billy,” said Milly-Molly-Mandy.

  “We’d have to have it to-morrow instead,” said little-friend-Susan.

  “Wouldn’t be Guy Fawkes day to-morrow,” said Billy Blunt. (Which was quite true.)

  “You’ve got our fireworks, don’t forget,” said Milly-Molly-Mandy.

  “And our guy, remember,” said little-friend-Susan.

  “Don’t you worry,” said Billy Blunt.

  But you never knew – mothers often got fussy over your going out on rainy evenings, getting school clothes wet and that sort of thing.

  When Milly-Molly-Mandy got home that afternoon she hoped Mother wouldn’t notice her wet coat when she took it off. But Mother did. And she hung it up in the kitchen to dry, and her hat and rubber boots too.

  “They’re sopping, Milly-Molly-Mandy,” said Mother. “We shall only just get them dry enough for you to wear to school tomorrow.”

  Milly-Molly-Mandy’s heart sank.

  “But what about going out to the bonfire to-night?” she asked.

  “We shall have to think about that,” said Mother. “Call the others in to tea now, Milly-Molly-Mandy.”

  During tea (Milly-Molly-Mandy had a little brown egg with hers) she suddenly wondered out loud: “Why do we have Guy Fawkes day, and burn him?”

  Father said: “Don’t you know? He was a real live person once.”

  Mother said: “He tried to blow up Parliament with gunpowder years and years ago.”

  Grandpa said: “Just when the King and important people were coming to open it.”

  Grand
ma said: “But they found out just in time, and he and his bad friends were punished.”

  Uncle said: “And now you kids want to blow us all up with your squibs and bonfires to celebrate him.”

  Aunty said: “No, it’s because they are so glad Parliament was saved!”

  “Well,” said Milly-Molly-Mandy, sucking her egg-spoon, “I’m glad Guy Fawkes didn’t manage to blow up anything. But I don’t think I want our guy to be burnt – he hasn’t done anything naughty!” And then she asked, “Have you thought about what I can wear when we burn the bonfire to-night?”

  So directly tea was over Mother got an old jacket of her own and put it on Milly-Molly-Mandy (she had to tuck the cuffs up a lot). And she wrapped an old shawl round Milly-Molly-Mandy’s head and shoulders. And she put her own goloshes over Milly-Molly-Mandy’s shoes and tied them on with string.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy looked like a proper little guy herself!

  Then there came a tapping on the back door. And in shuffled little-friend-Susan, in her father’s water-proof cape (which came down below her knees) and her mother’s rubber boots (which came nearly up to her knees) and her own pixy hood.

  Little-friend-Susan looked a proper little guy too!

  Even Toby the dog barked at them. (But he wagged his tail too.)

  Then both the little guys shuffled outside to look for Billy Blunt. It was dark and wet, but not actually raining now, and it felt very exciting to be out.

  “I do hope his mother lets him come,” said Milly-Molly-Mandy.

  “So do I,” said little-friend-Susan. “He’s got all our things.”

  But they couldn’t see him coming along the road, so they shuffled round to the yard to look at their bonfire.

  Father and Uncle were both there with a lantern, and just as they came up Father put a match to a rocket fixed to a fence-post. There was a great bang! and a whoosh! and showers of beautiful stars lit up everything.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan shrieked with excitement, and Milly-Molly-Mandy cried, “Oh, I wish Billy Blunt would come quickly!”

  And then, suddenly, they saw the guy!

  It was sitting on the bonfire heap – a splendid guy, with a horrid pink cardboad face, and a dirty old hat and raincoat, and ragged gloves at the end of its stiff, sticking-out arms.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan shrieked again with excitement, and they looked about everywhere for Billy Blunt (because, of course, they knew the guy couldn’t have got there by itself).

  Uncle hung the lantern on the barn door, and they searched in the barn, and round the cowshed. But they couldn’t see Billy Blunt.

  “Well,” said Father; “we’d better get your bonfire going now, and not wait any longer.”

  “Oh, don’t burn the guy yet!” said Milly-Molly-Mandy. “Let’s save it – perhaps Billy Blunt will come.”

  It looked such a horrid guy, with its pink grinning face. She didn’t like to reach up and touch it to push it out of the way. But Uncle said loudly:

  “Oh, let’s burn it up and get it done with!” And he struck a match.

  And then – what DO you think happened?

  The guy suddenly threw up its tattered gardening-glove hands, and it jumped down off the bonfire to the ground in a great hurry, all by itself!

  You should have heard Milly-Molly-Mandy’s and little-friend-Susan’s shrieks!

  Then the pink cardboard mask fell off and rolled on the ground, and they saw some one else’s face grinning at them under the guy’s shabby old hat.

  “It’s Billy Blunt!” shrieked Milly-Molly-Mandy, catching hold of his ragged old coat.

  “It’s Billy Blunt!” shrieked little-friend-Susan, picking up the cardboard mask and trying it on herself.

  “Boo!” shouted Billy Blunt, waving his arms. But he couldn’t frighten them any more, now that they knew who it was.

  So then he told them how his mother hadn’t wanted him to come out and get his school clothes wet again, and how he had taken the old hat and coat off the guy he had made and put them on himself instead. So then Mrs Blunt had let him come along and pretend to be the guy.

  “Huh! Frightened you girls properly, didn’t I?” said Billy Blunt, grinning, as he handed them their share of squibs out of his coat-pockets.

  “You were frightened too, properly, when you thought Uncle was going to light the bonfire!” said Milly-Molly-Mandy.

  “Serve you right for frightening us so!” said little-friend-Susan.

  Then Uncle really put a match to the bonfire, and it began to blaze up. And Father let off some more rockets. And Grandpa and Grandma and Mother and Aunty came out to watch (leaving Toby the dog and Topsy the cat safely shut indoors, lest they should get scared at the noise and run away). And Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt lit their squibs, which cracked and banged and made Uncle jump so much that they laughed and laughed!

  And what with the roaring of the bonfire and the banging of the fireworks and the shouts of Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt, anyone would know they had a splendid Guy Fawkes celebration, even though they didn’t burn the guy.

  But that, said Father, was because it was really too difficult to choose, with three guys jumping round and round the bonfire!

  Anyhow, they burnt the guy’s dirty old hat and gloves. But his raincoat Mrs Blunt had to put into the dustbin as soon as Billy Blunt got home again that evening after the bonfire was out!

  Milly-Molly-Mandy Helps to Thatch a Roof

  Once upon a time it was a very blustery night, so very blustery that it woke Milly-Molly-Mandy right up several times.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy’s little attic bedroom was just under the thatched roof, so she could hear the wind blowing in the thatch, as well as rattling her little low window, and even shaking her door.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy had to pull the bedclothes well over her ears to shut out some of the noise before she could go to sleep at all, and so did Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty, in their bedrooms. It was so very blustery.

  The next morning, when Milly-Molly-Mandy woke up properly, the wind was still very blustery, though it didn’t sound quite so loud as it did in the dark.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy sat up in her little bed, thinking, “What a noisy night it was!” And she looked toward her little low window to see if it were raining.

  But what do you think she saw? Why, lots of long bits of straw dangling and swaying just outside from the edge of the thatched roof above. And when she got up and looked out of her little low window she saw – why! – lots of long bits of straw lying all over the grass, and all over the flower-beds, and all over the hedge!

  Milly-Molly-Mandy stared round, thinking, “It’s been raining straw in the night!”

  And then she thought some more. And suddenly she said right out loud, “Ooh! The wind’s blowing our nice thatched roof off!”

  And then Milly-Molly-Mandy didn’t wait to think any longer, but ran barefooted down into Father’s and Mother’s room, calling out, “Ooh! Father and Mother! The wind’s blowing our nice thatched roof off, and it’s lying all over the garden!”

  Then Father jumped out of bed, and put his boots on his bare feet, and his big coat over his pyjamas, and ran outside to look. And Mother jumped out of bed, and wrapped the down-quilt round Milly-Molly-Mandy, and went with her to the window to look (but there wasn’t anything to see from there).

  Then Father came back to say that one corner of the thatched roof was being blown off, and it would have to be seen to immediately before it got any worse. And then everybody began to get dressed.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy thought it was kind of funny to have breakfast just the same as usual while the roof was blowing off. She felt very excited about it, and ate her porridge nearly all up before she even remembered beginning it!

  “When shall you see to the roof?” asked Milly-Molly-Mandy. “Directly after breakfast?”

  And Father said, “Yes, it must be
seen to as soon as possible.”

  “How will you see to it?” asked Milly-Molly-Mandy. “With a long ladder?”

  And Father said, “No, it’s too big a job for me. We must send for Mr Critch the Thatcher, and he’ll bring a long ladder and mend it.”

  Milly-Molly-Mandy felt sorry that Father couldn’t mend it himself, but it would be nice to see Mr Critch the Thatcher mend it.

  Directly after breakfast Aunty put on her hat and coat to go down to the village with the message; and Milly-Molly-Mandy put on her hat and coat and went with her, because she wanted to see where Mr Critch the Thatcher lived. And as they went out of the gate the wind got another bit of thatch loose on the roof, and blew it down at them; so they hurried as fast as they could, along the white road with the hedges each side, down to the village.

  But when Aunty knocked at Mr Critch the Thatcher’s door (he lived in one of the little cottages just by the pond where the ducks were), Mrs Critch, the Thatcher’s wife, opened it (and her apron blew about like a flag, it was so windy).

  And Mrs Critch, the Thatcher’s wife, said she was very sorry, but Mr Critch had just gone off in a hurry to mend another roof, and she knew he would not be able to come to them for a couple of days at the earliest, because he was so rushed – “what with this wind and all,” said Mrs Critch.

  “Dear, dear!” said Aunty. “Whatever shall we do?”

  Mrs Critch was sorry, but she did not know what they could do, except wait until Mr Critch could come.