Five Children and It

by Edith Nesbit

FIVE CHILDREN

AND IT

BY

E. NESBIT

Author of “The Treasure-seekers,"
“The Would-be-goods," etc.

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD & COMPANY
1905

Copyright, 1905, by
Dodd, Mead and Company
Published October, 1905

The Psammead

TO

JOHN BLAND

My Lamb, you are so very small,
You have not learned to read at all;
Yet never a printed book withstands
The urgence of your dimpled hands.
So, though this book is for yourself,
Let mother keep it on the shelf
Till you can read. O days that pass,
That day will come too soon, alas!

NOTE

Parts of this story have appeared in
the Strand Magazine under the title of
"THE PSAMMEAD."

CONTENTS

CHAPTER		PAGE
I	Beautiful as the Day	1
II	Golden Guineas	36
III	Being Wanted	70
IV	Wings	108
V	No Wings	141
VI	A Castle and No Dinner	159
VII	A Siege and Bed	183
VIII	Bigger than the Baker's Boy	203
IX	Grown Up	236
X	Scalps	261
XI	The Last Wish	287

ILLUSTRATIONS

The Psammead	Frontispiece
That First Glorious Rush Round the Garden	Facing page	2
Cyril Had Nipped His Finger in the Door of a Hutch	""	4
Anthea Suddenly Screamed, "It's Alive!"	""	12
The Baby Did Not Know Them!	""	28
Martha Emptied a Toilet-jug of Cold Water Over Him	""	32
The Rain Fell in Slow Drops on to Anthea's Face	""	36
He Staggered, and Had to Sit Down Again in a Hurry	""	50
Mr. Beale Snatched the Coin, Bit It, and Put It in His Pocket	""	58
They Had Run Into Martha and the Baby	""	63
He Said, "Now Then!" to the Policeman and Mr. Peasemarsh	""	66
The Lucky Children Hurriedly Started for the Gravel Pit	""	78
"Poof, poof, poofy," He Said, and Made a Grab	""	86
At Double-quick Time Ran the Twinkling Legs of the Lamb's Brothers and Sisters	""	88
The Next Minute the Two Were Fighting	""	90
He Snatched the Baby from Anthea	""	94
He Consented to Let the Two Gypsy Women Feed Him	""	98
The Sand-fairy Blew Himself Out	""	122
They Flew Over Rochester	""	126
The Farmer Sat Down on the Grass, Suddenly and Heavily	""	128
Everyone Now Turned Out His Pockets	""	132
These Were the Necessaries of Life	""	134
The Children Were Fast Asleep	""	138
The Keeper Spoke Deep-Chested Words through the Keyhole	""	150
There the Castle Stood, Black and Stately	""	164
Robert Was Dragged Forthwith—by the Reluctant Ear	""	166
He Wiped Away a Manly Tear	""	168
"Oh, Do, Do, Do, Do!" Said Robert	""	174
The Man Fell with a Splash Into the Moat-water	""	196
Anthea Tilted the Pot over the Nearest Leadhole	""	198
He Pulled Robert's Hair	""	210
"The Sammyadd's Done Us Again," Said Cyril	""	214
He Lifted Up the Baker's Boy and Set Him on Top of the Haystack	""	216
It Was a Strange Sensation Being Wheeled in a Pony-carriage by a Giant	""	220
When the Girl Came Out She Was Pale and Trembling	""	228
"When Your Time's Up Come to Me"	""	230
He Opened the Case and Used the Whole Thing as a Garden Spade	""	238
She Did It Gently by Tickling His Nose with a Twig of Honeysuckle	""	244
There, Sure Enough, Stood a Bicycle	""	248
The Punctured State of It Was Soon Evident	""	250
The Grown-up Lamb Struggled	""	258
She Broke Open the Missionary Box with the Poker	""	266
"Ye Seek a Pow-wow?" He Said	""	278
Bright Knives Were Being Brandished All about Them	""	284
She Was Clasped in Eight Loving Arms	""	294
"We Found a Fairy," Said Jane, Obediently	""	298
It Burrowed, and Disappeared, Scratching Fiercely to the Last	""	308