“Oh, never mind, have it entered!” said Peggy, pushing him off the Giraffe’s back. “Run along; we shan’t move far from here before you come back—and get acid drops if you can,” she added.
Noah obediently crossed the road and walked into the shop; and about one minute afterwards he reappeared, bearing two enormous bottles of pear-drops under each arm.
“Gracious me!” cried Peggy, jumping off the Giraffe, and followed by the Giant. “How quick you’ve been! And that’s not a pennyworth!”
“I know it isn’t,” said Noah. “But the woman made me take them. I asked her quite politely for a pennyworth, but instead of weighing them out like anyone else would, she fell down behind the counter and screamed, ‘Take anything you like, only go away!’ So I did. I chose all pear-drops because they’re my favourite sweets,” he added simply, putting two into his mouth at once.
“Oh you greedy!” cried Peggy. “Give us some at once! I’m very glad nobody sees us,” she added, looking anxiously up and down the village street; “they’d never believe the woman really gave them to you.”
And at that moment a perfect shout of delight rose up in the road behind them, and Peggy, turning hastily round, saw a troup of Toys rushing towards them!
There were all the dolls she had ever had, all the people in every Fairybook she had ever looked at, and all her wooden carts and horses. There were all her Golliwogs and Teddy-bears, all the Ark animals again, all the rest of Noah’s family (who had been lost for years), all the dolls’ tea-sets, and even the big dolls’ house, and the rocking-horse, and all the balls and tops, and ninepins, and whips, and whistles, in fact every single thing that had ever lived in the Toy Cupboard in the Nursery.
“Found at last!” they screamed, dancing and leaping round Peggy. “Now let’s play a game. You choose!”