Free Adventures of the Wishing-Chair by Enid Blyton

hardly see the houses below them. They even flew above the clouds—and suddenly, to the children’s great astonishment, they saw a big castle built on a cloud!
    “I say! Look!” said Peter, in amazement. “A castle on a cloud! Who lives there, Chinky?”
    “I don’t know,” said Chinky. “I hope it’s someone nice. I don’t want to meet a giant this morning!”
    The chair flew to the castle. There was a big front door standing open. The chair flew inside.
    “Goodness!” said Mollie, in alarm. “This isn’t very polite. We ought to have knocked!”
    The chair came to rest in a big kitchen. A small goblin, with pointed ears, green eyes, and bony legs and arms, was sitting in a chair reading a paper. When the wishing-chair flew in with Chinky, Mollie, and Peter in it, he jumped up in astonishment.

    The children and Chinky got out of their chair. “Good morning,” said Chinky. “I’m so sorry to come in like this—but our chair didn’t wait to knock.”
    The goblin bowed politely. “It doesn’t matter at all!” he said. “What a marvellous chair you have, and how pleased I am to see you! Pray sit down and let me give you some lemonade!”
    They all sat down on stools. The goblin rushed to a cupboard and brought out a big jug of lemonade.
    “It is so nice to see such pleasant visitors,” said the goblin, putting a glass of lemonade before each of them. “And now, will you have biscuits?”
    “Thank you,” said Mollie and Peter and Chinky. They felt that it was kind of the goblin to welcome them —but they didn’t like him at all. He seemed much too polite!
    “Another glass of lemonade?” asked the goblin, taking Chinky’s empty glass. “Oh do! It is a pleasure, I assure you, to have you here! Another biscuit, little girl? I make them myself, and only save them for special visitors.”

    “But we aren’t very special,” said Peter, thinking that the goblin was really silly to say such things.
    “Oh yes, you are very special,” said the goblin, smiling politely at them all. “ So good of you to come and see an ugly little goblin like me!”
    “But we didn’t mean to come and see you,” said Mollie truthfully. Chinky frowned at her. He didn’t want her to offend the goblin. He did not trust him at all. He wanted to get away as soon as he could.
    “Well,” said Chinky, finishing his biscuit, “it is kind of you to have welcomed us like this. But now we must go.”
    “Goodbye and thank you,” said the polite goblin. He shook hands with each of them and bowed very low. They turned to go to the wishing-chair.
    And then they had a most terrible shock! The wishing-chair was not there! It was gone.
    “I say! Where’s the wishing-chair?” shouted Chinky. “Goblin, where’s our chair?”
    “Oh, pixie, how should I know?” said the goblin. “Haven’t I been looking after you every minute? It must have flown away when you were not looking.”
    “Well, it’s funny if it has,” said Chinky. “We should have seen it, or at least felt the wind of its wings flapping. I don’t believe you, goblin. You have done something with our chair—your servants have taken it away! Tell me quickly, or I will punish you!”
    “ Punish me!” said the goblin. “And how would you do that, pray? You had better be careful, pixie— how are you going to get away from my castle without a wishing-chair? I live here by myself in the clouds!”
    “Be careful, Chinky,” said Peter. “Don’t make him angry. Goodness knows how we’d escape from here if he didn’t help us!”
    Mollie looked frightened. The little goblin smiled at her politely, and said, “Don’t be afraid, pretty little girl. I will treat you as an honoured guest for as long as you like to stay with me in my castle.”
    “We don’t want to stay with you at all,” said Chinky. “We want our wishing-chair! What have you DONE with it?”
    But he could get no answer from the polite goblin. It was most tiresome. What in the world were