Billingsly’s right ear was suddenly sticking straight up and twitching in the strangest way.
“Well, Tooth Fairy,” he said, trying to sound very calm and matter-of-fact, as if meeting Tooth Fairies was nothing unusual for him. “What are you doing there on Lisbeth’s pillow?”
“I’m looking for her tooth,” was the reply.
“Why do you want her tooth?” Billingsly sounded just a bit more confident.
“I have to give an account for it,” explained the Tooth Fairy. “I’m in charge of this district and I have to keep a careful account of all the teeth of all the children in my district. I must know when and where every tooth comes out so that I can give the order for replacement.”
“Oh,” said Billingsly. He had discovered that by saying very little it was possible to learn a great deal.
“Anyway, who are you, and what are you doing on the window seat?” asked the Tooth Fairy.
“I’m Lisbeth’s Billingsly and I’m waiting here for her to come home from school. You know, it is very difficult for me to have a conversation with someone I can hardly see.”
“You’re not supposed to see me at all,” replied the Tooth Fairy huffily. “I don’t understand it, but you’re the first one who has ever heard or seen me. Oh dear, nothing is going quite right for me today. Perhaps I’ve been very careless somehow. First the missing tooth and then you. Who did you say you are?”
“I’m Billingsly. Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. I can hear you and nearly see you. I can see and hear anything when I put my mind to it.”
“Ah!” exclaimed the Tooth Fairy. “Now I understand. You have a Listening Ear, and I suppose you have a Seeing Eye, too.”
“Quite so, quite so,” said Billingsly. “Won’t Lisbeth be surprised when I tell her about all this?”
“Well, if you don’t mind, I’d rather you kept this visit very much to yourself,” said the Tooth Fairy. “I wouldn’t want fairies from other districts to discover that I had carelessly allowed myself to be seen and heard. Especially the Wishes Fairy. It would be all over the world in no time at all.”
“The Wishes Fairy?” asked Billingsly.
“Why do you repeat everything I say?” she asked petulantly. “The Wishes Fairy is the one who grants children’s wishes, and is often in a bad temper.”
“Why is that?” Billingsly asked. This was fun. Even though he knew nothing about Fairies and cared even less, just having someone to talk to was much better than being by himself. Much, much better.
“Well, it’s like this,” explained the Tooth Fairy. “The Wishes Fairy is responsible for granting children’s wishes, but you know how children are. They wish for something but when they get it it’s not what they really wanted and they’re wishing for something else. That makes the Wishes Fairy’s job very difficult and it’s the reason why she’s so often in a bad temper.”
“How interesting,” said Billingsly. “Anyone would think that fairies were always happy. Not a care in the world.”
“Why should Fairies be different from anyone else?” asked the Tooth Fairy crossly. “Birds are sometimes bad tempered. So are bees. And butterflies. Cats and dogs. Even bears, I would suppose.”
“Yes, indeed,” said Billingsly, quite at ease and very much enjoying the conversation. “Anyway, if anyone brought the matter up about me seeing and hearing you, you can always blame it on my Seeing Eye and Listening Ear.”
“I’d rather not have to say anything at all about this,” she replied. “So, just let’s keep this visit our little secret, shall we?”
“Whatever you wish,” Billingsly said. “But what will you do about Lisbeth’s tooth?”
“I can’t find it,” she said, sadly. “Do you have any idea where it could be?”
“Of course,” Billingsly said. “She took it to school to show her friends.”
“Did you see it with your own eyes?” the Tooth Fairy asked him.
“Oh, yes,” Billingsly assured her.
“Then that’s good enough for me,” she told him. “I can put it down as accounted for. Now I must be off.”
“What about her new tooth? Isn’t she supposed to have a new one in place of the old?” asked Billingsly.
“There will be a new one,” the Tooth Fairy said, then added softly. “In time.”
“What if she lost another one?” asked Billingsly. Anything to make this strange visitor stay a little longer.
“Then I’ll be back and I’m sure you’ll know I’m here. But only if you keep our little secret as promised.” And as suddenly as she had appeared she was gone.
When Lisbeth came home from school Billingsly noticed that she was unusually quiet. She took the tissue-wrapped tooth from her pocket and placed it under her pillow, then took Billingsly downstairs and out into the garden. When they were seated on the swing, she said, “Michelle has a loose tooth. It’s not yet ready to come out.”
“Oh,” said Billingsly.
“Peter Jones said there’s no Tooth Fairy. Is there really and truly a Tooth Fairy, Billingsly?” Lisbeth asked sadly.
“Of course there is,” Billingsly said, feeling an uncomfortable urge to tell her why he was so absolutely certain. “Don’t pay any attention to Peter Jones.”
“Mummy said there is a Tooth Fairy, didn’t she?” Lisbeth continued.
“She did and she’s quite right,” replied Billingsly, nodding his head and remembering his strange visitor. They left the matter there and talked about other things.
When Lisbeth went to bed she felt beneath her pillow for the tooth. It was gone, but in its place was a large flat package tied with a lovely silk ribbon. Excitedly she untied the ribbon and removed the paper to find a beautiful picture book, entitled The Legend of the Tooth Fairy.
Chapter
Four
AS USUAL, BILLINGSLY SPENT the morning on his comfortable cushion observing the very busy goings-on in the garden. The grey cat from next door wandered along the edge of the lawn, stopping from time to time to gaze longingly at the birds, his tail twitching, his head turning from side to side to follow their movement; they always seemed to be quite out of reach.
Whenever he approached the privet hedge the sparrows would twitter excitedly and dart off all together into the magnolia tree where they would wait until he was gone.
Billingsly wondered if anyone else noticed or cared about what was happening in the garden. Two nuthatches were creeping along the thick branches of the magnolia tree, searching each crack and crevice in the bark for hidden insects, pecking and chirping with each discovery.
Now and then an ant would appear on a thick green leaf, hurrying this way and that, before disappearing over the edge onto the other side. There was movement everywhere and if you were not very watchful you were likely to miss some of it. Billingsly did not want to miss any of it. He wanted to see everything so that he would have much to tell Lisbeth when she came home from school.
A robin landed on the lawn and remained quite still, its head tilted sideways, listening. Suddenly it took a few quick steps, stuck its beak among the short grass and pulled a long, twisting worm from the ground. Another robin just as quickly appeared and moved forward as if to seize the worm, but the first robin took a better grip on its twisting prize and flew away.
Some starlings appeared, the sunlight glinting on their shiny feathers as they searched among the short grass for insects. What nervous birds they are, thought Billingsly, always looking this way and that, never still, pecking and looking about as if afraid of their own shadows. One of them spotted a yellow butterfly as it landed on a low bush and ran towards it, but the lazy-looking butterfly darted about, just out of reach of the starling which soon gave up the chase and returned to its fellows, pecking and scratching in the short grass.
A wasp bumped itself against the window pane as if trying to find a way indoo
rs. Billingsly noticed that several magnolia blossoms which had been round and tight earlier in the morning had now opened up like large yellow saucers offering a welcome to the busy bees.
A striped caterpillar dangled briefly from a silken thread before landing on the window ledge; Billingsly could see the shiny hairs all over its body as it hurried along. It had moved hardly more than a few inches when a starling appeared, snapped it up and flew off, squawking happily at its good luck.
Some brown, dead leaves, loosened by the wind, fell from the magnolia tree onto the lawn. A squirrel ran to inspect each one as if hoping it might be something worth eating, then, disappointed, continued his search for hidden nuts. So much was happening before his very eyes, so much of more than passing interest that Billingsly did not notice the hours had slipped away. The sound of Mrs. Billings’ car in the driveway surprised him, and then there was Lisbeth’s voice calling to him as she raced up the stairs.
“Oh, Billingsly,” she cried, picking him up and hugging him tightly. “I can take you to school with me tomorrow. We’re having Show and Tell and Miss Peters said each one of us can bring a book or favourite toy and tell the whole class why it is a favourite. You’re my favourite, so I’d like to take you.” All in nearly one breath, hardly giving Billingsly any time to reply.
“Will Peter Bates be there?” he asked, remembering the boy from the birthday party.
“Oh, I think so,” said Lisbeth. “But why?”
“He pulled my ear,” said Billingsly.
“Yes, I know. I won’t let him do it again,” Lisbeth promised.
“What will you tell them about me?” Billingsly asked.
“I’ll tell them that you’re my very special friend and that I talk to you about everything,” Lisbeth said.
“But not that I can speak or listen,” he said quite anxiously.
“Oh, no,” Lisbeth said, “I’ll never tell about that. Anyway, they would never believe it.”
“But, just suppose someone should speak directly to me,” Billingsly wondered. “I couldn’t stop my ear from uncurling. Whatever would we do?”
“Oh, dear. I never thought of that,” Lisbeth said. They were both silent for a few moments, then Billingsly had an idea.
“Perhaps you should take another toy to school for your Show and Tell,” he suggested.
“But I’ve already told everyone I’d bring you,” she said unhappily.
“Then, here’s what we’ll do,” said Billingsly. “Put a little wad of cotton wool in my right ear. No one will be able to see it and I won’t be able to hear very well on that side.”
“Oh, yes. How very clever you are,” said Lisbeth, hugging him tightly.
From the flat top of Lisbeth’s desk where he was seated, Billingsly had a clear view of the whole classroom and those in it. Miss Peters, the teacher, was black like Lisbeth. Funny, Lisbeth had not mentioned that. It was all so much like the flowers and birds in the Billings’ garden, he thought, different colours, different sounds, but all working together as a pleasant whole.
He recognised the twins Joan and Marcie; they too had been at Lisbeth’s birthday party and were black, like her. Michelle, sitting beside Lisbeth, was blonde, her long hair in curls which hung down her back. Jill Harris had curly red hair, with freckles scattered all over her face and green eyes which seemed always to hold a smile. Blonde and black and brown and white, bright eyes and expectant faces and voices just loud enough for whispered conversations.
Lily Chen was the first to Show and Tell. She held up a clear plastic box for all to see. In it was a beautiful Chinese doll, dressed in a colourful silk costume. Lily said that she could not remove the doll from the box because if she did so the costume would be damaged. The doll had once belonged to her grandmother and Lily’s mother used it to teach her about the old customs of the village in China where she was born.
One by one the children took turns to show their toys or books and tell their stories. Billingsly noticed how everyone else listened quietly and respectfully when someone was speaking. Some of the stories were very funny and then the children all laughed merrily. Bobby White showed a beautifully carved wooden duck which his grandfather had made from a piece of driftwood found at the seaside. It was given to him when he was a baby and he still enjoyed playing with it whenever he had a bath.
Mischa Krebs showed a chubby painted wooden doll wearing a policeman’s hat and uniform and boots. When he twisted it the top came loose and it became a hollow box with a painted policeman inside. The second policeman was another hollow box with another little policeman inside. Everybody clapped to see a doll inside a doll inside a doll.
Michelle read a story about two French crows that found a piece of cheese. The larger crow said he would share the cheese equally between them and tried to break it in half. Unfortunately, one piece looked larger than the other, so he bit a piece off the larger; then that piece seemed smaller than the other so he took a bite from the larger piece, and so, while his friend looked on in amazement, he kept on biting from one piece then the other until all the cheese was gone. She read the story so well, Billingsly could clearly see the greedy crow eating away at the cheese, and wished he too could have joined in the clapping when the story ended.
So the morning passed, the children Showing and Telling until it was Lisbeth’s turn. Those children who had been at Lisbeth’s birthday party clapped when she held up Billingsly and showed his crinkled ear. She told them he was her favourite toy and her good friend with whom she shared everything. When she told them that Billingsly had helped her to find Michelle’s pet parrot which had landed in the tree beside her bedroom window, they all gave Billingsly loud cheers. Although his listening ear was full of cotton wool he could clearly hear all that was said around him and was relieved that nobody said anything to him.
Chapter
Five
THE SUDDEN WIND WITH heavy rain blew into the bedroom window, taking Billingsly completely by surprise. One moment he was sitting comfortably on his cushion, looking out into the garden; the next, he was tumbling backwards, head over heels, to land sprawled on the floor beside the bed as the rain beat a wild tattoo against the window panes.
He heard Mrs. Billings rush upstairs and close the windows, grumbling that the window seat was now quite wet and would have to be taken care of later. She picked up Billingsly’s cushion from the floor, wiped it off and placed it on the bed, not noticing that he was not in his usual place. Satisfied that the room was now secure from the rain, she dried her hands on her apron and returned downstairs to continue her chores.
Billingsly lay where he was, wondering how long it would be before someone picked him up. Perhaps, when the rain stopped, Mrs. Billings would come up to open the windows and would find him, or, maybe he would have to remain where he was until Lisbeth came home from school.
From his undignified position, he could see two legs of Lisbeth’s bed reflected in the shiny floor, and, leaning against the near wall, the lower part of the old spotted mirror Mr. Billings had brought home the day before.
Billingsly had heard him say that he found it in a thrift shop in High Street and thought that, when thoroughly cleaned and polished, it would be just lovely for Lisbeth’s room. Meanwhile, it was there, leaning against the wall, waiting until Mr. Billings and Lisbeth could get to work on it.
Billingsly looked along the floor into the mirror; beyond the spots and the dirt he could see his reflection. It bothered him to see himself lying so helplessly on his side, with one foreleg and one hindleg pointing at the ceiling. He wished he could look at something else, but, because of his position all he could see were the shiny patch of floor, two legs of Lisbeth’s bed and the image of himself in the lower part of the mirror.
Suddenly he became aware of something very strange. Though, in his helpless position, he knew he had not moved an inch, his reflection seemed to have moved, and, more than
that, was now sitting up and staring back at him.
This can’t be, Billingsly thought. Perhaps the fall from the window has done something to me so that I am seeing visions. How can it be that here I am, lying in this silly position on the floor, while there I am, as clear as can be, sitting up and looking right back at me?
And yet, as Billingsly looked more closely at the mirror he noticed that both ears of his reflection were sticking straight up, while he could easily feel that his right ear was folded against his head.
“Hello, out there!” There could be no mistake. The voice had come from the mirror. Billingsly was so surprised he just lay there and stared.
“I say, Hello out there!” This time the voice from the mirror was quite insistent, and Billingsly realised it was directed at him. He could feel his right ear uncurling.
“Hello,” replied Billingsly. The voice coming from the mirror was definitely not his voice. That was someone else in there.
“Why are you lying there like that, old chap?” asked the voice in the mirror. “Looks awfully uncomfortable to me.”
“The wind blew me down and I can’t get up,” Billingsly replied. He was no longer surprised at anything. The one in the mirror moved closer and Billingsly could see that it looked very nearly like himself.
“Who are you?” Billingsly asked, merely for something to say. He realised he was at a great disadvantage, lying on his side while trying to make conversation.
“I’m Marmaduke. Theodore Marmaduke, to be formal, but I’m called Teddy, for short.”
“Did you say Marmaduke? That’s a strange name, isn’t it?” asked Billingsly.
“Not really, old chap. I’m English, you see.” Marmaduke seemed to be laughing with every word. “What’s yours?”
“I’m Billingsly. Lisbeth’s Billingsly.”
“For long, I suppose,” said Marmaduke, with a chuckle.
“What?” asked Billingsly, not quite understanding the other’s reply.