Enid Blyton by Adventures of Mr Pink-Whistle Page A

golden curls; and there was Bonny, with a mop of dark hair like a sweep's brush. They tore into the kitchen

    and made Mrs. Spink jump so much that she almost upset the pan.
    "Mother!    Mother!    There's a party at school on Thursday and we're all to go!" cried Teddy.
    "But you haven't any nice clothes," said Mrs. Spink."Not any at all! You've only got the ones you have on."
    "Can't you wash them, Mother, and make them nice and clean?" asked Eliza, almost in tears at the thought of not going to the party. Why, they had never been to one before!
    "Well, on Wednesday afternoon you must all go to bed, so that I can wash your clothes ready for the party the next day," said their mother."That is the best I can do for you."
    Teddy, Eliza, Harry, and Bonny were quite willing to spend an afternoon in bed if only their mother would get their clothes ready for the party. Then she
     
    could wash them, iron them, and mend them.
    So on Wednesday afternoon all the four children undressed, got into their ragged 1 little night-clothes, and cuddled into bed, with books to read. Mrs. Spink took the dirty clothes into the garden, set up her wash-tub, and began to wash all the clothes —socks, stockings, vests, knickers, shorts, shirts, petticoats, dresses, jerseys—goodness, what a lot of things there were!
    Mrs. Spink sang as she worked. She saw a funny little man with big ears and curious green eyes looking at her over the fence as she rubbed and scrubbed.
    "Good-day!"he said;"you sound happy!"
    "Well, my four children are going to their first party to-morrow," said Mrs. Spink, squeezing the dirty water from a frock," and that's enough to make any mother happy! Poor little things, they don't

    have many treats. I'm just washing the only
    clothes they have, so that they can go clean and neat."
    When she looked up again, the funny little man was gone. That was strange, thought Mrs. Spink. She hadn't seen him go! She pegged up all the clothes on the line, emptied her tub, and went indoors to get the tea.
    And do you know, the line broke, and down went all the clean clothes into the mud! Would you believe it!

    Poor Mrs. Spink! When she came out to see how the clothes were getting on, she could have cried. All of them were far dirtier than before!
    "Well, well!" said Mrs. Spink, in as cheerful a voice as she could manage."I'll just have to wash them all again, that's all!"
    So she set to work once more, and put all the clothes into her wash-tub again. How she rubbed and scrubbed away! She didn't see the funny little green-eyed man again—but he was there, all the same, watching her. He was sitting on the fence, quite invisible.
    "It isn't fair!" he muttered to himself. "After she washed all those clothes so beautifully! No, it isn't fair!"
    Mrs. Spink couldn't mend the line. It was so rotten that she was afraid it might break again, so she took all the clean clothes and spread them out flat on the grass at

    the front of the house to dry. Dresses, petticoats, socks—they were all there as clean as could be.
    Mrs. Spink went in to take the kettle off the fire, for she really felt she could do with a cup of tea. Mr. Pink-Whistle slipped in behind her, though she didn't see him. He sat on a chair, and thought what a nice, clean little kitchen it was.
    And then a dreadful thing happened. Two dogs came into the front garden, and what must they do but run all over those nice clean clothes! They didn't miss a single one! So when poor little Mrs. Spink went out to get them, there they were, all covered with dirty, muddy footmarks.
    She didn't cry. She just stood and looked and gave a heavy sigh. But Mr. Pink-Whistle cried! The tears rolled down his cheeks, because he was so sorry for Mrs. Spink.

    "It isn't fair!"he whispered to himself." she worked so hard—and it was all for her children. It just isn't fair!"
    Mrs. Spink gathered up all the clothes and put them into her wash-tub again. She washed them clean for the third time, and she hung