Winter Term at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton Page A

broke out.
    â€˜Of all the nerve!’
    â€˜Who does Miss Tallant think she is? How dare she try to order us about like that?’
    â€˜Thank heavens that Miss Williams turned up when she did.’
    â€˜Yes, she has sized Miss Tallant up, all right,’ said Susan. ‘And now that they have both gone, let’s get down to business!’
    So, one by one, Jennifer, Bonnie and Nora took to the stage, as the rest of the fourth form watched with interest.
    Jennifer’s singing was so lovely that the fourth formers cheered when she came to the end of her song. She read a few lines from the play, too, and Felicity murmured toSusan and Sylvia, ‘She’s not a bad actress. A little stiff, perhaps, but I daresay that’s because she feels nervous.’
    Then Mary sat down at the piano and played a lively tune, while Jennifer danced. Alas, her dancing was nowhere near as good as her singing or her acting, and Sylvia said, ‘Well, I suppose it would be too much to expect her to be good at everything.’
    â€˜That’s just it, though,’ said Susan. ‘The girl who takes this part has to be good at everything.’ Then she raised her voice and said, ‘Thank you, Jennifer, you may sit down now. Bonnie! Your turn next.’
    There was no doubt that little Bonnie certainly looked the part of the fairy to perfection. She seemed even smaller and daintier than usual as she stood alone on the big stage. She danced gracefully and, when it came to reading the lines, the girl really threw herself into the part. Alas, Bonnie floundered when it came to the song, for not only was she out of tune, her voice was so high pitched that some of the listening girls covered their ears. Grimacing, Susan said, ‘Simply awful! A pity, because she acts and dances well.’
    Then it was Nora’s turn. Nora’s singing voice was not as pure as Jennifer’s, but it was very pleasant, and the fourth formers clapped eagerly when she finished her song. And she was by far the best dancer of the three girls. Nora proved, too, that she was a fine little actress, and Felicity said, ‘Nora is very humorous, too, and I feel quite sure that she will be excellent at doing the jokes and the funny lines that June and Freddie are going to write.’
    Susan and Sylvia agreed with this at once, and Susan said happily, ‘Well, it looks as if we have found our fairy! I shan’t tell Nora yet, though. We shall audition for the other parts first, and let everyone know what we have decided at the end.’
    â€˜Bonnie isn’t going to be too pleased,’ said Felicity. ‘I just hope that she doesn’t throw a tantrum. You know how difficult she can be if things don’t go her way.’
    â€˜Don’t you worry about Bonnie, Felicity,’ said Susan firmly. ‘I shall deal with her when the time comes.’
    Felicity felt a little apprehensive. Susan had a blunt way of speaking at times, and didn’t always see that it was sometimes necessary to handle things with a little tact.
    The auditions went very smoothly indeed, and both Felicity and Susan found themselves warming to Sylvia. The girl hadn’t tried to push herself forward at all, and had worked amicably alongside Felicity and Susan. Soon all of the parts had been cast, and it was time to let the fourth formers in on the decisions that had been reached.
    Susan stood up to face the girls, and said, ‘Thank you to all of you who auditioned. Everyone did very well indeed. And now it’s time to tell you who is going to play each part.’
    The listening girls sat in expectant silence, those who had auditioned feeling both nervous and excited. At last Susan said, ‘We have decided that the lead role of the fairy doll will be given to…Nora!’
    A great cheer went up at this, while Nora looked as if she simply couldn’t believe her ears. Those closest to thegirl clapped her on the back, and Pam