“We can easily burrow down that green patch of grass, and wait for the land to turn round just over the tree again. Do you suppose that as the Roundabout Land swings round, it will come back to the same place again, and we could slip down the topmost branch?” “Well, we came up from the tree just where the grass was rather darker than the rest,” said Bessie. “If we burrow down a little way, and make a hole, we can see whereabouts the Faraway Tree is underneath, and we can wait for it to come round again, when the Land swings above it.” “Oh yes, there is!” said the first rabbit excitedly. “But I expect, as this land is swinging round and round, that the topmost branch might be almost anywhere underneath it-there’s no way of finding out.” “Up the Faraway Tree, did you say? Goodness, you don’t mean to say that’s touching this land?” “What!” cried both rabbits at once, flipping up their long ears in amazement. “Well, we are new to it, for we only came about an hour ago. “And nobody ever gets away,” said the other rabbit, smiling at Fanny, and holding out its paw for a bit of cake too. Nobody new ever comes to Roundabout Land.” “It’s a change from grass! Where do you come from? We haven’t seen you before, and we thought we knew every one here. To her surprise one of the rabbits picked up the cake in its paw and nibbled it like a monkey! Fanny loved animals and she threw a bit of cake to them. Presently a pair of rabbits lollopped up and looked at the children. So they sat down, and munched solemnly, hearing the roundabout music going on all the time, and watching the distant hills and trees swinging round against the sky. “Let’s sit down under this tree and have a bit more to eat,” said Jo. “Mother will be anxious if we are not back when she is. “What I’m worried about is getting home,” said Bessie. “Really, we do seem to meet the most peculiar people!” “Hie-diddle, ho-diddle, derry-derry-down!” “There must have been a blue moon when we climbed into it!” groaned Jo. It goes round and round always, and only stops once in a blue moon.” “I should have thought any one would have guessed that. “It’s Roundabout Land,” said the tall man. “What is this land, please?” asked Fanny. “Now you’ve made me lose my time,” said the tall man crossly. “Which is the way out of this land, and what land is it?” Jo caught hold of the bony finger and shouted again. “Don’t interrupt me, hie-diddle, ho-diddle!” sang the man, and he beat time with his finger. “How can we get away from this land?” Jo shouted. “Hie-diddle-ho-diddle, derry-derry-down!” shouted the man, whilst Jo tried to make himself heard. Soon they met a tall man singing loudly from a book. Jo wondered where it came from, and where the machinery was that worked the strange Roundabout Land. The music went on and on too, hurdy-gurdy, hurdy-gurdy. But she had no time to say anything, for really it was dreadfully difficult to walk properly in a land that was going round and round like a proper roundabout all the time! Bessie noticed that they had been standing on a ring of grass that seemed darker than the grass around. The three began to walk away from the patch of green field in which they were standing. “NOW YOU’VE MADE ME LOSE MY TIME,” SAID THE TALL MAN CROSSLY. “We’ll have to ask some one for help,” said Jo. “Jo! But how can we get back home again?” cried Fanny, in a fright. “We’ve passed over the hole in the clouds-we don’t know where the topmost branch of the Faraway Tree is now-it’s somewhere beneath this land, but goodness knows where!” “The whole land is going round and round like a roundabout!” cried Jo, shutting his eyes with giddiness. They looked for the hole in the cloud-but it had disappeared. They too felt themselves moving, for the grass was going round as well.
The children felt terribly giddy, for trees, distant houses, hills, and bushes began to move round. “Good gracious!” said Bessie, frightened. It was-and then, suddenly, without any warning at all, the whole land began to swing round! The children almost fell over, so suddenly did the swing-round begin. “It’s the sort of tune a roundabout plays, Jo,” said Bessie. A tune was playing somewhere, going on and on and on. Up the children went-and before they knew what had happened, there they were out in the sunshine, in a new and very strange land.
The branch came to an end and a little ladder ran through the cloud. Jo carefully pulled himself up the last branch. Above him the enormous thick white cloud stretched, with a purple hole in it through which the topmost branch of the Faraway Tree disappeared. Jo climbed on to it and looked down-but he could see nothing, for a white mist swirled around and about. One big broad branch slanted upwards at the top of the Faraway Tree.
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