“No,” said Matilda, feeling a little threatened, “a woodcutter.”
The Wolf jumped to his feet and put his face right up against Matilda. She could smell Wolf breath. Yuk!
“Oh,” he said in a mocking tone. “Just an ordinary woodcutter! That isn’t very exciting. Can’t you dream up something a bit scarier?”
“I’m telling the truth,” said Matilda, feeling braver. “Unless you do as I tell you, you will die a horrible death.”
“Ooh, ooh, ooh, I’m really scared,” said the Wolf, wrapping his arms around himself and pretending to shake with fear. “Enough of this rubbish. I think I’ll just eat you before I go down and finish off Grandma and that little brat, Red Riding Hood.” He bared his horrible fangs and started to reach out for Matilda.
“Uh,oh,” thought Matilda as she looked into the Wolf’s mouth, “this adventure is going to be a short one.”
Then she remembered her guardian fairy. “Peri,” she whispered, and the little fairy appeared on her shoulder.
“What’s this?” said the surprised Wolf. “Cream for the pudding?” and he lunged towards Matilda. Peri had her little wand in her hand. She pointed it at the Wolf – and he froze.
“Wow!” exclaimed Matilda. “That’s some trick. You just saved our lives.”
“I beg your pardon,” the fairy replied primly. “I saved your life. Mine was never in danger.”
“Whatever,” said Matilda. “Just as long as you keep doing it. Now what do we do?”
“Watch and learn,” replied Peri, and she waved her wand at the Wolf again. The wolf dropped to the ground and began shaking his head.
“Wha-wha-what happened?” he said in a wobbly voice, looking at Matilda and Peri.
“You were being a naughty boy,” said Matilda, “and you had to be punished. Expect more of the same if you misbehave again.”
Peri’s spell had been a particularly nasty one.
“No, no!” the Wolf answered quickly. “No more punishment, please! I’ll behave myself. I promise.”
“Now follow me and I’ll explain what I want you to do,” said Matilda, walking towards Grandma’s house. But she didn’t go to Grandma’s house. She went to the woodcutter’s next door where a big man was swinging a sharp axe as he chopped up a log. They hid behind a tree.
“See that man and his axe?” explained Matilda to the Wolf. “Well, if you had tried to eat Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood, he would have chopped you into little pieces.”
“Really?” said the Wolf.
“Really,” said Matilda. At that moment, Little Red Riding Hood came skipping down the track. “Now we have a few more things to sort out and I want you on your best behaviour. Is that understood?”
“Yes,” said the Wolf meekly. His character had completely changed.
“Then follow me and do as I tell you,” added Matilda, walking towards Little Red Riding Hood who was at Grandma’s door.
“Hi, Red Riding Hood,” said Matilda. “I've got something important to tell you.”
“Who are you? I don’t know you,” said Red Riding Hood with a puzzled look on her face. “And what is the Wolf doing here? I left him up the track.”
“Trust me,” said Matilda. “I am a friend and the Wolf has something to tell you.” She waved the Wolf across to her. “Go on, tell her everything.”
The Wolf gulped and went on to tell Red Riding Hood how he had tricked her and planned to eat her and her Grandma, how Matilda had shown him the woodcutter, and how she had saved their lives.
Little Red Riding Hood was shocked. She held her hand up to her mouth.
“How could you think of doing such a terrible thing? It’s disgusting. I mean, what kind of animal are you?”
“A wolf,” replied the Wolf with tears running down his face. “And I’m really, really sorry but I was very hungry and my wife was angry with me for not providing enough food for the family, and the children were crying, and the cupboard was bare, and the fox down the road…..”
“Enough!” shouted Red Riding Hood, dropping her basket to the ground and holding up her hands. “I get the message. Now the way I see it, you’ve got real problems but you’ve done nothing wrong . . . yet. And I think I can help you without having any bloodshed. Come into Grandma’s house and we can discuss it sensibly.”
Matilda watched and listened. She was particularly impressed with the way Red Riding Hood had handled the situation when she learnt the truth. She followed the Wolf and the little girl in red into Grandma’s house. Grandma was propped up by pillows in her bed. She didn’t look well.
“What a lovely surprise, Little Red Riding Hood,” she gasped. “And who are your friends?”
Red Riding Hood went on to explain everything that had happened. Grandma was shocked and held her hand to her mouth but, when she saw the tears streaming down the Wolf’s face, her heart melted.
“You don’t look like a bad wolf,” she wheezed. “And I’m sure you wouldn’t eat people if you didn’t have all of those problems at home. I’ll tell you something. I don’t eat much – it’s my loose teeth you know –so you’re quite welcome to have what’s left over in my cupboard each week.”
“And Mummy always has bones left over from her cooking,” added Red Riding Hood. “You can have those.”
The Wolf began to sob. He’d never experienced so much kindness.
“No time for tears,” coughed Grandma. “Show us the goodies you have in that basket, Little Red Riding Hood, and let’s have a party.”
The woodcutter next door heard the racket from the party and thought something must be wrong. He picked up his axe and ran across to Grandma’s house. He burst through the door and, when he saw the Wolf, began swinging his axe.
Matilda screamed, “Peri!” The little fairy appeared on her shoulder, pointed her wand to cast a gentle spell this time and the woodcutter froze in his tracks.
“Good party trick!” shouted Grandma, clapping her hands.
Peri pointed her wand again and the woodcutter fell to the floor.
“What happened?” he said, shaking his head.
When Little Red Riding Hood explained the whole thing to him, he joined the party and even offered to give the Wolf some of his food each week. He knew that a hungry wolf was a dangerous wolf.
With everybody safe and happy, and her job almost done, Matilda asked Little Red Riding Hood to step outside for a moment.
“I hope you’ve learnt never to talk to strangers,” Matilda said.
“But you’re a stranger and I’m talking to you,” said Red Riding Hood with a puzzled look on her face.
“Little Miss Fuzzy Brain,” thought Matilda, then said, “Yes, but you must never talk to strangers again. Okay?”
“Okay,” chirped Red Riding Hood and skipped back inside to join the party. Matilda followed her inside to say goodbye to everybody.
“Now we have to find the Story Mat,” she said to Peri when they were outside again,
“No problem,” said Peri, waving her wand in the air. There was a swirl of wind and the Story Mat appeared in front of them. When it had settled on the ground, Matilda climbed on, crossed her arms and closed her eyes.
WHOOSH!
The Story Mat shot into space. Matilda soon felt it slow down and opened her eyes. She was back in her bedroom. She rolled up the carpet and put it under her bed, whispered to Peri to stay there, then ran down the stairs to join her parents in the lounge room.
Her father looked up from his book and nodded, looking at his watch.
“Finished your homework already?” he asked.
“That didn’t take long,” said her mother.
“It was easy,” replied Matilda with a wink at her shoulder.
“Humph!” said her father. “And snakes might sing.”
Chapter 8
Book #2
The next day was a repeat of the day befo
re. Matilda prepared two meals for Peri in the morning then left for school. She rushed off the bus after school, dashed past her mother and father, who were sitting in the kitchen reading their books, and headed for her bedroom.
“Well, hello to you too,” said her father, lifting his head from his book for a full two seconds.
“She is certainly behaving strangely,” added her mother without even looking up.
Matilda pulled the Story Mat from under her bed then went over to her bookshelf. Once again she had already decided which story she would enter today. When Peri appeared, Matilda showed her “The Emperor's New Clothes”. Taking the book over to the carpet, she placed it on the sun, sat down, folded her arms and closed her eyes.
WHOOSH! Away she and the little fairy went.
When Matilda felt the Story Mat slow down and drop to the ground, she opened her eyes. She was inside a magnificent castle. It was obviously the Throne Room, with a huge hall held up by columns along the side. As Matilda peeped out from behind one of the columns she saw that there were large mirrors all over the room.
A little, fat man, dressed in royal robes and wearing a crown on his head, was standing in front of one of the mirrors admiring himself. He certainly looked like a very vain person.
Just then Matilda heard voices behind her. She crept across behind another column and looked around it. A tall, thin, evil-looking man was whispering to another short, plump man. Matilda listened in.
“Remember to keep telling him that the people who can’t see the cloth are fools,” said the tall man. “He’s so proud that he’ll never say that he can’t see the material. He could never admit to being a fool.”
“Hee-hee,” the little man giggled and pretended to be sewing invisible cloth. “‘We’ve been working so hard weaving this beautiful cloth for you, Your Majesty, ’” he mimicked. “The old fool will give us bags of gold for nothing.”
The two men walked away laughing.
Matilda felt a strong hand grab her by the shoulder. She looked up to see a guard looking down at her with a scowl on his face. He was dressed in armour and carried a dangerous-looking spear.
“What are you doing here?” he asked in a harsh voice.
Matilda couldn’t think of anything to say.
“You’d better come with me,” said the guard as he dragged Matilda out into the Throne Room and up to the little, fat Emperor. “Sire, I found this strange-looking girl trespassing in the Palace.
What should I do with her?”
The Emperor looked Matilda up and down. “What odd-looking clothes. Who are you, young lady?”
By this time Matilda had had time to think. “I’ve been sent to clean your mirrors, Sire, the better to see yourself. I am an orphan and these are the only rags I could find to dress myself,” she said.
“Mm-mm,” the Emperor said thoughtfully. He definitely wanted the mirrors to show him at his best. “Very well, get on with your work. I have a very important meeting with my tailors and I will require clean mirrors to view my new clothes. Make sure they are spotless,” he said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.
The guard let her go and returned to his post. Matilda pulled her handkerchief out of her pocket and began polishing a mirror. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that the two men she had overheard had come into the Throne Room. The short, fat one was pretending that he was carrying a set of clothes even though there was nothing in his hands. The Emperor greeted them with glee.
“Ah, at last, my tailors,” he shouted in excitement. “You’ve finished my new clothes, then? I can’t wait to try them on.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,’ said the tall man in a flattering voice. “We have been working night and day weaving the gold cloth, cutting and sewing, to create a new suit of clothes that will make you the best-dressed Emperor in the world. Nobody will ever look as good as you do.”
“And, Sire,” added the fat man, “the best thing is that you will know who the fools are in your Empire. Anybody who cannot see the clothes will show themselves to be stupid and you will be able to rid yourself of them. After all, a wise and clever Emperor such as yourself doesn’t want to be surrounded by dunces, does he?”
“Certainly not!” the Emperor agreed. “Now, show me my new clothes.”
The short tailor pretended to unroll the invisible clothes with a swirl of his hands and shouted, “Duddah!”
Of course the Emperor could see nothing but he didn’t want to be seen as a fool so he exclaimed, “Marvellous! You have done a wonderful job and I shall be proud to wear the new clothes.” But he wanted to check that others could see the invisible clothes too, so he called to his Prime Minister who had been standing nearby.
“What do you think of my new suit of clothes, Prime Minister?” he asked.
“Th-th-they are . . . er . . . magnificent, Sire,” he stuttered, not wanting to be exposed as stupid either, then continued enthusiastically, “The colours are glorious and befitting of such a great Emperor.”
The Emperor’s chest grew large. “I shall wear them in the public parade tomorrow. And, my fine tailors, you shall be rewarded with not one, but two bags of gold each for your hard work.”
The tailors were grinning and rubbing their hands together.
Matilda listened to all of this as the Emperor was being hoodwinked by the pair of schemers because of his foolish vanity. She had to work out a way to unmask the false tailors, but how?
Unwisely she decided to try the direct approach first. She put away her handkerchief and walked over to the Emperor.
“Sire,” she said, “these men are villains. I overheard them talking. They are trying to swindle you.”
“What do you mean, you little urchin?” blustered the Emperor.
“There are no new clothes,” stated Matilda. “There is no beautiful cloth. It’s all a nasty trick.”
The tall tailor saw what was about to happen and jumped in.
“There you are, Sire, your first fool. What would an orphan know about beauty and style? She is not fit to be in your palace.”
“Of course,” agreed the Emperor, once again thinking of his own reputation. “Guards, Guards! Take this little tramp away to the dungeon.”
Two huge guards raced over to Matilda, grabbed her by the arms and dragged her away. They took her along hallways and through a door that led down to the dungeon below the palace.
“Time for some help,” thought Matilda, and she whispered, “Peri!”
The little fairy appeared on her shoulder.
The guards could not believe what they were seeing.
“What the . . . ,” they started to say but never finished. With a wave of her wand, Peri froze them. Matilda broke free and headed back to the Throne Room.
She crept up behind one of the columns and poked her head around it to see the funniest sight. There was the Emperor standing in front of a mirror in his underwear! The two tailors were rushing around him pretending to make adjustments to the invisible clothes and praising the Emperor’s good taste.
Matilda remembered how the story went. If she didn’t stop things now, the Emperor would be terribly embarrassed tomorrow when he paraded in front of all of his subjects in only his underwear. And even though he was a pompous and vain man, he didn’t deserve that.
She decided what she should do. In the story the whole trick had been shown up by a child in the crowd who had no reputation to worry about and had the courage to shout out that the Emperor was wearing no clothes.
Matilda slipped out of the palace and went into the streets of the town. With the promise of sweets, she gathered together six children and explained what they had to do. They sneaked past the guards and followed Matilda to the Throne Room.
The Emperor was still preening himself in front of a mirror but the two tailors had gone. Matilda led the children over to the Emperor.
“How did you get back here, you little ragam
uffin?” he stormed. “And who are these other intruders? I’ll put the guards onto you again.”
Matilda jumped in quickly. “Please, Your Majesty, just hear me out for one minute. I want to save you from being very embarrassed. But don’t just listen to me, listen to these children. They have nothing to fear and will only speak the truth.”
The children were already giggling about seeing their Emperor in his underwear.
“What’s so funny?” asked the Emperor sternly.
“You’re only wearing your underwear!” the children chorused.
“What?!!” he roared. “Underwear?!! This can’t be true! Prime Minister, get over here
immediately!”
The Prime Minister scurried over to the Emperor.
“These children say that I am only wearing my underwear,” the Emperor continued. “Can it be true?”
“Well, Sire,” said the Prime Minister, trying to be diplomatic and going red in the face, “I can’t really say.”
“What? Tell me immediately, man, am I or am I not in my underwear. And be honest or it’s off with your head!” shouted the Emperor.
Given the choice of being seen as a fool or having his head removed, the Prime Minister decided to tell the truth.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he whispered, “you are only wearing your underwear.”
The Emperor immediately tried to cover himself up with his hands.
“Quickly, quickly, get me my cloak,” he cried, so Matilda rushed over to the chair and brought back his cloak which he hurriedly wrapped around himself.
“How embarrassing,” he whimpered.
“But not as embarrassing as it would have been, showing your underwear to all of your subjects in the parade tomorrow,” Matilda reminded him.
“Yes, yes, very true,” said the Emperor, and Matilda told him exactly what she had overheard the two villainous tailors saying to each other.
“I owe you a great deal little girl, and the children, too,” said the Emperor. “But first I have to deal with those cheating tailors. Guards!”
Following the Emperor’s orders, the guards dragged the two tailors in front of the Emperor. They had been busily counting their gold when the guards captured them.
“You thieves! You scoundrels! You traitors! The dungeon is too good for you. You deserve only the worst punishment I can think of.”