Wishing for Trouble by Kate Forsyth Page A

Ben!’ Tim yelled.
    â€˜Sorry,’ Ben said, and spun around on his front wheel.
    Jessie barked loudly, wagging her tail so energetically she knocked over a cup of paintbrushes and dirty water, then grabbed her toy rabbit and shook it violently so stuffing flew everywhere. The rabbit was pink with goggly eyes, and was bigger than she was.
    â€˜Kids, five minutes till dinner!’ Their mum leant over the railing, Ella on her hip. ‘Gracious, what a mess! Can you get it all cleaned up?’
    â€˜Yes, Mum,’ Ben and Tim said in long-suffering tones.
    â€˜Gar!’ Ella said, pointing at the car parked at the end of the driveway.

    â€˜That’s right, “car”,’ Mum said, squeezing her close. ‘Clever girl, she said “car”, did you hear her?’
    Then their cat came sauntering out from under the car, tail held high.
    â€˜Gar!’ Ella said, pointing at the cat.
    â€˜Cat, yes, that’s right, cat. Clever girl!’ Kissing Ella, their mum went back into the house and Ben grabbed his scooter and began trying to do jumps and wheelies.
    â€˜Five minutes, better pack up,’ Nick said, not looking away from his book. ‘Ben, you made all the mess, you’d better pick it up.’

    â€˜I didn’t make it, Tim did,’ Ben said, almost crashing into the box of buckets and spades.
    â€˜Did not!’
    â€˜Did too!’
    â€˜Did not!’
    â€˜Then Jessie did, make her clean it up.’
    Nick sighed, put his bookmark into his book, and shut it. ‘Come on, I’ll help. Emmy, you come and help too.’ He got up and glided effortlessly over the floor on the wheels hidden in the heels of his shoes and began picking up the paintbrushes.
    Ben stared enviously. ‘I wish Mum’d let me have heelies,’ he said, and spun round on his scooter, almost crashing into the bookshelf.
    â€˜When we’re eight,’ Emmy said as she came flying down the driveway on her scooter with one leg lifted high behind her in an arabesque. Emmy was the star of her ballet class.
    â€˜I wish we were real knights in a real castle,’ Tim said, picking up the fallen knights.
    Which was when the magic suddenly and most unexpectedly began to happen.

The room began to spin around them. There was a loud, high, eerie sound, like the wind in a scary storm. Everything whirled until all they could see were fizzy silver streaks. Twirling and swirling, stumbling and tumbling, head-over-heels, heels-over-head, the five children all banged and bounced and bumped into each other until, suddenly, they thudded down onto a cold stone floor.
    â€˜Ow!’ Ben said, inspecting his knee.
    â€˜Ow!’ Emily said, examining her elbow.
    â€˜Ow!’ Nick said, rubbing his bottom.
    â€˜Owwww!’ Tim and Lach said, rubbing their heads.
    â€˜Owwwwwwwwwwww!’ Jessie howled, tail between her legs.

    â€˜What foul sorcery is this?’ a voice suddenly shouted close by. ‘Guards, attend me here!’
    â€˜Huh?’ said the five children, and looked up.
    They were lying in a heap on the floor of a big hall, its stone walls hung with banners and tapestries. A deep, dull roar filled the air, punctuated by shrieks and screams. The children could smell smoke, and every few seconds there was a great bang and the walls would shake, and dust would puff out from between the stones.
    Clanging towards them was a tall suit of armour. It had cruel-looking spurs on its boots, a huge helmet with a spike on top, and a long silver sword at its waist. Crowded behind it were about twenty men in chain mail and heavy helmets, with all sorts of horrible weapons in their hands – swords and maces and pikes and axes.
    The children quickly stood and stared up in fright at the menacing figure in the heavy silver armour. Jessie whined and shrank back against Ben’s leg, the big pink rabbit spilling its stuffing out onto the stone behind her.

    The knight put