Enid Blyton by Mr Pink-Whistle's Party Read Free Book Online

together every single day when they came back from school.
    When Mr. Pink-Whistle peeped in at the window the girls were always playing the same game. They were playing with their dolls.
    They had a very large family of dolls. If you asked them the names of their family they could tell you straight off.
    "Angela, Josephine, Rosemary, Jennifer, Sambo the black doll, and, of course, Baby, the baby doll. It's too young to have a name."
    Mr. Pink-Whistle loved to see Rose and Daisy with their dolls. They dressed and undressed them, they bathed them, they powdered them, they even filled a bottle with what looked like milk and tried to feed the baby doll with it.

    ROSE AND DAISY HAD A LARGE FAMILY OF DOLLS.
    "How they love their dolls!" thought Mr. Pink-Whistle. "I wonder if their mother has a baby—these two children could almost look after it for her!"
    But she hadn't. She only had Rose and Daisy, and they were nine years old. They each had a pram for their dolls and took them out for walks. They washed their dolls' clothes, and Mummy even let them iron them. Really, Pink-Whistle got a great deal of fun in peeping at Rose and Daisy and seeing all they did.
    Then one day he passed another small house on his way back home.
    Usually the curtains were drawn and he didn't know what was inside the windows of the room he passed. But this evening the curtains were not drawn and a light was shining there,
    Mr. Pink-Whistle peeped in, hoping to see some more children. All he saw was a baby crying in a cot, and dear me—what was that on the floor?
    Mr. Pink-Whistle tried to see, and then he gave a cry and ran round the house to the front door. He knocked and knocked. No answer. He ran to the back door and that was open.

    In he went and made his way to the room he had peeped into. On the floor lay a young woman, groaning. Mr. Pink-Whistle lifted her up gently.
    "What's the matter?" he asked.
    "Oh, I feel so ill," said the young woman. "My husband is away and I tried to lift something too heavy for me. I've hurt my back."
    "I'll get you to hospital," said Mr. Pink-Whistle.
    "No, no!" cried the young woman. "There's my baby. I can't part from him, I can't. All I want-is a nice rest to-night and I'll be all right in the morning. I was just going to bath my baby and feed him when I fainted."
    "Shall I get a neighbour in to help you?" said kind Mr. Pink-Whistle.
    "No. They don't know anything about young babies," said the young woman. "Oh, dear—what shall I do? I just want help to-night, that's all."
    "Well—I could bath a baby and feed it myself," said Mr. Pink-Whistle, "but I've got a better idea than that. Wait here and I'll fetch someone at once."
    He went out of the front door and ran to the house where Rose and Daisy lived. He knocked on the window of their playroom.
    The twins came at once, in great surprise. They stared at the funny little man at the window.
    "You won't know who I am," began Mr. Pink-Whistle, "but . . ."
    "We do know who you are," said Rose, suddenly, staring hard.
    "You're Mr. Pink-Whistle. You are, you are! We've got a book about you, so we know you well."
    "How strange," said Mr. Pink-Whistle. "You're quite right. That's who I am. Well, my dears, I want a bit of help and I've come to you for it."
    "Oh—Mr. Pink-Whistle! Do you really want us to help you!" said both twins at once. "We'd simply love to."
    "It's like this," said Pink-Whistle. "I've been peeping in at you for some time now, and I can see how kind and loving you are to your dolls—
    especially to your baby doll—and now I want a bit of help with a real live baby, whose mother is ill. I suppose you couldn't come and bath it and feed it this evening?"
    The twins' eyes nearly fell out of their heads. "A live baby," said Rose. "How wonderful!"
    "We've always wished our dolls were alive," said Daisy. "Where's this baby?

    THE YOUNG WOMAN LOOKED SURPRISED WHEN SHE SAW THE TWINS.
    We'll just have to tell our mother we're going out for a bit."
    "Well,