The three wishes
Little Tom and Maggie were brother and sister. They always quarreled with one another. If you heard them quarrelling you would say they were enemies.
One day they were sitting in a garden and quarrelling as usual. ``I did not want to come to this garden,’’ said Maggie. ``I wanted to go up that hill. But you always do what you want.’’
``Oh, you are the most selfish girl!’’ said Tom. ``I always do what you want, but you are so ungrateful. I do not like you.’’
``well, I do not like’’, Maggie began to say, but she did not complete her sentence. She had seen something moving on the green grass. She put out her hand and caught it quickly.
It was a little fairy! Very, very small! It was only as big as a sparrow.
``Look! I have caught a fairy!’’ Maggie said to Tom, in great joy.
``Let me go!’’ cried the little fairy. ``You are hurting me’’.
``Maggie! Don’t let her go,’’ said Tom. ``Make her gives us three wishes.’’
Maggie pressed the little fairy more tightly and said, ``Give us three wishes and then I will let you go.’’
``I will give you three wishes,’’ said the little fairy, ``but they won’t do you any good. Children like you can’t wish for right things. But I will give you three wishes if you want.’’
Maggie let the little fairy go. It flew away among the trees, laughing.
``Now, what shall we wish’’ asked Tom. ``` I think we should wish for a little aero plane. It will take us to any place we want to visit.’’
``No, I don’t want to fly in the air with you,’’ said Maggie. ``You shall not wish for an aero plane.’’
``I will,’’ said Tom and he spoke: ``I wish I had a little aero plane to fly in’’.
At once a nice little aero plane flew down from the air and landed near the two children. Tom at once got into it. What a joy for him! But Maggie was very angry.
``You bad boy!’’ she said.’’ You have wasted one wish on a thing like this.’’
She caught Tom by the arm and tried to pull him out of the aero plane.
``You are not a good brother to me,’’ she said. ``I wish you were miles away!’’
The aero plane engine started up. It was Maggie’s wish coming true! Tom dragged Maggie in and the aero plane flew off.
``You foolish girl!’’ he said. ``The second wish is gone. Only God knows where we shall land!’’
They flew in the air a long way. Then the aero plane landed on a little island.
The two children came out of the aero plane. They walked around the little island. They were feeling very hungry, but there was nothing to eat.
``We shall die of hunger on this island,’’ said Tom. ``We must go back home.’’
``How?’’ asked Maggie.
``In the aero plane,’’ said Tom. ``Now we shall be very careful about our last wish’’.
They got into the aero plane. but it would not fly.
` I think we will have to use our last wish to get back home,’’ said Tom. ``Oh, how we have wasted our wishes!’’ said Tom. ``Oh, how we have wasted our wishes! Little aero plane, I wish you would take us home.’’
The engine started and the aero lane lifted itself up into the air. Soon they were back in the garden again. They got out and looked at the nice little aero plane. ``Well, it is good,’’ said Tom, ``that we have at least got this nice little aero plane’’.
But even as he spoke these words, the little fairy came running and jumped into the aero plane.
``Children who quarrel always do stupid things’’ said the little fairy.’’ You have wasted all your three wishes. What silly children you are!’’
Ten the little fairy flew off with her aero plane. Tom and Maggie watched the nice little thing as it flew above the trees. How sad they were!
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