Maggie always looked forward to visiting her Uncle Nathanial. Not only did he always give the best birthday and Christmas presents ever, but even when it wasn’t your birthday or Christmas, even if - like today - it was just a normal weekend, Uncle Nathanial always managed to be a little bit nuts, and a little bit magical.
Maggie loved him coming to visit her house, of course, but the thing she looked forward to the most was when she was invited down to his cottage - in the countryside, out past Lomberstack Mountain.
She’d been there since she was little with mummy and daddy. But now she was older; the last three times she’d been allowed to go by herself - and the adventures that she’d had there were so unbelievable that when she got home and told mummy and daddy, they imagined that she must of eaten something funny and needed to lie down.
And THIS trip to Uncle Nathanial’s was even more exciting because she was allowed to bring a friend with her for the whole weekend. So the whole of Saturday, a sleepover on Saturday night, and then all of Sunday. Two DAYS of adventures - but who could she invite?
Well really it was an easy choice - she’d told her friend Sita so much about Uncle Nathanial and the presents he brought and the adventures that she’d had at his cottage she sometimes felt that Sita was only being polite in believing her. Well this was her chance to show that all the weird and stupendous things were true and real.
So after lunch break one day at Half Hitch, Maggie ran up to Sita and asked. Sita immediately agreed - she’d always been a bit more than a little curious about Maggie’s uncle Nathanial - and so the date was set - they were to go the very next weekend.
That Saturday morning, Maggie and Sita arrived at Horsmarlonerpool train station to find Sixwheels the engine waiting in the platform with a train bound for the Meadows. After saying hello to Sixwheels, they climbed on board and both sat facing each other by the window as the train chuffed into motion and they watched Horsmarlonerpool slide past and into the distance.
Soon, the train was gliding through the countryside before it came to its first stop at a tiny station called Little Fisher.
Climbing down from the carriage, Maggie immediately saw Uncle Nathanial waiting on the platform. He wasn’t hard to miss; wearing a rather tatty but very bright pink suit with a tangerine colored waistcoat. Maggie rushed up into a hug and he lifted her high into the sky before placing her down and saying a friendly hello to Sita.
All three of them walked through the tiny village of Little Fisher until they were stood outside Uncle Nathanial’s cottage. Maggie loved this place. Half if it was underground and the other half looked like it might fall down it was so tilted, but although it was very old it was extremely strong, and extremely snug.
Uncle Nathaniel bent down to get through the tiny red front door, and soon they were all in his kitchen.
“Well, do you two fancy some lunch?” asked Uncle Nathanial.
Maggie was so excited to explore with Sita, and really not that hungry after a big breakfast, that she said “Well, I was hoping that Sita and I could just explore for a bit first?”
“Well, hope no more!” said Uncle Nathaniel. “You can do whatever you like!”
That was another of the best things about going to visit Uncle Nathanial, there weren’t really any rules and he just let you get on with things as if you were a grown up.
“Come on,” said Maggie to Sita. “Let’s go into the garden!”
They opened the back door and stepped outside onto… a huge lawn.
“I don’t remember this,” said Maggie. She had no idea that Uncle Nathanial’s garden was so big. But maybe she hadn’t been paying attention the last time?
Because ahead of them was grass as big as a football field, but surrounded by tall green hedges that had doorways neatly cut into them.
“Which way shall we go?” said Maggie to Sita.
“This way!” laughed Sita, pointing to a gap in the hedge to their left. She was beginning to see why Maggie liked going to Uncle Nathaniel’s so much. This place was ace!
Through the gap in the hedge was an empty tennis court, with two rackets waiting for them at one end. They both picked them up, but as they did so - tennis balls started floating down from the other end for them to try and hit! Who was throwing them? Where did they come from? Well Maggie and Sita didn’t care, and smashed them back as hard as they good until they were exhausted, put down the rackets and ran towards the next doorway in the next fence.
Through this was a huge swimming pool surrounded by comfortable pink loungers to sunbathe on. Because they didn’t have their swimming costumes, they couldn’t jump in but knelt by the side of the pool and reached down to touch the water. It wasn’t wet at all, but firm and bouncy!
Maggie stood up and placed her foot on the water carefully. And it took her whole weight! They both ran over the bouncy surface to the middle and started to bounce and bounce - as if it were a trampoline - until the fell down on their backs, laughing in amazement.
They ran through the next doorway in the hedge, and the next, and then ran down a long thin lawn through another doorway until they looked about them and realised - they didn’t know the way back… They’d been having so much fun they’d forgotten to take note of where they were going.
“I suppose you need my help,” said a voice. They looked around, but couldn’t see anyone. Then, they realized they were standing next to a row of stone statues.
“Um, was that you?” asked Sita.
The stone statue looked down at them. “Why, who else would it be?”
“It could have been me?” said another statue.
“Oh nonsense,” said the first statue, and then looked at Maggie and Sita again. “Now, if you wish to find your way back, go through the third doorway in the hedge to your right - over there.”
Sita and Maggie thanked the statue and kept to the right hedge, counting down one, two, three doors. They went through it and found themselves - in a tall purple maze.
Well this was even easier to get lost in and they ran around helplessly, turning left and right, and then left and left and left again, but they kept ending up at the same place.
Maggie felt something by her feet and jumped. It was a cat.
“Looking for the centre?” asked the cat.
Sita turned to Maggie. “The cat can talk!” she said.
“Well why are you surprised at that?” said the cat. “You weren’t surprised when the statues spoke just now.”
“Oh. Yes. That’s a good point,” said Sita, and then decided to be helpful and friendly by asking the cat, “what’s your name?”
“Raisons”, said Raisons the cat. “Now, two turns to the left, and one to the right, and repeat it over and over and you’ll find the centre.”
“We don’t want to find the centre,” said Maggie. “We want to find the way out!”
“The centre IS the way out,” sighed Raisons, and slipped away under one of the purple bushes.
Maggie and Sita did what Raisons said, always taking two turns to the left and then one to the right, over and over, until they came out into a small clearing with an old, old brick well in the middle.
Looking down, they could see that a rope ladder was attached to the inside.
Very carefully, with Maggie going first, they both began to climb down the inside of the well using the rope ladder until it got so slippy that their hands and feel slid off and they fell!
Down and down they tumbled until - SPLASH! They hit the water at the bottom and opened their eyes to see that they were sat, perfectly dry, in a bathtub. And not just in a bathtub, but a bathtub in a very nice and cosy bathroom.
Climbing out, they went down the stairs to find themselves in Uncle Nathanial’s kitchen.
“Ah, there you both are! Been up to this and that, have we?”
“This and that, yes,” nodded Maggie, slightly stunned.
Sita nudged Maggie and pointed. There, sat on the kitchen table, was Raisons the cat.
“Ah, the cat is a new visitor,” said Uncle Nathanial. “Don’t mind it. Now - are we hungry yet?”
They both most certainly were, and ate about ten smashberry sandwiches each.
After lunch, Maggie took Sita back upstairs to show her their bedroom.
“Wait.” said Maggie. “This room looks over the back garden, here…”
The two friends went over the window and looked down. The garden to Uncle Nathanial’s cottage was small and messy - it didn’t have grand lawns or tennis courts or swimming pools or mazes.
“But how can that be?” said Sita. She remembered going out the back door and into it.
But Maggie just smiled. She knew two things: Firstly, that not everything at Uncle Nathanial’s could always be explained. And Secondly, that this was going to be the best weekend ever.
