Read Online Molly Moon's Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure by Georgia Byng - Free Book Online

But the bird wasn’t fooled by her trick. It screeched and shot away from her arms, the mucky ends of its tail whipping her in the face as it went. Her nose was filled with a rank, dusty, dirty-chicken smell. Molly coughed. She needed a net. Then she realized there was a far simpler way of sorting this out. All she needed to do was stop the world.
    The peacock stood on a small column in the corner of the courtyard, planning its next step. Its tiny brain was finding it difficult to both balance on the column and decide what to do about Molly. Molly picked up a large pair of shorts from the chair and, with her own clear crystal, stopped the world. Everything went completely still. All the bells in the town outside ceased ringing, and the noisy cows and the grumbling camels went quiet. The peacock went as still as a beautifully painted sculpture set on a plinth. Molly marched over to it and put the leg hole of the shorts over its head. Then she tightly wrapped the rest of the material around its wings and legs so that it couldn’t flap or scratch. It was well and truly caught. For a moment, Molly relaxed. She rubbed her cheek. It was feeling very dry. She walked through the chilly, frozen world to the flower-filled pool, cupped water in her hands, and splashed her face.
    It was then that she realized she was busting to have a pee. She glanced about for a place she could go. Her eyes fell again on the giant’s tub. It would have to be her huge toilet. A pity it wouldn’t be flushed before his bath.
    Molly felt much better after that. As she walked back to the peacock it struck her that with these gems she could now escape the maharaja. She could even, shecalculated, go back in time, travel to Briersville, and have Zackya wrestled to the ground by another gardener before he even took Petula. It would be difficult, but she could do it, couldn’t she? But the problem wasn’t Zackya. It was the maharaja. If Zackya went missing—if he never turned up at the fort with a hypnotized Molly—then the giant, furious, would come himself to get Molly. He might shoot back to Briersville to when Molly was eight, and kill her then and there. Molly didn’t like the situation she was in, but at least she understood it a bit, and her gamble at playing the part of an uppity, cross prima donna was working. Molly decided to stick with the predicament as it was. She picked up the peacock. She unfroze the world, and the bird went stiff with fear in her arms.
    This time, she didn’t hold the red crystal. She had a heavy bird to deal with. But she thought about it and, because it was in her pocket, this worked. It was difficult to concentrate enough to bring the peacock with her, but finally she found they were both moving through time.
    A small spurt of travel was all that was needed, she knew. She opened her eyes. The courtyard was still empty. A jot more. The giant was in his bath, with attendants pouring large jugs of hot water over his scaly shoulders. He really did have a terrible skin condition,Molly thought. The peacock struggled. A slip more. There they were. The giant was dressed, Zackya stood beside the servant with the cushion of crystals, and Petula, scared, lay curled up on the ground.
    “Am I late?” Molly asked, placing the frightened peacock in Zackya’s arms. The bird began to squawk, and pecked at his chest.
    Zackya dropped it, his mouth agape. He’d never expected Molly to complete the challenge. And he was shocked to see the peacock unwrapping itself from his master’s underpants, dragging them about the courtyard.
    “Take it away!” shouted the maharaja irritably, choosing to ignore the sight of his underclothes. Zackya grabbed the giant’s pants before the bird escaped them. He hauled it squawking toward the courtyard door.
    “So,” said Molly, as the bird’s cries became more distant, “I hope you are a man of your word.”
    “Hmm. Not usually.” The giant was not amused by Molly’s success. In fact, he