Read Online The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews - Free Book Online

in front of them was spinning around like a pinwheel on the Fourth of July. There was the sound of a rushing wind and they felt themselves being pulled forward as if by unseen hands.
    The professor was smiling and nodding his head and beckoning. "Come along, come along."
    Their vision gradually focused and then, quite suddenly, everything became crystal clear. In front of them the hedge had twisted into a long mossy tunnel. The children knew that at the other end of it lay the most wonderful of all surprises.
    "Come on!" Lindy got up from her chair and raced towards the opening.
    Tom yelled, "We did it! We did it!" He leaped into the air with excitement and ran after his sister.
    Ben remained where he was for one uncertain moment. He was still dizzy, and blinked as he tried to see the tunnel. The professor moved to take his hand. "Come on, Ben," he said gently, "we mustn't keep the others waiting."
    Lindy turned and cried out, "Oh, Ben, come and look! Just come and see what I see."
    Ben took a hesitant step forward and then gradually began to walk, faster and faster until he broke into a run. He emerged from the tunnel a moment behind Tom and Lindy.
    It seemed that the world was full of flowers, brilliant flowers that were orange and blue and yellow and white. They were waving slowly on long stalks like tall grass in the wind. There were shady trees and a river close by, making a soft, singing sound as it flowed. But, astonishingly, the trees were purple and the river was golden and the sky above was a bright translucent red.
    There were pale pink mountains in the far distance, and high atop the tallest one was something that sparkled and shone like sunlight dancing on the water.
    Lindy was tugging at the professor's sleeve. "Look. Oh look. Look. What is that? That thing up there? That shining, lovely thing?"
    "That's where the Whangdoodle lives." The professor gazed at the mountain and for a moment he seemed overwhelmed.
    "You mean that's the Whangdoodle's palace?" Tom's voice rose with excitement.
    The professor nodded.
    "Can we go there right now?" Lindy asked. "Can we go and find him?"
    "Oh, it isn't as easy as that. We will have many, many things to learn and to overcome before we can reach the palace. Today is just a beginning."
    "But we made it!" yelled Tom. "We're really here!"
    Ben said, with some awe, "I did it. I never thought I could."
    "I'm very proud of you," the professor said. "Shall we explore a little? Just remember my warning. Stay close and do as I say."
    He set off along a small path that led to the melodious Golden River. Lindy walked beside him and took his hand. The boys followed.
    "The Whiffle Bird should be along fairly soon," declared the professor. "She's insatiably curious. She's bound to know we're here."
    Lindy said, "It's awfully quiet, isn't it? I mean, there aren't any birds singing or anything. All I can hear is the river."
    The professor looked anxiously around. "I'd noticed that too, Lindy. It is unusual."
    Lindy sniffed the ai r. "I smell fresh-baked bread."
    "It's the flowers," replied the professor.
    "You're kidding. Can I pick one and see?"
    "No, I wouldn't pick one, Lindy. It would only die and Whangdoodleland is a place for living things. But you can certainly smell the flowers."
    Lindy bent and put her face close to a bright yellow bloom that was growing beside the path. "It does smell of baked bread," she said. "Do all the flowers smell like that?"
    "You'll see."
    "Look at the signpost!" Tom said. He pointed to a post standing at a fork in the path. Its four arms were decorated with elaborate signs.
    "Ploy. Gambit. The Stump. The River," Ben read aloud. "What does it mean?"
    "They are some of the places we will have to pass in order to reach the Whangdoodle," replied the professor.
    As they walked, the sound of the water grew louder. Soon the children were standing by the edge of the river.
    "Where does it go?" asked Lindy.
    "I think it flows through the Forest of the Tree Squeaks.