George Midnight and Jasmine Feathersprings

One autumn day Milly was feeling lonely, and she was feeling a bit under the weather. It was windy outside and the leaves were falling off the big oak tree. The summer was over. It felt like the fun had suddenly gone. What Milly wanted was some fun company.

“I wouldn’t mind having some more clock friends, Omega,” piped up Milly.

“Well, you have me, Milly, to talk to, don’t forget.”

“Well, you’re not always around. You’re a wristwatch, Omega, and you spend a lot of time on Mrs Laugherty’s wrist gallivanting about while I’m stuck on this wall!”

That was true, but Omega Horizon did spend quite a lot of time sitting on the kitchen table or on the kitchen worktop or on a shelf of the Welsh dresser.

Omega liked to listen into conversations, and she had a photographic memory. Basically she recorded conversations, and Mrs Laugherty often left the wristwatch sitting in the kitchen to record any conversation without anyone knowing they were being recorded. Mrs Laugherty also wore the wristwatch a lot, which was very useful where she worked.

“Well,” said Milly, “Mrs Laugherty said she wanted to buy a grandfather clock for the hall and a cuckoo clock for the dining room and possibly a clock for the drawing room and one for the living room, but do you think she ever will?” Milly sighed forlornly.

“Of course she will, if she can find them in one of those antique shops that she sometimes goes into.”

“Well,” said Milly excitedly, “I think you could help with this, Omega. When you’re on Mrs Laugherty’s wrist you could keep your eyes peeled; and if you see something - or you see an antique shop - give her a nudge. If you come across a grandfather clock - even if he’s a bit eccentric or mad - or an old cuckoo clock that works, of course I would be very happy.”

“I will see what I can do, Milly. I will keep my eyes open and try to get Mrs Laugherty in a dusty old antique shop.”

“Oh, you’re so kind, Omega,” cried Milly.

A few weeks later Penelope Laugherty was walking along the High Street in Bayswater and she happened to come across a shop she hadn’t seen before - at least, not that she could recall. It was the Musty Old Magical Curiosity Shop.

She immediately felt drawn to it. It looked fascinating, so she went in and browsed round. Cobwebs and dust hung in the corners of the shop, and the old shopkeeper who owned it looked very old indeed. He had a long beard, a bespectacled face and a dusty old pinstriped suit.

Suddenly the old shopkeeper asked, “Are you by any chance interested in a grandfather clock and a cuckoo clock?”

They were in the far corner of the shop, almost hidden from view under a thick layer of cobwebs. Penelope asked if they worked.

“Of course they work. Why wouldn’t they work? I think they would love to be purchased by you.”

The old shopkeeper went over to the clocks and brushed off the cobwebs with a feather duster. Suddenly the clocks woke up as if they had been asleep. The grandfather clock sneezed.

“Yes,” said Penelope. “I have a large Victorian house. It has a wide hallway, and high-heeled shoes make a clippety-clop sound on the black-and-white tiled floor. I think the grandfather clock would be perfect for the hallway, and I think the cuckoo clock would be splendid to have on the wall just next to the china cabinet in my dining room. I am looking for clocks that keep perfect time,” said Penelope. She was thinking out loud.

“As perfect as time itself!” said the old shopkeeper. “Well, guess what? Look no further, my dear. A couple of minor adjustments and they will be working as if brand new.”

Omega was listening to the conversation intently. She was so excited, and she couldn’t wait to get home and tell Milly about the great find. However, Omega thought it was strange to find such perfect clocks in a shop so full of cobwebs. She began to wonder if they did actually work.

Penelope arrived home feeling very cheerful, and when Patrick got home from a busy day at the surgery she told him of the great find. She had wasted no time, and they had been delivered that day. The grandfather clock was stood in the hallway, looking proud as Punch. His name was George Midnight. The cuckoo clock was on the wall in the dining room. Her name was Jasmine Feathersprings and she was feeling over the moon. She had a little smile on her face.

Patrick rushed into the hallway to inspect George, and he was very impressed. Then he went into the dining room, where Jasmine was happily sitting on the wall. He went right up to her to inspect her, and he got a big surprise when the cuckoo clock started shouting.

“Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo!”

The bird flew out in front of him, nearly hitting him in the face.

Mog Og was asleep on the mat, but he was rudely awoken. He wasn’t so impressed by the noise - or the idea of a bird being in the house, rudely shouting and yelling. Mog Og didn’t share the family’s enthusiasm. He thought to himself that he would somehow get the cuckoo to stop squawking. But for the present he decided to pretend to be pleasant, friendly and courteous.