The Flying Bedroom and the Pirates

On Saturday the weather was wild. Rain ran along the gutters in little rivers. Waves crashed up against the sea wall, soaking people walking their dogs along the promenade.

‘What a day!’ said Elinor’s mother.

‘I wouldn’t like to be at sea in this,’ said Elinor’s father.

It was still raining when Elinor went to bed. For a long time she lay awake, listening to the rain patter on the windows and the wind trying to get in under the eaves. But eventually, she fell asleep. And while Elinor slept, her bedroom flew.

Up and down and round and round went Elinor’s bedroom. The curtains cracked and snapped like washing on the line. Elinor’s books all slid to one end of the shelf and several crayons rolled off the edge of her bedroom and were lost forever. Then down, down, down went Elinor’s room until – bump! – it landed, throwing Elinor out of bed.

Elinor picked herself up. It was still dark, and the rain was blowing crosswise overhead. Elinor switched on her bedside light, put on her dressing gown and rabbit slippers, and went to the edge of her room. In the moonlight she could see waves crashing on the shore and rushing up the sand. Her bedroom was on Aberdovey beach!

But what was this? A rowing boat was coming through the breakers, with two men pulling at the oars. When they reached the shore the men jumped out and dragged their rowboat up onto the sand. Then they lifted out a wooden chest and carried it up the beach towards Elinor’s bedroom. One of the men had a wooden leg. The other had an eye patch and a huge black beard.

‘Pirates!’ whispered Elinor.

The pirates came straight into Elinor’s bedroom and dumped the chest on the carpet. Then they slapped each other on the back, linked arms and did a little jig.

‘Let’s take a look at the loot!’ said the pirate with the wooden leg.

‘Aye-aye!’ said the pirate with the eye patch.

So the pirate with the wooden leg brought across the lamp from Elinor’s bedside table, and held it above the trunk. The pirate with the eye patch took a gold key from his pocket. But just as he was just about to put it in the lock the pirate with the wooden leg said, ‘Not so fast!’ and jerked his thumb at Elinor. ‘What about her?’

The pirates looked at Elinor.

‘She’s only small,’ said the pirate with the wooden leg. ‘And there’s only one of her. We could always…’ He drew a finger across his throat.

‘So we could,’ said the pirate with the eye patch.

‘Or,’ said the pirate with the wooden leg, ‘we could make her promise not to tell.’

‘We could indeed.’

So the pirate with the wooden leg turned to Elinor and said, ‘Do you promise not to tell anyone?’

‘Tell anyone what?’ said Elinor.

‘About the loot!’

‘What loot?’ said Elinor. ‘I haven’t seen any loot.’

The pirates looked at one another. ‘She’s right,’ said the pirate with the eye patch. ‘She hasn’t seen it yet, has she?’

‘No,’ said the pirate with the wooden leg. ‘She hasn’t. And if she knows what’s good for her, she never will.’

So the pirate with the eye patch went up close to Elinor. His one eye glittered. ‘Two little words,’ he said. ‘DON’T LOOK!’

‘I’m not looking,’ said Elinor.

‘You want to, though, don’t you?’

‘No.’

‘What – not even a tiny bit?’

‘Nope,’ said Elinor, and she turned away to rearrange the books upon her shelf.

The pirates looked at one another in surprise.

‘Fine,’ said the pirate with the wooden leg. ‘Don’t look, then.’

‘Don’t worry. I won’t!’

‘Good!’

The pirate with the patch put the gold key in the lock and waggled it.

Nothing happened.

‘Let me have a go,’ said the pirate with the wooden leg.

But he couldn’t do it either. Eventually they turned to Elinor. ‘Excuse me,’ they said. ‘Would you mind…?’

So Elinor took the key and twisted it the other way. At once the lid flew back revealing golden coins – hundreds of them.

‘We’re rich! Rich!’ cried the pirates. They linked arms and did a little jig. Then the pirate with the wooden leg took out one gold coin and turned it this way and that under the lamp.

Outside the wind roared and rattled at the windows as though it was trying to get in.

‘I bet you’d love to get your hands on these, wouldn’t you?’ said the pirate to Elinor.

‘Not really,’ said Elinor.

‘What – not even one?’

‘No.’

‘Don’t be like that,’ said the pirate with the eye patch. ‘Have this one. Go on.’

‘No thanks. I’m not—’

‘TAKE IT!’ roared the pirate.

‘All right! All right!’ said Elinor. ‘Keep your hair on.’ She took the coin and dropped it into the pocket of her dressing gown.

‘Now, then,’ said the pirate with the wooden leg. ‘We’ll share the rest of it between us. Half for me and half for you.’

‘Or,’ said the pirate with the eye patch. ‘Half for me and half for you.’

‘Exactly.’

The pirates rolled up their sleeves and plunged their arms into the chest – but their heads met in the middle with a hollow ‘clack’ and they both sat down abruptly.

Elinor laughed.

The pirates roared and struggled to their feet again. The pirate with the eye patch slapped the other pirate’s face. The pirate with the wooden leg yanked on the other pirate’s beard.

‘Cut it out!’ said Elinor.

The pirate with the wooden leg kicked the pirate with the eye patch. The pirate with the eye patch grabbed the other pirate’s wooden leg and made him hop in circles.

‘Stop it!’ said Elinor.

The pirates blundered round Elinor’s bedroom, crashing into the furniture and knocking things off the shelves. And all the while the storm raged on outside.

‘You’re going to break something!’ yelled Elinor.

The pirates ignored her. The pirate with the wooden leg snatched the other pirate’s eye patch and let go suddenly. The pirate with the eye patch thumped the other pirate with his plastic sword. Outside the wind howled.

‘Right,’ said Elinor. ‘That’s it!’

While the pirates carried on fighting, Elinor slammed the lid of the treasure chest, took hold of one of the handles and heaved it out onto the sand.

The weather was wild! But Elinor dragged the chest right down to the edge of the sea. Then she pushed it into the water.

With the first wave, the chest was afloat. The next wave drew it further out. Elinor watched until the treasure chest was just a small dark square bobbing on the waves. Then she marched back to her bedroom, put her fingers in her mouth and whistled.

The pirates stared at her. Then they stared at the place where their treasure chest had been.

‘Where’s our loot?’ they roared.

Elinor pointed at the sea.

With a cry of dismay the pirates ran down the beach, pushed their boat back into the waves, jumped in and began pulling at the oars.

‘Bye!’ said Elinor.

Soon the boat was just a small dark shape upon the sea – then it was gone. And the storm had retreated, too. The wind had fallen, the rain had stopped, and the night sky was full of stars. Elinor gave a sigh of relief. ‘At last,’ she said. ‘Peace and quiet.’ She took the coin out of her pocket, peeled back the gold foil and popped the chocolate disc into her mouth. Then she took off her dressing gown and rabbit slippers, and climbed back into bed. And eventually, lulled by the rush and sigh of the sea, Elinor slept.

When Elinor woke up, it was morning. The storm had passed. The sun was shining, the seagulls were soaring high over Aberdovey, mewing like cats – and the sea was twinkling more than diamonds.