‘Bunchy!’ cries Marigold. ‘How could you? I told you not to touch – ’

‘Put the wand down, Bunchy,’ Monty breaks in, trying to sound calm.

‘I won’t!’ Bunchy says defiantly, turning even redder. ‘Poor little Ickle only hatched this morning. He needs me.’

‘But that’s – that’s –’ Ranger Katz stumbles forward, goggling at the baby. Her hands are shaking so much that she can hardly hold the torch.

‘Ickle!’ the baby whimpers. He’s finished all his spoons and is looking round for more. He toddles to the table and grabs Marigold’s fork from her plate. He bites the fork in half, then spits the halves back onto the plate. ‘Ickle, ickle, ickle!’ he wails.

‘Never mind, little one,’ Bunchy coos, rushing to the table. ‘Bunchy will change that nasty old fork for you.’ She raises the wand. Monty, Tawny and Sir Wise hurriedly scramble off their chairs and stand well back. Clink just laughs nastily. He doesn’t know what the wand can do. He saw it for himself, last time. But the shock wiped his memory clean.

‘Bunchy, no!’ Marigold shouts.

‘Stop fussing!’ Bunchy shouts back. ‘I know what I’m doing!’ She points the wand at the fork halves.

‘Listen, you people – ’ Ranger Katz squeaks, but no one pays any attention to her.

‘Paper, scissors, rock andmould,’ Bunchy chants. ‘So my magic maketh gold. . .HEY PRESTO!’

Instantly, the fork halves turn to gold. So does the plate they’re lying on. Even the crumbs of sweet-potato cake sticking to the plate have become tiny golden pebbles.

‘Gold!’ bawls Clink. ‘Thunderin’ crab claws! She done it!’

Ickle grabs the fork halves and gobbles them up. CRUNCH, CRACK, CRUNCH!

‘Incredible!’ whispers Ranger Katz. Her eyes bulge as she watches Ickle starting on the golden plate.

‘There, you see?’ cries Bunchy, flourishing the wand. ‘I’m perfectly in control – ’

The tip of the wand dips and hits the book lying open on the table. The next moment, Strange Beasts is a solid lump of gold.

‘Puh!’ says Tawny.

‘H-how did that happen?’ Bunchy stammers, going red all over again. ‘I didn’t say the spell!’

‘You don’t need a spell!’ Monty shouts. ‘I’ve told you before, Bunchy – the wand follows your thoughts! Put gold out of your mind! Make yourself think about the book as it was before, so you can change it back. We can’t read it like – oh, no!’

‘Ickle, ickle, ICKLE!’ The baby’s bouncing round the table, licking his lips. Before anyone can move he’s bitten the book into four pieces and swallowed the pieces whole.

There’s a stunned silence.

‘Well,’ says Marigold at last. ‘That’s the end of that!’