The flyaway money
Willy sat indoors reading. It was a lovely day and the sun shone brightly out-of-doors. But Willy didn’t go out.
The other children came by and called to him. “Come on, lazy. Come along out into the sun. It’s lovely. You are an old stick-in-doors, you never come out with us for a walk.”
“I don’t like walking,” said Willy.
“if you walked a bit more you wouldn’t be so fat, and you’d get rosy cheek like us,” called Hannah. “Do come.”
‘I don’t want to,” said Willy. “I might go down to the village to spend some money my uncle has sent me look!”
He showed the banknote to the children. It was a lot of money.
“That’s the only thing you go out for, except school!” shouted John. “To spend money! All you know about are the shops and the buses_ you don’t know anything about the golden buttercups in the fields, or the way the river shines, and I don’t believe you’ve ever seen a baby rabbit!”
Willy frowned. He didn’t like being teased. He was not a very healthy boy, as the others were, for he hardly ever went out into the woods and fields, he didn’t like playing games, but just sat about lazily. He was fat and pale, and nobody really liked him very much.
“He reminds me of a slug or something,” said Molly. “Poor Willy Slug- what a lot he misses!”
He did. He didn’t see the first primroses in the wood. He didn’t hear the merry song of the chaffinch in the hedges. He didn’t hear the first cuckoo calling, and he didn’t even find blackberries or nuts in the autumn.
The other children went on. Willy sat reading his book. His money lay on a table beside him. Suddenly the wind came in and blew it away! It blew banknote right up into the air, and over the garden hedge!
“My money!” cried Willy, and jumped up. Out he went and chased his money. But the wind was in a playful mood that morning, and took away his money just as if it were playing a game.
Down the lane it blew it and into a field. Across the field it puffed it and over the stile. Into the woods flew the money, and Willy chased after it.
He couldn’t see his money when he got into the woods. They were very quiet and still. A bird was singing a little song to itself somewhere. Willy couldn’t help listening.
“That’s a nice little tune,” he thought, and sat down to listen. He kept very quiet. Two rabbits suddenly popped out from behind a tree and began to play together.
“Oh!” thought Willy, in delight.” Look at that! Aren’t they sweet?”
One rabbit suddenly sat up its hind legs and began to wash itself. “why, it really washes its face properly!” said Willy to himself in surprise. “it rubs its nose with its paws as if it had a sponge or flannel- and now it’s bending its ears down to wash those.”
The rabbits suddenly saw Willy, and they ran to their holes and disappeared. The bird stopped singing. Willy got up and went on through the wood, looking for his money.
He walked through the little wood and out at the other side. In front of him was a great sheet of shining gold. “What can it be!” Willy said in amazement. “Goodness me, it’s thousands and thousands of buttercups!”
So it was. It was a good buttercup year, and the golden flowers waved in their thousands. They were beautiful. Each cup shone as if someone had polished it.
Willy picked some and looked at them, “they are like gold inside,” he said, “I’ll take some home to mum. And some of this pink clover too-how pretty it is!”
The sun shone down and warmed him. The sky was as blue as the speedwells that winked blue eyes at him on the banks of the field. A big hare suddenly got up from the middle of the field and raced away as swift as lightning.
“this is a most exciting walk,’ said Willy to himself. “why , there is the river!”
so it was, a blue shining river that was full of sparkles and ripples. “I’ll walk along it and watch it,” said Willy. “oh – there goes a moorhen—and look at that family of ducks! Ine drake, one duck, and seven little yellow ducklings! How funny they are, all sailing along in a row.”
He watched the ducks urn themselves upside down in the water to look for grubs in the mud below. He wished he could do that too, if he learned to swim, perhaps he could.
Suddenly he heard someone shouting, “ hi, Willy, Willy! You said you didn’t want to come out! You ‘ve walked a long way! How ever did you manage it?”
The other children were lying in the grass among the buttercups. They waved to Willy. He went over to them.
“I say – look at old Willy! Doesn’t he look different!” said Hannah. “He’s got red cheeks for once!”
“Well, he’s walked a long way,” said John, “ Whatever made you do that, Willy?”
“The wind blew my money away and I came after it,” said Willy. “ I saw a lot of things—I saw a rabbit washing itself- and I heard a bird sing such a funny little song to itself—and I saw a family of ducks – and I say, aren’t the buttercups lovely!”
the other children looked at him. This was a new Willy, a Willy who had his eyes and ears open, and could see and hear the loved things around.
“we’re going for a picnic into the hills tomorrow,” said John. “Would you like to come? It’s a long way- but you can see the sea from the hills.”
“Yes, I’ll come,’ said Willy. “I expect I’ll be a bit slow, because I’m to fat, and my legs aren’t strong and used to walking like yours. But I’d like to come.”
He went home with the others. He gave his mother the buttercups and clover and she was so pleased. He hadn’t found his money, but somehow Willy didn’t seem to mind.
“I found a lot of other things instead,” he said. “Things that are much nicer than money, mum. I’m glad the wind blew away my money because I had such a lovely time. My legs are tired, but I don’t mind.”
“Better to have tired legs than lazy ones! Said his mother.” What fun you are going to have now, Willy!”
He is, isn’t he? Soon he will lose his fat and his pale cheeks and his lazy ways, and he will be able to go for long walks, and play games, and enjoy all the lovely things in the countryside. What a good thing the wind blew away his money that morning.
