First published in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape 1945
First published in this abridged edition By Lions 1975
Lions is an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books 2015
This edition published by HarperCollins Children’s Books 2016
HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,
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Copyright (abridged edition) © Beverley Nichols 1975
Cover illustration © Nicola Kinner 2016
Cover design © HarperCollins Publishers, Ltd 2016
Beverley Nichols and Isobel and John Morton Sale assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrators of the work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
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Source ISBN: 9780006709930
Ebook Edition © 2016 ISBN: 9780008199531
Version: 2016-04-21
For the PRRP
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Contents
Chapter One – Judy Meets a Stranger
Chapter Two – The Strangest Shop in the World
Chapter Three – Plots and Plans
Chapter Four – The Struggle Begins
Chapter Six – More About Bruno
Chapter Seven – Bruno Recaptured
Chapter Eight – A Peacock Spreads his Tail
Chapter Nine – Queer Customers
Chapter Ten – The Wickedness of Miss Smith
Chapter Twelve – A Tortoise to the Rescue
Chapter Thirteen – The Book of Magic
Chapter Fourteen – Judy in Danger
Chapter Fifteen – Appeal to the Law
Chapter Sixteen – The Night Before the Trial
Chapter Seventeen – Justice is Done
Chapter Eighteen – The Storm – and After
Chapter Nineteen – Happy Ending
JUDY WAS OUT in the wood, collecting Sleepo.
In case you do not know about Sleepo, I will explain. It was one of the things which Judy’s grandmother sold in The Shop Under the Willow Tree. It was really her own invention, though other people in the wood had tried to copy it. But nobody’s Sleepo was as good as Mrs Judy’s; it did not send you to sleep nearly so quickly, and sometimes it gave you bad dreams. Mrs Judy’s Sleepo never gave you bad dreams … in fact, she had an extra special variety, which cost a penny an ounce more, which gave you the most beautiful dreams. She put a dream in each of these special boxes, which were tied up with green ribbon. Sometimes, if she thought you looked sad, she would pop in an extra dream for luck. The ordinary boxes, which had not got a dream in them, were only tied up with string. But even so, they were very good value for money.
Now I will explain how to get Sleepo, because you might like to try to collect some yourself.
*
Whenever a cat or a dog or a dormouse or any other animal is sleeping, the air it breathes out through its mouth or its nose has got a little Sleepo in it. You cannot see it, any more than you can see the air itself, but it is there.
Now if the animal just goes on sleeping, the Sleepo drifts away, like smoke, and goes up to the ceiling or flies out of the window. But if you take a glass jar, and hold it near its nose, a lot of Sleepo goes into the jar and settles down.