Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX BROWNIE MOUNTAIN The chair suddenly began to drop downwards. Binky peered to see where they were going. 'We've passed the Town of Bad Dreams. We're dropping down to the Village of Gobbo. Yes- that's right. Dear me, I wonder why? Gobbo is the head of all the brownies, and bad ones are sent to him to be punished.' A loud wail rose in the air. 'Oh my, oh my! Chair, go to the Brownie Mountain, I tell you!' But the chair took no notice. It flew right down to the ground, and immediately two stern-looking brownies came up, both with long beards and shaggy eyebrows. 'Who has been brought to be punished?' said

one. 'Which one of you is a bad brownie?' 'Not one of us,' said Peter, puzzled. 'Mollie and I are children- and Binky here is a pixie.' 'Well, go away again, then,' said one of the brownies.

'Landing is not allowed here unless naughty brownies are to be taken before our chief, Gobbo.' 'Right. Chair, fly away again,' said Peter. Up flew the chair- but one of the brownies suddenly gave a loud cry and caught hold of the right-hand wing. The chair almost tipped over, and Binky fell right off the back. He landed with a bump on the ground.

'What did you do that for?' he shouted to the brownie. Then he stared in surprise. The two brownies pulled the children off the chair, which was now back again on the ground- and then they turned the chair upside-down! It creaked angrily. 'Don't do that!' said Peter, astonished. Then he stared, even more astonished! Underneath the chair, clinging desperately to it, was the naughty little brownie who had peeped and pried outside the playroom! 'Look at that!' cried Mollie. 'It's Nose- About, the tiresome brownie! He must have slipped into the playroom and clung to the underneath of the chair so that we couldn't see him. And he flew off with us, and tried to make the chair go where he wanted.'

'And when we found the rainbow gold he wanted to go off to Brownie Mountain with it. That's where he lives, I expect,' said Peter. 'It was his voice we kept hearing! He was underneath the seat of the chair all the time.' 'No wonder the chair took us to the Village of Gobbo, then,' said Binky. 'It knew he was under it and wanted him to be punished. Brownies, take him away. He's a nuisance.'

'No, no! Mercy, mercy!' wept the little brownie. 'Forgive me! I just wanted a ride, that's all. And when I saw the gold I thought I'd make the chair go to my home with it- then I'd be rich all my life.' 'You're very bad and you want punishing,' said Peter. 'I'm not at all sorry for you.' 'One punishment every day for a month,' said one of the brownies, solemnly, clutching