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something?’
    â€˜Your powers of understanding astound me,’ the cat answered.
    â€˜Wow!’
    The cat resumed washing its tail.
    â€˜So you really are a witch’s cat!’
    â€˜Depending upon your definition of witch.’
    â€˜So can you tell me a magic spell?’ Ben asked, hopping up and down in excitement.

    â€˜I could. Whether I will is another matter entirely.’
    â€˜Oh, please?’
    The cat examined its claws.
    â€˜I’ve been trying and trying to learn magic, so I can become a wizard and cast spells, but even though I’ve read every book in the library, none has been any use at all.’
    â€˜Humans like to make things so complicated,’ the cat sighed. ‘Magic is really very simple.’
    â€˜Really?’
    â€˜Of course.’
    â€˜So what do I do? Do I need a magic wand? A book of spells?’
    â€˜If it makes you feel better,’ the cat said. ‘Tell me, what do you want so badly that you are willing to meddle with magic?’
    â€˜Dragon’s gold,’ Ben answered. ‘Or pirates’ treasure. Either would do.’
    â€˜Humans are so mercenary,’ the cat sighed. ‘Very well. What shall be my reward for helping you?’
    â€˜I don’t know,’ Ben answered blankly.
    â€˜Pilchards,’ the cat told him. ‘And a bowl of cream. The elderly woman with whom I reside has an unfortunate tendency to forget the luxuries of life. Not to mention the simple necessities, like food and fresh water. She grows more absentminded with every passing year.’
    â€˜Are you talking about the witch?’
    The cat yawned. ‘In a manner of speaking.’

    Ben was puzzled.
    â€˜Pilchards,’ the cat said. ‘And cream. Every night.’
    Ben hesitated, then said, ‘All right,’ thinking he’d worry about how to manage that later.
    â€˜Excellent. Now, you desired a magic wand. Let me think. If you rummage around in that pile of fallen leaves over there, I think you may find a suitable stick . . . I mean, wand.’
    Ben did as he was told and found an old stick, about thirty centimetres long and very knobbly. A few old, dried-up leaves still hung along its length. ‘Do you mean this?’ he asked, holding it up uncertainly.

    â€˜Yes. Excellent.’
    â€˜This is a magic wand?’
    â€˜A perfectly acceptable magic wand. It’s oak, the most ancient and powerful of woods.’
    â€˜Oh. OK.’
    â€˜Rub it all over, saying, “I hereby charge you, wand, with the powers of wind, water, flame and rock”.’ Ben did as he was told. ‘Then, when it’s exactly noon, point your wand up at the sun and say:
    â€œWith these magic words, I begin my spell.
    Hear me, first star, hear me well.
    Send me dragon’s gold, from the days of old.
    The spell has been cast, let the magic last.”’
    Ben repeated the spell over and over until he felt sure he had learnt it by heart. ‘All right!’ he said then, excited. ‘I’ll go and do it now.’
    â€˜Don’t forget the pilchards and cream,’ the cat said, curling its tail around its paws.
    â€˜I won’t,’ Ben promised and ran off to join Tim and his mum. Behind him, the cat yawned and washed its face.

CHAPTER FOUR
    â€˜That’s not really a magic wand,’ James said. ‘It’s just an old stick.’
    He and Ben were sitting under a tree in the park, while Tim and Sarah dug up the dirt nearby. Sarah was James’s little sister, and she had freckles and long red-gold hair, with a very short, crooked fringe which she had chopped herself with her mother’s kitchen scissors. Sarah always wore pink. Today she was dressed as a fairy princess, with a pink tutu, a shiny silver plastic tiara, and high-heeled fluffy pink slippers. She was getting rather grubby in the dirt. Ben’s mum and James’s mum were sitting on a picnic rug nearby, looking at