Read The Adventures of Nanny Piggins for Free Online Page B

painted in exactly the same shade of yellow as cat-sick. This did not deter Nanny Piggins and the children. The car looked impressive and exotic now that they had control over it. The paintwork shone brighter, the upholstery smelled stronger and the whole thing looked bigger.
    'Let's sit in it to see how it feels,' suggested Nanny Piggins.
    'But you're only meant to drive it in extreme emergencies,' Samantha reminded her.
    'We're only sitting in it. What harm can that do?' reasoned Nanny Piggins. Samantha could not argue with that. What harm could it do? Besides, she wanted to sit in the back seat and pretend she was the Queen waving to the crowds of loyal subjects. So all four of them happily climbed in.
    Samantha pretended she was the Queen, Michael pretended he was a fire-engine driver, Derrick pretended he was a detective staking out a criminal's lair and Nanny Piggins pretended she was the nanny of a very silly man who gave her the key to a luxury car. It was a lot of fun. Having a car was even more fun than cockroach races.
    'Why don't you turn the radio on?' suggested Derrick.
    'How do I do that?' asked Nanny Piggins.
    'Just put the key in the ignition and turn it one notch,' Derrick explained.
    Nanny Piggins did as he suggested and, suddenly, the car was filled with noise. The loud, boring noise of two men talking about politics.
    'Yuck, change the channel,' said Michael.
    Derrick reached over and pressed a few buttons. Suddenly they were listening to music.
    'You mean we can choose what we listen to?' said Nanny Piggins in amazement.
    'Oh yes, there are dozens of stations to choose from,' Derrick explained.
    'I assumed your father's radio was permanently set to the most boring station in the world. I didn't realise he could choose to change it,' said Nanny Piggins.
    'Oh yes,' said Derrick. 'You just press the buttons up or down until you find a station you like.'
    Nanny Piggins was astounded. 'Just think of all the times we've been in the car with him and we've either had to listen to him talk, or the radio talk. When we could have been listening to music instead. I would have done something about it had I known.'
    The children could see that Nanny Piggins had a point. The car was so much more exciting now that their father was not in it.
    'What does this button do?' asked Nanny Piggins, reaching towards a small black box sitting in the central tray.
    'That opens the garage door,' explained Sam antha.
    'Really,' said Nanny Piggins as she reached over and pressed the button.
    'What are you doing?' asked Samantha, immediately suspicious.
    'I thought we might take the car out for a little drive,' said Nanny Piggins.
    'But you're only meant to drive it in an emergency,' said Samantha.
    Now you must understand, Samantha was not a spoilsport. She loved her nanny. And she enjoyed fun. She just took a while longer to warm up to fun than most children. But once she finally stopped worrying and started to enjoy herself, she could be just as much fun as the next irresponsible youth.
    'Yes, I know. But the problem is, I don't know how to drive. So I had better learn now. Th at way I'll know what I'm doing when an emergency does happen,' explained Nanny Piggins, using a logic that only made full sense to herself.
    'Didn't you learn how to drive at the circus?' asked Michael with surprise. It seemed to him that Nanny Piggins had learned everything else at the circus.
    'No,' said Nanny Piggins absent-mindedly, as she poked buttons, hoping it would make the car go. 'If I wanted to get somewhere I'd just have them fire me out of the cannon in that direction. So how do I make this go?'
    'You turn the key another notch,' said Derrick, not really thinking about the consequences of his suggestion. Because his mind was too busy picturing Nanny Piggins shooting through the air carrying a letter on the way to the post office. Before he knew it, the engine had roared to life. 'Oh my goodness!' he exclaimed.
    'Now we're cooking with gas,' said