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it!’ said Ginger.
    Maria turned away her head and surveyed the distant landscape, drowsily. ‘I wonder if he knows ,’ said William awefully, ‘or if he thinks he’s still a
man.’
    ‘He must know,’ said Ginger. ‘He’s got eyes. He c’n see his legs ’n tail an’ things.’

    ‘ WELL! ’ SAID JOAN. ‘ NOW WE’VE DONE IT!’ SAID GINGER.
    ‘An’ he was reading his book when we first came along,’ said Douglas.
    ‘P’raps,’ suggested Henry, ‘he’s forgotten all about bein’ a man an’ only feels like a donkey now.’
    ‘Well, he won’t try stickin’ pins into me again, anyway ,’ said Ginger.

    HERE WAS THE INCREDIBLE BEFORE THEM – MR SIMPKINS TURNED INTO A DONKEY BY ONE OF HIS OWN SPELLS!
    But a new aspect of the affair had come to William.
    ‘This is Farmer Jenks’ field,’ he said, ‘he’ll be mad findin’ a donkey in it. He won’t know it’s reely Mr Simpkins.’
    ‘Well, it won’t matter,’ said Ginger.
    ‘Yes, I bet it will,’ said William. ‘P’raps it can talk still – the donkey, I mean – p’raps it’ll tell people about us an’ get us into
trouble. I specks there’s a law against turnin’ people into things like what there is against murder – an’ he’s got a nasty look in his eyes. Look at him now. I bet he
c’n still talk an’ he’ll go tellin’ people an’ we’ll be put in prison or hanged or somethin’.’
    ‘It’s your fault,’ said Ginger, ‘why did you say a big thing like a donkey? If you’d said a little thing like a frog or somethin’ we could’ve put
him in a bottle, same as he did other folks, but what can you do with a big thing like a donkey?
    ‘Well, I never thought he’d really turn into one,’ said William with spirit.
    ‘Well, he has done,’ said Ginger, ‘an’ we’ve gotter do something about it ’fore anyone comes along and he starts tellin’ them about
us.’
    At this point Maria uttered a loud, ‘Hee-haw!’
    ‘There, you see,’ said Henry relieved, ‘he can only talk donkey talk.’
    ‘I don’ believe it,’ said William doggedly. ‘He’s jus’ pretendin’. He was readin’ his book when we came along an’ I bet he can talk. He only
wants to wait till someone comes along an’ then get us into trouble . . . Look at him now eatin’ grass . . . Well,’ virtuously, ‘he’s got no right eatin’
that grass. It’s Farmer Jenks’ grass . . . an’ what’re we goin’ to do when they find out that the man’s disappeared an’ there’s only a donkey left
an’ – they’ll blame us . . . they always blame us for everything.’
    ‘Let’s turn him back now,’ said Joan, ‘we’ve prob’ly taught him a lesson. Now he knows what it feels like to be turned into something perhaps he’ll stop
turning other people into things.’
    ‘And running pins into ’em,’ said Ginger feelingly.
    ‘Well, we’d better get him to his house, anyway,’ said William, ‘then he can turn himself back with his own things.’
    Maria had arisen from the bank and was now munching grass a few yards away. Somewhat cautiously they approached her. William addressed her sternly.
    ‘Now,’ he said, ‘we know that you’re a magician an’ that you turned people into frogs an’ bones an’ run pins into people so we turned you into a donkey,
but we’re goin’ to let you turn yourself back if you promise never to be a magician any more. Will you promise never to be a magician any more?’
    Maria opened her mouth to its fullest extent and emitted a ‘hee-haw’ that took William’s breath away.
    The Outlaws withdrew and held a hasty conclave.
    ‘I think he meant to promise, William,’ said Joan.
    ‘Well, I don’t,’ said William, ‘I don’t. I think he meant he wun’t promise.’
    ‘Well, let’s get him home, anyway,’ said Douglas. ‘Someone’ll only be comin’ along and findin’ out all about it if we leave him here.’
    Again William approached Maria and fixed her with a stern