Magic Quilt - part 5

The Magic Quilt

PART 5

	Sam and Lee were clutching at the edges of their magic flying quilt as it hovered a short distance from the enormous open space between the four legs of the Eiffel Tower. One of the many multi-coloured patches that formed the quilt appeared to be "jiggling" strangely just in front of them. Sam and Lee strained to read it.

	Sam	Oh no! We were just starting to have fun.
	Lee	Yes, but if we don't get back soon, then we'll be in real trouble.
	Sam	Yes, we'll get grounded.
	Lee	That's a good joke.
	Sam	What is?
	Lee	Getting "grounded". If we're not allowed to use our flying quilt - then we really will be grounded.
	Sam	Oh, yes. I see what you mean.
	Lee	Where shall we go then?
	Sam	It's not very exciting - but there is one place I really must go.
	Lee	Where's that?
	Sam	I'm desperate to go to the toilet! All that flying means I must go soon or I'll burst.
	Lee	Me too!
	Sam	We had better think of a rhyme then.
	Lee	I don't think anything rhymes with toilet.
	Once again, Sam and Lee huddled together in the centre of their magic quilt as they tried to make up a rhyme that would tell it where they wanted to go. They did not realise that beneath them a small crowd was gathering. Fingers pointed upwards - not at the soaring mass of the incredible Tower - but at another incredible sight. Them! Not one of the people gathered below them had seen a flying quilt before, and they were jostling each other and trying to take pictures. Already, several gendarmes - the French police - had arrived, and were wondering what to do about this strange phenomenon. Meanwhile, Sam and Lee were quite unaware of the fuss they were causing.
	Sam	We've finished our rhyme. That should do the job.
	Lee	O.K. Let's tell the quilt.
	Sam	The flag of France is red, white and blue, So take us quickly to the loo.
	As quick as a flash, the quilt darted off - leaving Sam and Lee sprawling on their backs and clinging at the quilt's edges. The crowd that had gathered in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower gasped loudly as the quilt headed off across the River Seine, which wound its way through the city of Paris like a snake. Sam and Lee glanced over the edge as they flew over an enormous roundabout. Lee counted twelve roads spreading out from the centre, all of them teeming with traffic; none of the drivers wanting to give way. The quilt veered sharply to the right and flew down the centre of a big, wide avenue. Very soon, the quilt turned off to the left and floated gently down towards a large open courtyard.
	Lee	Wow! That's a bit posh for a toilet!
	Sam	It looks more like one of those Egyptian things.
	Lee	You mean a pyramid.
	Sam	That's right - except this one's made of glass!
	Click picture to see view in new window
	Lee	Quick! Let's roll up the quilt so we can take it with us. Then we can look for the way in.
	Sam	There! Where those people are - that looks like a doorway!
	Lee	But that man looks like a guard!
	Sam	Don't worry. There's a bunch of school-kids lining up to go in. Join on the end of the queue, then the guard will think we're with them.
	Lee	Well, that wasn't too difficult. Now we're in - where next?
	Sam	Only one way we can go. Down these wide steps.
	Lee	It's like a great big underground hallway.
	Sam	That looks like the toilets over there. Those doors have got the signs on.
	Lee	Thank goodness for that!
	A few minutes later, Sam and Lee once again stood in the enormous underground chamber - the rolled-up quilt tucked under Sam's arm. As they looked around, they realised that the place they were in was more than just a toilet. Much more than a toilet!
	Sam	Look at that sign. We are in The Louvre.
	Lee	This place was in my book. Isn't it a museum - or an art gallery - or something like that.
	Sam	Yes, I remember. But why would the quilt bring us here. There must have been some toilets closer than this.
	Lee	Don't you understand. It brought us here because it thought we asked to come here.
	Sam	But we asked to go to the loo!
	Lee	And it brought us to The Louvre!
	Sam	We'll have to speak more clearly in future or who knows where we will end up.
	Lee	Well, now we're here, we might as well look around.
	Sam	We had better be quick, though.
	Lee	I'm not sure that you can be quick in The Louvre. My book said that there were miles of corridors and galleries.
	Sam	I've got a better idea. Why don't we just get some postcards from that stand over there. Then we can look at them when we get home.
	Lee	That is a good idea. We can pick out the ones we like, then we could come and see them another time.
	Sam	I think we'll have to hurry up. I can feel the quilt vibrating
	Sam and Lee quickly chose a handful of postcards each. They did not have a lot of time to look at what they were getting, as the quilt was almost jumping out of Sam's grasp. They hurried across to the desk to see if they needed to pay anything but the assistant just waved them both away, muttering something in French that they could not understand.
	Lee	They must think we are French school-kids on a visit.
	Sam	Never mind that. The quilt is wiggling like crazy!
	Lee	Come on, then! Let's get out of here as quickly as we can, otherwise the quilt will be taking off without us.
	Sam	Up the steps - then it's up, up and away!
	As quickly as they could, Sam and Lee chased up the steps and out into the courtyard. Sam flung the quilt on the ground and the two of them jumped aboard, not a moment too soon. The quilt took off instantly! Sam and Lee looked down on the glistening pyramids below them as the quilt climbed rapidly. The largest pyramid seemed to glow pink as the Sun's evening rays reflected from it. Sam and Lee said nothing as the quilt whisked them homeward. They had not seen much of Paris - but they both knew that they would come back again, perhaps when they were older, to discover more about this incredible city.
	Click here to see the postcards that Sam and Lee chose.
		What will happen next? Click here for PART SIX of the story
		Click here for main MAGIC QUILT page