The Ring O'Bells Mystery by Enid Blyton

Author:Enid Blyton [Blyton, Enid]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781860221361
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 1951-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Ring O’ Bells Cottage

They opened the little white gate and walked up a tiny flagged path to the front door. It was painted blue, as were the shutters outside the windows. Diana knocked.

‘Come in!’ said a voice, and Diana opened the door. Inside was a small room, perfectly square, with a big fireplace at one end. The uneven floor was of stone. Old Riding Hood was standing over the fire, stirring something in a pot.

But she wasn’t wearing her old red cloak and hood, so she didn’t look like Red Riding Hood any more. The cloak hung on a nail nearby.

Naomi Barlow looked out of her green-grey eyes at the children. They were disappointed to see that her eyes didn’t seem nearly so green as they had imagined. Still, she looked a bit of a fairy-tale person still, with her white apron, red shawl, and snow-white hair.

‘Well! If it isn’t Miss Hannah’s visitors!’ she said. ‘Sit you down, and I’ll get you some home-made biscuits. I’m sorry I’ve no milk to offer you, for you must be rarely thirsty this hot day. Would you like some ice-cold water out of my well?’

This sounded good. ‘Yes, please,’ said Roger at once. ‘Can I go and get some? Is there a bucket on a chain, and a handle that winds?’

‘Yes,’ said Naomi, Then she suddenly caught sight of Miranda on Barney’s shoulder. 'Why, the little mite!’ she said, and left her pot and came over to Barney. ‘I once had a monkey of my own. It was left for dead by a circus that once came to Ring O’ Bells. I took it and nursed it and it lived with me many a year.’

She fussed over Miranda, which made Loony and Loopy jealous. She seemed quite at home with children, dogs and monkey. They all liked her.

Roger went out with Barney to get the water. They took a large white jug that Naomi had given them.

‘What an enormous well for such a small place,’ said Roger, in surprise. ‘I bet it’s deep.’

It was. It was so very deep that neither of the boys could see the water. Roger took a stone and dropped it down. It was quite a time before he heard the splash. He peered down.

‘It’s a nice well,’ he said. ‘It’s got ferns and things growing all the way down the sides. I bet the water’s cold!’

He and Barney wound the bucket down till it reached the water. Then they wound it up again, the chain making quite a noise. They took the bucket off and emptied the water into the big jug. ‘Feel it,’ said Barney. ‘Absolutely icy-cold!’

They all enjoyed drinking the crystal-clear cold water, and eating Naomi’s home-made biscuits. They tasted of cinnamon, and were very spicy indeed. She put some into a bag for them.

The children asked to see round the cottage. ‘There’s not much to see,’ said old Naomi. ‘Just three tiny rooms! This is my parlour-kitchen, where I cook and sit. And this is my bedroom.

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