Near the little village of Muddling, at the very end of Lumpy Lane, was a very strange house. Sometimes there were spots on its roof and sometimes there were stripes. Some days the walls were green and some days they changed to blue. Sometimes the house disappeared altogether! For this was Wizard Sneezerâs house and it was a magical place to live.
One morning, up in the bathroom, Wizard Sneezerâs great nephew, Freddy Frogpurse, was having fun. He filled the bath right to the very top with hot water, stepped into the bath and lay down. The water sploshed over the floor and made a big puddle.
Freddy picked up his wand and twirled it round and round.
he cried. The water in the bath began to shudder and then roll. Round and round went the water and with every sweep of Freddyâs wand it rose, higher and higher. Soon, a huge column of water was swirling its way up to the ceiling, splashing the whole bathroom.
There was a flurry of wings as Odds-and-Ends, Uncle Sneezerâs house dragon, flew into the room.
âOh dear! Oh dear!â the dragon puffed, when he saw the water on the floor. âSoggy floorboards again! Now Iâll have to use my hot breath to get them dry.â
âDonât be such a fusspot, Odds!â Freddy joked. The young wizard was now launching his wand down the bath like a torpedo, trying to catch it with his toes.
âWhat would your Great Uncle Sneezer say?â asked Odds-and-Ends.
âGreat Uncle Sneezer is going to be on his World Wide Wizard Walk for ages,â said Freddy. âIâm looking after the house now.â
There was a loud thump from downstairs.
âThe postman!â said Odds-and-Ends. âIâll fly down.â
âBut donât breathe through the letterbox,â joked Freddy.
âThe postman doesnât want his hands burnt again!â
âAha,â Freddy said quietly to himself. âNow Odds is out of the way, I can make waves again.â
He fished up his wand and twirled it round and round again.
When Odds-and-Ends returned, he had to hover frantically over the bath to get Freddyâs attention. Freddy reluctantly lowered his wand and the bath water stopped swirling and bubbling.
âOh dear!â Odds-and-Ends moaned. âSodden floorboards, wet wallpaper and now this!â In his claws, the dragon held out a rather soggy red envelope.
âIt looks official,â he added.
âBother!â said Freddy, looking at the envelope closely. In his head he made a list of what the letter inside might say:
A big bill for all the cakes he had bought in Mrs Muncherâs shop â YUM YUM!
A card from his mum and dad asking if he had cleaned his ears and changed his socks â BORING!
A letter from Farmer Tusk complaining that Freddy had turned his sheep into mushrooms â OOPS!
âWhatever it is, Iâll read it later,â Freddy said, as he jumped out of the bath.
He muttered a few magic words and the towel flew across the room and rubbed him dry. His wizardâs gown floated up from the floor and slipped over his shoulders. His hat jumped down from its peg and landed on his head.
Freddy loved spells. He really did want to be a world famous wizard like his Great Uncle Sneezer, but that meant lots of hard work: learning how to mix potions; how to recognise plants and animals; how to use a magic wand properly â and how not to turn sheep into mushrooms by mistake.
No, Freddy liked his own spells, especially the ones that went
And he was so busy doing these that he hadnât even had time to look at the Wizardsâ Handbooks that Great Uncle Sneezer had asked him to study while he was away.
Freddy called his toothbrush and it flew across the room, picking up a dollop of toothpaste on its way. Odds-and-Ends ducked just in time as the toothbrush spun into the wall with a smack.
âOh dear, Master Freddy,â steamed Odds-and-Ends, his tail flicking from side to side. âYour Great Uncle Sneezer always opened his post as soon as it arrived.â
But Freddy was far too busy trying to make the toothbrush come back towards his mouth. It floated in the air just in front of his face. A quick flick and it left a blob of toothpaste on the end of his nose.
âIt looks like a very important letter,â insisted Odds-and-Ends, tapping Freddy rather sharply on the shoulder. âLook at the logo on the envelope.â
Freddy wiped the toothpaste off his nose and took the envelope from the dragon.
âChief Inspector of Wizards,â Freddy read. âWhat does that mean?â
âWhy donât you open it and find out?â said Odds-and-Ends.
Freddy took the envelope and tore it open. Inside, the letter said:
The letter sent a shiver down Freddyâs spine. In fact, the shiver went right down to his toes and back up to his ears.
âWhat am I going to do?â he gasped. âI havenât even opened one volume of the Wizardsâ Handbook yet. Iâm not ready for a spelling test!â
âAnd if you fail, then theyâre sure to send you back home,â breathed Odds-and-Ends, trying to get Freddy warm again. âItâs Thursday tomorrow. Which means you only have today to learn your spells⦠and get the house ready!â