Near the little village of Muddling, at the very end of Lumpy Lane, was a very strange house. Sometimes there were spots on the roof and sometimes there were stripes. Some days the walls were green and sometimes they changed to blue. For this was a wizardâs house and it was a magical place to live.
A young wizard called Freddy Frogpurse stayed there, but the house really belonged to his Great Uncle Sneezer Frogpurse. He had gone off on a World Wide Wizard Walk so Freddy was looking after the place for him. Freddy was also supposed to be learning about magic so he could become a great wizard, too.
Freddy was in Great Uncle Sneezerâs wizard room. There were shelves stretching right to the ceiling, stacked with books about magic. The cupboards were overflowing with bottles of magic potions.
Freddy stood at a table with his sleeves rolled up and an apron on. The table was covered with bottles and Freddyâs hands were covered in soap. He carefully tipped the contents of a blue bottle into a red bottle. He gave the red bottle a little shake. He added something from a green bottle. He gave it a stir with his magic wand. He held the bottle up and peered at the stuff inside.
âThat looks about right,â he muttered.
Just then, there was a scratching noise at the door.
âMaster Freddy?â said a voice. It was OddsâandâEnds, Great Uncle Sneezerâs house dragon who had been left to keep an eye on Freddy.
âHave you finished yet, Master Freddy?â OddsâandâEnds asked.
âEr⦠just a minute,â said Freddy. He pulled his apron off and threw it over the bottles. He wiped his hands on his tunic, leaving big soapy smears. He quickly opened a big book and propped it up in front of him. It was called the Wizardsâ Handbook (Volume One).
âCome in, Odds!â he said.
OddsâandâEnds pushed open the door and flew down to the table. He glanced round the room.
âHave you really been reading all afternoon?â he asked.
Freddy nodded.
âOh, Master Freddy!â said Oddsâandâ, tapping his foot on the table. âYouâve got the book upside down!â
Freddyâs face went red.
âWellâ¦â he moaned. âItâs a very boring book, Odds.â
OddsâandâEnds shook his head.
âHow do you hope to become a great wizard if you donât work?â
âBut I have been practising magic,â said Freddy eagerly. âLook what Iâve done!â
He whipped the apron from his bottles. He picked up a bit of wire which was bent in a loop and dipped it into the liquid in the red bottle. He put the wire to his mouth and blew on it gently. A big bubble slipped from the wire and floated towards the ceiling.
âBubbles!â said OddsâandâEnds. âWhatâs so magic about that?â
Freddy blew another two. The first one was bright green and the second was blue and pink stripes.
âThese are extra big bubbles,â said Freddy proudly.
OddsâandâEnds chased after the bubbles. âTheyâre quite impressive. Your friends in the village will love you for this. But itâs still not proper magic!â
âDonât be such a fuss pot, Odds!â said Freddy.
He blew another bubble. It was even bigger than the first ones. It floated low over the table and bumped into a jar. It rose upwards, taking the jar with it, trapped inside.
âWow! Look at that!â Freddy squealed with excitement.
He blew yet another bubble. This time, it was enormous. It wobbled across the room like a hippopotamus trying to dance. OddsâandâEnds flew in reverse to get out of the way but he wasnât quick enough. A moment later, he was swallowed up by the bubble. He hammered on the inside with his little paws but it didnât burst.
âHelp! Master Freddy! Get me out of here!â he called.
But Freddy was having a fit of the giggles.
âYou should see yourself, Odds!â he gasped.
OddsâandâEndsâ hot breath was steaming up the inside of the bubble. The dragon cleared a little patch in the steam with his paw and peered out.
âMaster Freddy, youâve gone too far!â he squeaked. âYou must start learning to be a proper wizard. Nobody will want a wizard who just mucks around⦠with bubbles!â
Just then, there was a loud knock at the front door. Freddy left OddsâandâEnds floating around the wizard room and went to see who was there.
A very importantâlooking gentleman stood on the doorstep. The very important gentleman looked Freddy up and down. He saw soap smears on his tunic. He saw coloured stains on his fingers and smudges on his face. The important gentleman looked at the sign beside the door which said: âDoctor Sneezer Frogpurse â Grand Wizardâ, then looked back at Freddy.
âIs Wizard Frogpurse at home?â he asked.
âYes,â said Freddy.
âIâd like to speak to him, then,â said the gentleman.
âYou are speaking to him,â said Freddy.