Polly Peebles and the Blue Necklace

By J.M Barnaby

Polly Peebles is the only child of eccentric parents. She is eight years old and very bright. The story is about the theft Pollys special necklace which was given to her by her great-great Uncle Cosmo. It was taken from her bedroom windowsill by a very strange bird. This she is told by a talking tree named Ebenezer, which grows outside her bedroom window.

Adventures begin when Polly, who lives in New Zealand, goes to spend the summer holidays with her two cousins, who have been given a canoe for Christmas Polly, the two boys and their four friends meet at the river to try it out. When Pollys turn comes the canoe tips her out and when the others try to rescue her, they are all sucked under the water to a strange world.

There they meet a strange ancient little man named Caradus, who tells them they are there to help Polly find the nineteen beads which make up the blue necklace. The beads are magic beads and have been taken to places all around the world.

And so the journey begins They travel by unusual means; a weird elevator,a strange plane and train, a magic carpet, a rocket, flying horses, on the backs of whales and by balloons. Their search takes them to NewYork, Paris, Rome, Zimbabwe, The Great Wall of China, a cave under a Scottish castle, to Athens and a Greek Island, San Francisco. Moscow and London.

Caradus appears during their search to give them clues. He can become invisible when the occasion presents itself. A spider called Spence also drops down when they least expect it, also to give clues.
Caradus has a rather brainless evil cousin, who with his equally brainless friend keep turning up where-ever the children are, as they want the magic beads and the magic wand that came to the childrens rescue in Paris, and they try a bit of kidnapping.

After a journey around the world, experiencing some wonderful adventures, mystery and magic, all nineteen beads are found and the blue necklace is completed.

Of course they all hope the magic from the beads will rub off onto them when they return to school. At the very least they have learnt a great deal about the world and the exciting places they have visited. However they dont know who will actually believe their story!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris NZ
• Release date: Feb 27, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493129607

J.M Barnaby

After lifetime of association with children, (which included starting a school in Auckland), I 'retired' to Geraldine where for the past fourteen years I have tutored children of all ages in Reading and English. Because of this, I abandoned a partly written adult novel and decided to write for children instead.

Book preview

Chapter One

P olly Peebles was a seven year old girl, who had travelled extensively with her parents. She had already been to school in London, America and Israel. Now she was living in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she had been born. Dad, who was a scientist worked at the university.

Mrs Peebles also worked there, but Polly wasn’t sure just what her mother did.

Polly liked being called Polly, but it was very embarrassing when the teachers at school called her by her full name, Polyanthus. The other kids always laughed. Why, she wondered couldn’t she have been called Rose, if she had to be named after a flower? At least roses had a lovely scent. The Peebles lived in a large, white house at number fifty three Elmtree Avenue. It was the only one in the street with three storeys and had a large garden with many trees which was tended by their gardener, smiley faced Mr Diggory.

Polly’s parents were quite odd in lots of ways! Not that she saw much of them. They both worked long hours and were always going away to conferences. When the Peebles first moved to Elmtree Avenue the Postie had told the neighbours how lucky they were to have a doctor living in the street, Mary Plum had a sore throat, Darcy from across the road had broken out in a rash or old Miss Smithers was having a heart attack. The callers thought Dr Peebles a very rude and mean man because he kept insisting he wasn’t a medical doctor and they should go to the local hospital. Polly said they should put a notice at the front gate saying ‘No medical doctor lives here’ Dr Peebles didn’t even look like a medical doctor. He looked like a professor and that is exactly what he was, with long untidy hair and a grey beard very much in need of a trim. He didn’t even like being called doctor, though that’s what he was, a Doctor of Science. He preferred to be called plain Henry Peebles. Although Polly’s mother was very much younger than her father, she was forever worrying about the grey appearing in her hair and the hairdresser went to great lengths to keep it ash blonde.

Polly like her mother was very blonde. Sometimes she wore her hair in two plaits and sometimes in bunches, especially for school, but she’d rather have it all flowing loose.

The third story of the house had only one room and that was an attic bedroom, which her parents had allowed Polly to have for her very own. She loved the sloping ceilings, the pale blue walls and the lattice windows. The lovely pale yellow curtains with the bright yellow sunflowers gave the room a sunny, cheerful look. She had her own narrow staircase and she thought of it as her very secret place. Dr and Mrs Peebles very rarely went there. The only other person who ever visited it was the housekeeper, crabby old Miss Flint who had to do the cleaning.

Miss Flint, or old Flinty, as Polly called her behind her back, didn’t like Polly at all. She thought Polly was far too smart for her own good and very spoilt. Thank goodness she was only a daytime housekeeper, who arrived at seven thirty each weekday morning and stayed until Polly’s parents arrived home from work. Miss Flint was tall and thin with greying hair pulled back severely into an old fashioned bun. Her thin rimmed spectacles sat no the end of her large, hooked nose and her clothes looked as if they might have belonged to her own grandmother! She was in fact only forty-two years old, but looked like an old lady. She never smiled, constantly complained; particularly about Polly, and was a terrible cook. But, it was very difficult to find someone to work the long hours required by the Peebles. Polly didn’t care for old Flinty poking about her private room either.

From her attic window she could see their lovely garden which was tended by their gardener Mr Diggory, a kind old man with a smiley face. Roses grew in beds round the velvet green lawn and there were many beautiful trees.

One tree in particular grew outside Polly’s window. Mr Diggory wanted to remove it as he said it was just a weed. It had started as a self sown seedling just after the Peebles moved to number fifty-three, two years ago, but it had grown very, very quickly and in no time at all had reached Polly’s window. Polly had pleaded to save it. She called it her special tree as it was the first thing she saw on awaking each morning. People came from all round the world to see this rare tree, as no one had ever seen one like it before. When it was a young sapling it was quite ugly, with branches like outstretched arms, but when spring came it dressed itself in beautiful large purple blossoms which covered the tree completely. These were followed by huge, deep blue berries.

Polly was a very much travelled young lady. Although only seven-years old she had already lived and been to school in London, America and Israel. Now her dad was doing research at the university in Christchurch, New Zealand. This was the city in which Polly had been born. Mrs Peebles also worked at the university, but Polly wasn’t quite sure what her mother did, but thought it had something to do with languages.

Mrs Peebles great grandfather’s brother, Polly’s great, great, uncle, Charles Oliver Sebastian Mungo Orland who was always called Cosmo because of his initials, lived in England. He was now ninety-two years old. Mrs Peebles said he was a very eccentric old man. When Polly was born he had sent her a beautiful, very unusual necklace of nine blue beads, each separated with a smaller gold bead and threaded onto a gold chain. The blue bead in the middle was the largest with four smaller ones on either side. It sparkled in the sun or any other bright light and Polly called them her lucky beads and took them with her everywhere she went.

Her school wouldn’t allow jewellery to be worn, so Polly kept them pinned inside her uniform pocket, because school work always seemed so easy whenever they were there; she got all her spelling and maths right.

Pssst. Pssst! Polly who had been fast asleep, stirred but didn’t open her eyes.

Pssst, pssst! This time she stretched, sat up and thought surely it’s not time to get up. Her mother always called, Time to get up. She would never say Pssst Yet the sun was shining and she could see blue sky through her special window. Pssst, pssst! It seemed to be coming from outside the window. Don’t tell me Ben has come to play so early. Ben was her best friend who lived down the right-of-way in the house next door. Polly jumped out of bed, went to the window and leaned out as far as she could. The big tree partly covered the window and obstructed her view, but she couldn’t see anyone directly below.

Ben is that you? she said in a not-too-loud voice. She didn’t want to wake her mother and father.

No, it’s me, said a deep voice right beside her. She peered into the tree but couldn’t see anything.

Me, said the voice again, "I am the tree." I must be dreaming thought Polly and she glanced back into the room to make sure she was out of bed. She wriggled her toes and fingers and then pinched herself. She really was awake.

Trees don’t talk, said Polly.

Well that’s what you think; but you’re wrong. It is just that we don’t usually talk out aloud.

I always knew you were a special tree because you grew so quickly. Almost as fast as Jack-in-the-Bean Stalk’s bean grew, but talking?

Yes, talking, said the tree, I wish to tell you something very important. Your precious, blue necklace was taken by a strange bird during the night. You really shouldn’t have left it on the window sill.

Oh no, cried Polly, what ever will I do without it?

I think it must have mistaken them for my blue berries which are falling everywhere just now, said the tree. Polly’s eyes filled with tears, which were soon running down her cheeks. That necklace was so very, very special.

What sort of a bird was it? asked Polly. It was large, bigger than an eagle, with purple, pink and yellow feathers. The tree thought for a few seconds and then added, "I think it is called a Purpectua. Cheer up. I’m sure you’ll find them some day. I have to go now. By the way, my name is Ebenezer; and those blue beads are magic beads. Goodbye!

Please don’t go Ebenezer. What did you mean when you said the beads were magic? But there was no reply, only the rustle of leaves and the song of a thrush up in a birch tree Ebenezer!

A strange name for a tree! Magic beads? Nobody had ever told her that before. Perhaps that was why they helped her at school.

It was certainly a very strange start to the day. She was about to return to bed when her mother called. She dressed quickly, checked her dressing table, bookshelf and peered under the heap of books on her bedside table but there was no sign of the necklace.

She leapt down the stairs as she usually did two at a time. Mrs Peebles was in the kitchen pouring herself a cup of coffee, Good morning Polly. Have you seen my blue necklace? The special one that Great, Great, Uncle Cosmo gave me?

No, I haven’t. Have you lost it? Where did you leave it last night? You had it when you went up to bed.

I think I left it on the window sill, but it’s not there now.

Have a look in the garden under your window after school. I’m sure you’ll find it there, said Mrs Peebles.

Mum, can trees talk?

You and your questions. Hurry up and finish your breakfast. I’ll be late for work and you’ll be late for school. Dad’s already gone, he had an early meeting.

It was always Hurry up! in the Peebles house. Hurry out of bed! Hurry with breakfast! Hurry to school! Everything and everybody was in a hurry, well, everyone except Polly.

Polly decided she wouldn’t say any more about Ebenezer or the magic necklace. She was sure it was all true and it would be her secret.

It seemed such a long day at school. Polly couldn’t concentrate on her school work at all. All she could think about was a magic blue necklace and a talking tree named Ebenezer.

After school Polly ran as fast as she could all the way home. Ben rode passed on his bike and called out to ask what the big hurry was. Do you want to come bike riding?

"I’ve got something very important to do,