Brigid Lucy Needs A Best Friend Read Online Free PDF Page A

Getting-All-The-Attention Matilda has taken up all the space on Granny’s knee.
    And we can’t talk to her because Mum is telling Granny that Biddy is disobedient and rambunctious . (Which is like yelling and jumping and having too much fun.) And, ‘That-child-will-be-the-death-of-me.’
    But Granny doesn’t tell Mum off for ‘telling tales’. Which is not fair. When Biddy tells tales, Granny says, ‘Don’t tell tales. Tails are for monkeys.’

    That afternoon, when Mum and Matilda and little Ellen lie down to have a rest, me and Biddy get Granny all to ourselves again.
    ‘Granny,’ Biddy asks, ‘do you really think I will get a best girlfriend?’
    ‘Of course, darling,’ Granny says. ‘A wonderful , kind, clever girl like you will always find a best friend.’
    ‘Can I have a friend, too?’
    That’s Matilda. She’s one of the little kids. She should be sleeping.
    So Biddy says, ‘Matilda, go back to bed.’
    But Granny cuddles Matilda and says, ‘I think we need a friendship spell .’
    ‘What’s a spell?’ Matilda asks.
    ‘A spell makes wonderful things happen,’ Granny says.
    ‘Like a miracle ,’ Biddy explains to Matilda. ‘Can you really make a girlfriend spell?’ Biddy asks Granny. ‘Can I have a friend with long brown hair in plaits and a pony? Can her name be Isolde?’
    ‘Me too,’ Matilda says. ‘And a silver grey Siamese cat.’
    ‘No, Matilda,’ Biddy says. ‘You are too little for making spells.’
    But Granny says, ‘Actually, three people will make the spell stronger.’
    ‘Okay then, Matilda,’ Biddy says, ‘but you have to do everything Granny says.’ She lifts her finger like Mum does when she is very serious. ‘No crying or the spell might go wrong and turn you into a frog.’
    ‘I won’t cry,’ Matilda says and holds her lips tightly together.
    ‘ Cat-a-clys-mic Cat-astro-phe! ’ I say. Spells are real. They are like the Incantation Songs the magical creatures in the Great Bushland use to turn you into a piece of infinity. Remember in Cinderella how the fairy godmother turned the pumpkin into a golden carriage? That’s a spell. Or when the wicked witch turned the prince into a frog? They really work!
    If Granny casts a spell, Biddy will really get a human friend. ‘I’ve got to stop them,’ I say running up and down Biddy’s arm in panic.

Chapter eight
    Diligamus nos salutat
    ‘We need herbs,’ Granny says, taking Biddy and Matilda by the hand. ‘We need yarrow, some dandelion, a couple of sprigs of lavender…’
    ‘Yarrow? Dandelion?’ I stop running and laugh with relief. Herbs are not spells. Herbs are for potions like the ones in the POISON—DO NOT TOUCH cupboard. The ones Granny makes to fix headaches or bruises or stop people sneezing. Granny’s just calling it a spell as an imagination game. What fun .
    We search for herbs in the front garden and down the street. But all we see is cut-flat lawns and pruned-straight trees and concrete paths.

    Until, ‘Is this a magic spell-making herb?’ Matilda asks picking a daisy.
    ‘Yes!’ Granny says. ‘Daisies are full of sunshine .’
    ‘Here’s some more,’ Biddy picks four daisies from under Jamie’s fence where the lawnmower can’t reach.
    Granny crouches down. ‘Here is some yarrow,’ she says. ‘There is some lavender. Now where are the dandelions?’
    ‘Is this dandelion?’ Biddy says pointing to some tiny yellow flowers struggling up in the crack in the footpath.
    ‘Yes,’ Granny says. ‘That’s all we need.’

    When we get home, Granny pops all the herbs in a muslin bag.
    ‘Do we need a lizard’s tail? ’ Biddy asks.
    ‘Do you have one?’ Granny says.
    ‘Yep, he left his tail in my bedroom when he got a fright,’ Biddy says.
    ‘And I’ve got a stiff frog ,’ Matilda says. ‘It came inside and dried up in my room.’
    ‘Well, lizards’ tails and frogs are very useful for changing-spells,’ Granny says. ‘And getting a friend is a change, isn’t