Jane yawned; the mention of bed made her feel sleepy.
“All right,” said the Psammead, in offended tones. “I’m sure _I_ don’t want to tell you a long tale. A man caught me, and I bit him. And he put me in a bag with a dead hare and a dead rabbit. And he took me to his house and put me out of the bag into a basket with holes that I could see through. And I bit him again. And then he brought me to this city, which I am told is called the Modern Babylon—though it’s not a bit like the old Babylon—and he sold me to the man you bought me from, and then I bit them both. Now, what’s your news?”
“There’s not quite so much biting in our story,” said Cyril regretfully; “in fact, there isn’t any. Father’s gone to Manchuria, and Mother and The Lamb have gone to Madeira because Mother was ill, and don’t I just wish that they were both safe home again.”
Merely from habit, the Sand-fairy began to blow itself out, but it stopped short suddenly.
“I forgot,” it said; “I can’t give you any more wishes.”
“No—but look here,” said Cyril, “couldn’t we call in old Nurse and get her to say _she_ wishes they were safe home. I’m sure she does.”
“No go,” said the Psammead. “It’s just the same as your wishing yourself if you get some one else to wish for you. It won’t act.”
“But it did yesterday—with the man in the shop,” said Robert.
“Ah yes,” said the creature, “but you didn’t _ask_ him to wish, and you didn’t know what would happen if he did. That can’t be done again. It’s played out.”
“Then you can’t help us at all,” said Jane; “oh—I did think you could do something; I’ve been thinking about it ever since we saved your life yesterday. I thought you’d be certain to be able to fetch back Father, even if you couldn’t manage Mother.”
“Now _don’t_,” said the Psammead hastily; “you know how it always upsets me if you cry. I can’t feel safe a moment. Look here; you must have some new kind of charm.”
“Not a bit of it,” said the creature; “there’s one of the strongest charms in the world not a stone’s throw from where you bought me yesterday. The man that I bit so—the first one, I mean—went into a shop to ask how much something cost—I think he said it was a concertina—and while he was telling the man in the shop how much too much he wanted for it, I saw the charm in a sort of tray, with a lot of other things. If you can only buy _that_, you will be able to have your heart’s desire.”