EILAHTAN'S DREAM

Eilahtan flew into London with her parents and little brother. The next day when she woke up, she was very tired, but her daddy had promised to take her to see Buckingham Palace, where the Queen lives. It was a lovely morning and the sun was shining, but everything seemed a little strange.

When she got into the car, her eyes still sleepy, she looked up and saw a blackbird flying upside down. That's a funny way for a bird to fly, she told herself, as her daddy drove off with them all in the car. Then a stranger thing happened: instead of the car going forwards, it went backwards- all the way to Buckingham Palace.

They all got out of the car and looked at the enormous palace. Outside the railings soldiers in red uniform and black furry hats were standing stiffly to attention, in front of the sentry boxes. But they were all standing on their heads!

'Why are they standing on their heads?'' Eilahtan asked her mummy.

'I don't know,' said her mummy. 'I thought we were coming to England, but we seem to be in Upsidedown Land.'

That made Eilahtan laugh. But suddenly she stopped laughing.

A very nice lady came out from the Palace in a horse-drawn carriage. Leaning out of the window, she asked Eilahtan where she came from.

Eilahtan said: 'We have come from Adanac. where I live with my baby brother Mada and my ymmum.'

'How very nice said the lady.' At that moment Eilahtan noticed that she was wearing a glittering gold crown. She invited Eilahtan to come into the Palace to have a nice cup of tea.

Eilahtan wasn't sure if she should. But the Queen commanded her in a brisk tone 'You must come, because I have just made some delicious cakes.'

The Queen got out of the carriage and walked very quickly backwards into the Palace. Eilahtan thought it very strange, but she thought she had better walk backwards as well, just to be polite.

They arrived in a beautiful room full of pictures of the Queen's grandparents and great-grandparents. All the pictures were upside down. When the Queen poured out the tea, it seemed to run out of the cup back into the teapot. And when Eilahtan tried to eat the cake it came out of her mouth in little pieces and turned into a real cake standing on a plate.

'Did you enjoy your tea?' the Queen asked.

' 'It was very nice,' Eilahtan said shyly, 'but not as nice as the ones we have in Adanac.'

The Queen seemed rather worried. She said to a footman: 'This child is talking backwards. I think we should give her a right-way-up pill.'

'Oh, very well, Your Majesty,', said the footman.

He gave Eilahtan a very tiny silver pill. It tasted very sweet.

Suddenly, Eilahtan woke up with a start and found herself in bed in her grandma's house, with the sun shining in through the window.

Then she remembered that her real name was Nathalie and Eilahtan is Nathalie spelled backwards.

Later on that day, she and her family went to Buckingham Palace and her daddy drove the car forward, and the birds and soldiers were all the right way up. It had all been a very funny dream.