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PART 3 THE WHITE VILLA

Chapter 10 The Magenpies

The new villa was as white as snow.I had new gardens to play in and different animals to make friends with.

One afternoon I climbed a tree and found four soft,fat baby magpies.I put the largest and the smallest inside my shirt and climbed carefully down again.When I arrived home,I showed the birds to the family and asked them for names.

Aren't they sueet?'said Margo.

'What do they eat?'asked Mother.

'They're ugly!'said Larry.

'Not more animals!'said Leslie.'What are they?'

‘They're baby magpies,'I replied.'And I want ideas for names,not what you think about them.'

'The things Master Gerrys finds!cried Spiro."Whats you calls those birds?'

'Magpies,Spiro'Mother said slowly and clearly.

'Magenpies,'Spiro repeated.

'Magpies,'Margo told him.

Thats what I says,'said Spiro,getting angry.'Magenpies.

So we called the birds the Magenpies.I built a cage for them outside.They were welcome in my bedroom and not in any of the other rooms,but the room that they were really interested in was Larry's.If they came near it,he threw things at them.They decided that he had something to hide.

One day Larry found me in the garden and pulled me upstairs to his bedroom.There were papers all over the floor and holes in many of them.Pens and pencils were every- where.

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'Do something about those birds or I'm going to kill them!'he screamed at me.

I explained that the Magenpies were just interested in things;they didn't know that they were doing anything wrong.

'Lock them in their cage or I'll kill them'Larry repeated.

The rest of the family heard his shouts and came upstairs.

'Larry,what have you done?'Mother asked,looking through his door.

I am not going to answer stupid questions,said Larry.

'The Magenpies?'asked Leslie.

‘Your papers are very untidy.Did they do that?’asked

Mother.

Larry looked at her.'You really are a very intelligent woman, he said.

Chapter 11 Alecko

Below the villa was a line of fields.I was lying in the fields one day when I noticed a stranger watching me.

Where are you from?'the man asked.