Jasper and the Green Marvel Read Online Free

being good?’
    The rats sniggered and licked the last sweet crumbs off their snouts. They didn’t care a hoot what Jasper said. A fry-up and sugar-cubes for breakfast and now a snack of perfectly rat-sized scones mid-morning: nothing, but nothing was going to spoil their day.
    Jasper opened his empty suitcase anddropped the two rats into it, slammed it closed and locked it. ‘I’ll show you who’s boss. You’ll stay there as a punishment until I let you out.’
    Still Rags and Bags didn’t care. They were tired after their early start and all the excitement, and in no time at all they were both fast asleep with their tails curled around their back paws.
    Jasper spent the rest of the morning wandering around Haverford-Snuffley Hall looking at all the portraits in gold frames, at the silver and the furniture. He thought how unfair it was that everything he saw belonged to a daft old coot with a bat hanging off her hat instead of belonging to him.
    In the afternoon, Mrs Haverford-Snuffley took him round the garden to show him where he would be working. It took ages because it was extremely big, and before long Jasper was so bored he thought he would weep. It was hard work too, because he had to pretend to be an expert. Although she didn’t know it,Mrs Haverford-Snuffley knew far more about flowers and plants than he did. Jasper couldn’t tell his begonias from his Busy Lizzies, much less his nasturtiums from his narcissi. She would stand in front of a flower bed and say, ‘Now my gladioli are doing exceptionally well this year,’ and Jasper would agree and nod his head, hoping that he was looking at the right thing.
    Late that night, up in his room, he let the rats out of the suitcase. He opened the top drawer of the dressing table and popped Rags and Bags into it. Then he took off his socks and gave the rats one each. They wriggled into them as if the socks were sleeping bags, pulled them up around themselves until only their heads were sticking out. Jasper took off his vest and rolled it up as a pillow for them. The vest was sweaty and manky but it was nothing compared to the socks. The rats liked it that way; they liked their bedding smelly and vile.
    ‘Night-night, lads,’ Jasper said. ‘Sweet dreams. And remember what I said: be good.’ In no timeat all he was asleep and snoring, but Rags and Bags were wide awake and excited. Having slept all day in the suitcase they weren’t in the least bit tired.
    ‘Come on, Rags,’ Bags said, peeling off his sock sleeping-bag. ‘Let’s go and have some fun! Let’s explore our new home!’

7 Rags and Bags Go Exploring
    Rags and Bags climbed on to the table that stood conveniently near to the dumb-waiter, and Bags pushed the button on the wall. They were afraid that the loud PING! it made might wake Jasper but he went on snoring as the metal doors opened. Rags hopped in and then Bags pushed the button again. He just about managed to jump nimbly into the dumb-waiter beside Rags before the doors closed, almost nipping his tail.
    Down, down, down went the dumb-waiter. ‘Hang on,’ Rags said suddenly. ‘What if we need someone on the outside to push the buttonto let us out? What if we get stuck in here?’ It was a terrible thought. They imagined having to stay there all night until Mrs Knuttmegg opened the dumb-waiter in the morning to send Jasper up his breakfast. Then they would really be in trouble – big trouble.
    It was an enormous relief therefore when the dumb-waiter came to a stop and the doors opened immediately. The two rats scampered out into a silent and deserted kitchen, where a single small lamp burned. What a delightful place it was! The heat of the stove made it cosy and snug and the air was full of delicious smells which the rats couldn’t recognise, but which made their mouths water.
    On the kitchen table there was a pile of cherry scones on a plate left over from that morning, but unfortunately for Rags and Bags they were covered with a heavy