A letter came the next morning. Mother was coming home that afternoon! "Let's wish for something wonderful for Mother," said Anthea happily. They all sat together, trying hard to think of the perfect magic present.

Suddenly, Martha ran into the room. "There were thieves at Lady Chittenden's house last night!" she cried excitedly. "They took all her beautiful diamond jewels! They cost thousands of pounds!" The children stared at her in shock.

"When I'm older, I'll buy Mother jewels like that," said Robert. But little Jane closed her eyes and shouted, "I wish Mother could have all those beautiful jewels now!" The others gasped, "Oh Jane! What have you said?"

"You've wished!" cried Robert in panic. "Everyone will think Mother stole them!" They ran quickly down to the gravel-pit to ask the Psammead to take the wish back, but the little creature was nowhere to be found.

They hurried back home to check Mother’s bedroom. "We'll tell Mother about the Psammead," said Anthea. But Cyril shook his head. "Adults never believe in magic. She'll think we are the thieves!" The children felt terrified.

That afternoon, Mother came home. The children ran to give her giant hugs, trying to block the stairs. "I must take off my coat and wash my hands!" laughed Mother as she walked up to her room.

Mother went upstairs and found a green box on the table. She opened it gently. "Oh, how beautiful!" she cried in surprise. It was a splendid diamond ring. "Is this a present from Father?" she wondered.

Then Mother opened her cupboards. Diamonds were everywhere! There were diamond necklaces, brooches, and shiny bracelets in every corner. The children looked unhappy, and little Jane began to cry softly. Mother’s smile quickly vanished.

"Jane, what do you know about this?" asked Mother sternly. "We met a sand-fairy, Mother," Jane sobbed. "Don't be silly, Jane!" said Mother firmly. "Some thieves stole Lady Chittenden's jewels! These might be her jewels!" Cyril added quickly.

Mother called Martha and asked, "Have any strangers been here?" Martha replied nervously, "Just my young man, Mr Beale. He moved a cupboard for me." Mother believed Mr Beale was one of the bad thieves!

Mother would not listen to the children. She decided to go straight to town to call the police. "Poor Mr Beale isn't a thief!" cried Anthea in panic. "Come on! We must find the Psammead!"

They ran all the way down to the gravel-pit. This time, they saw the Psammead sitting in the warm sand. It tried to crawl away, but Anthea caught it. "Dear, kind Psammead..." she begged gently.

"I can't give you any more wishes today!" grumbled the Psammead. "Go away and leave me alone!" Anthea pleaded, "If you help us today, we will never ask you for another wish ever again."

"I'll do anything for that!" said the sand-fairy. "Giving wishes is very hard work." Anthea wished, "I wish Lady Chittenden finds she never lost her jewels." The Psammead blew itself up big. "Done!" it panted.

"I wish Mother wouldn't reach the police," said Anthea. "Done!" said the Psammead again. Then Jane added, "I wish Mother and Martha will forget all about the jewels." "Done!" replied the sand-fairy softly.

"Now, will you wish something for me?" asked the Psammead. "Wish that you will never tell anyone about me." "Why?" asked Robert. "Adults will wish for big, serious changes — like free houses and new schools. They will try to keep them forever, causing terrible trouble in the world!" warned the wise little fairy.

Anthea spoke the Psammead's wish out loud. The fairy blew itself up bigger than ever before! When it grew small again, it panted heavily, "Now, I am very tired. Do you want one last wish?"

"Thank you for everything," said Jane sweetly. "Have a good long sleep, and I wish we would see you again someday." The Psammead expanded one last time, looked at them warmly, and quickly dug into the sand.

When they got home, everything was perfectly fine. Mother and Martha remembered nothing about the magic diamonds, and Lady Chittenden found her jewels safe at home. Everyone was safe and peaceful again.

Later, the children sat together in the quiet garden. "Will we ever see the Psammead again, do you think?" asked Jane quietly, looking up at the bright evening stars in the sky.

And, of course, they did see the magic sand-fairy again! But that did not happen in this story. It was in a very, very different place... But I must say no more!