13. Marvellous Medicine Number Three  |   <<   Back   |   Home   |   Next   >>

No harm intended, no profit made.

Marvellous Medicine Number Three

'Here it is!' cried Mr Snape, rushing into the kitchen. 'One carton of flea powder for dogs and one tin of brown show-polish!'

Severus poured the flea powder into the giant saucepan. Then he scooped the shoe-polish out of its tin and added that as well.

'Stir it up, Severus!' shouted Mr Snape. 'Give it another boil! We've got it this time! I'll bet we've got it!'

After Marvellous Medicine Number Three had been boiled and stirred, Severus took a cupful of it out into the yard to try it on another chicken. Mr Snape ran after him, flapping his arms and hopping with excitement. 'Come and watch this one!' he called out to Mrs Snape. 'Come and watch us turning an ordinary chicken into a lovely great big one that lays eggs as large as footballs!'

'I hope you do better than last time,' said Mrs Snape, following them out.

'Come on, chicken,' said Severus, holding out a spoonful of Medicine Number Three. 'Good chicken. Chick-chick-chick-chick-chick. Have some of this lovely medicine.'

A magnificent black cockerel with a scarlet comb came stepping over. Then the cockeral looked at the spoon, and it went peck.

'Cock-a-doodle-do!' squawked the cockerel, shooting up into the air and coming down again.

'Watch him now!' cried Mr Snape. 'Watch him grow! Any moment he's going to start getting bigger and bigger!'

Mr Snape, Mrs Snape and little Severus stood in the yard staring at the black cockerel. The cockerel stood quite still. It looked as though it had a headache.

'What's happening to its neck?' Mrs Snape said.

'It's getting longer,' Severus said.

'I'll say it's getting longer,' Mrs Snape said.

Mr Snape, for once, said nothing.

'Last time it was the legs,' Mrs Snape said. 'Now it's the neck. Who wants a chicken with a long neck? You can't eat a chicken's neck.'

It was an extrordinary sight. The cockerel's body hadn't grown at all. But the neck was now about six feet long.

'All right, Severus,' Mr Snape said. 'What else have you forgotten?'

'I don't know,' Severus said.

'Oh yes you do,' Mr Snape said. 'Come along, boy, think. There's probably just one vital thing missing and you've got to remmeber it.'

'I put in some engine oil from the garage,' Severus said. 'Did you have that on your list?'

'Eureka!' cried Mr Snape. 'That's the answer! How much did you put in?'

'Half a pint,' Severus said.

Mr Snape ran to the garage and found another half pint of oil. 'And some anti-freeze,' Severus called after him. 'I sloshed in a bit of anti-freeze.'

13. Marvellous Medicine Number Three  |   <<   Back   |   Home   |   Next   >>