The Phoenix and the Carpet

Description

The Phoenix and the Carpet is a children's book by English author E. Nesbit. It was first published in 1904 and is the second book in a trilogy that starts with Five Children and It, and ends with The Story of the Amulet. The book has the same five children as the previous book in the trilogy: Cyril (the oldest of the five, his nickname is Squirrel), Anthea (the second oldest, her nickname is Panther), Robert (the third oldest, his nickname is Bobs), Jane (the fourth child, her nickname is Pussy), and Hilary (the youngest child, his nickname is Lamb). The story of the book is as follows: the mother of the children purchases a new carpet for the nursery. The children find an egg in it, and after accidentally knocking it into the fire, it hatches into a talking Phoenix.

The Phoenix tells the children that the carpet is magical and that they can have three wishes a day. Using this to the full extent, the children go on lots of adventures, along with the Phoenix. A few times, they find themselves in situations in which they need extra help, and the Psammead from Five Children and It, is on hand to rescue them. Eventually, the carpet wears out and the Phoenix tells the children that it has reached the end of it's current lifespan.

Since the book was published, there have been at least four film adaptations. The book has twelve chapters: The Egg; Topless Tower (where the children go on their first adventure); The Queen Cook; Two Bazaars; The Temple; Doing Good; Mews from Persia; The Cats, the Cow and the Burglar; The Burglar’s Bride; The Hole in the Carpet; The Beginning of the End (the final adventure); and, The End of The End.

This book has 123 pages in the PDF version, and was originally published in 1904.

Production notes: This ebook of The Phoenix and the Carpet was published by Global Grey ebooks on 7th March 2021. The artwork used for the cover is 'Flying Carpet' by Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov.