Page 81 - Up Up and Away

Ashley thought it was time for some of his special hot

chocolate, to encourage the story tellers. Sarah got

everyone a blanket and pulled Mirabel close to her.

"What was the planet like?" asked Mirabel.

"The people are the most interesting part of that

world to me," said Phil. "The majority of them are left-

handed red-heads, like me. They don't read or write, or

even have an alphabet. They can read each others'

thoughts and are therefore quite quick to make things

and manage their daily life. They are wonderful artists: for

more complicated ideas they can draw any machine and

its working parts. It was quite difficult to study their ways

without written materials or the ability to read their

thoughts, which of course we didn't have when we first

arrived."

"Did you learn how to do that?" asked Sarah.
"We did to some extent. We have to hide that skill

here on earth, because it would make people
uncomfortable to feel that we were reading their

thoughts. But we have sensed your curiosity about us and

Twinkle for some time."

"Do they have music at all?" asked Ashley.

79