Once upon a time, in a land far and few, lived the peculiar Jumblies with green heads and blue hands. They were known for their adventurous spirit and love for the sea. One stormy winter’s morn, they decided to embark on an extraordinary journey, setting sail in a sieve.
Their friends warned them of the impending doom, but the Jumblies, filled with excitement and wonder, cried, “Our sieve ain’t big; but we don’t care a button, we don’t care a fig: in a sieve, we’ll go to sea!” And so, they sailed away in their sieve, adorned with a beautiful pea-green veil tied to a small mast.
As they sailed, the sky darkened, and the water soon came in. The Jumblies were undeterred and wrapped their feet in pinky paper, fastened with a pin. They passed the night in a crockery-jar, feeling wise and content, spinning round in their sieve upon the waves.
Under the pale moonlight, they whistled and warbled a moony song, accompanied by the echoing sound of a coppery gong. “O Timballoo! How happy we are when we live in a sieve and a crockery-jar!” they sang, sailing through the shade of the mountains brown.
The Jumblies reached the Western Sea, a land filled with trees, where they collected marvelous treasures. They bought an owl, a useful cart, a pound of rice, a cranberry-tart, and a hive of silvery bees. They also found a pig, green jackdaws, a lovely monkey with lollipop paws, and no end of Stilton cheese.
After twenty years or more, the Jumblies returned to their land, grown taller and wiser from their journeys. They had been to the Lakes, the Torrible Zone, and the hills of the Chankly Bore. Their friends rejoiced and held a feast with dumplings made of beautiful yeast, raising a toast to the brave adventurers.
The Jumblies’ daring voyage inspired their friends, who proclaimed, “If we only live, we too will go to sea in a sieve, to the hills of the Chankly Bore!” And so, the story of the Jumblies, with their green heads and blue hands, became a tale of courage, adventure, and the boundless possibilities of the imagination.
