All thought of telling off Peg and Timothy was lost. With a yell of, 'Come on,' Jack sprinted across the platform. As they ran along the ditch to the jumping point, one thought pounded in Jack's brain. I must warn them. He leapt the ditch, splashing himself with mud, and came to a grinding halt beside their tree. He pressed his left ear to the tree.

'Mr Tree, Mr Tree you've got to warn everyone!' he panted. 'There are some evil men who've come to the country, and they're going to cut down the entire Enchanted Wood!' At this, the tree stopped. Then it began to shake and shudder so violently that Jack could not hold on. He heard it's words, wailed in a leafy voice.

Cut down! No, no not me. I've been here for more than a hundred years. They can't cut me down. No, no, no, nononononono…

And suddenly, all the trees of the Wood were shaking and shuddering as though in a violent earthquake. Jack leapt back from the tree, and found that the forest was filled with a deafening whoosh - a - whoosh - a noise which sent the birds in the trees flying and squarking. The three children battled their way through thrashing branches and falling leaves. Where are the others? Jack wondered. As this thought came to him, there came a crunching of undergrowth, and squirrels and hares all came flying past in a desperate frenzy to get out. 'Thank goodness,' said Jack out loud. 'They're off to defend the wood.' As he said this, he saw the old wizard, who was holding a staff and a large electric cigarette. 'Mr Wizard!' yelled Jack. 'Are you off to defend the Wood too?'

The wizard turned to him in surprize. 'What?' he shouted. It was hard to hear above all the whooshing from the trees. He held a hand to his face to keep away the leaves, as his grey cloak flapped around him. 'No dear boy, we're all escaping. The Enchanted Wood is done for. I'm off to Hobbiton.' With a cheery wave, the wizard turned, and was lost in the whirlwind of leaves and thrashing branches and running bodies.

'No, NO!' yelled Jack. He tried to grab at passing creatures; brownies, squirrels, foxes, gnomes, hares - but all were too fast and too eager to be gone. Desperately, Jack began to run towards the heart of the Wood. It was smotheringly hot, and the branches cut and smacked Jack's face. Still he pressed on, until he reached the Faraway Tree. Jack couldn't believe that the last time he had been here was only yesterday, when they had fully circled the tree in that green haze of serenity. But now, they had no time to lose. Jack began to climb furiously, his hands cutting and bleeding on the rough bark of the Tree. They reached the window of the Angry Pixie, who was getting his window repaired. He saw Jack, and opened his mouth to say something. Then his eyes slid to Peg and Timothy behind. The Pixie's face contorted in rage, his eyes turned to slits. 'You little nincompoops,' he screeched. 'How dare you return after making such a mess of my window! I can't believe you have the face to show up again.'

'Please,' began Jack. 'Please, the Faraway Tree's going to be cut down…'

'Be off with you!' screamed the pixie, blasting a mouthful of spittle over Jack. 'Go on, get out of my sight, or I'll throw all of my ink pots at you.'

Seeing it was no use staying, Jack continued on. The children soon came to Silkie's door. Jack banged on it loudly. It was opened by the pretty little fairy, who looked at them absently.

'Quick Silkie, quick!' said Jack. 'The Faraway Tree's going to be…'

'I'm so sorry, but I'm in a dreadful hurry,' said Silkie. 'The Faraway Tree's about to close, and I do so need to go and see the Brown Owl. Could you wait and give me your news when I get back? I won't be half an hour.'

'No,' said Jack, nearly weeping with frustration. 'Please, you must understand…' But the little fairy was already out the door and climbing daintily down.

'I'll see you when I get back!' she called gaily.

They kept on climbing. Soon they came to Mr Watzisname, snoring in his chair. Jack ran up to him and shook him hard. 'Mr Watzisname, Mr Watzisname, oh do wake up!' The old gnome slowly came to. He blinked blearily at Jack.

'Hello old fellow. What's up?'

'The Faraway Tree's going to be cut down!' cried Jack. Mr Watzisname looked shocked, and sat up straight.

'Cut down? What on earth… why?' Then he peered and Jack. 'Hang on… are you that little boy who threw a chestnut at me?'

'No,' said Jack nervously, but the gnome had already recognized him and seized him. It took all of Peg and Timothy's strength to prize his fingers loose, and the children ran away, Mr Watzisname close on their heels. 'I'll teach YOU to drop things on me!' roared the angry gnome.

At that moment, there came a slishy sloshy noise from above. Jack knew what it was, but did not try to duck, even thouh there was a bough close by. All three children got soaking wet, and covered in little flecks of dirt and grime and soapy suds. Mr Watzisname, who had ducked under a bough, was left behind.

'Mark my words, I'll get back on you!' his voice floated up the tree from below. With soap in his eyes and grit in his mouth, Jack kept climbing, his cut, bloodied fingers clinging onto the harsh bark. And there it was. Moonface's door. The one person he knew couldn't turn him away. But suddenly…

'Down you go, down you go!' A terrible clattering and clanging met the surprised children's ears. They looked about, and on the bough above them saw a strange looking man. He had saucepans and kettles threaded on a rope wound all around his body, so that nothing but his arms and feet could be seen. He even had a large saucepan for a hat.

'It's the Saucepan Man!' said Jack in surprise. The journal had a whole three pages devoted to a detailed description of the Saucepan Man, from where he came from to how deaf he was.

'Why must we go down?' asked Jack.

'Why must you drown?' said the Saucepan Man. 'Goodness, my young man, there's no need to drown.'

'He's deaf,' explained Jack loudly to the others. 'There's such a clattering in his ears from the saucepans and kettles all the time that he can't hear a word we say.'

'I can actually,' said the Saucepan Man in annoyance, hearing perfectly well. 'My ears just fail me occasionally. And you'd better be going down. The Faraway Tree is closed.'

'Closed?'

'It's been the regulations for the past seventy years,' said the Saucepan Man. 'No one out after six o'clock. The people of the Enchanted Wood are far too tiresome, and are always coming up here at dreadfully late hours. It's much better this way. Off you go then.'

In a last desperate effort, Jack tried again. 'Saucepan,' he said very slowly and clearly. 'Tell Moonface that the Faraway Tree is going to be cut down.' Saucepan hesitated as he processed this sentence.

'All right,' he replied merrily. 'I'll tell him next time I see him. I'll be away for about two weeks, but I'll tell him afterwards. Cheerio!' And he was gone.