The magic lamps

It had been a busy day in SnoozyTown. M and T were home by the fire, sipping tea after their painting classes.

M had been painting ostriches—yellow ones, grey ones, and polka-dot ones in every shade. T, meanwhile, had been painting goats: goats reading books, climbing garden furniture, and surfing massive waves on tiny surfboards. The pair of adventurers were just settling in, thinking about dinner, when there was a knock on the door.

Opening it, they found their friends Hugo and Hilly, twin brother and sister. Usually full of energy, today they looked worried. “What is it?” asked M and T. Before they could answer, both Fixers sensed trouble. They grabbed their Fixer T-shirts from the hallway hooks. They were always ready to help SnoozyTown whenever they were needed.

Hugo and Hilly came inside, giving their friends a hug to help calm down. “It’s our parents,” said Hugo. “They're not sleeping, and they’re getting… slow. They’re confused.”

“Our dad stood at a traffic light for six changes and never crossed! He just looked at the lights and muttered, ‘green, orange, red, green, orange, red…’”

M and T thought back to their own way home. Yes, they’d seen sleepy adults too. A man staring at a pigeon for five whole minutes, a woman waiting for a bus but not getting on. “It’s the lamps,” whispered Hugo.

“Our parents said the lamps keep turning on at night.” “Magic lamps?” said M. Hilly squeezed Hugo’s hand. They were nervous, but M and T gave them a small nod to show that Fixers always face the unknown together. “Come see for yourselves,” said Hilly.

That night, M, T, Hilly, and Hugo crept into the twins' parents’ room. They hid inside the closet. The room was quiet. Then the bedside lamps flicked on. But these weren’t ordinary lamps anymore. Each had bright eyes, wide grins, and magnificent curling moustaches. The parents groaned, fumbling around to switch them off.

Five minutes later, the lamps popped back on, wiggling their moustaches gleefully. Even unplugging them didn’t work; the lamps whipped their cords, plugged themselves back in, and lit up again!

At last, Hilly and Hugo’s mum had had enough. She yanked both lamps out, stuffed them into the closet, and found the four kids hiding there. “What are you doing in here?” “Investigating,” said Hugo, a bit sheepish. “Everyone to bed!” she sighed.

“We’ll deal with… whatever this is… in the morning.” That night, with the lamps locked away, everyone in the house slept soundly.

But outside, things were worsening.

The next morning, the streets of SnoozyTown were chaotic. Adults stumbled through town, yawning and tripping. One man drove his new car straight into a river, and another talked to the pond ducks all morning instead of going to work.

M, T, Hilly, and Hugo hurried to find Petty the police officer, usually one of the sharpest minds in town.

Today, even Petty was struggling. She tried to help a man who had got himself stuck in a fruit stall, but he was too distracted and tired, and fell asleep licking smashed watermelon. “Why are all the adults so tired and acting odd?” Petty asked. M and T explained about the magic lamps.

“Normally, I'd say you were dreaming,” said Petty, “but… look around!” The Fixers wondered. Why would someone want the adults to be too tired to notice what’s happening in SnoozyTown? Working as a team, the Fixers and the police officer pieced it together. “Has anything gone missing?” asked M. “Now you mention it,” said Petty, “some people have reported things missing—jewels, watches, handbags. But the things disappeared so fast, they couldn't even see it happen.”

The pieces clicked together in the minds of the four Fixers. “Someone’s using magic to keep everyone half-asleep,” said T, “so they can steal without being caught!” “But who?” said Petty. That night, the kids set a trap.

They hid downstairs with a camera. Near midnight, a blur zipped through the room, but the camera caught it! They raced upstairs to the parents.

“We know who's behind it!” said Hugo. “It's Felicity Flash!” Felicity Flash—she was the fastest thief in SnoozyTown. Always a streak of lightning, and she was rarely caught. Petty was impressed but worried. “How do we catch someone that fast?” M and T thought hard.

“Felicity’s magic must come through the house’s electricity,” said M. “That's how she's making the lamps come alive.” “If we control where she tries to break in… we can trap her!”

They chose the perfect house: Fergus Foddington's mansion. It was full of treasures. Poor Fergus was so tired. He was the man who had fallen asleep while eating a watermelon. He happily agreed to help.

Outside his house, where the electrical wires entered, M and T got to work. With their painting skills, they crafted a perfect fake wall, complete with a fake electrical box and fake switches. Then they waited. Late into the night.

At midnight, Felicity Flash darted toward the wires. She reached for the “electrical box” and pressed the fake switch. A huge net curled up from underneath, trapping her in mid-air! The fake wall clattered down, revealing the real wall behind. “We caught her!” shouted Hilly. Petty raced in and gently handcuffed Felicity Flash.

She patted the Fixers on the back. Everyone cheered and M and T smiled modestly. “Our painting classes sure came in handy, after all,” said M. “We used our paintbrushes… to paint a trap, and Hilly and Hugo got her with the net,” said T.

Just for a heartbeat, the twins clasped hands as they realised that their quick courage had saved the whole town.

Fergus Foddington too was thrilled. “Finally… a proper night's sleep!” he said. And all across SnoozyTown, the magic lamps flickered and faded back to normal.

Their big eyes, wide smiles, and curled moustaches disappeared without the power of the magic electricity. Groggy parents donned their pyjamas, fluffed their pillows, and prepared for a much-needed snooze.

Everyone was ready for the town’s gentle rhythms and calm to return once more. In SnoozyTown, even when the fastest troublemakers appear, clever teamwork always wins in the end.

And so, with the peace and quiet restored, the adults and children of SnoozyTown fell gently into sleep.

The End.