Part 1/3 of George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl. Read-aloud/audiobook with illustrations.

george

's wonderful

medicine

by

roald

dahl

warning

read

ers do not try to make

george

's wonderful

medicine

yourself at home, it could be dangerous chapter one grandmother i'm going shopping in town george's mother told george on saturday morning, so be a good boy and don't get into mischief, it was a silly thing to say to a little boy at any time. She immediately made him wonder what kind of mischief she could get up to and don't forget to give grandma medicine at eleven o'clock. mother said then she came out, closed the back door behind her grandmother, who was dozing in her chair by the window, she opened a little evil eye and said now did you hear what your mother said, george, don't forget my medicine, didn't grandmother say george and just try it. to behave for once while she's away yes, grandma george said george was bored two tears, he had no brother or sister, his father was a farmer and the farm they lived on was miles from anywhere, so that there were never any children to play with, he was tired of looking at the pigs, chickens, cows and sheep, he was especially tired of having to live in the same house as that hideous old grunny of a grandmother, taking care of her all by himself.

It wasn't the most exciting way to spend a Saturday morning. Can you make me a nice cup of tea to start? Grandma said to George. That will keep you out of mischief for a few minutes. Yes. Grandma. George said that George couldn't help it. You might like Grandma, she was a selfish, grumpy old lady who had pale brown teeth and a small, wrinkled mouth like a dog's butt, how much sugar is in your tea today. Grandma George asked him for a spoon. She said there was no milk. Most grandmothers are lovely, kind and helpful old ladies, but not this one.

She spent all day and every day sitting. in her chair by the window and she was always complaining, complaining, complaining, complaining, complaining, complaining about something or another, never once, not even on her best days, had she smiled at George and said: Well, how are you this morning, George? Or why don't we have a game of snakes and ladders or How was school today? She didn't seem to care about other people, just herself. She was a miserable old grump. George went to the kitchen. and he prepared a cup of tea with a tea bag, he put a spoonful of sugar and there was no milk, he stirred the sugar well and took the cup to the living room.

Grandma sits down the tea, it's not sweet enough. She said she put more sugar. George took the cup to the kitchen and added another spoonful of sugar. He removed it. again and I took it carefully to grandma, where is the saucer? She said I won't have a cup without a saucer George brought her a saucer and how about a teaspoon please? I stirred it for you grandma, I stirred it well. stir my own tea thank you very much she said bring me a teaspoon george brought her a teaspoon when george's mother or father were at home grandma never ordered george like that it was only when she had him alone that she started treating him badly you know what "What's wrong?" said the old lady, looking at George over the rim of the teacup with those bright, evil eyes.

You're growing up too fast. Children who grow up too fast become stupid and lazy, but I can't help it. I'm growing up fast grandma george said of course you can, she snapped, growing up is a nasty childhood habit, but we have to grow up grandma, if we didn't grow up we'd never be adults, rubbish, rubbish, she said, look at me, I'm growing up, certainly not. but once you became a grandmother only very little the old woman replied I stopped growing when I was extremely small along with all the other unpleasant childhood habits like laziness and disobedience and greed and carelessness and disorder and stupidity you have not abandoned any of these things you have I'm still just a little boy grandma you're eight years old she snorted that's old enough to know better if you don't stop growing soon it'll be too late for what grandma that's ridiculous she continued you're almost as tall as me al

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y george took a good look at her Grandma was certainly a very small person, her legs were so short that she had to have a stool to put her feet on, and her head only reached halfway to the back of the chair.

Dad says it's okay for a man to be tall. George. He said don't listen to your dad Grandma said listen to me but how can I stop growing George asked her Eat less chocolate Grandma said Does chocolate make you grow Does it make you grow? the wrong way she went up instead of down grandma took a sip of tea but never took her eyes off the boy in front of her he will never grow up she always said down yes grandma and stop eating chocolate eat cabbage instead of cabbage oh no, I don't like cabbage George said it's not what you like or what you don't like Grandma snapped it's what's good for you what counts from now on you have to eat cabbage three times a day mountains of cabbage and if it has caterpillars so much the better oh george said caterpillars give you brains the old lady said mom washes them in the sink george said mom is as stupid as you grandma said cabbage doesn't taste like anything without a few caterpillars boiled in it too slugs no slugs george shouted that he couldn't eat slugs every time i see a live slug on a piece of lettuce grandma said to swallow it quick before it crawls away delicious he pressed his lips together tightly so that his mouth turned into a small wrinkled hole delicious she said again worms and slugs and beetles you don't know what's good for you are you kidding grandma I never joke she said beetles are maybe the best of all they get crunchy grandma that's beastly the old witch smiled showing those pale brown teeth a Sometimes if you're lucky she said you get a beetle inside the stem of a celery stick that's what I like Grandma, how can you find all kinds of pretty things on raw celery sticks, the old lady continued, sometimes it's earwigs "I don't want to hear about it," George shouted.

Big fat scissor is very tasty said Grandma licking her lips but you have to be very quick dear when you put one of those in your mouth it has a pair of sharp scissors on the back and if it grabs your tongue with those it never lets go , so you have to bite the earwig first, cut, cut before it bites you. George began to approach the door. He wanted to get as far away from this dirty old woman as possible. You're trying to get away from me. "It's not you," he said pointing his finger directly at George's face, you're trying to get away from Grandma, little George was standing by the door, looking at the old hag in the chair, she looked back at him. , could it be that George was wondering if she was a witch?

He had always thought that witches only appeared in fairy tales, but now he wasn't so sure, come closer to me, little one, he said, beckoning with a horny finger, come closer to me and I'll tell you secrets, George didn't move, the Grandma yes. I don't move either, I know many secrets, she said and suddenly smiled. It was a thin, icy smile, the kind she might make a snake just before biting. Come here to Grandma and she will whisper secrets to you. George took a step back. Approaching the door, you shouldn't be afraid of your grandmother, he said, smiling that icy smile, George took another step back, some of us, he said and suddenly he leaned forward in his chair and whispered in a kind of hoarse voice. .

George had never heard it used before. Some of us, he said, have magical powers that can twist the creatures of this land into wondrous shapes. A tingle of electricity ran down the length of George's spine. He started to feel scared. “Some of us,” the old woman continued. We have fire on our tongues and sparks in our bellies and magic at our fingertips. Some of us know secrets that would make your hair stand on end and your eyes pop out of your head. George wanted to run away but his feet seem glued to the ground we know how to make your nails fall out and teeth grow out of your fingers instead George started to shake it was his face that scared him the most the icy smile the bright eyes that They don't blink We know how to make you wake up in the morning With a long tail coming out behind you Grandma shouted loudly, We know secrets, my dear, About dark places where dark things live, they writhe and slide over each other, George lunged for the door, does not matter how. how far you run he heard her say you'll never escape george ran into the kitchen slamming the door behind him chapter 2 the wonderful plan george sat at the kitchen table he was shaking a little oh how he hated grandma he really hated that horrible old hag and, suddenly, he felt a tremendous need to do something with her, something tremendous, something absolutely fantastic, some kind of really shocking explosion, he wanted to eliminate the witch smell that was floating around him in the next room.

He may have only been eight years old, but he was a brave boy, he was ready to face this old woman, I won't be afraid of her, he told himself softly, but he was scared and that's why he wanted to explode suddenly. Well, not entirely far, but he wanted to shake the old lady a little, so what should this tremendous explosive surprise be for grandma? He would have liked to put a fireworks under her chair, but he didn't have one. One would have liked to put a long green snake on the back of her dress, but he didn't have a long green snake.

He would have liked to put six big black rats in her room with her and close the door, but he didn't have it. I have six big black rats. As George sat pondering this interesting problem, his eye fell on Grandma's brown medicine bottle on the sideboard. A rotten thing, it seemed that four times a day they put a big spoonful in her mouth and it didn't do her the slightest good she was always as horrible after having it as she had been before the goal of the medicine was surely to make her better. If a person didn't do that then he was pretty useless so George thought suddenly ah ho hum I know exactly what I'm going to do.

I will prepare a new medicine for her, one that is so strong, so fierce, and so fantastic that it will either cure her completely or blow off the top of her head. I will make you a magical medicine, a medicine that no doctor in the world has made before. George looked at the kitchen clock, it said five minutes past ten, it was almost an hour until Grandma got her next dose at 11. Here we go and then I cried. george jumping off the table such a magic medicine will be give me an insect and a jumping flea give me two snails and three lizards and a slimy squiggle from the sea and the poisonous stinger of a bumblebee and the juice of the fruit of a jujube tree and the stone in powder from a wombat's knee and 100 other things, each with a rather unpleasant smell, I'll stir them up, boil them together with a hard mixture and a strong mixture and then, hey, hello, and down comes a nice big spoonful , hold your nose, swallow it and don't be afraid, how do you like it, granny, dear, it will explode, it will explode, it will fly down the road, it will go poof in a puff of smoke, it will start to bubble like a can of coke ? who doesn't know hello let's wait and see I'm glad it's not you or me or grandma if you knew what I have in store for you chapter 3 george starts making the medicine george took out a huge saucepan from the cupboard and placed it on the table From the kitchen, George, came the exciting voice from the next room.

What are you doing? Nothing, grandma, he screams. Don't think I can't hear you just because you closed the door. You're banging the pots, I'm just. Tidying up the kitchen Grandma Then there was silence George had no doubt about how he was going to make his famous medicine He was not going to fall into doubt about whether to put a little bit of this or a little bit of that he was simply going to put everything he could find No one had ever made a medicine. like that before, if he didn't actually cure grandma, it would still cause some interesting results.

It would be worth seeing. George decided to go through the different rooms, one at a time, and see what they had. To offer himself, he would go to the bathroom first, there are always many fun things in a bathroom, so he went up the stairs carrying the huge two-handled saucepan in front of him, in the bathroom he looked longingly at the famous and feared medicine cabinet, but he didn't do it. come closer it was the only thing in the whole house that he was forbidden to touch he had made solemn promises to his parents about this and he wasn't going to break them there were things in there that he had been told could actually kill a person and even though he wanted to give grandma a bite quite hot, he didn't really want a corpse on his hands.

George put the pot down and got to work. Number one was a gold glitter hair shampoo with a label on the bottle he poured it into. the pan that should wash her belly nice and clean said she took a tube full of toothpaste and squeezed it all out on a long worm maybe that will light up those horrible brown teeth of hers she said there was aaerosol can of super foam shaving soap that belonged to his father, george loved playing with aerosols, he pressed the button and kept his finger on it until there was nothing left, a wonderful mountain of white foam accumulated in the saucepan giant with his fingers scooped out the contents of a jar of vitamin-enriched face cream in winter a small bottle of scarlet nail polish if toothpaste doesn't clean your teeth george said then this will paint them as red as roses found another jar of something creamy labeled as hair remover, spread it on your legs he said and let it sit for five minutes.

George dumped it all into the saucepan. There was a bottle with something yellow in it called Dishworth's famous dandruff cure there was something called bright to clean false teeth it was a white powder that was also going he found another spray can never again punking spray deodorant guaranteed it said to keep body odors away "You could use a lot of that for a whole day," said George, as he poured the entire candle into the saucepan. "Liquid paraffin," the next one was called. "It was a big bottle. He had no idea what it was doing to you, but he poured it in anyway," he thought. that looking around was almost everything from the bathroom to her mother's dresser in the bedroom.

George found another beautiful spray can, it was called Helga's hairstyle, he held it 25 inches from the hair and lightly sprayed it. He threw it all in the saucepan he liked to throw these sprays there was a perfume bottle called turnip flowers it smelled like old cheese inside it went and in two went a large round box of powder it was called pink plaster there was a puff of powder on top and he threw it To be lucky he also found a couple of lipsticks, took the greasy red stuff out of their little boxes and added it to the mix.

The bedroom had nothing else to offer, so George put the huge saucepan down again and trotted into the laundry room. where the shelves were full of all kinds of household items, the first one that came down was a large box of super white for automatic washing machines, the dirt said it would disappear like magic. George didn't know if Grandma was automatic or not, but she certainly was. a dirty old one so I better have it all she said tipping the whole box over and then there was a big can of floor wax that removes dirt and grime from the floor and leaves everything shiny she said George picked up the orange color.

I scooped something waxy out of the can and dropped it into the pan. There was a round cardboard box labeled Flea Powder for Dogs. Keep it away from the dog's food. It said because this powder, if ingested, will cause the dog to explode. Well, said George, pouring it all into the saucepan he found a box of birdseed on the shelf maybe it will make the old bird sing, he said and in it it was next that George explored the box with materials for cleaning shoes, brushes, cans and feather dusters, well now he thought grandma's medicine is brown so my medicine must be brown too or it will smell like a rat the way to color it he decided it would be with brown shoe polish the big can he chose was labeled splendid dark tan he took it out everything with an old spoon and dropped it into the pan he would stir it later on the way back to the kitchen.

George saw a bottle of gin on the sideboard. Grandma really liked gin. She was allowed to have a small drink every night. Now he would give her a gift. he poured all the bottle he made in the kitchen. George put the huge saucepan on the table and walked over to the cupboard that served as a sideboard. The shelves were full of bottles and jars of all kinds. He chose the next and emptied them one by one. one in the saucepan a can of curry powder a can of mustard powder a bottle of extra hot chili sauce a can of black peppercorns a bottle of horseradish sauce there said out loud I should do it george wine the shrill voice from the next room, who are they? are you talking in there what are you up to nothing grandma absolutely nothing he called me back it's time to buy medicine not yet grandma not for half an hour well so you don't forget I won't do it grandma george answered I promise I won't talk about chapter 4 animal pills at this point, George suddenly had a very good snort, although the medicine cabinet in the house was forbidden ground, what about the medicines that his father kept on the shelf in the shed next to the chicken coop?

Medicines for animals, what? About those, no one had ever told him not to touch them, let's face it, George told himself that hairspray, shaving cream and shoe polish are all very well and will no doubt cause some splendid explosions inside the old, but what's the magic mix now? What he needs is a touch of the real thing, real pills and real tonics to give him strength and muscle. George took the heavy saucepan three-quarters full and carried it out the back door, crossed the corral and headed straight to the shed next to the chicken house. In the chicken house he knew his father wouldn't be there.

He was harvesting hay in one of the meadows. George walked into the dusty old shed and put the saucepan on the bench and then looked towards the medicine shelf. There were five large bottles and two were full. Of the pills, two were full of liquid and one was full of powder. I'll use them all. George said grandma needs them. Boy, does she need them? the first bottle he took contained an orange powder the label said four chickens with disgusting pests hen flu sore beaks paws gamma cacarolitis egg problems melancholy or loss of feathers mix a tablespoon only with each bucket of legs well, george said loudly high to himself as he poured the entire bottle full, the old bird won't lose feathers after he's had a dose of this, the next bottle he took had about 500 giant purple pills four horses with hoarse throats, it said on the label that the horse with horse throat should suck a lozenge twice a day.

Grandma may not have a horse's throat, George said, but she certainly has a sharp tongue. Maybe they'll cure that instead. In the saucepan were 500 giant purple pills, then there was a bottle of a thick, yellowish liquid. for cows bulls and oxen the label said we will cure cowpox cow mange wrinkled horns bad breath in balls earache toothache headache who pretends tail lake and saw udders that grumpy old hood in the living room has each of those rot diseases george said he'll need it all with a gurgle and a gurgle the yellow liquid splashed the saucepan now almost full the next bottle contained a bright red sheep liquid that said on the label for sheep with sheep rot and to get rid of from ticks and fleas: mix one tablespoon in a gallon of water and apply to sheep.

Be careful, do not make the mixture stronger. or the wool will fade and the animal will be naked from the gum, said George, how I would love to go in and splash it on Grandma and watch the ticks and please jump off her, but I can't, I shouldn't. She will have to drink it instead She poured the bright red medicine into the saucepan The last bottle on the shelf was full of pale green pills Pig pills The label advertised four pigs with pig bones cute trotters sow plague and disease pig give one pill for every day, in severe cases, two pills can be given, but more than that will cause the pig to move and roll.

Just what George said, for that miserable old pig that was there in the house, he's going to need a very big dose. He gave her hundreds of green pills. and hundreds of them in the pot was an old stick lying on the bench that had been used to stir paint. George picked it up and began stirring the wonderful concoction out of it. The mixture was as thick as cream and as I stirred and stirred many wonderful colors. It emerged from the depths and mixed pinks, blues, greens, yellows and browns. George kept stirring until everything was well mixed, but there were still hundreds of pills at the bottom that hadn't melted, and there was his mother's splendid puff of powder. floating on the surface I'll have to boil it all George said all it needs is a good quick boil on the stove and with that he stumbled back to the house with the huge, heavy saucepan in the way, passed through the garage and entered .

To see if he could find other interesting things, he added the following: half a liter of motor oil to keep Grandma's engine running smoothly. A little antifreeze to prevent the radiator from freezing in winter. A handful of fat to grease their crunchy joints and then return. to the kitchen chapter 5 the food in the kitchen george put the saucepan on the stove and raised the gas flame under it as high as it could go george came the horrible voice from the next room it's time for my medicine not yet grandma george He called again, it's still 20 minutes before 11 o'clock, what mischief are you doing there now?

Grandma screamed I heard noises George thought it was better not to answer this He found a long wooden spoon in a kitchen drawer and began to stir Hardly, the thing in the pot became hotter and hotter, soon the wonderful mixture began to Foaming and foaming, rich blue smoke the color of peacocks rose from the surface of the liquid and a burning, terrifying smell filled the kitchen, causing George to choke and sputter. a smell unlike any he had smelled before, it was a brutal and bewitching smell, spicy, amazingly fierce and frenetic, full of sorcery and magic, every time he smelled it through his nose, firecrackers exploded in his skull and electric tingles ran through his body. back of her legs it was wonderful to stand there stirring this incredible mixture and watch it smoke blue and bubble and foam and foam as if it were alive in a moment he could have sworn he saw bright sparks flashing in the swirling foam and suddenly George found himself itself. dancing around the steaming pot singing strange words that came into his head out of nowhere burning broth and witch's brew frothy blue foam of the rich few men vomit man spoon drifting spray fizzle swizzle shout hooray look at him splashing splashing splashing listen to him whistle smash spit grandma better start to pray tap chapter 6 brown paint george turned off the heat under the saucepan he had to leave enough time for it to cool when all the steam and foam was gone he looked into the giant saucepan to see what color It was now the great medicine was an intense and bright blue, it needs more brown.

George said it just had to be brown or he would get suspicious. George ran out and rushed to his father's tool shed, where all the paints were kept. There was a row of cans on the floor. shelf all colors black green red pink white and brown took the can of brown the labels simply said glossy paint dark brown one liter took a screwdriver and lifted the lid the chamber was three-quarters full he hurried back to the kitchen he poured everything in the saucepan, the saucepan was now full to the brim, very gently, George stirred the paint into the mixture with the long wooden spoon, aha, everything was turning brown, a beautiful rich creamy brown, where is that my medicine?, boy, came the voice. in the living room you're forgetting me you're doing it on purpose I'll tell your mother I'm not forgetting you Grandma George called me back I'm thinking about you all the time but there's still 10 minutes left you're a nasty little worm, the voice screamed , you are a lazy, disobedient little worm and you are growing too fast.

George grabbed Grandma's real medicine bottle from the cupboard, pulled the cork out, and dumped the whole thing into the sink, then filled it. the bottle with its own magic mixture by dipping a small jug into the saucepan and using it as a pourer replaced the cork it had cooled enough but not quite yet held the bottle under cold water tap for a couple of minutes the label came off in wet but that didn't matter he dried the bottle with a kitchen towel everything was ready that was it the big moment had arrived the time for the medicine grandma called I hope the grumpy answer also came the silver spoon in which the medicine was it was always ready it lay ready on the kitchen sideboard george picked it up holding the spoon in one hand and the bottle in the other he moved towards the living room chapter 7 grandma takes the medicine please watch

part

2 on our playlist of videos for chapters 7 to 11 published on Friday, May 1, 2020, warning readers not to try to prepare George's wonderful medicine yourself at home, it could be dangerous.