THE OGRE DOWNSTAIRS

More Witch's Business (KR, 1974) out of phials with strange powers but here The Ogre is the new stepfather of Johnny, Caspar and Gwinny, a man with two children of his own whom they dislike almost as much as him. A child of each menage is given a chemistry set and the first powder, Vol. pulv., makes Gwinny rise like a blimp to the ceiling. Worse, much worse is to follow: there are toffee bars that scuttle, proliferate and eat everything in sight as well as droves of dustballs; finally Mummy disappears—more naturally—after a falling out with the Ogre but in the end he's put in Iris place and the families are realigned together. Once again the dialogue is nice and easy, nice and natural, and it's all lighter than air.