Five Children and It · Chapter
Beautiful as the Day explained
The five children—Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and the Lamb—move to the White House in the countryside, where they discover a sand-fairy called a Psammead in a gravel-pit.
What happens
The five children—Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and the Lamb—move to the White House in the countryside, where they discover a sand-fairy called a Psammead in a gravel-pit. The Psammead grants them one wish per day, and their first wish is to be 'as beautiful as the day,' which comes true, leading to unexpected consequences when they encounter other children and must hide until sunset to avoid being seen.
Themes in this chapter
Wish Fulfillment and Its Consequences
The children's first wish for beauty comes true but leads to them being trapped in the lane until sunset, unable to return home without being seen.
Childhood vs. Adulthood
The narrative contrasts children's willingness to believe in the Psammead with grown-ups' need for 'proof,' and the children's freedom in the country versus London's restrictive rules.
The Magic of Everyday Life
The discovery of a magical creature in an ordinary gravel-pit emphasizes that wonder can be found in mundane settings.
Characters to notice
- Cyril
Suggests digging in the gravel-pit; nips his finger in a hutch door.
- Anthea
Wakes first after the wish; suggests the wish to be beautiful; shows concern for the Psammead.
- Robert
Gets a lump on his head from tumbling out; asks the Psammead about its past.
- Jane
Agrees to the wish; is mistaken for a stranger after the transformation.
- The Lamb
The baby, carried in turns by the others; called 'Lamb' because 'Baa' was his first word.
- The Psammead
The sand-fairy discovered in the gravel-pit; grants the wish for beauty, though initially struggling; explains its ancient history.
Key passages
“In London almost everything is labelled "You mustn't touch," and though the label is invisible it's just as bad, because you know it's there, or if you don't you jolly soon get told.”
In London, many things are forbidden, even if the rules aren't written down, and children quickly learn what they can't do.
Highlights the contrast between restrictive city life and the freedom of the countryside.
“Grown-up people find it very difficult to believe really wonderful things, unless they have what they call proof. But children will believe almost anything, and grownups know this.”
Adults need evidence to believe in extraordinary things, while children are more open to wonder, a fact that adults exploit.
Sets up the theme of childhood imagination versus adult skepticism.
“I wish we were all as beautiful as the day.”
Anthea wishes for the children to be as beautiful as daylight itself.
The first wish made to the Psammead, which comes true with unexpected results.