Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit. Short summary

5 seconds

One day five children accidentally dig up a magical creature, the sand fairy, Sammied. He could grant any wish and agrees to grant 1 common wish of the children each day.

1 minute

One day the five children, Cyril, Jane, Anthea, Robert, and Lamb and their mother move into a new home. They go outside to play and accidentally dig up a magical creature, the sand fairy, Sammied. His body was covered in brown fur, he had bat ears and monkey paws.

Sammied spent a long time in the sand, but in spite of this he retained his magical properties. He could grant any wish and agrees to grant 1 common wish of children every day. At the same time, the wish works during the day, and after sunset the magic does not work and the effect disappears.

One of the girls wishes that they were all as beautiful as the sun. When the Elf leaves, the boys don’t immediately recognize each other. The younger brother, Lamb, refused to go into the arms of strangers at all. When they return, no one recognizes them at home, and Martha tells them to go to her house. The boys had to go outside and wait for the magic to run out.