The Phoenix and the Carpet by Edith Nesbit. Short summary

5 seconds

The second part of a trilogy that also includes «Five Children and It» and «The Story of the Amulet.» One day 4 children find an unusual glowing egg in a carpet, from which a phoenix hatches.

1 minute

The second part of a trilogy that also includes «Five Children and It» and «The Story of the Amulet.» On the eve of Guy Fawkes Night, when it was customary in Britain to build bonfires and set off fireworks, four children stock up on fireworks and decide to set them off in their room.

A fire eventually starts, which spoils the unusual rug. The parents buy a used rug to replace it. In it, the boys find a special egg. It emitted a phosphorescent glow. The egg accidentally falls into the fire, and soon a talking bird, the Phoenix, emerges from it.

After a while, the children learn that the rug was magic. It could carry them anywhere, but could not grant more than 3 wishes in a day. One day the little brother, who was just a baby, crawled across the rug. He mumbled something incomprehensible and disappeared. The children were very afraid they wouldn’t be able to find him now. But it turned out that he had wished to be near his mother.