Zosia and Kuba find a strange clock in their grandfather's cellar, and one bright button sends them far away, where the air is warm, the flowers are huge, and something hidden is watching.
In a small village, under the sloping roof of their grandfather's house, Zosia and her little brother Kuba were playing hide and seek in the cellar.
It was cool and dim below the floorboards. Old jars sat on the shelves. Boxes leaned against the wall. Then Kuba squeezed behind an armchair and gave a small gasp.
“Zosia!” he whispered. “Look at this.”
He held up a strange clock. It was shiny and old at the same time, with bright little buttons and hands that twirled round and round like they could never stop.
Zosia knelt beside him. “What is it?” she asked.
Kuba brushed away some dust and found a tiny plate on the side. “It says clock,” he read.
The clock blinked green.
Before Zosia could say another word, Kuba pressed the biggest button.
The cellar spun. The armchair vanished. The walls blurred like water.
Then everything went still.
Warm air touched Zosia's face. Birds were singing. The children were standing in a wide, grassy clearing where flowers grew as high as umbrellas. Far away, a forest rose up with trees tall as castle towers.
Kuba tightened his grip on Zosia's hand. “Where are we?” he whispered.
Zosia stared at the clock in his other hand. It was ticking softly now.
Then a twig cracked behind them.
Something moved in the bushes.