Explore "A Magic Table" by Mary Louisa Molesworth on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Once upon a time -- how long ago really does not matter -- there lived in a certain country -- and where that country is, does not matter either -- three young men of about the same age. They were not brothers, but they had always been neighbours, and they must have been some sort of cousins, for they had an old relation whom they all called uncle and who called them all nephews.
"Nephew Hodge," "nephew Giles," and "nephew Michael. " Those were their names, though I fancy the last -- he was the youngest -- was more often "Mike" than "Michael."