Read "The Phoenix and the Carpet" by Edith Nesbit online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
It began with the day when it was almost the Fifth of November, and a doubt arose in some breast -- Robert's, I fancy -- as to the quality of the fireworks laid in for the Guy Fawkes celebration.
"They were jolly cheap," said whoever it was, and I think it was Robert, "and suppose they didn't go off on the night? Those Prosser kids would have something to snigger about then."