We want to be beautiful, wealthy, and have wings.

Despite the "PSAMMEAD" (or "BEAST") in the title, there are no horror stories here. The creature is a sand-fairy (who looks quite absurd, hence the politically incorrect label), who lives in a sand pit and grants wishes. Five children—brothers and sisters—are lucky enough to stumble upon it, and once they do, they start making wishes! It’s a good thing there was a limit of one wish per day, or they might have caused more trouble than one dares to imagine.

Even so, they got into a bind every time, because, first of all, they didn't know how to phrase their requests to the fairy correctly. Secondly, they didn't really know what they wanted, so they would just blurt out whatever popped into their heads. It must be said that these were quite typical childhood wishes: to be as beautiful "as the sun," to get a pile of gold, to have wings, to become giants, and similar things that every child has dreamed of at least once. Often, the wishes had to be adjusted by adding conditions like "so the adults won't notice" or "so the effect lasts only until sunset." Otherwise, they would become beautiful and not be allowed back into their own home. They would get a pile of money, which would raise a million questions from people around them. Indians would suddenly appear out of nowhere in the countryside of good old England—and wouldn't they go around taking the scalps of all the pale-faces?

In short, be careful what you wish for, or things get a bit too amusing.

The funniest chapter is about the knight's castle. The children wished to live in one, so it appeared right where their house used to be—and it was already being besieged by enemies. The children negotiate with their foes, which is very funny because knights from the Middle Ages and children from the 20th century struggle to understand each other. Their dialogues are reminiscent of the film "Ivan Vasilievich Changes Profession": "Again, again... cherubim... My life! It's time for us to go, since we are dreadfully late for our plane." The boys try hard to recall phrases from adventure novels, and the knights reply in a style of, "Thy speech, O children, is dark and unclear!"

"Five Children and It" by Edith Nesbit is for those who love magical fairy tales with transformations.