For the next few evenings after school, Matilda secretly practised moving things with her eyes - pens, pencils, books. Soon she could lift things, and push and pull them any way that she wanted to.
On Thursday, Miss Trunchbull came to teach the youngest children again. Everybody watched her lift up her large glass of water and look carefully at it. ` I'm glad to see there's nothing in it today,' she said. She looked round at them with an unpleasant smile on her face. `Today I'm going to see if you can multiply by three. You!' She pointed at a boy called Wilfred. `Stand up!' Wilfred stood up. `Give me the answer to this. I have seven apples, seven oranges and seven bananas. How many pieces of fruit do I have? Quickly! Give me the answer!'