The Phoenix and the Carpet -Edith Nesbit

When Cyril, Anthea, Robert and Jane accidentally destroy a carpet in their London home with fireworks, their parents replace it with a second-hand one. Upon unfurling it, the children find an egg inside, and, when one of them accidentally drops it into the fire, it hatches into a magical golden phoenix, who tells them that he can take them on the carpet to any location they wish. This revelation sets the siblings – and their baby brother Lamb – off on wild adventures, taking them around London and to far-flung destinations such as India and a remote tropical island.