More Than You Bargained For — Joan Aiken

Joan Aiken's second book, More Than You Bargained For, is a collection of fourteen short stories, featuring a bargain birthday present that turns out to be magical, a family tree that grows inside the house, and a princess who falls in love with a parrot.
Contents include: More Than You Bargained For / Rocket Full of Pie / Armitage, Armitage, Fly Away Home / Doll's House To Let, mod. con. / Tea At Ravensburgh / The People In the Castle / Don't Pay the Postman / The Third Wish / Pigeon Cake for Miss Samphire / The Mysterious Barricades / Nutshells, Seashells / Catch the Christmas Train / Some Music for the Wicked Countess / A Room Full of Leaves.