because he has just
swallowed a beetle that got into his soup.
Egbert, he is fourth, also looks cross,
because there is another
beetle on the lovely carpet.
But a second later, Mr. Bliss and all his
party fell out of the sky onto the Dorkinses,
the soup, the beetle, and the lovely carpet.
"Next time you come, go
to the front door and ring,
and don't throw people out
of a balloon onto our picnic!"
"We didn't come in a balloon - l
brought my friends in a motor-car,
and we left it at the gate."
"Thank goodness, a motor-car on the lovely
carpet would have been too much to bear."
"I believe one of your friends
is sitting on a beetle."
So Mr. Bliss introduced
them all to the Dorkinses.
"Pleased to meet you, we
hope you are quite well.
Won't you stay to lunch?"
"Thank you very much."
"We would rather walk round your
beautiful garden, if you don't mind."
So lots more soup was brought
out, and cakes, and pickled
cabbage and banana-fritters,
and they all ate.
Except the bears who disappeared.
After lunch they walked round the
garden and the kitchen-garden.
After lunch they walked round the
garden and the kitchen-garden.
There was only one little row of
cabbages left in all the great big garden.
There was only one little row of
cabbages left in all the great big garden.
This is just a glimpse of what they saw there!
There was only one little row of
cabbages left in all the great big garden.
There was only one little row of
cabbages left in all the great big garden.
The bears had eaten all the
rest, and lots of green apples,
and raw potatoes and had not
even left the purple cabbages,
that Dorkinses used for pickling.
"Go away at once!"
"What nasty cross people
your friends are, Mr. Bliss."
They ask you to lunch and then are angry if
you eat it. We are going to finish our nap."
Dog's roaring.
"Never mind, we have got lots of
cabbages and bananas at home."
"My cabbages!" shouted Mr. Day.
"My bananas!" shrieked Mrs., Knight.
"Drat the bears: I am a-going after them!"
"But they will eat you all up! And anyway
you will never catch them up now."
"They will eat the cabbages
and bananas all up, you mean?
We shall easily catch
them up in the motor-car."
"No! I am not going to chase bears. I would
rather let them eat bananas than me."
"That's because they ain't your
bananas," said Mrs. Knight.
"l should go after the bears, if the Dorkinses
came too, and brought the dogs."
"We agreed!"
But, of course, when
they got to the motor-car,
the Dorkinses saw at once that it would
not go again without a lot of mending.
"What are we to do? This car
is worth five and sixpence,
and Binks has got my silver bicycle!"
"Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"
It was the donkey! They
had forgotten all about him,
and he had gone to find
his own lunch - thistles.
"l know! The donkey shall pull the car home."
"No he won't, not if I know him."
She knew him quite well. He was
already trotting away quickly.
"Hey, stop! We'll give you
four pounds of carrots!"
So at last he stopped and waited
to see what would happen next.
You can guess what did!
Then they fetched out three ponies:
Albert's, Egbert's, and Herbert's
- Fattie was too heavy to have a pony.
Then they tied all the ponies and
the donkey on to the front of the car,
after they had hammered and banged the
wheels straight, and after that they all got in.
Just as they were starting Fattie said: "It
will be tea-time long before we get there. "
Let's wait till after tea, or have an early
tea now!" But they wouldn't listen to him.
Anyway it was too much to bother to
unpack themselves all over again.
It took them much longer than they
expected getting up the long hill.
And it took them still longer
going down the other side,
because they had to keep the brakes on,
or the car would have run away and
pushed the ponies and the donkey over.
It was already very late tea-time when
they got to the inn at Cross Roads.
Fattie insisted on