village, and
he went to Binks's, but no one was up.
So he pushed into the yard at the
side of the shop, and there was
his bicycle just inside a shed.
He wheeled it out, and started home.
Of course he meant to come sailing down
the hill again with his purse as soon
as he had changed his clothes
and put on his shopping hat
(and had some breakfast).
But you will agree it looked most suspicious.
So thought Mr. Binks peeping
through his bedroom window.
"All right, my lad, I'll go straight to
Sergeant Boffin at the police station,"
"and he'll learn you to go off with my
motor-cars, and never bring 'em back."
The bears were in a very
good temper that morning.
They gave back Mrs. Knight
her bananas (or most of them):
they gave Mr. Day some fresh cabbages
(and he did not ask where they got them).
"But I want a new cart."
"And I want a new barrow."
"We want a new soup-tureen."
"You can get it all from Mr. Bliss."
"And we want some fun from him."
Also the Dorkinses suddenly thought they
might charge Mr. Bliss for hire of ponies
- which was not nice of them,
as they were disgustingly rich.
Anyway after an early breakfast
they all started off again together.
It was a great squash of course,
because although Mr. B. had
run goodness knows where,
and the dogs had run home,
the bears and the Dorkinses
and the other two made nine.
When they got to the village,
they found a row going on.
"Mr. Bliss is a thief, and that you ought
to run straight up the hill and bring
him back to prison!", - said Mr. Binks.
"Wot! 'im 'as lives up the 'ill"
Binks is shouting, and people are coming
out, and there are one or two kids.
But a minute later, when up rolled Mr. Binks'
car, full of bears and Dorkinses and others.
All the village was there in a minute.
"He ought to be in prison he ought,
sending home a nice car bent and all,
and full of a parcel of bears and strange folk."
"Ar-r-r-r-r!"
"Now stand up and be
polite, and say 'thank you'!"
"You ought to be very pleased we
have bothered to bring your car back. "
"Mr. Bliss left it in our wood, and ran
away, and hasn't been seen since."
"O yes, 'e 'as, I seen him sneaking
'ome, early this morning, as l
was a-telling the sergeant 'ere."
"Then we must follow him, he
owes money to everybody."
Mr. Day wants a new barrow,
Mrs. Knight wants a new cart, the
Dorkinses want a new soup-tureen,
Mr. Binks wants his money:
and we want to see him too."
"We will all call together."
Poor Mr. Bliss knew nothing of all
this. He was having fresh troubles.
"I am blessed and bothered, if it isn't the
Girabbit's head sticking out of my chimney!
And he seems to be munching my carpet!"
That's why he looked
like a flag from far away.
Of course, it was the Girabbit's head!
Mr. Bliss had gone off and forgotten to
feed it, so it had burst open the back-door,
squeezed in finally into the dining-room,
and eaten its way through the
ceiling into the best bedroom
- and through the next ceiling
into the attic, and up the attic
chimney, knocking off the pots.
There he was blinking in the morning
sun with a large piece of the
best-bedroom hearthrug in his mouth.
Mr. Bliss was also really and truly angry: but
the Girabbit would not come down again,
not though Mr. B. pulled hard
at his tail in the dining-room.
"It's going to be a wet day! - leave me alone!"
Mr. B. was so tired that he left
it alone, changed his clothes,
took some food on the lawn,
and had a kind of breakfast-lunch.
Then he fell fast asleep, under a
tree, and forgot even to dream.
Just after eleven he was
waked up by the Girabbit.
"There's a powerful lot of people
coming up the hill, Mr. Bliss, "
"I can hear Sergeant Boffin's voice,
and Binks's, and the voices of those
Dorkinses you had to tea last Tuesday:
and other folk: and bears growling."
The Girabbit may be practically
blind, but it can hear mighty sharp.
"And they all seem dreadfully
angry with you, Mr. Bliss."
"Lawks!