Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE NO WAY OUT When the kettle boiled Mollie made tea in two teapots. She took one teapot, cup and saucer, and plate of cakes to the Snoogle, who was sitting in the dining-room reading a newspaper. It was upside down, so Mollie didn't think it was much use to him. But she was too polite to say so. She couldn't help feeling, too, that it would be much better for all of them if they tried to be friendly with the Snoogle. She put the tray down by the Snoogle and left him. He opened his great beak before she was out of the room and gobbled up one cake after another. Mollie thought he must be a very greedy creature.

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She went back to the kitchen, and she and the others munched chocolate buns and drank hot tea, wondering gloomily what to do next. 'Perhaps we could swim across that moat, said Mollie at last. 'We'll look and see, when we can creep away for a few minutes,' said Peter. 'Listen,' said Binky. 'What's that noise?' 'Snore-r-r-r-r-r! Snore-r-r-r-r-r!' went the Snoogle in the dining-room. The three looked at one another.

'What about poking all round to see if there's any way of escape now?' whispered Peter. 'Come on, then!' said Binky. They all got up. They went to the kitchen door and opened it. It looked straight on to the moat. How wide and deep and cold it looked!

'Ooh!' said Mollie. 'I'd never be able to swim across that, I'm sure. Nor would you, Peter!' 'And look!' said Binky, pointing down into the water. 'There are giant frogs there- they would bite us, I expect!' Sure enough, as Mollie and Peter peered down into the water, they saw the blunt snouts of many giant frogs. 'Oooh!' said Mollie. 'I'm not going to jump in there!' 'I say!' said Peter. 'What about the drawbridge? Couldn't we let that down ourselves and escape that way?' 'Of course!' said Binky. 'Come on. We'll find it before the old Snoogle awakes.'

They went through the kitchen and into a big wide hall. They swung open the great front door. A path led down to a gateway that overlooked the moat. The door of the gateway was the drawbridge, drawn up over the entrance. The three ran down to the gate. Binky looked carefully at the chains that held up the drawbridge. 'Look!' he said to