PTOYNG! But one seed at least hadn’t got itself stuck to Blackshanks.

Probably because it was behaving VERY strangely.

PTOYNG! PTOYNG! PTOYNG! PTOYNG! This little seed was zooming round Blackshanks’ cage in the most crazy way. It “ptoyng’d” off his mirror… went tip tip tip down his ladder… hit him on the beak… went back in the bowl and hopped round it like a rabbit … and finally disappeared right under Blackshanks' tail feathers so they couldn’t see it! Nor could Blackshanks, even though he twisted his head round and wriggled about in away that reminded Dot of the day her dad tried on some Calvin Klein underpants two sizes too small for him! But the Baron could certainly feel it, as he let out an indignant squawk and waggled his bottom frantically on his perch.

“Hey come on Ade!” he squeaked angrily, his tail feathers ruffling up and down in a way that made Dot giggle and Wizzie let out his “I think that’s REALLY funny!” sound - kind of a whine and a snuffle all in one. “I did my thing with the mutt” (Wizzie growled angrily) “– why can’tcha do yours? Why don’t you Frenchies keep a deal, just once in a way? Come ON!”

PTOYNG! Out came the seed again from under Blackshanks’ tail. Now it went rattle rattle rattle all round the edge of the cage - and then suddenly shot itself up in the air so it hit the thing that held the cage handle on, right at the top of it. And with a last and loudest ever PTOYYYNNNGGG!!!!, out it came – onto the soft floor of the search zone, between the sparkling lights of the search targets

Then it just - stopped.

Then it spoke. It was hard to hear what it said, but it <I>sounded</I> like “Hunff hunff nift diff OWNIFNOFFNIFF!”

Wizzie went up to the little sunflower seed and sniffed it. The seed gave a little hop and “Hunff niff ZHOWACH!” Wiz backed off, growling. He looked anxiously over his shoulder at Dot. “Don’t like the look of this Dot!” he said. “Could be anything!”

“Well we must find out Weezie!” said Adrienne firmly. She reached inside the cab of her search engine and took out another little scanner – this one had a long curly pipe coming out of the bottom of it, like the one you have on the shower in your bath. On the end of that was a thing that was all shiny like a compact disc, but with squared off sides – six of them. Very carefully Adrienne knelt down next to the seed and put the square shiny plate just above it. She pushed a button and with a kind of whistling sound it began to go round and round, faster and faster till it was just a shiny blur.

As she did so, a little flap on the side of her shiny red search engine slid down. It was covering a screen which flickered and came to life, playing a little tune as it did so. At first Dot couldn’t work out what it was but then she realized it was the same tune that Domenico’s the Ice Cream Man’s van played when he came round to Barking Avenue in the summer! “Ding Ding Ding Dong” it went. “Dong Ding Ding Dong”.

At first the picture on the screen wasn’t clear, but then it suddenly came clear. And Dot and Wiz suddenly realized what they were looking at.

It was Mr Mouse! A tiny, tiny Mr Mouse, curled up in a ball inside the sunflower seed. It was as if he knew what was going on, because suddenly he spoke. “Huffnf gkuff nifnuf!” he went. Adrienne shook her head and clicked a switch on the side of her scanner – and the familiar sound of Mr Mouse’s voice came out of the screen.

“Hal-lo!” it went, crossly. “Anyone listening? Like I need rescuing as soon as NOW, not Christmas after next!”

Dot found herself smiling – it was such a relief to hear the sassy little rodent’s voice, even if he was complaining as usual – and more than that, to know Blackshanks hadn’t eaten him. But how were they going to get him out of there and back to his normal size. If only they…

Click-click-clang! Dot swung round – just in time to see the cage door swinging open. While they’d all been looking at the sunflower seed also known as Mr Mouse, Blackshanks had worked out how to open the cage door – and he was gone!!