leather and looked very, very old. One of its latches was broken
and it was tied up round the middle with a piece of string.

"Thank you," said the Doctor when I brought it to him.

"Was that bag all the luggage you had for your voyage?" I asked.

"Yes," said the Doctor, as he undid the piece of string. "I don't
believe in a lot of baggage. It's such a nuisance. Life's too
short to fuss with it. And it isn't really necessary, you
know--Where DID I put those sausages?"

The Doctor was feeling about inside the bag. First he brought
out a loaf of new bread. Next came a glass jar with a curious
metal top to it. He held this up to the light very carefully
before he set it down upon the table; and I could see that there
was some strange little water-creature swimming about inside. At
last the Doctor brought out a pound of sausages.

"Now," he said, "all we want is a frying-pan."

We went into the scullery and there we found some pots and pans
hanging against the wall. The Doctor took down the frying-pan.
It was quite rusty on the inside.

"Dear me, just look at that!" said he. "That's the worst of
being away so long. The animals are very good and keep the house
wonderfully clean as far as they can. Dab-Dab is a perfect
marvel as a housekeeper. But some things of course they can't
manage. Never mind, we'll soon clean it up. You'll find some