Read Online Naughtiest Girl 2: The Naughtiest Girl Again by Enid Blyton - Free Book Online Page A

it, but it's gone," said Elizabeth, putting her head above the desk-lid to speak to Miss Ranger.
    "It is very careless of you to lose both books," said Miss Ranger. "I am not pleased, Elizabeth. Perhaps I had better look through your desk myself to make quite sure that they are not there, I can't imagine that you could lose two of your exercise-books, when yo u say you did not even take them out of the classroom!"
    But not even Miss Ranger's sharp eye could see the missing books, and she went back to her own desk. Robert was pleased to see Elizabeth getting into trouble. As for Kathleen, she was so delighted at the success of her mean trick that she did not dare to look at either Elizabeth or Jenny in case they saw how glad she was.
    "I will give you some map-paper, and you must pin the map you draw into your book, when it is found again," said Miss Ranger, She li fted up the lid of her desk to get some blank drawing -paper-and awoke the two mice!
    With squeals and squeaks they raced round the desk in fright, jumping over rubbers and books and rulers. Miss Ranger stared at them in amazement and anger.
    She was about to shut down the desk and leave the mice there, when they both leapt out, ran down Miss Ranger's skirt and tore across the floor, All the girls stared in the greatest astonishment, Miss Ranger put on a very stern face and looked at the surprised Jenny.
    "Jenny," she said, "I believe you are the only person in the school who keeps white mice as pets. Do you really think it is a funny joke to put the poor little things into my airless desk in order to play a foolish trick on me?"
    Jenny couldn't say a word at first. She really was too amazed to speak. Were they her mice? How in the world could they have got into the desk?
    "Miss Ranger, of course I didn't put them there!" she said at last. "Please, please believe me. I wouldn't do such a thing to my little mice. And anyway, you were so decent to me when I came to class with one down my neck that I certainly wouldn't have been mean enough to play a trick on you after that,"
    The mice fled all over the room. Jenny watched them anxiously, terrified that they would go under the door and escape-perhaps to get eaten by the school cat!
    "You had better try to catch them," said Miss Ranger. "We can't have the whole lesson disturbed like this. I can't imagine how they could have got into my desk unless you put them there. I sha ll have to think about the whole thing. I am very displeased about it."
    Jenny leapt up from her seat to catch the mice. But that was easier said than done, The frightened creatures tore all over the room, hiding under first one desk and then another. Some of the girls pretended to be frightened and squealed whenever a mouse came near their feet. Elizabeth and Belinda tried to help, but those mice were too nimble to be caught.
    And then, to Jenny's great dismay, they squeezed themselves under the schoolroom door, and escaped into the passage outside! Jenny ran to the door and opened it-but the mice had disappeared! Goodness knew where they had gone! The little girl ran down the passage, looking everywhere, but the mice were nowhere to be seen.

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    Jenny was really fond of her mice, Tears came into her eyes and she brushed them away. But others came, and she did not like to go back to the classroom crying. So she leaned against the passage wall for a minute, trying to fight back her tears.
    Someone had played a mean trick on her! Someone had tried to get her into trouble!
    Someone had made her lose two of her pets! It was horrid, horrid, horrid!
    Footsteps came down the passage-and who should come round the corner but Rita, the Head Girl! She was most surprised to see Jenny standing there, crying.
    "What's the matter?" she asked. "Have you been sent out of the room?"
    "No," said poor Jenny. "It's my white mice. They're gone-and I'm so afraid the school cat will eat them."
    She poured out the whole story to Rita. The Head Girl looked very grave,
    "I