The Plan
When we got back to the bedroom, my grandmother took both me and Bruno out of herhandbag and put us on the table. "Why on earth didn't you speak up and tell your father who youwere?" she said to Bruno.
"Because I had my mouth full," Bruno said. He jumped straight back into the bowl of bananasand went on with his eating.
"What a very disagreeable little boy you are," my grandmother said to him.
"Not boy," I said. "Mouse."
"Quite right, my darling. But we don't have time to worry about him at this moment. We haveplans to make. In about an hour and a half's time, all the witches will be going down to supper in theDining Room. Right?"
"Right," I said.
"And every one of them has got to be given a dose of Mouse-Maker," she said. "How on earthare we going to do that?"
"Grandmamma," I said. "I think you are forgetting that a mouse can go places where humanbeings can't."
"That's quite right," she said. "But even a mouse can't go creeping around on the table-topcarrying a bottle and sprinkling Mouse-Maker all over the witches' roast beef without being spotted¹.""I wasn't thinking of doing it in the Dining Room," I said.
"Then where?" she asked.
"In the kitchen," I said, "while their food is being got ready."My grandmother stared at me. "My darling child," she said slowly, "I do believe that turningyou into a mouse has doubled your brain-power!""A little mouse", I said, "can go scuttling² round the kitchen among the pots and pans, and ifhe's very careful no one will ever see him."
"Brilliant!" my grandmother cried out. "By golly, I think you've got it!""The only thing is," I said, "how will I know which food is theirs? I don't want to put it in thewrong saucepan. It would be disastrous³ if I turned all the other guests into mice by mistake, andespecially you, Grandmamma."
"Then you'll just have to creep into the kitchen and find a good hiding-place and wait... andlisten. Just lie there in some dark cranny listening and listening to what the cooks are saying... andthen, with a bit of luck, somebody's going to give you a clue. Whenever they have a very big party tocook for, the food is always prepared separately.""Right," I said. "That's what I'll have to do. I shall wait there and I shall listen and I shall hopefor a bit of luck."

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