So the quickest way, he thought, to find out the contents was to taste. The plum jam was the nearest. Breaking the paper top with his claws he dipped his paw in and scooped up the lovely red jam. He tasted it, licked his lips and decided to try the next bottle. Loganberry it was labelled; scratching away the top, in went his paw and out came the sticky jam. It dropped all over the shelf and down Blinky’s front. But it was good! So the next bottle must be tasted. Every pot of jam was sampled, and that naughty bear’s paws and face were covered with a mixture unlike anything ever seen before. All his pretty fur on his chest and tummy dripped jam. Every bottle was covered with the sticky stuff and the shelf too. As he carefully walked in and out of the things on the shelf he left jammy foot-prints behind.

He quite forgot to look for an escape as he was having such a glorious time.

Suddenly he caught sight of a dish full of eggs. “They look funny things. I must see what they are,” he murmured.

Patting one with his paw he found it cold and hard, and decided to taste it; but he could not catch it in his paw so put out his claws to get a firmer hold.

Crack! The egg broke and out came everything. “That’s funny!” laughed Blinky, and gave another egg a smack with his paw. Crack! It went just like the other one.

“Goodness! What silly things!” And Blinky laughed. Then he stood on his hind legs and with his two front paws came down smack! smack! on all the eggs. Oh, what an awful mess there was! Eggs and jam were all over his paws; and such nasty things, too, for a little bear to have on his fur. He licked one paw after another to shake the sticky stuff off.

“Ker-chew! Ker-chew!” he sneezed as the milk ran up his nose.

Poor Miss Smifkins’s best teacups, standing so neatly on the shelf, in a jiffy were spattered with eggs and jam.

Still exploring the wonderful shelf, he found a jug of milk. In went the paw and up to his mouth. “Um, urn,” Blinky grunted, as he licked his paw all over. The milk tasted good, so another dip in the jug and another lick followed. Finding it so nice, he stuck his head in the jug to have a good long drink. The milk was the best taste of all.

“Ker-chew! Ker-chew!” Blinky sneezed as the milk came up his nose, but he drank and drank until the jug was empty. Then, grunting with satisfaction, he sat down to see what next he could taste.

Some cakes under a wire cover looked very nice, and just as Blinky was crawling along the shelf to try one, he caught sight of a tiny mouse peeping out of his hole.

Blinky gave a grunt.

The mouse popped his head back in his hole. In a few minutes he had another look out.

Blinky gave another grunt. But the mouse became brave and gazed up at Blinky with bright little eyes.

“Good evening, Mr Bear,” he said in a tiny squeaking voice.

“Good evening, Mr Mouse,” Blinky replied. “What are you doing in here?”

“I’ve come to look for my supper.”

“Do you like sticky things?”

“No, Mr Bear,” the mouse answered. “I like cheese and crumbs.”

“Cheese? What’s that?”

“The best thing in the world to make your whiskers grow,” the mouse replied. “And I smell some somewhere.”

“Then come out of your hole and I’ll help you to find it,” Blinky said boldly.

“You won’t eat me, will you?” the little mouse asked anxiously.

“No,” said Blinky softly. “I’ve seen Mrs Kookaburra eat dozens of your relations, but I don’t like tails!”

“I’ll find you some cheese, then,” said Mr Mouse.