Tamara knew there was NO TIME TO LOSE. One of her BRIGHT IDEAS flashed through her head. Running quickly towards the cage, she thrust her parrot umbrella through the bars, towards the meat and Joey. Archibald called out shrilly, his voice quaking with fear, "Joey, Joey come here." The white rat, hearing his master's voice left the meat, ran up the parrot umbrella, and onto the hand that was poking it into the cage. Tamara pulled the umbrella back just in time, the largest lion's paw was trying to investigate. Archibald grabbed Joey, and thrust him into his sailor suit pocket for safety.
By now a small crowd had collected. The lions' keeper pushed his way through the people, to where the three were standing. "Look here young lady, you have just done a very dangerous thing, pushing your umbrella in that cage to annoy my lions. What is the meaning of it I want to know, and where are your parents? I think you had better come along to the Controller's office."
Tamara, although only seven, was not going to be beaten by lions or their keeper. She drew herself up to her full height, and looked as sternly as she could at the keeper. Before she could utter a word, Archibald stood in front of her and confronted the keeper. "She wasn't trying to hurt your lions, she was rescuing my tame rat, who had got in there by mistake." Victoria, not to be outdone, broke in, "She's only seven, so I don't think you should speak so crossly to her."
The crowd, which by now had got bigger, murmured their approval. Clapping broke out, "What a brave little girl," said one lady. "How charming," said a man. Still, the lions' keeper looked furious, and muttered about all three going at once to the Controller's office. If Papa had not, at that minute, pushed his way through the crowd clutching the ice creams, goodness knows what might have happened. He took charge of the situation, and apologized profusely to the keeper. The keeper said he would let the matter drop, on condition that the rat was never allowed in the zoo again. The excitement was over, and the crowd all melted away.