But so under her spell was Peter that he did not even mind that, though when he had been a boy, nothing had made him quite so miserable or unhappy as to be unjustly accused. Instead, he apologized to her just as though he had done it, and to make up for it offered to take her where they might get some ice cream.
Lulu, who never seemed to be able to stay in any mood very long, at once stopped being angry and even rubbed up against Peter twice, most lovingly, and said: `Ice cream! Oh, ice cream! I just LOVE ice cream. If you can get me some ice cream I'll never forget you as long as I live,' and then she added quickly: `You know, we have ice cream every day at our house, every single day and twice on Sunday. That's because my people are so rich. Shares, you know. Or did I tell you?'
Peter did not quite believe this, else why would she be so very eager to have some, but he was not able to find fault with anything that Lulu chose to do or say, and besides, he did think he knew where to get it. His sharp eyes, now trained never to miss an opportunity for a snack or a full meal, had noticed that right in the vicinity of where they had stopped was an ice-cream booth served by a girl in a white apron, with bright yellow hair the colour of straw, jaws that never stood still, and eyes that also moved constantly roving over the crowd. The aw movement no doubt was due to the use of American chewing gum, but since her eyes were constantly wandering over the crowd looking for a personable young man she did not quite pay attention to what she was doing, with the result that every time she served up a gobbet of ice cream, which she got out of a cylinder-shaped tin with a metal scoop and flopped it on to the wafer cornet before handing it to a customer in exchange for three-pence, large dribbets of it would fall to the floor behind the counter at her feet. It was on these drippings that Peter intended to concentrate.
The problem was how to get behind the counter without being noticed, but that was not too difficult when it developed that it was only oilcloth around the bottom of the booth, and not fastened too securely at that. In a moment he had showed Lulu where to nip under, and only after she had achieved it safely without attracting any attention did he follow her himself.
There was one opening on the other side by the feet of the girl and this was immediately filled by Lulu whose dark tail stuck out straight behind her as she squatted there and licked and lapped and sucked up all the ices that dropped down beside her like manna from heaven. While Peter waited patiently for his turn, she had some chocolate and vanilla and some cherry flavour, then a bit of pineapple and strawberry, followed by orange, pistache, coffee and lemon, as well as raspberry, peach and blackberry. This took quite a long time, as sometimes there would be a considerable wait between customers and nothing would come down. But it was steady feasting at that, and from where he sat and waited, Peter was sure that he could actually see Lulu's sides distending.
Had Peter thought of Jennie at that moment, which he did not, he might have wondered that Lulu had not offered to make a little room for him so that he too could enjoy the delights his wits had provided. But the sad truth was that not once since he had first laid eyes on Lulu had Jennie crossed Peter's mind. He was completely bedazzled by the gay, fascinating and irresponsible little Siamese.
Not only did Lulu fail to offer to share, but when her sides were really so ballooned out that Peter was beginning to be afraid that she might burst, she emitted a resounding burp, followed by a deep sigh, and turning away from the hole said to Peter: `Oh! I simply couldn't lap another tongueful. That was delish. Where do we go now? I think I'd like to see the animals if it was quite safe. Come on. You lead the way. You're so clever.'
Peter would have loved to have had some ice cream, and, as it happened, a big, thick, gooey gob of chocolate dropped into the opening at that moment, but Lulu had already turned and ducked out of the booth by the opening through which they had come and Peter perforce had to let the treat go and follow her, for he could not bear to let her out of his sight.
Opposite was a large tent with some glaring posters outside depicting in four colours the wild denizens of the African jungle, and they had no difficulty whatsoever slipping under the sides of the tent.
Within, it was not quite as exciting as outside, for the advertised denizens of the jungle proved to be but three in number. The show consisted of three cages built into wagons, containing one thin and shabby– looking lion who looked in need of re-upholstering, a mangy hyena, who smelled bad, and a small Capuchin monkey with a sad face and unhappy eyes who hung by his tail from a bar.
However, there was nothing anemic about the roar the lion let out when he saw Lulu and Peter, and he paced up and down his cage, pushing his shoulder against the bars and rubbing his already worn pelt to further tatters.
Trembling with fear, Lulu crowded as close as she could to Peter and said, `Oh! Isn't it wonderful to be so frightened?
'Don't you love it? I could just stay here the rest of my life and tremble. Isn't it thrilling?'
But soon she said: `I am afraid; I want to sleep, against you.’
They went round behind the lion's cage and, obediently, Peter lay down beside her. She immediately whipped around, curled against him, put both paws in his face and went to sleep. Peter held himself statue-still, for he did not want to disturb her, but the paws were tickling him and one of them was interfering with his breathing and so at last he shifted ever so slightly which brought an immediate and raucous protest from Lulu.
'No, no, NO!' she cried, her blue eyes coming wide awake at once and glaring at Peter reproachfully. `I LIKE sleeping with my paws in your face. It's so much softer. Do hold still.' This time she managed to put them in his ears; but he dared not move, and eventually the long, exciting day through which he had been took its toll and he fell asleep too, but not very soundly.
The following morning, awakened by the roaring of the lion who was shouting for his breakfast in exceeding bad temper, Peter saw that not only was Lulu sitting up, not at all frightened, but she was yawning so that he could see right to the back of her pink throat.
`Aren't you frightened any longer?' he asked her.
`What, of that poor old thing in a cage?' Lulu replied. `That was yesterday, and yesterday is never the same as to-day. Don't you think to-morrow is really the best of all? To-day I'm not frightened of the lion any longer, I don't want any more ice cream and I'm tired of the fun fair. Let's go somewhere else. You know about everything. YOU lead the way.'
But as he started to crawl out from beneath the tent, she went by him with a whisk, a roll and a flash, and was ten yards ahead of him and waiting by the time he had got free of the canvas.
`Goodness,' she said, `I've been waiting for hours. I thought you were never coming. Do you hate rain?'
There was some logic to her last remark, for now that he was outside the tent, Peter found that it was a grey, unpleasant day with a fine, early morning drizzle coming down from the sky.
He replied, `Yes, indeed I do. I don't like it at all. My fur gets all wet and cakey, and then it gets dirty and—‘
`Pity,' Lulu interrupted. 'I LOVE the rain. All cats hate water but me-us, I mean. I once dived right off a punt into the Thames at Henley. It was Regatta Day and everybody applauded. Rain makes my eyes bluer, Come on, let's take a nice long walk in it.'
They left the fun fair and the Heath and promenaded steadily north through High-gate to Queen's Wood Priory Road. Here the drizzle changed to a downpour, but Lulu, who ordinarily proceeded only by leaps and frisks, now seemed to enjoy walking at a sedate stroll while blinking her eyes up into the downpour so that, as she apparently believed, they would get bluer. Peter was hideously wet; he had never been quite so thoroughly rained on before, and yet somehow wandering along beside Lulu it didn't seem to matter too much. If it really did make her eyes bluer, it was quite worth it.