Snooze

Everything was quiet in Smudge’s office.

Well, except for the sound of Smudge snoring.

And dribbling a little bit.

What he was supposed to be doing, I’m not entirely sure. But whatever it was, it almost certainly wasn’t sleeping. And it definitely wasn’t remembering that Lyra, Orin, and Zia were due to arrive any moment.

Smudge had a “little” job for them.

Knock. Knock.

Smudge snored.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Smudge snored again.

Then came a bang bang bang.

Smudge woke with a start.

“I’m definitely not sleeping!” he yelled, scrambling in his chair.

There was a wobble, a stumble, a flap of arms, and then a crash. A moment later, Smudge was lying in a heap on the floor, surrounded by several of his inventions.

There was the Self-Stirring Soup Spoon, the Automatic Sock Sorter, the Emergency Biscuit Launcher, the Banana-Powered Umbrella, and a collapsible garden rake, which had chosen that exact moment not to collapse.

“Owwww,” yelped Smudge.

The knocking came again.

“Oh! Visitors!”

After a few moments of untangling himself from the garden rake, Smudge finally managed to call out, “Come in!”