Now the male goblins were returning. "Moron! Idiot! Imbecile!" the woman screamed. "Catch them! Get the wand back!"

But the cat was moving swiftly, and the centaur was gaining speed. They got a lead before the goblins got organized.

Sammy, with something new to find, forgot the wand. It dropped from his mouth. Jenny saw it, and swooped it up. "Maybe this will stop them!" she said, turning to wave it at the goblins.

Nothing happened. "You can't use it," the centaur said. "It's attuned to Lady Godiva and won't work for anyone else."

"Well, I'll keep it anyway so she can't use it against us," Jenny said, and ran on.

They plowed through more jungle, running as fast as they could. But the goblins kept after them. Every time the mean men slowed, the mean woman screamed at them and made them speed up again.

Jenny's breath was rasping. She was used to walking a lot and to hurrying after Sammy, but this was headlong running, and she had already been tired from the prior chases. She couldn't keep this up much longer!

Then they came to a river. It wasn't the biggest river Jenny had ever heard of, but it wasn't the smallest either. It was a good stretch across it. She knew how to swim, but she wasn't sure about the foal, and she was so tired that she really didn't want to try it.

But Sammy came up to a square log raft tied beside the river. What a relief!

Sammy jumped onto the raft. Jenny jumped on after him, and the foal after her. Quickly she untied the rope, then lifted the pole and shoved the raft out into the water.

The goblins burst upon them, but stopped at the waterline.

Jenny poled frantically, but the raft moved with agonizing slowness. "Oh, they can swim right across to us!" she gasped, dismayed.

"No, they can't," the centaur said.

"But it's only a little distance!"

He pointed to a ripple in the water. Suddenly a slipper bobbed to the surface. "Water moccasins," he said.

"But that looks like a shoe!" she pointed out.

"It is a shoe—but it bites the toes of any footed creature it catches."

Now she saw that inside the moccasin, where the toes would fit, there were sharp white teeth. The tongue curled, slurping around the edge. She wouldn't want to put her foot in that!

The goblins seemed just as reluctant to trust their feet to the water. Several water moccasins were waiting, licking their rims. This was after all a safe place, in its dangerous way!

The current took the raft, moving it downstream. Jenny relaxed, not having to pole anymore. "What river is this?" she asked. "Do you happen to know?"

"I believe it is the With-a-Cookee River," the centaur said. "I heard the goblins say they wanted to avoid it."

"With a cookie?" she asked. "What an odd name! Why would anyone call a river something like that?"