"Well?" he said, "What do we do about this?"

"Call the police?"

"I don't think they'd believe us. Have you ever heard of exploding cats before?"

"No, but there's always a first time."

"It's mighty peculiar."

Mrs. Magill thought of something.

"What happens if our other animals explode?" she said.

"Why should they? They've never done it before. Why should our animals suddenly start exploding? It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe it was something else, like that milk. The cat had a lot of milk you know?"

"Milk doesn't explode!" said Angus.

"But the cat did a big jump, didn't it?" Mrs. Magill went on, "Maybe it was the big jump that did it?"

"Can't believe that either," said Angus scratching his stubbly chin with large, calloused fingers, "Cats is always doing big jumps."

They sat there for a while, just thinking about the strange event, then Angus brightened up.

"You know dear," he said, "I think you might have something. The cat had a lot of milk didn't it. And what else had a lot of milk?"

"The pigs," said Mrs. Magill, "And the dog."

"Well the dog hasn't exploded, has he? But he hasn't made any big jumps either, has he. I think we ought to go and see what happens if he does a big jump."

Angus and his wife went down the drive and across to Patch their sheepdog. Angus let him off his chain and whistled to him to 'get away'. He sent the dog across a paddock and round to some old trees, then he called him 'come here!' and the dog turned excitedly and raced back, and as it came it leaped over one of the fallen tree trunks and exploded in a cloud of wood and dust.

"There you are!" said Angus triumphantly, "It was the milk after all!"

And then, at the same moment, he and his wife thought