They went to find Mr. Dragon with Aunt Molly leading the way. They walked down the rest of the corridor and at the end of it there was what seemed to be a long narrow tunnel of stone walls and floor. Then at the end of it there was a long flight of steps leading downward. The ventured down the steps and entered into another long stone tunnel. This one was even more narrow than the last one. The further they went down the tunnel the more narrow it became until they were all huddled up against each other. Then suddenly the tunnel widened out and they saw a big wooden door at the end of it. As they got closer to it they noticed a sign on the top of the door that read Mr. Dragon.
"Well, this is it," said Aunt Molly. "Who wants to knock?"
Everyone looked nervous and then Mr. Wogglebug spoke up boldly, "I will!"
He stepped up to the door and took hold of the large iron O shaped door handle and knocked once on the door. It was soon opened by a large green clawed hand and they looked up to see the reptilian head of a giant green dragon wearing a pair of sunglasses over his big golden eyes and purple and blue lined smoking jacket and also a pair of bright red sneakers with yellow tips and laces.
"Hey baby, welcome to my cool pad!" said Mr. Dragon in a deep smooth baritone. "Thanks for coming by. Come on in!" He opened the door fully as he stepped aside for them to come in.
They stepped into Mr. Dragon's chambers one by one. They found the room they were in had to be the biggest one in the whole tower.
"Sit down and make yourselves comfortable," Mr. Dragon said gesturing to a set of chairs around a parlor table.
"Have a biscuit, baby!" He said as he took a tray full of biscuits and set them before them.
Mr. Wogglebug picked one up and said, "It isn't warm."
Mr. Dragon smiled. "Alright, you're cool. Let me warm it up for you, dude." He then took the biscuit from him and breathed on it with fire blazing out from his mouth and instantly the biscuit became burned to ashes. "Whoa, baby! What a shame!" muttered Mr. Dragon.
"Ah, never mind," said Mr. Wogglebug dismissively. "Well, Mr. Dragon, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. We've heard much about you."
Mr. Dragon arched his eyebrows. "You have?" he said coolly.
"Well, rumors, really," Mr. Wogglebug said uneasily. "Not that I'm accusing you of anything."
"Good," said Mr. Dragon coolly. "Because none of them are true. I have no treasure here, and I am not lonely either, I live this way because it suits me, and I have never burned anyone who I've met, I am way too cool to do that, and I am certainly not a figment of imagination as you can clearly see."
"Yes I do see," said Mr. Wogglebug. "And I have to admit you are really cool for a fire-breathing dragon. But why do you live is such isolation to suit yourself?"
"Well, have you ever heard of a fire-breathing dragon mixing with society?" Mr. Dragon inquired.
"Well, no I haven't. I do see what you mean," replied Mr. Wogglebug. "I would also like to know about Mr. Penguin who I met a while ago. Why is he in a cage hanging from the ceiling?"
"Because he likes it up there," replied Mr. Dragon. "He likes the view and he keeps watch for anyone suspicious for me."
"But why is he here in the first place?" Mr. Wogglebug inquired.
"Well, I found him one day on one of my travels just outside the Arctic. It turned out he was leaving his home in search of a new warmer place to live and so I invited him to come and live with me and so he did and since then he has been a wonderful pet – er, I mean friend! That is to say, he is both like a pet and a friend to me."
"Well, I'm afraid I don't understand how a penguin would want to leave its home in the Arctic for a warmer climate," admitted Mr. Wogglebug.
"Well, he is a somewhat warmer blooded penguin," said Mr. Dragon. "But anyways I keep the place cool enough for him."
Just then, Mr. Dragon looked suddenly alarmed as the smell of smoke reached the air. "I better go! My biscuits are burning!" And so saying he got up and rushed quickly into the next room.
As soon as Mr. Dragon was out of the room Mr. Wogglebug stood up and said, "I wish to further converse with Mr. Penguin."
He exited Mr. Dragon's lair with the others trailing behind him.
"What's wrong?" asked Bonnie Mae Alien. "Do you not trust Mr. Dragon?"
"It's not that," replied Mr. Wogglebug. "It's just that his explanation for Mr. Penguin sounded kind of fishy to my knowledge, like he was maybe trying to cover something up about it. I would feel much more content in hearing Mr. Penguin's side of the story."
They went back up the narrow stone tunnel and up the stairs again into the first tunnel and then they found themselves in the main chamber again where they found Mr. Penguin in his cage hanging from the ceiling.
Then once again Mr. Wogglebug climbed up onto Aunt Molly's shoulder and was then boosted up by Rejan and climbed to the edge of the pillar right beside the cage where he could speak to Mr. Penguin.
He noticed Mr. Penguin was asleep standing up and leaning against the right side of the cage.
"Wake up, Mr. Penguin!" Mr. Wogglebug said in a loud whisper. "I have some very important things to speak to you about."
Mr. Penguin blinked sleepily and slowly straightened up as he stretched out his flippers. "Hello again, Mr. Wogglebug," he said with a yawn. "What do you want this time?"
"I want you to tell me how you came to be here," said Mr. Wogglebug. "I just heard it from Mr. Dragon, though I feel somehow I should hear your side of the story also."
Mr. Penguin looked very uneasy at him. "Oh dear. Mr. Dragon really wouldn't like it if I was to tell you what really happened."
"Which is likely all the more reason why you should tell me anyway," Mr. Wogglebug urged him.
Mr. Penguin sighed with resignation. "Very well then. It all began when I was on a fishing trip with my family in my home in the Arctic and I had just caught a big fish and was swimming with it back to my family when suddenly this huge shadow swept down over me and the next thing I knew I was being picked up in a giant clawed green hand and carried far away from my home. Then I was taken here and locked into this cage by Mr. Dragon who told me never to speak of my old home again for this was now my home."
Mr. Wogglebug looked completely shocked. "You mean to tell me Mr. Dragon kidnapped you and brought you here locking you up against your will? That was so cruel of him! It really was. Why would he do such a thing?"
"I really don't know," admitted Mr. Penguin. "I suppose he just wants somebody to live with him."
"But don't you ever miss your family and worry about how they are without you?" Mr. Wogglebug asked. "I have a family and I would miss them and worry about them if something like that happened to me."
"Yes," Mr. Penguin admitted sadly. "I do miss them, my wife and son and daughter."
"And you would much rather be back in the Arctic with them, wouldn't you?" asked Mr. Wogglebug.
"Well, yes. I suppose I would," said Mr. Penguin sorrowfully. "But I will never be with them again because Mr. Dragon keeps me locked in here and he has the only key with him."
"Well, I'll just have to get the key from him and get you out of here," Mr. Wogglebug said decisively.
"But that will not be easy," Mr. Penguin warned him. "He is very clever himself and can spot a trickster from a mile away."
"Well, so can I," said Mr. Wogglebug. "And I'm willing to try to foil Mr. Dragon and set you free as all birds deserve to be, whether they are fliers or swimmers."
"I thank you for trying," Mr. Penguin said. "Though you may be risking your own freedom for the sake of mine I fear."
"Well, there are some things in life worth risking for a cause," Mr. Wogglebug declared.
He then climbed down from the pillar and once he was on the ground again he looked seriously at his comrades.
"Listen up and listen right, everyone!" he said in an authoritative tone.
They all gathered around him in a half circle as they listened closely to him.
"We have a very serious mission on our hands. We have to get Mr. Penguin free and take him back to his home in the Arctic. To do so, one of us will have to distract and then trick Mr. Dragon while the rest of us take down Mr. Penguin's cage. Now which of you will be willing to keep Mr. Dragon busy?"
"I believe I should," spoke up Aunt Molly. "After all, I'm the only one he's likely to listen to. I'll teach him how to make a new kind of biscuits and then get him fired up."
"Excellent," Mr. Wogglebug said approvingly. "Now Mr. Penguin tells me Mr. Dragon has the key to the cage with him so who would like to get the key?"
"I should," said Bonnie Mae Alien, "because I have an ultra-high-tech radar built into my eyelids that can see through things and locate what I'm looking for."
"Good. Then it's settled," Mr. Wogglebug said. "Now hurry Aunt Molly and keep Mr. Dragon stalled, and Bonnie, go look for the key in his room when the coast is clear. The rest of you can help me take down the cage."
Aunt Molly and Bonnie Mae Alien rushed off to Mr. Dragon's chambers again.
"But how are we going to do so?" asked Rejan.
Mr. Wogglebug smiled as he pulled a long lasso of rope out of his special green suitcase. "With this, just watch." He held onto the end of the lasso and twirled it around, let it fly, and it caught around the cage Mr. Penguin's was in. Mr. Wogglebug held onto the end of the rope and pulled as hard as he could on it and the cage began to pull with it.
"It seems I'm going to need more strength in order to get the cage down," he said and gestured for Rejan and Wall Russ to get behind him and pull the rope with him. They did so and they all pulled and pulled with all of their might.
Meanwhile at the same time, Aunt Molly had reached Mr. Dragon's room and knocked on the door and when he allowed her to enter she said in as silkily innocent a voice as she could muster,
"Mr. Dragon, darling, I know how you like to bake biscuits every night. They're always the same kind, though. I know of a recipe for better biscuits that has been in my family for generations."
Mr. Dragon looked thoughtful. "Hmm... A better kind of biscuits? Well, I'm willing to give them a try, Aunt Molly Follow me to the kitchen, dudette."
Then when Aunt Molly followed Mr. Dragon out of the room, Bonnie Mae Alien quietly sneaked in and began scanning every inch of the room for the key to Mr. Penguin's cage. Finally she found it. It was hidden away in a secret vent in the wall behind Mr. Dragon's armchair. She went up to it and took it carefully and then closed the vent again, pushed the armchair back up against it, and then hurried out of the room as fast as she could.
Meanwhile, out in the hallway up the stairs, Mr. Wogglebug, Rejan, and Wall Russ were making progress in pulling on the rope that was tied around the cage. Crack were beginning to appear in the ceiling around where the cage was hooked, they grew deeper and deeper until finally the hook of the cage holding it there was pulled loose and the cage came falling down and crashed loudly onto the floor.
Inside Mr. Dragon's kitchen, Aunt Molly had been showing him how to make her better biscuits. They had mixed up water, flour, and salt in a large bowl and were now placing mounds of the dough onto a metal baking tray and now when suddenly they heard the crash coming form somewhere above them, Mr. Dragon looked startled suddenly and Aunt Molly panicked and dropped the metal baking tray, which was hot from being on top of the preheated stove, onto Mr. Dragon's foot with a loud crash. He let out a loud roar of pain and clutched at his left foot as he hopped up and down on his right one.
"Oh dear me!" exclaimed Aunt Molly. "I'm so sorry, I'm so clumsy. Let's put some ice on your foot."
Then as she went to get the ice cubes from the refrigerator Mr. Dragon in his confusion decided that the crashing sound he had heard had been the sound of the metal tray falling on his foot.
Meanwhile, out in the upstairs hall, now that they had finally managed to bring down the cage Bonnie Mae Alien came running up to them with the key. They then unlocked the cage and Mr. Penguin stepped out of it.
"I can't believe it!" he exclaimed breathlessly. "I'm actually free again! Now I can go back to my home and family! Thank you all so much!"
"Save your thanks for later, my friend," Mr. Wogglebug said with a smile. "Right now we have to concentrate on getting out of here in time and safely."
Then they ran back through the corridors, and down the flights of stairs, then they were in the main entrance where the pig guard was still keeping guard and they ran out the door and began running out through the forest.
Mr. Wogglebug happened to glance over his shoulder and could see the top of the tower far behind them where thick smoke was billowing out from a window.
Meanwhile, inside the tower's kitchen, Mr. Dragon was exclaiming, "Oh baby, no! My biscuits are burning up!"
"I'll put out the flames for you!" said Aunt Molly. She quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher that was near the door and began spraying it onto the oven door.
"Hey now! Watch where your spraying! You might get my bisc-" Mr. Dragon started and was cut off as Aunt Molly turned around very suddenly and sprayed him full in the mouth with the fire extinguisher.
He coughed and gagged as he clutched at his throat. Then when he could speak his voice was very dry and hoarse. "Whoa, baby! My fire has gone out! I told you to watch where you spray that thing! My fire won't come back for hours!"
"Oh dear! I'm so sorry, Mr. Dragon," said Aunt Molly.