The next morning, a fire bell rings. Mildred scrambles into her clothes but notices outside her window Miss Hardbroom standing in the playground surrounded by hazy purple smoke. Thinking she is in a state of shock, Mildred tries to douse her in freezing cold water but the bucket slips off her broomstick and lands with a clang on Miss Hardbroom's head. After witnessing the incident, Ethel Hallow confronts Mildred at lunchtime, saying that the girl she told the frog story to was her younger sister, Sybil. After prodding at Mildred, Mildred loses her temper and insults Ethel's family ("All you Hallows are weeds, weeds, weeds!").