The girls find that their new form mistress is called Miss Mould, who has a "soft and kindly" voice and "short mousy hair parted in the middle and pulled into a ponytail at her neck". She is a great relief from the horrifically strict Miss Hardbroom and the extremely weird Miss Granite whom they had had the previous term. Mildred sits next to Drusilla Paddock, who swaps places with Ethel after Miss Mould tells Ethel her coils are too short. Minutes later, a maraca-like noise echoes through the classroom. Mildred finds that her coils have turned into five rattlesnakes. Miss Mould gets the whole class outside while Ethel stays inside and evaporates the rattlesnakes. Just then, Miss Hardbroom appears and Miss Mould explains what happened. Miss Hardbroom sends Mildred to her room and bans her from art lessons for the rest of the term. Mildred runs to her room where she figures out it must have been Ethel who turned her pot and coils into the snakes out of jealousy.