The Wee Free Men
- Tiffany walks all the way home with the toad in her apron pocket and fetches him some milk when they get back, since that's the polite thing to do and all.
- She asks the toad about how he became a toad, and he says it's all a little bit foggy—he doesn't actually know when or how he got turned into a toad.
- As Tiffany is standing there, her mom comes hurrying over and asks if she knows where Wentworth has gone. Tiffany says no, and her mom tells her to look in the house right away.
- Apparently Wentworth went missing at the sheep shearing, and now the whole family can't locate him. Tiffany feels kind of bad about not loving him enough.
- When she asks the toad about it, he is evasive. Tiffany takes some Special Sheep Liniment and calls out the Nac Mac Feegles, and hundreds of them pour out.
- They all look guilty about the sheep and chicken egg stealing, and she asks them to help her find her brother.
- That's when they reveal that the Queen has definitely stolen Wentworth, and that this means that the kelda (their leader) is weakening fast.
- A Nac Mac Feegle introduces himself as Rob Anybody, but he's nervous. The pictsies are afraid of words and the written word—they think they have magic.
- They ask her if she has any magic—after all, she's the granddaughter of Grandma Aching, so surely she's had magical skills passed down to her.
- Tiffany remembers a time when the Baron's dog killed a sheep (which meant it had to die), and how Grandma Aching helped him but made him aware that he had to be a better ruler—because laws didn't apply to him the way they do to other people.
- Tiffany decides to pack a few things in order to go get her brother back: the Special Sheep Liniment, the Diseases of the Sheep book, and the frying pan.
- Instead of letting her parents know that she is leaving, she writes a note in the diary—which impresses the Nac Mac Feegles a lot.
- The Nac Mac Feegles, who are a lot stronger than they look, pick Tiffany up and carry her away.