After what seems like an eternity trapped inside an empty rainwater tank, Nicholas's aunt is finally rescued by a kitchen maid. She could and should have been rescued a lot sooner. But she'd expressly told her mischievous nephew Nicholas not to go into the gooseberry garden, where the rainwater tank is situated. This was his punishment for not eating his bread and milk and for claiming there was a frog in the bowl. Of course, Nicholas's aunt, desperately struggling to get out of the tank, has now changed her tune. Now she wants him to fetch a ladder, come into the gooseberry garden, and rescue her.

But Nicholas is not about to let an opportunity for more mischief pass him by. He cheekily reminds his aunt that she told him that he wasn't allowed into the gooseberry garden. With more than a hint of sadistic relish, he also playfully teases his stricken aunt, telling her that she doesn't sound like his aunt at all. He thinks that she's a strange creature called the "Evil One."

All in all, Nicholas's aunt can be thankful that her kitchen maid was on hand to rescue her, otherwise she might never have got out alive. And that would've suited Nicholas right down to the ground.