Peter reappears in a churning sea full of floating glass bottles. Suddenly, another body crashes down on him, also frantically trying to stay afloat. As they both struggle for breath, Peter suggests they work together. Gathering as many of the floating bottles as they can inside Peter’s burgle sack, they create a flotation device and cling to it.

The stranger describes their surroundings: a wide basin at the bottom of several large waterfalls. They paddle to the edge of the basin, and pull themselves out by a tangle of roots. Standing at the edge of a meadow, the stranger introduces himself as Sir Tode, a knight whom a witch turned into a combination of human, horse, and kitten. Sir Tode has been searching for a cure ever since. Told he could find a cure on the “isle that sits atop the world” (45), Sir Tode sailed across the sea until his ship wrecked in the Ice Barrens, and the currents dumped him over a waterfall onto Peter’s head. Not wanting to be left alone in this unknown place, Peter convinces Sir Tode to bring him along on his quest. As they are about to depart, they hear two voices coming over a nearby hill.