so it happened that by the time john joiner had got the plank up -- there was nobody under the floor except the rolling - pin and tom kitten in a very dirty dumpling ! but there was a strong smell of rats ; and john joiner spent the rest of the morning sniffing and whining , and wagging his tail , and going round and round with his head in the hole like a gimlet . then he nailed the plank down again , and put his tools in his bag , and came downstairs . the cat family had quite recovered . they invited him to stay to dinner . the dumpling had been peeled off tom kitten , and made separately into a bag pudding , with currants in it to hide the smuts . they had been obliged to put tom kitten into a hot bath to get the butter off . john joiner smelt the pudding ; but he regretted that he had not time to stay to dinner , because he had just finished making a wheel - barrow for miss potter , and she had ordered two hen - coops . and when i was going to the post late in the afternoon -- i looked up the lane from the corner , and i saw mr . samuel whiskers and his wife on the run , with big bundles on a little wheel - barrow , which looked very like mine .
he regretted that he had not time to stay to dinner because he had just finished making a wheel - barrow for miss potter , and she had ordered two hen - coops .
what did john joiner regret ?
what did john joiner regret ?