When Cinderella woke up the next day, she was surprised to see that mother mouse wasn't in bed with her. She scrambled out of the covers and rushed downstairs. Robert's bed was unoccupied. She went out to the living room, but no one was in there either. When she went down to the cellar, she found Robert and Mother mouse sitting at a little table in the corner playing a game of cards while they ate bowls of hot oatmeal. "Good morning, Ella!" Mother exclaimed. "Come and have some breakfast. Robert was just telling me about how he has figured out a way to use sunlight to heat water. That's how he made our cereal." She turned, "You really are a genius, Robert. I never realized such a thing were possible. I always thought fire was the only way."
"Nope. Fire is only for cavemen." Robert laughed. "I'm far too sophisticated for that. It's all smoke and mirrors with me. There's so much you can do with smoke and a mirror to concentrate the power of the sun."
Mother Mouse grinned. Cinderella noticed they were holding hands but when she got closer, Mother Mouse pulled her hand away. Cinderella set at the table and ate the bowl of oatmeal that Robert slid across to her. "Thank you." she said shyly afterward.
Robert finished his third helping of oatmeal and rubbed his rotund abdomen. His cell phone rang in the living room and Cinderella was surprised at how quickly he was able to move. "That was Buster." Robert said when he returned. "We're going to go to your house now and deal with the infestation."
When Mother Mouse moved to get up, Robert stopped her. "Stay here, Sally. There isn't much you can do, and you could get hurt. Besides, someone needs to stay here with Cinderella."
Robert grabbed his sword, a hanging pot full of hot coals from the oven and a large bundle of fat, dry roots, which he shouldered. Mother Mouse followed him to the door and Cinderella caught them kissing. She felt a little jolt of excitement. Was she going to finally have a real Daddy Mouse? She'd never had one of those before.
Robert was gone for hours. To pass the time, Mother mouse read Cinderella a book she found in Robert's extensive library. It was called 115 of the Wildest Adventures from Forest to Glen by Rufus Clawfoot. The fat book was chalk full of adventure stories as told by the mice who had them. There was the Mouse and the Grouse, a battle to the death in which the mouse miraculously won. Also, My Night in a Man's Trap, the harrowing tale of how one mouse chewed off his foot and escaped almost certain death. Cinderella's favorite chapter though was about a little baby mouse who loses its mother and is adopted by a human. The girl who adopted her fed her sweet milk from an eye dropper and took her to live a lavish life in a palace of gilded gold. "I want to read 'Pinkie Becomes a Princess' again!" She groaned as Mother Mouse put her down for a nap.
"You need to rest." Mother mouse gave her a dose of the antimousotics. She tucked the bottle back into the pocket of her pants and handed her a cup of pumpkin juice. "Drink this, it will help you swallow the pellet."
After she woke up from her nap and had a snack with Mother Mouse, the two of them sat down and started reading Pinkie Becomes a Princess one more time. Just then the door burst open and Robert came in looking bright eyed and bushy tailed. "Come on guys! You should come see it. We took care of the problem, and boy is it ever a fat one."
Mother and Ella followed him quickly up the stairs, over the pumpkin, under the leaf, down the fuzzy vine and across the garden. The traveled into the woods until they came to the home of mother mouse at the foot of a large maple tree. Ella saw the large pile of stones had been moved away from the opening to the escape tunnel. A lot of very thick smoke was leaking out of it.
When she turned to look at the front of the house, she gasped. Smoke was pouring out of every window and door. Thick, pearly smoke that hung in the air around them. On the grass in front of the front door lay the disembodied corpse of a massive spider. It was at least two or three times as big as her mom, and swollen with extensive fatness. "There's something you should know." Robert cleared his throat uncomfortably. He gestured to four little cloth-covered mounds nearby. "There were four inside. Were they yours?"
Mother Mouse choked back a sob and ran to crouch over the little piles. She nodded, unable to speak as she looked at each one. "You said there were only four?"
"Yes." He shrugged. "How many are still missing?"
"One." Mother mouse whispered. Robert went to her and put his arms around her shoulders. "Don't worry, we will get a search party together and go looking. Maybe by some miracle the little one found a good place to hide."
The other mice quickly agreed to help look, and they all followed Mother Mouse down to the river to the place where she'd found the feast. There were vestiges strewn about from the party. Sunflower husks, some nut shells and uneaten bits of melon rind. There were traces of blood here and there on the flat river stones.
Mother Mouse goaned. "I expected this. It's not a surprise. It just really sucks to lose your whole litter in one night. It's embarrassing. I feel like a failure. I've had dozens of litters. I should be able to protect my young better than this."
Robert tucked a tuft of fur behind her ear. "You can't control everything, Sally. We thought these creatures were extinct. Turns out we were wrong. A scouting party found a whole nest of them down by the old cedar log. Turns out a female laid eggs inside it. They've been popping up all over the valley."
He sniffed the air and turned upstream. "I think I smell something." He hopped carefully from stone to stone, with his nose down and his whiskers twitching. Mother Mouse followed him along with some of the scouts. Ella did her best to keep up, but she was still feeling a little weak from her case of pneumonia.
Ella didn't know what was happening for a while but then she figured out that they were following little drops of blood that lay on the stones of the riverbed. The water was swift and shallow but then they came on a place where it pooled at the side of the river bank and formed a deep well. Water fell from the embankment over head in a steady stream. Deep underneath where the water dug a hole in the earth, a little mouse clung to a root hanging from the ceiling. The mouse didn't speak when they called out, and it didn't cry for help. It lay there as if dead.
Robert threw off his clothes and dove in. He swam across the pool of water, through the waterfall to where the little mouse hung. He grabbed it by the back of it's blue collar shirt and swam to shore. "Teddy?" Ella gasped. The little mouse barely twitched in response. His little nose was blue and his breaths were shallow.
Several of the scout party donated articles of clothing to wrap Teddy and they formed a procession to carry him to shelter. It was too far to go to Robert's pumpkin, and Mother Maus' house was recently fumigated, so one of the scouts, Randy, offered to let them stay in his home for the night.
Mrs Randy met them at the door to their quaint little tree house. She gasped when she saw the little bundle of baby mouse. "Come in, come in," she beckoned. She laid the baby mouse in a cradle by the fireplace and poured tea for everyone. A few minutes later she served them all warm lentil stew and helped bandage a cut on the little one's leg. He had begun to shiver uncontrollably, and he was looking around from face to face with wide, frightened eyes. Cinderella stood by the side of his cradle and sniffed him. He didn't smell like Teddy. He was a bit red in the fur and his ears seemed a little bigger than she remembered them being. Cinderella didn't say anything about it. Obviously, mom hasn't taken a good look at him yet. It made her sad to think of how devastated mother mouse would be to realize they had brought the wrong baby mouse home.
The little mouse drank the hot tea and ate the soup that Mrs Randy offered him. "Teddy, when you feel up to it, can you tell us what happened?" Mother mouse said. She sat on a little cushion at the foot of his cradle.
Teddy looked confused for a moment. "I don't know what happened. I was eating and then I looked up and mother was gone!" He shuddered. Mrs Randy massaged his cold toes and dipped them in tepid water. " I looked around for father but I couldn't find him. I realized I was surrounded by black and brown, furry trees. Then I looked up and realized the trees came together in the middle and there was a massive form arching over me. I don't know what it was, but it had so many eyes. I shrieked and ran."
"How did you get away?" Mother mouse squeaked. "Did you puff up your furr or bite it?"
"No." Teddy shook his head puzzled. "I didn't do anything except scream at it. I have a very piercing scream. I think I startled it because it didn't chase me for a few seconds. Maybe it was giving me a head start." The Teddy-imposter shuddered.
"What about your leg? Where did you get the scratch?" Robert asked.
"I slipped and scratched my leg on a stick." Teddy explained. "Some of the rocks by the water are covered in green slime."
"Teddy, you shouldn't have been so close to the water." Mother Mouse scolded. "I've told you a hundred times that it's dangerous and little mice can't swim very well."
"You have?" The little mouse raised his eyebrows. He looked her up and down and seemed a bit doubtful. "Your fur is a bit blonder than I remember. You have a shorter nose and your toes are quite hairy."
"Teddy, it's me. Don't you remember me?" Mother Mouse frowned and leaned closer. She didn't seem to notice anything wrong with her little baby.
"Well, I am Teddy, that's true enough. " Cinderella opened her mouth to object, but he continued speaking, "I don't remember you, but in truth I remember very little from the last day or two. I'm probably in shock."
"Just tell us what you do remember." Robert encouraged.
"I remember that the thing chasing me seemed afraid of the water. I was hopping along the very edge, and nearly fell in several times, but he stayed well away. He would reach out a leg and try to grab me, but he wouldn't come close. I figured it was safest if I stayed there. I just had to keep moving though because if I stopped he would hook me on one of his legs and drag me to him. He was very careful not to knock me into the water though. I thought that was very polite of him, considering I cannot swim.
Mother Mouse rocked Teddy's cradle. "How did you end up where you did?"
Teddy had finally stopped shivering and his eyes were narrow slits. "I was actually quite a ways further up stream when he accidentally knocked me into the river. I know it was an accident because he screeched and tried to save me. He almost fell in, and I was carried away and far out of reach. I remembered what Mr Farnsworth taught us in swim class last summer about how to float. So I just did that and tried to stay as close to shore as possible. The current took me into the quiet little pool. I kept floating until I bumped into that root, then I grabbed onto it and held on for dear life." His little eyes closed.
Mother Mouse tucked Ella into a bed by the fire. Cinderella thought about telling Mother Mouse that Teddy was an imposter, but how would she prove it? Even as she tried to think of a way, she realized she could hardly remember what real-Teddy looked like. Come to think of it, she wasn't sure that this wasn't real Teddy. Mother mouse had looked real close at him and she hadn't said a word about the funny way he smelled. Maybe he just smelled that way because he spent so much time in the water. "Do you think Teddy looks a little funny?" She finally asked hesitantly.
Mother Mouse twitched her nose. "You mean pale? Yeah, Teddy's had a rough day. His ears are swollen, he smells funny and his fur is tinged with something orange. That's not his fault though. We must not make fun of him, alright?"
Cinderella nodded. "Okay, but are you sure it's really Teddy?"
"Of course, it's Teddy!" Mother mouse snapped. There was a sharp glint about the way she said it that made Ella go quiet. "Now, go to sleep Ella. You've had far too much excitement for one day. We all have."
Mother mouse spent the rest of the evening visiting with the parents of several shy little mice who peeked out from behind furniture. Ella thought they looked like they were from a younger litter. A couple of them still clutched blankets and sucked on bottles of mouse milk.
Outside in the darkness of the night, an owl hooted and something big made clicking noises as it moved between the shadows. It climbed the big elm tree by the house, causing bits of bark to fall to the forest floor. There it sat in a limb-joint and watched the inhabitants through a window as they prepared for bed. It salivated, and wished it could fit in through the tiny windows. The smells of the mice and the food they consumed were tantalizing.
Lavida, the spider, didn't love her big brother, Jericho. He was selfish, greedy and pompous. He always took the best for himself and laughed when Lavida whined. He ate four of the baby mice in one sitting, not even bothering to save any for later. He also hissed at Lavida and wouldn't let her have anything to eat until he was finished. Lavida loathed Jericho, however she also equally loathed herself. She'd had that little mouse right under her pinchers and she still hadn't managed to eat him. How could she be so daft? Lavida watched him sleeping by the hearth. His fat belly peeked out from under his nightshirt.
Maybe Jericho was right about her being unfit to bear offspring. Her stomach rumbled, and she spent the next few hours catching and eating the fireflies that buzzed around looking for a way into the warmth of the space within. As daylight approached, she quietly worked her way down from the tree and went looking for her brother. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed his help if she was going to get anywhere near those two fat baby mice.
The next day dawned bright and beautiful, and all the mice were feeling a bit less tuckered out as they gathered for breakfast at the long dining room table. Mrs Randy made waffles with butter and homemade syrup.
While everyone was eating there was a knock on the door. "Helloo, Helloo!" called a loud male mouse. When they opened it, Cinderella saw it was Robert and a couple other village mice. They must have gotten up really early, she thought. "We've just been at your house," Robert spoke to mommy mouse. "We were going to chop up and burn the spider, but it looks like someone else beat us to it." He shrugged. "The house is clear though. I checked every room myself."
"What about the hole in the cellar?" Mommy mouse asked dubiously.
"Empty." Robert was washing his sooty hands in the water puddle. "I dropped a torch in there and we had a little fireworks show, when it burned all the web. After breakfast we'll go back and fill in the hole and fix the stairs."
"Thank you." Ella saw her mother's nose twitch, but she smiled anyway. "You've gone to so much trouble for us. I don't know how I can ever repay you."
"It's nothing!" Robert flashed. "I'm happy to help in any way I can. No repayment is necessary. " Ella thought he looked at mother mouse in a way that said he did hope to receive payment in the future. It bothered her a little, but then a little paw tugged on her hand, and she remembered she was helping to bottle feed Mrs Randy's babies. The little female mouse that looked up at her with wide eyes opened it's mouth and squeaked. Ella gave her the bottle she'd been preparing and watched her crawl into a chair and prop it up on her two knobby knees. Ella thought it might be nice to have baby mice someday, but then she thought about the four little mouse bodies lying in a row outside her house. She wasn't so sure how she felt after that.
Breakfast done, the grown up mice started making plans for the day. Mommy mice cleared away the dishes and the male mice geared up for the final walk through of mommy mouse's house. Mr Randy said, "We will easily have it all fixed up by tonight, if you want to move back in right away."
The male mice left to go make repairs, and Ella spent the first quarter of the day playing with Mrs Randy's babies. They were fond of peekaboo and playing tag. It was nearly noon when there was a loud pounding at the door. "Molly!" called Mr Randy.
Mrs Randy rushed to the front door and threw it open. She gasped and scurried back. Silhouetted in the sun was a gigantian shape that fell into the house. It materialized into the forms of Robert, Mr Randy and another village male. Mr Randy was being supported by the other males because his leg was badly injured and he couldn't put weight on it. Mother mouse tried to keep Ella from looking but she managed to wriggle enough to catch a peek.
Mr Randy wasn't missing a chunk of his leg. Instead, it looked like the lower half of it had doubled in size and turned purple, blue and green. "What happened?" Mrs Randy was examining him with wide, horrified eyes.
"I'm sorry, Molly." Mr Randy whispered. Sweat glistened all over his white, furry face. "We went in to the house to estimate -- how much dirt we would need to fill the hole in the basement. Wasn't careful. Didn't expect anyone else to be there. The spider came up out of the hole and attacked. I got stung. She had me by the leg. Barely escaped. I owe these two men my life."
Molly squeezed his leg, puss oozed out of the puncture and Mr Randy fainted.
"Someone get the doctor!" Molly shouted. "You, go now!" A wide eyed male mouse zipped off, when Molly pointed at him. Mother mouse helped Molly get Mr Randy into a chair by the fireplace.
Mother mouse brought a pot to drain and catch the puss from the wound. Mother squeezed Mr Randy's leg, because Molly couldn't bear to do it. "We have to massage the puss away from his heart." Mother mouse explained. After draining a good deal of puss, the wound began to bleed. Mother mouse squeezed a lot of blood out of it before she seemed satisfied. She packed it with dressings dipped in a mixture of boiled water and ash from the fireplace. "That's all I can do." She wiped sweat from her ears and went out into the night for some fresh air.
Ella crept around the end of the sofa. They had moved Mr Randy from the chair by the fireplace, to the sofa, where he lay very still and white under a thick patchwork quilt. His leg was propped up on a large fur-filled cushion. Occasionally he moaned and twitched as he slept. Ella wondered if he might die. Molly knelt beside him on the floor holding his hand and sniffling into a handkerchief.
A little while later, mother mouse came back in and shooed Ella off to a bed in the nursery. "I'm not a baby!" Ella objected, but mother mouse was in no mood to negotiate. She seemed a little distracted as she read a bedtime story and tucked her into a cradle. Ella's legs hung over the end so mother mouse propped them up on a cushion. "Don't worry, this is temporary." she said, "We'll find a better place tomorrow for you to sleep."
Ella didn't think she would ever sleep again. Every muscle ached in her body from the long hike along the river. It was long past any reasonable bedtime. Despite the thoughts racing through her head, she found herself losing focus and drifting from topic to topic until logic and sense became lost in a world of dreams.
Sometime in the night she woke to the sound of a piercing scream.
