7c6cdd7d45cb035b54aafd3ac9eb9cc8

When I told the mouse I wasn’t into cheese all that much, and neither was Dooley, she registered surprise. “Then you haven’t tasted these cheeses yet. They are to die for.”

And she tripped out of the pantry and into the kitchen, neatly avoiding being stepped on by the cook, and resolutely making her way to yet another room. After a moment, her head popped out again, and she shouted,“Well, what are you waiting for, cats?!”

So we followed her, and found ourselves in a room with no less than three fridges and two freezers.

“Now this is where you guys come in,” said the mouse. “I could open these myself, but it’s hard going, what with that suction thingy, which is really annoying, if you ask me. Whoever designed these fridges clearly didn’t think of us poor mice. So pop this one open and let’s have a look-see, shall we?”

I did as she said, and before long I was sampling some of the best cheese I’d eaten my entire life.

“I have to admit you were absolutely right,” I said. “This is some pretty good stuff.”

“Right?” she said proudly, then stuck out a paw. “My name is Elsa, by the way, and I’m pleased to meet you, cat.”

“Max,” I said. “And this is Dooley.”

Just then, Elsa hissed,“Hide!” And promptly scooted behind a stack of boxes, quickly followed by Dooley and me. I could see the cook opening the fridge and then closing it again.

“Phew. That was close,” said Elsa, as she wiped the perspiration from her brow. “She’s never caught me once, and it would be too bad if she caught me now, since I have the pleasure of two guests.”

“Why are you being so nice to us?” asked Dooley. “You don’t even know us.”

Elsa gave another one of her hearty laughs.“You just say whatever comes into your head, don’t you? Why wouldn’t I be nice? There’s plenty of food for the three of us, and I enjoy the company for a change. It’s not much fun being the only mouse in the house.”

“You’re the only mouse here?” I asked.

“Yep. Never found the right one, I suppose, to start a little family and settle down.”

“There’s two hundred mice living in our basement,” said Dooley. “And they eat all of our food, and all of our human’s food, too.”

“Two hundred. Now that’s what I call a nice big family. Your humans must be really hospitable people.”

“Well, they are,” I said. “But even they think it’s a little much.”

“Yeah, I suppose two hundred can be taxing for your regular homeowner,” said Elsa, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

“We’ve been trying to negotiate with them,” I explained. “Ask them to move out. Or if they decide to stay, at least not to eat all of the food. But they refuse. They figure they have just as much right to stay as we do. So they’re not budging. And now my human is upset with me, figuring since I’m a cat I should be able to keep the house mouse-free, if you see what I mean.”

“Yeah, I think I do,” said Elsa. “Though of course I used to live with a dog, and I never had any problems. We respected one another and had a great time.”

“What happened to the dog?” asked Dooley.

“Oh, he died. Last month. Great tragedy it was, too. Maria was crazy about Boomer.”

“What kind of dog was he?” I asked.

“Maltese. Very clever, and a real gentledog, too. Always let me share his food, and let me tell you, if you like this food you should have seen what Maria gave Boomer to eat. Only the very best of the very best. Gourmet stuff.” She shook her head sadly. “Yeah, it hasn’t been much fun with Boomer gone.”

“You should come and live with us,” said Dooley. “I mean,” he added, with a glance in my direction, “what’s one more mouse?”

“Dooley!” I hissed. “We’re trying to get rid of the mice, not add more to the pack!”

“But Elsa is not like the other mice,” he said. “She’s one of the nice mice.”

“You know what?” said Elsa. “I could join you guys and have a word with this Hector and Helga, if you like. I’m sure I could come to some sort of arrangement if you let me. Mice, after all, don’t listen to cats, but they might listen to a fellow mouse.”

I had to admit there was something to be said for this. And if things didn’t work out, she could always come back to live at Maria’s place.

“All right,” I said finally. “You can come. But only if you promise to behave.”

She laughed again.“Behave! Max, I’m the best-behaved mouse you know!”

And with this, we shook paws on it.

Chapter 25

“Are you sure?” asked Fifi. The little Yorkie didn’t look entirely convinced.

“Yes, of course I’m sure,” said Harriet.

“But what am I going to tell them?”