The morning came. I beam of sunshine came pouring through the mouse hole window of Nina's bedroom. Cailin opened her eyes. She realized that she must have slept very late, because Nina wasn't in the bedroom.
But Cailin was too terribly comfortable to get out of bed at this point. She was so warm and relaxed. So she just lay there for another ten minutes, just looking out the window.
Then she finally managed to make her way out of bed. She stepped onto the floor, and streatched. Then she walked out into the dining room. She could see that the mouse family was getting ready for breakfast.
"Good morning, Cailin. Did you sleep well?" Nina asked.
"Oh, yes. Very well, thank you," Cailin said.
"Well, I hope you're hungry. Because we're having little cheesecakes for breakfast."
"Oh, yummy!" Cailin exclaimed.
"Do you like, strawberries or blueberries?" Nina's mother asked Cailin.
"Both!" Cailin said happily.
Mother mouse chuckled. "All right, then. You can have both," she said. Then she fixed up a plate of a small piece of cheesecake, with blueberries and strawberries on the top. Then she set some milk on the table.
The mouse family and Cailin were all seated and eating.
"Oh, this is delicious! Thank you, Mrs. Mouse," Cailin said.
"You are very welcome," Mother mouse said.
...
After breakfast, the family all had a wonderful time, sitting around the table, telling stories and making jokes. Cailin was having such a wonderful time, that she didn't want to begin to think about leaving. But again, at the same time, she knew that she must leave. She had to carry on with her journey to find her father again.
"Well, it's been so very nice of you mice to show me such welcoming, hospitality, but I must be off. I thank you all so much for everything," Cailin said.
The mouse family's faces all fell into sadness.
"Must you leave...now?" Nina asked.
"You can stay an extra day!" Mother mouse said.
"You're always welcome to," Father mouse said.
This was making the leave, just as much harder to do. Cailin would love to stay more, but she also realized that she couldn't. She sighed sadly. "Thank you all. This has been truly one of my most wonderful times. I've never really had any adventures before. This was a very nice adventure too," Cailin said. "But...I think I really need to go," she finished.
"Cailin's right. She should go," Father mouse said, sadly.
Mother mouse jumped form her spot. Quickly, she took a handkerchief and put an apple, a pear, and some berries in it. She tied it up, so that the fruits wouldn't fall out. "Here you are, Dear! Take these on your journey. You'll get aweful hungry," she said, handing it out to Cailin.
Cailin gratefully accepted it. "Thank you, Mrs. Mouse." Then she looked around at the whole mouse family. "Thank you, All. I'll never forget this time in my life."
After Cailin changed back into her own dress, and after hugs and kisses, she left the cozy little mouse home.
Nina took Cailin as far as the little creek that they were on the night before. And just the same, they took a leaf down the stream. Once they had come to a large opening of a pond, Nina stopped the leaf. "Well, this is the Tulgey Wood. I suppose I should leave now," she said, sadly.
Cailin smiled at Nina. Then she gave her a hug. "Good bye, Nina. You've been a better friend then I could ever hope to have. I would have never expected this runaway to turn out to have such lovely moments."
"I'll never forget you, Cailin," Nina said, with a tear.
"I'll never forget you either. And some day, maybe when Underland is free, I'll come back to you."
"So you think we'll see each other again?"
"I'm certainly counting on it," Cailin said, with a smile.
"Maybe I'll meet you're father."
"Yes," Cailin said, but then felt a little sad at the sound of her father's name. "I hope," she said.
"Well, good bye," Nina said.
"Good bye, Nina. Thank you for everything," Cailin said.
They shared one last hug, before Nina darted out of sight. Nina turned, and looked to the Tulgey Wood before her. She sighed, once again, she was filled with great fear.
...
Cailin walked through the glum and misty Tulgey Wood. She jumped, at every creak and sound she heard. Her heart was beating heavily as was her breathing harsh. "I...I wonder...if I'm even on the right trail to Snud," she thought.
She came to a clear opening in the forest. "Hello...?" she called out, in a shaky voice. "Father...?" she called.
There was a sound of a bird calling in the distance. Cailin jumped. "Who's there?!" she yelled.
Suddenly, she felt tears coming to her eyes. "No!" she said, holding onto her eyes. "No more crying! I've been crying too much lately!"
But with as much as she tried, the tears of fear came rolling down her cheeks. She walked on, hugging herslelf with fear as she walked. She was crying and gasping. "Father..? Father...?!" she called out in a teary voice.
After about ten minutes, of calling her father, and walking in the direction of who knows where, Cailin fell silent. "Oh, Father. He'll never find me at this size," she said.
Just suddenly, in the distance, Cailin could see a cottage. For a very short, disparate moment, she thought it was her own. But it didn't take too long to discover that it wasn't.
All thought, that situation, Cailin still wondered if she could get any help from whoever lived there. But with that thought, Cailin instantly backed out. "Oh, no! I can't ask anyone for help! Underland is dangerous! I just happened to get lucky with Nina's family."
Just as Cailin turned, she found that she was headed right for a gigantic boot. She stopped short, with a gasp of fear, only five inches away. Slowly Cailin looked up. She could see, clearly now, she was standing in front of a giant man. Or at least, he was to Cailin at her size. However, he was staring at Cailin, with great curiosity. "He...hello," he said.
Instantly, Cailin let out a blood curtailing scream. She tried to run, but the man picked her up from her shirt. "Wait now, I'm not going to hurt you," he said, but it was the last thing that Cailin heard, before her world went black.
