Just like humans, animals speak different languages. A panda can learn to speak Monkey. A dog can learn to speak Bird. Most animals do not learn other languages, though. Antelopes aren’t going to teach their language to lions. The lions would eat them before they could even try.

So it wasn’t impossible for a cat to speak Mouse. But it wasn’t very common either.

“Chat?” Ava squeaked.

“You know, a talk?” Clover said. “A conversation? You mice can do that, right? Or is the only way you deal with other animals to bully them?”

“Bully?” Dean asked.

“Are we playing the echo game?” Clover asked. “Yes. Bully. I thought we had a deal. I left you alone last time I saw you. Why didn’t you leave me alone today?”

“You chased us last time!” Ava said.

“Yeah. I didn’t catch you.” Clover licked her paw. She was still wet from the sprinklers. “I had to pretend to chase after you. I wouldn’t be a good White House cat if I didn’t.”

“So…so you don’t want to eat us?” Dean asked.

Clover made a face. “Ew. Gross. No way. I’m a pescatarian.”

“Is that a disease?” Ava asked.

“No. It means I don’t eat meat. Well, except fish.”

Ava and Dean thought it was weird for a cat—any animal, really—to be so picky about food. But right now they were very glad Clover was picky about eating mice.

“We have cheese.” Dean scrambled into his mousepack. “Do you want some cheese?”

“Sure.” Clover ate all three chunks of cheese in one bite. Her teeth were pointy. Ava and Dean scooted away just in case.

“Thanks,” Clover said. “Now, I know there are a whole bunch of mice in here. And I’m fine with that. There were mice in our last house, and I had no problem with them.”

Ava smiled and took another step closer to the Treasure Rooms’ mouse hole. “Well, great! Glad we have an understanding. We can all live in the same house and get along. I will make sure to tell the rest of the mice.”

“Wait.” Clover dropped her paw on Ava’s tail. “I want my hairbrush back.”

“Oh!” Ava glared at her brother. Why did he have to grab Clover’s hairbrush? “Um…of course…I’ll…I’ll go get that for you.”

“No way,” Clover said. “I’m coming with you.”

Ava and Dean blinked at each other. It was great that the c-a-t didn’t want to eat them, but the Treasure Rooms were a mouse-only space. Even if they could squeeze Clover in there, they didn’t want her to see how big the rooms were. What if she tried to take some things?

“You won’t fit,” Ava said. “I’ll just run in and get it.”

“Is this your bedroom in here?” Clover asked.

Ava almost lied, but she did not like doing that. “No. It’s another room. There are…other things. I’ll be back.”

Clover yawned. “If there are other things, bring me something else. You guys got all my new outfits wet. You owe me.”

She had a point. The outfits were great. Ava would have loved to get some fabric from that Nancy Reagan dress.

“I’ll help,” Dean said.

Clover stuck her paw on Dean’s tail. Tails can be so annoying at times like this. “No. You stay with me. That way I know your sister will come back.”

Dean gulped. “Hurry, Ava.”

“Yes, hurry, Ava,” Clover said.

Ava could have kicked her brother for saying her name in front of the c-a-t. She grabbed the brush right away, but then she didn’t know what else to bring. What do you get for a c-a-t as a thank-you present for not eating you?

Then she saw it—the perfect item. The Treasure Rooms had been the answer to all their problems today.

Clover was talking to Dean about presidential fashion when Ava got back. Ava would have loved to talk about fashion. But Dean looked like he was going to faint.

“Here you go.” Ava handed the gold brush back to Clover. “And I have another present for you. Actually, it’s a present for both of us.”

Ava stepped forward and tied a bell around Clover’s collar. “The ribbon is green, which is perfect, since you are the president’s lucky charm.”

“I was before.” Clover looked sad. “I don’t know if she’ll even want me after the mess that happened today.”

“Of course she will,” Ava said. “Humans love their pets.”

“I understand why you want me to wear a bell. Now you can know where I am at all times. Even though, like I told you, I’m not going to eat any of you.”

Clover let Dean go. He rubbed his tail.

“I believe you,” Ava said. “But the rest of my family might not for a while. So if you can wear this, we’ll feel really safe. Plus, everyone who works in the White House will think it’s cute. The sound of the bell will be your thing. All divas have something that makes them stand out.”

“So…my bell will make me a star?” Clover looked excited.

“You live in the White House now. That already makes you the most famous cat in the country.”

Clover beamed. She was such a diva.

“So…friends?” Dean asked.

Clover grinned. “I didn’t say friends. I just said I wouldn’t eat you.” She strolled down the hallway. “It’s a big house. But that doesn’t mean I won’t have some fun. This bell is nice, but you still owe me. I expect you mice to give me the royal treatment while I live in the White House. Or else.”

With that, she turned the corner and was gone.

“I really wish the president had a dog,” Dean mumbled.

Ava shook her head. They’d had more excitement in the last few days than most mice had in their entire lives. “Be careful what you wish for. You never know what a new president is going to do.”

“Like dress her cat like an old president?” Dean asked.

“Exactly.” Ava gently nudged her brother into the Treasure Rooms. “Now let’s find some thick paper. I bet my airplane will fly farther than yours.”

“No it won’t,” Dean said.

“Yes it will.”

“Will not.”

“Will too!”

And then Ava and Dean finally played some mouse games. Which was good, because it wouldn’t be too long before they had their next crazy adventure in the White House!