“A trap?” Cinderella cried. “Why didn’t you say so?”

In an instant, Cinderella ran out of her tiny bedroom, down the steep attic stairs, and through the long hallway of the fancy château in which she lived. A brown mouse, wearing an orange jacket and a pointy red hat, followed behind her as fast as his little paws could carry him. It wasn’t every day that a new mouse got caught in a trap, but when it happened, Cinderella was always there and ready to help!

And that was just one of the reasons why all the little mice who lived in the big château loved her. Cinderella’s kind heart and warm smile made everyone happy!

Everyone, that is, but Lady Tremaine, Cinderella’s cruel stepmother, and Lady Tremaine’s horrible daughters, Drizella and Anastasia. Lady Tremaine and her daughters were very mean to Cinderella. They made her live in a cramped, drafty room in the attic. She had to do all the chores. And she had to wait on them hand and foot!

But even though her stepmother and stepsisters were not nice to her, it was in Cinderella’s nature to treat everyone kindly. Especially anyone who needed her help, like the small mouse who was crying in the trap at the end of the hall.

“Poor little thing,” Cinderella said in a gentle voice. She opened the trap so that the mouse could come out. He was shaking and very scared.

“Don’t worry,” said Jaq, the mouse standing next to Cinderella. He smiled at the nervous little mouse. “She is our friend!”

Cinderella looked at the mouse in the cage, who was still shaking. She placed her hand at the opening of the trap to help the mouse get out. She looked at him closely. “We have to give you a name,” she said. “How about Octavius? Gus for short!”

Cinderella reached for a set of tiny mouse clothes that she had in her pocket. She pulled a yellow shirt over Gus’s round tummy. Then she put a pointy green cap on his head. He looks perfect, Cinderella thought happily.

Gus smiled shyly. He was feeling better already!

“Now I’ve got to get to work,” Cinderella said. “See that Gus keeps out of trouble, Jaq. And don’t forget to warn him about that pesky old cat!”

Humming a pretty song, Cinderella hurried off toward the kitchen. She had a lot of chores to do. She had to feed the chickens; Bruno, the big old hound dog; and Lucifer, the mean old cat. And of course, she had to serve breakfast to Lady Tremaine, Drizella, and Anastasia. They would not be happy if she was late!

Jaq grabbed Gus’s paw and led him downstairs. “Lotsa mice live here,” he told Gus. “Suzy, Perla, Mert, Bert, Luke—wait until you meet them. We have lots of fun together. They’ll be your new friends!”

Gus looked over at Jaq. A big grin spread across his face.

“And Cinderella is a friend to all the mice,” Jaq continued. “And the birds, and the dog, and even . . . the mean cat. Cinderella makes us clothes and gives us food! Like—breakfast!”

Jaq and Gus scurried along the kitchen wall to the courtyard, where Cinderella was busy feeding the chickens. Then Cinderella noticed Jaq and Gus standing in the doorway. “Here you go, you two,” she said cheerfully. Then she tossed them a large handful of corn.

Gus looked at all of the corn that was on the ground in front of him. He scurried about, picking up as much as he could carry. Soon he was holding a stack of corn that was almost as tall as he was!

“Hurry up!” called Jaq. His little pockets were overflowing with corn. “Lucifer is coming!”

“Lucifer?” repeated Gus. He looked very confused.

“The cat!” Jaq cried. He grabbed Gus by the arm and ran toward the mouse hole in the wall.

All of sudden, Gus understood why Jaq was in such a hurry. A big, black cat slowly walked into the courtyard. He was licking his lips and flicking his tail.

Cinderella’s clear voice rang out across the courtyard. “Lucifer! Don’t bother those mice or you won’t get any cream for breakfast,” she warned the cat. Lucifer eyed the mice for a moment and then crept away.

Jaq and Gus made it to the mouse hole and squeezed themselves inside. That was close! Gus thought.

“Cinderella is so nice,” Jaq said with a big grin. “She always takes such very good care of us!”

“I really like Cinderelly!” Gus agreed. He’d only known her for a little while, and already she had saved him from a trap, given him some clothes, served him breakfast, and protected him from Lucifer. She was the nicest lady he had ever met!

Suddenly Gus had a great idea. He wanted to do something for Cinderella to show her how thankful he was. Something nice. Something special. Something big!

“Let’s go,” Jaq said. He patted his pockets, which were full of corn. “All the other mice are going to want breakfast—and we can bring it to them!”

Gus quickly nibbled a few pieces of corn, then handed the rest to Jaq. “You go,” he said. “I am going to surprise Cinderelly with a present!”

“Okay, but make sure you watch out for Lucifer!” Jaq told Gus.

“Okay!” Gus replied. Then he peeked out of the mouse hole and looked both ways. There was no sign of the big, mean cat. He scurried back out into the courtyard. Gus had the whole yard to himself to think up the perfect surprise for Cinderella!

But what would that be? Gus’s tiny face scrunched up as he tried to think of a great idea. He could make Cinderella something to wear, like a pretty scarf. But he didn’t know how to sew. What about a beautiful painting? But he wasn’t an artist.

Suddenly, Gus smelled something very delightful! What could it be? He put his nose in the air and sniffed again.

Then he noticed a beautiful rosebush. It was covered with enormous pink roses. Gus knew that he’d found it—the perfect present for Cinderella!

He scurried across the courtyard as fast as he could. He climbed up the rosebush and quickly began to gnaw on each branch, carefully avoiding the thorns. Gus filled his arms with the pretty roses. It would take several trips to carry all the flowers up to Cinderella’s room in the attic—and he couldn’t wait to get started! I hope she likes them, he thought happily.