The mice couldn’t wait to put the rest of their plan into action. They rushed off to their places, and slowly the clothesline started moving. One by one, Perla caught each egg and carefully placed them in a big straw basket. “It’s working! It’s working!” she cried happily.

And it would have worked perfectly, if Lucifer hadn’t suddenly shown up to cause trouble!

A loud scream from Mert startled all the mice. “Gus! Jaq! Perla! Luke! Look out! Lucifer is here!” he cried.

Lucifer had silently crept up into the kitchen. He smiled and licked his lips. The cat looked like he was ready to pounce!

Luckily for the mice, Bruno came to the rescue. He snarled and growled at Lucifer, who leaped out of the way.

But all of the commotion interrupted everyone’s concentration. The clothesline suddenly swayed back and forth—and an egg fell out of a shirt pocket!

Gus didn’t waste a second. He closed his eyes, leaped off the ledge, and held out his arms. He caught the egg just before it crashed onto the floor!

“Phew! That was a close call!” Gus exclaimed, wiping his forehead.

With Bruno standing guard—and keeping Lucifer away—the mice quickly moved the rest of the eggs into the kitchen. Cinderella returned shortly, carrying a pail full of milk.

“Good work, everybody!” she told them when she saw the basket full of eggs. “I knew you could do it!” She gave them a proud smile.

Now that they had all the ingredients, Cinderella and the mice went right to work making the cakes. Soon they had bowls full of thick, golden cake batter. Then the mice helped Cinderella pour the batter into small, shiny tins. She carefully placed each tin in the hot oven.

“Keep your fingers crossed that the cakes bake quickly,” Cinderella told the mice as she glanced at the clock. “We don’t have much time!”

Gus looked at the clock, too. It was almost three o’clock. There were dozens of little cakes in the oven. But how would they decorate them all before the baker arrived to pick them up? He was going to be there in two hours! There was only one way to get it done: they were going to need even more help.

Then Gus spotted a bluebird sitting on the windowsill, chirping happily. He ran up to it. “Cinderelly needs more help! Go get some more friends!” he told the bird.

The bluebird chirped again and quickly flew away to deliver the message to the other birds in the garden.

While the cakes were baking, the mice helped Cinderella make frosting in all different colors. Gus and Jaq sat on the eggbeaters and pedaled them as if they were riding bicycles, while Suzy and Perla added the sugar and vanilla. Then they spooned the frosting into pastry bags to get ready to decorate the cakes.

Ding! All of a sudden the timer rang. Cinderella carefully took the cakes out of the oven. They smelled delicious!

“Now we just need to wait for them to cool,” Cinderella said as she anxiously looked at the clock again. “Then we can decorate them. If we frost the cakes while they’re still hot, the icing will melt, and it all will turn into a big mess!”

Suddenly, the sound of chirping filled the room. The little bluebird was back—with more of her friends.

“The birdies will help decorate the cakes, Cinderelly,” Gus explained proudly. He looked at Cinderella and smiled.

Cinderella beamed. “What a good idea, Gus! And if the birds fly around the cakes, their wings will fan them—and cool them off.”

And that’s exactly what happened! The bluebirds happily flew around the cakes, and soon the treats were cool enough to decorate.

“Phew! Not a moment too soon,” Cinderella said. “The baker will be here in less than an hour!”

“Don’t worry, Cinderella,” Jaq said. “Watch this!”

Jaq climbed onto a pitcher on the table. Then he jumped off and landed on a pastry bag filled with frosting.

Splat! The icing squirted onto a cake.

Cinderella clapped her hands. “Perfect!” she exclaimed. Not only were they getting the job done, but they were all having fun doing it, too!

Soon all the cakes were decorated. But before Cinderella and the mice had a chance to taste one, suddenly there was a loud knock at the front door.

“Oh, dear!” Cinderella cried. “I told the baker to pick up the cakes at the back door. And he’s early, too! I’d better get him to the kitchen before Stepmother comes downstairs! Everybody—hide!”

The birds flew out the window, while most of the mice ran toward the high rafters near the ceiling. From there, they would be able to see and hear everything that happened in the kitchen. Only Gus and a few of his friends stayed on the counter. They all hoped the baker would like their cakes!