Not only did Cinderella have to take care of things inside the house, but she had chores to do outside as well. Each morning she fed the animals in the barnyard.

“Come on, everybody, breakfast!” she called. The chickens, ducks, and geese waddled over for their food. Cinderella knew the animals appreciated her, and she enjoyed being in their company out in the warm sunshine.

The mice enjoyed the morning feeding even more. Jaq led four mice through the walls and down to a hole into the kitchen. They were headed outside to eat, too—but they had to be careful.

“Lucifer!” Jaq warned the other mice. “How are we gonna get out?” Lucifer blocked their path to the outside door. He was still stirring his milk. The mice needed a plan.

Jaq had an idea. One of the mice would creep out and get Lucifer to chase him away from the door. The other mice would sneak by, run outside, and gather food for breakfast. The mice agreed it was a great plan.

Instead of drawing straws, they drew their tails to decide who would confront Lucifer. They stood in a circle and turned their backs to each other, intertwining their tails. Jaq pulled one tail from the group and held on to it as the mice all hopped out of the circle. He ended up holding his own tail! He would be the one to play the game of cat-and-mouse. Gus proudly shook Jaq’s hand, wishing him well.

Jaq was nervous as he made his way toward the cat. He sneaked up to Lucifer and crawled under his arm. With one swift kick, he startled Lucifer, whose face ended up in his bowl of milk.

With that, the chase ensued, and everything went according to plan. Lucifer drove Jaq into a corner where there were two small mouse holes.

Jaq jumped into one hole and Lucifer clawed at it, trying to snatch his quick-footed foe. Jaq popped his head out of the other hole and waved his hat. He signaled to the other mice that they were free to start their escape.

The four mice scooted through the kitchen and out the door, with Gus pulling up the rear. Outside, they watched the chickens peck for food and Major, the horse, eat out of Cinderella’s palm. Then they jumped up and waved their hands, letting Cinderella know they were there, too.

“Oh, there you are,” she said to the mice. “I was wondering.” She stuck her hand into her apron and pulled out a big handful of corn kernels. “Breakfast is served,” she said, tossing the corn to the mice. Excitedly, three of the mice quickly picked up pieces. But Gus, the newcomer, was a little too slow. After he fought the chickens for his food, Cinderella saw him standing there empty-handed and shooed the chickens away. Then she gave Gus his own big pile of corn.

Back in the kitchen, Jaq kept Lucifer occupied at the mouse holes and away from the door. He waved to his friends, signaling for them to return inside. Three mice hurried through the kitchen, but one dropped a kernel of corn. Even though Gus could hardly carry his own kernels, he stopped to pick up the dropped piece. He tried to carry all the corn, but it fell out of his hands.

Lucifer heard the sound of the scattering kernels. He quickly turned toward Gus. Jaq panicked and tried to distract Lucifer again by pulling on the cat’s whisker. Lucifer was not a bit fazed. He had his eye on the plump mouse. Gus was unaware of the danger as he tried to pick up his food.

Still trying to stop Lucifer, Jaq pulled on the cat’s tail but only ended up with a face full of cat hair.

Lucifer made his way over to Gus, who finally had a good grasp on the corn. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see where he was going because the pile of food in his arms was so high. He walked right up to Lucifer’s mouth! When he realized where he was, Gus dropped the food and ran as fast as he could, but Lucifer had grabbed his tail. The poor mouse was just running in place! Thinking quickly, Jaq pushed a broom, which landed right on Lucifer’s head—thump! Jaq sighed with relief as Gus escaped from Lucifer’s grasp.

Gus wasn’t free for long. Lucifer spotted him climbing up the tablecloth and onto the table. Gus thought he was in the clear. He sat on a saucer and tried to catch his breath. Lucifer sneaked up behind him and slammed a teacup upside down on the saucer. Gus was trapped!

Just then, the call bell rang.