Cinderella could hardly contain herself. She rushed back to her room in search of something to wear to the ball. She opened a big old trunk. The trunk was dusty, but the items in it were dear to her. She pulled out a pink-and-white dress. It had puffy pink sleeves with white ruffled edges. The bottom of the dress was white, with more ruffled edges. Cinderella twirled around the room holding it up to her chest. Four girl mice sat on the top of the trunk watching her spin as two little birds flapped their wings with joy.

“Isn’t it lovely?” Cinderella asked her friends. “It was my mother’s.”

“It’s old!” said Suzy the mouse.

With the help of the two birds, Cinderella lifted the dress onto a dressmaker’s dummy she had in her room. “Well, maybe it is a little old-fashioned, but I’ll fix that,” she replied. She fluffed the dress as Gus and Jaq entered the room. A sewing book was in her workbasket. Cinderella kneeled down and flipped through the pages. She was determined to find something in there for inspiration. The mice and birds surrounded her, brimming with anticipation.

“Uh-huh, this one!” she said, leaning the open book up against the trunk. The mice came in for a closer look and agreed that the dress she had chosen was lovely. Cinderella examined the dress in the book. She would have to shorten the sleeves of her mother’s dress, add a sash and a ruffle, and get something for the collar. It would take time, but it was doable—and the final product would be a beautiful and elegant dress, perfect for a royal ball.

Cinderella’s dressmaking plans were quickly cut short.

“Cinderella!” yelled one stepsister.

“Oh, now what do they want?” said Cinderella, frustrated.

“Cinderella!” called the other stepsister and Lady Tremaine.

Over and over, they called her name.

Poor Cinderella stood up and walked over to her dress on the dummy. “Oh, well, guess my dress will just have to wait,” she said sadly. All three voices called for Cinderella again and again. “All right, all right, I’m coming!” she replied. With a heavy heart, she left her room.

Jaq and Gus followed her to the door.

“Poor Cinderelly,” said Jaq. He hated that her stepmother and stepsisters kept her so busy. He looked up at her dress and knew she would never have time to fix it before the ball. All the mice realized this, and they shook their heads in disappointment.

Suzy looked at the dress and then the sewing book. She had an idea. “We can do it!” she said. The mice jumped for joy. They could fix the dress—it was a great idea! Birds flew into the room and offered their help as well. They all quickly got to work. They grabbed spools of thread, scissors, a needle, and a tape measure.

While the birds and the other mice started on the dress, Jaq and Gus set out to find some special trimmings. They ran through the walls of the chateau, sliding down wooden planks and swinging across spiderwebs. They popped their heads through a wall where they heard lots of activity. Anastasia and Drizella were throwing clothes at Cinderella. They ordered her to mend, iron, and sew everything in the pile. The pile was so big Cinderella could hardly hold it.

Lady Tremaine entered with her own demands. “When you’re through and before you begin your regular chores,” she began, “I have a few little things.”

“Very well,” replied Cinderella obediently. She left the room with the huge pile of clothes.

Lady Tremaine’s wicked plan had been set in motion. She knew there was no way Cinderella could fulfill all their demands and still have time to find something to wear.

Meanwhile, Anastasia and Drizella were still yelling and screaming. The spoiled girls complained that their clothes and accessories were just not good enough.

“This sash—well, I wouldn’t be seen dead in it!” Anastasia yelled, throwing a gorgeous pink sash to the ground.

“These beads…I’m sick of looking at them. TRASH!” declared Drizella, throwing a lovely blue beaded necklace on the floor.

They huffed and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind them.

Jaq and Gus were thrilled! The sash and necklace would make Cinderella’s dress perfect. The trimmings they were looking for were only a few steps away. But those steps would not be easy. Lucifer was asleep right in their path. They tiptoed under the footstool holding the snoozing cat. They grabbed the long pink sash and ran back under the footstool, but Lucifer woke up. Luckily, the mice were too quick, and they pulled the long sash down into the mouse hole, infuriating the cat. Gus and Jaq popped through another hole. This time they had their eyes on the necklace. But Lucifer ran over and sat on it.

Jaq whispered into Gus’s ear and they cooked up one of their sneaky plans. Jaq jumped out of the mouse hole and tiptoed across the floor. He sneaked past Lucifer and walked right into a pile of the stepsisters’ clothes. He hummed a tune and plucked buttons off a shirt, trying to get Lucifer’s attention. His plan was to distract Lucifer so Gus could grab the beads.

Lucifer was about to pounce on Jaq. Then he realized that he was no longer sitting on the beads—and Gus was headed straight for them! The sly cat ran back to the beads and sat right on top of them again. This time he slid his body toward Jaq, dragging the necklace along with him. But Jaq continued to tease the cat. Finally, Lucifer couldn’t resist the chase any longer, and he jumped into the pile of clothes after Jaq.

Gus grabbed the beads, but he was not very light on his feet. He ran into the wall. The necklace broke and the beads scattered. Lucifer stopped chasing Jaq and turned his attention to Gus. Luckily, Lucifer got stuck in the sleeve of one of the dresses. The tight squeeze slowed the cat down and enabled Jaq to help Gus gather all the beads one by one and escape through the mouse hole.

Once again, Lucifer was left empty-handed.

Back in Cinderella’s room, the girl mice were sewing while the birds measured and laid pieces of fabric into place. Gus and Jaq returned with the sash and the beads. The sash was used to make a beautiful bow at the top of the dress. The rest of the sash wrapped around to the bottom of the dress. The beads were restrung to make the perfect necklace. The mice and birds were the ideal dressmaking team. The once old-fashioned dress looked new and elegant. Cinderella was going to love it!