"And so, for many years, the whereabouts of the princess remained a mystery, while deep in the forest, in a woodcutter's cottage, the Three Elderly Rodents carried out their well-laid plan. Living and looking like mortals, they had reared the mouseling as their own and called her Little Beaver."
Looking out the window, Little Beaver hummed a lovely tune called "I Wonder," attracting many bluebirds. Ever since she was a baby, her eyes became a brown color, though she still had her peach fur, black hair (which had grown longer and was now in two braids), small white bucktooth, curvy pink ears, and dark red nose. A pair of white panties was set between her legs and fastened at her waist. Around her neck was a teal blue square bead necklace with a small stone that complemented her outfit - a yellow and brown Indian dress that resembles Pocahontas' dress but with long sleeves that went down to her feet. The only thing she was not wearing was a pair of shoes. She was indeed beautiful. As she hummed a tune, she closed the shutters to her window and walked away.
"On this her birthday, the Three Elderly Rodents had planned a party and something extra special for her surprise."
Mrs. Judson, Mama, and the Shrew were downstairs looking over a book of dresses, picking something out to make for Little Beaver, who is actually Princess Cholena. By the time the day is over, they can finally tell her that she was a princess.
"Well, now about this one?" asked the Shrew, as they look over the book. And they found the perfect one.
"This is the one I picked." said Mrs. Judson.
"Oh, she'll look beautiful in that!" Mama smiled.
"Now I thought of a few changes here..." said Mrs. Judson.
"Uh-huh." said the Shrew.
In the book, the Three Elderly Rodents found a pink dress similar to Giselle's dress.
"Don't forget a pretty bow." said Mama.
"Yes, and we'll lace the chest line." said Mrs. Judson.
"We'll make it white." said the Shrew.
Mrs. Judson giggled. "Oh no, silly, black."
"But..." the Shrew began.
"How about yellow?" suggested Mama.
"Of course, we'll need a pair of shoes, silk gloves, and bloomers to match..." said Mrs. Judson.
"Yes, but how are we going to get her out of the house?" asked the Shrew.
"Oh, I'll think of something." said Mrs. Judson.
Of course, they didn't know that Little Beaver walked down the stairs and into the living room and heard them.
"Well!" Little Beaver smiled.
Mrs. Judson, Mama, and the Shrew hid the book from the younger mouse's eyes as she walked towards them. "And what are you three dears up to?"
"Up to?" repeated the Shrew.
"Up to?" repeated Mama.
"Up to?" repeated Mrs. Judson.
"Eh, eh, eh, we, we, well, we, we ..." stuttered Mrs. Judson, as she tried to say something. Little Beaver continued to stare at the two older mice and shrew with a lovely smile. And she doesn't know that she was a princess and her real name was Cholena.
As Mrs. Judson tried to think of something, the Shrew spoke for her. "Want you to pick some berries." she finished.
"That's it, berries!" said Mrs. Judson, as she handed Little Beaver a brown foot-length trenchcoat with light brown buttons and a matching belt with a matching buckle and a white babushka and showed her to the door in a quick manner, leaving her confused about what was going on.
"Berries?" said a confused Little Beaver, as she buttoned up and belted the trenchcoat and tied the babushka around her head.
"Lots of berries!" said Mama, as she, Mrs. Judson, and the Shrew escorted her out the door.
"But I only picked berries yesterday." said Little Beaver.
"Oh, we need more, dear." said Mrs. Judson.
"Lots, lots, more!" added Mama.
"Yes!" said Mrs. Judson.
Then the mice and shrew pushed Little Beaver out of the cottage through the front door. She looked back with a suspicious look and smile on her face. Something's not right with them.
"Now hurry back, dear." said Mrs. Judson.
"And don't go too far." said the Shrew.
"And don't speak to strangers." added Mrs. Judson.
"Goodbye, dear!" called Mama.
"Goodbye!" called the Shrew.
"Goodbye!" called Mrs. Judson.
"Goodbye!" said Little Beaver, as she waved goodbye and walked off deep into the forest, carrying the basket in her hand.
Then the mice and shrew closed the door and got back inside. "I wonder if she suspects." said the Shrew thoughtfully.
"Of course not, come on. Will she be surprised!" said Mrs. Judson, as they went around the room, gathering things. Mrs. Judson went to the trunk and took out multiple black fabrics and sheets as Mama went into the kitchen to find ingredients to make the birthday cake. All three are very excited. "A real birthday party!" said the Shrew.
"With a real birthday cake!" said Mama.
"Yes, and a dress a princess can be proud of!" said Mrs. Judson.
"I'll get the wands." said the Shrew, as she headed up the stairs.
"Yes, you...the wands?" said Mrs. Judson. But she was startled when the Shrew mentioned the wands and closed the trunk quickly.
"Oh no!" gasped Mama, who was also startled.
"No wands, Shrew!" Mrs. Judson warned.
"But the years are almost over" the Shrew protested.
"We're taking no chances." said Mrs. Judson, as she handed the Shrew the fabrics for making the dress.
"But, I've never baked a fancy cake." said the Shrew.
"Oh, you won't have to, dear." said Mrs. Judson.
"I'm going to bake the cake!" Mama called from the next room.
"You?" asked the Shrew, who was kind of surprised.
"She's always wanted to, dear, and this is her last chance." said Mrs. Judson.
"Well,..." said the Shrew, who was not so sure about Mama cooking.
"I'm going to make it a lovely cake with yellow and brown, periwinkles, daffodils..." said Mama, as she thought about what to put on the cake.
"And I'm making the dress." said Mrs. Judson.
"But you can't sew, and she's never cooked!" said the Shrew.
"Oh, it's simple." chuckled Mrs. Judson.
"All you do is follow the book." said Mama.
Mrs. Judson pulled out a small stool and directed the Shrew to stand on it. "Up here, dear. You can be the dummy." she said.
"Well, I still say we ought to use magic." said the Shrew.
Then Mrs. Judson threw a sheet of black cloth over the Shrew and began cutting with a pair of scissors.
Then Mama laid all the ingredients for the cake before her. She looked into the book and read the ingredient instructions. "Flour, three cups." said Mama, as she searched for them, muttering, "Cups, cups, cups, cups, cups..." At that moment, Mama realized that the three cups of different sizes were already on the table and used them to pour flour into the bowl. "One, two, three."
Mrs. Judson cut a circular hole into the sheet. "What's that for?" asked the Shrew.
"Well, it's got to have a hole in the bottom." replied Mrs. Judson.
"That's for the feet to go through." added Mama.
Then Mrs. Judson tossed the sheet over the Shrew again, and the Shrew noticed there was something wrong with the sheet. "It's black!" said the Shrew.
"Oh, lovely shade, isn't it?" Mrs. Judson smiled.
"But I wanted it white!" complained the Shrew.
"Now, dear, we decided black was her color." said Mrs. Judson, flatteringly.
"You decided?" asked the Shrew.
Mrs. Judson giggled to herself as she left the Shrew inside the sheet and went over to get tape measure. The Shrew mumbled incoherently until Mrs. Judson came back with the tape measure and wrapped some around the waist.
"Two eggs, fold in gently." said Mama, reading from the book. But she didn't understand what fold in meant. "Fold? Oh well." Mama shrugged, and she just put two eggs into the bowl and folded them in. She pressed down on the batter, and she heard the shells cracking, causing the batter to overflow from the bowl.
Now the Shrew was completely covered in the black cloth from head to toe. "I can't breathe!" she called, whose voice was muffled under the sheets. Mrs. Judson cut the cloth open at the top, and the Shrew popped her head and arms out and took a look at the dress from the inside. "It looks awful!" the Shrew complained.
"That's because it's on you, dear." said Mrs. Judson, cutting the remaining cloth from the right side.
"Now yeast, one tsp. Tsp?" said Mama, looking into the book. This time, she didn't understand what the word Tsp meant.
"One teaspoon!" the Shrew corrected her.
"One teaspoon, of course!" Mama giggled sheepishly. She put the yeast on the teaspoon and finished adding the rest of the ingredients to the batter.
Then Mrs. Judson measured the size of the dress. "Oh, gracious how the child has grown!' she exclaimed.
"Oh, it seems only yesterday we brought her here!" said the Shrew, remembering the old days.
"Just a tiny baby!" said Mama, remembering as well.
Then all of a sudden, the Shrew sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye. Mrs. Judson and Mama saw that.
"Why, Shrew!" said Mrs. Judson.
"Whatever is the matter, dear?" asked Mama.
"After today, she'll be a princess. And we won't have our Little Beaver!" the Shrew sobbed tearfully.
"Oh, Mrs. Judson!" said Mama, who began to cry about Little Beaver as well.
"Now, now, now, now, we...we...we...we all knew this day had to come." said Mrs. Judson, shedding a tear and wiping it from her eye as well. It had been years, and they began to think of Little Beaver as their own child that they never had.
"But why did it have to come so soon?" Tears slid down Mama's cheeks.
"After all, we've had her ever since she was a baby." said Mrs. Judson.
"Ever since she was a bonny baby!" the Shrew said dreamily.
Then there was a moment of silence as they thought about the wonderful years they had with the child. They fed her, bathe her, and helped her go to sleep. The Shrew sniffled and wiped another tear from her eye again. Then suddenly, Mrs. Judson changed her expression. "Good gracious, We're acting like a lot of ninnies! Come on, she'll be back before we get started." said Mrs. Judson. And they all resumed their work.