One day Cookie Two the gerbil jumped out of the cage when no one was looking. She ran into the next room and saw Goldy, her father. She said, "Hi and bye." Then she ran into the hall and saw the steps. She had to think quick! Then she thought, I can jump far as well as jump high.
So she tried to jump down the stairs but she hurt herself jumping and rolled down the rest of the stairs. Then she saw a hole that looked comforting so she went in. Then she saw a mouse.
The mouse said, "What are you doing out on such a scary day? Don't you know what's happening?"
"No, I don't," said Cookie Two.
So the mouse told her, "The humans are chasing a gerbil around the house and they can't find it."
"Oh, that's me! They're looking for me! Can you hide me, please?"
"Sure I can," said the mouse. "My name is Sally. You can stay here as long as you want. Then we can go find a safer place for you to live."
"Oh, thank you so much. My name is Cookie Two and you can call me Cookie Two or Cookie."
Then Cookie Two said, "Oh, I forgot. My mother, Cookie, and my sister, Cookie One, are upstairs in the cage and they don't know how to get out. Will you help me get them out?"
"Yes, tomorrow I will. First we need to sleep." Mice and gerbils sleep during the day.
So the next day they went out and Cookie Two jumped back in the cage. Cookie Two was very strong. So she said, "Hold on to me, Cookie One," and Cookie One did. Cookie Two jumped to the windowsill, where the mouse helped pull up Cookie One. Then they did the same thing with Cookie.
They all ran back downstairs and started to search for another hole.
They found one right behind the sofa. They chewed up some of the back of the sofa and pulled it in and made a nice warm nest. They fell fast asleep.
THE END OF BOOK ONE