As Mr. Beaver played one of his favorites, a Bach gigue, Miss Mousey began to dance. She first took a step with her right foot, and then her left. Next her left, and then her right. The poor thing was tripping over her own feet, and she sat down and started to cry, with tears of frustration streaming down her face.
Looking up, the old beaver said, "Vas is dis? Up girl, up! Ve half no time for this. You must dance!"
"But I can't!" said Miss Mousey, barely audible through her tears and sobs.
"Oh yes you can!" he answered. "Come on, back up, back up."

The little mouse knew that the kindly beaver was trying to help, and as Mrs. Badger seemed to think that he was the only one who could, she meekly obeyed. Giving it another try, she stepped with her right, and then her left, her right and then left again. She was starting to get it! Before long, she was adding little kicks every now and then, when all of a sudden she felt a strange tingling in her tail. Looking behind her, she thought she saw her tail growing. "This can't be," she thought to herself, so she stopped dancing and stared at her tail. The tingling stopped and her tail really didn't look any different than before. But old Mr. Beaver saw! "Oh well," sighed Miss Mousey, and went back to her dancing. After a few more minutes of dancing, Miss Mousey began to feel the tingling again. This time she looked backwards, but didn't stop moving her feet. She was right! Her tail was growing! But it was shrinking too. How could this be? Two steps and her tail grew, two more, and it retracted. She looked to Mr. Beaver and saw that he was watching her. "This will never work," she exclaimed. "I need my tail to be long all the time, and not long and short like it is now."
"Be patient, little one," the beaver cellist said. "This is only the beginning. You didn't think it was going to grow back in one day, did you?"
Miss Mousey hung her head ashamedly, and said, "yes." "This is going to be a lot harder than I imagined," she thought to herself.

Seeing the dejected look on her face, Mr. Beaver got up from his straight-backed chair, and walked over to where she still stood, her head still drooping. He bent down and hugged her, saying, "Don't worry, my new little friend, today was only the beginning. It's going to take some time, but you will have your tail back. That I can promise. Now it is time for you to go. Your bunny friend is getting very tired of blowing the flute and he can't do it much longer." So Miss Mousey unfastened her blue tutu and hung it back up in the cupboard, as she was a very neat and tidy little mouse.
"Come again tomorrow, the same time if you can. Go now, and you will be safe. Just remember, it is the magic flute that is keeping you safe. Without it, there's no telling what could happen." So Miss Mousey waved and said goodbye, and returned to the land above the water.

Young Mr. Bunny was much relieved to see his best friend emerge from the opening in the water, but she really didn't look very much different. He had expected to see her with a new tail; if not a new one, then a tail like the one she had lost. But she looked the same. "Oh well," he thought, "at least she's all right."

Little Miss Mousey ran to her friend who was still standing on the river bank playing the magic flute. She was exhausted from all that dancing, and she could see that he was pretty tired of playing the flute as well. She told him not to stop until they were safely back in his tunnel, at the back door. Looking up at the sky, she could see the nasty eagle circling above them, but it was as if he couldn't see them. She knew they were safe, just as Mr. Beaver and Mrs. Badger said they would be.

Young Mr. Bunny and Miss Mousey spent the rest of the day at his house, watching tv, talking, eating, and even playing with his new computer. Miss Mousey told him all about the old beaver, his music (which Mr. Bunny could hear on the river bank), and how he made her dance. She told him about her tail, how it grew and then shrank, over and over and over. She was so tired and didn't think she would have the energy to try it again the next day, but she was one determined little mouse. She was going to grow her new tail or else!

That night, not too long after she laid her head on her pillow, our little mouse friend fell soundly asleep, dreaming of herself as a ballerina. Wearing the blue tutu from Mr. Beaver's lodge, she also wore pink point shoes on her tiny little mousey feet, that laced up her skinny little mousey legs. Before long, the dream changed. She was underwater, like the day when she tipped the log on her way to Waterton, but instead of drowning, she was dancing. Mr. Beaver was there and although she only saw him very faintly in the background, she heard his cello loud and clear. Young Mr. Bunny was in her dream too, making beautiful music on the flute. But the best part was her dancing. She was dancing and spinning and twirling in Mr. Eagle's huge beak, and he could do nothing to her. She remembered her dream when she woke up, and knew that she need never be afraid again.

Bright and early the next morning, Miss Mousey woke up, and after applying the magic herbs to her tail, ran to her friend's rabbit hole. Luckily it was so close to her apartment door, as Mr. Eagle was up and about, just watching for any little creatures that might be milling about. Just as she leapt into the hole, the eagle swooped down and nearly got what was left of her tail.

"Bobby Bunny, Bobby Bunny! Let me in!" she yelled as she banged on his door.
Young Mr. Bunny was still deep in La La Land when he was awakened by Miss Mousey's incessant knocking. And knocking. And knocking. Rubbing his eyes, he got out of bed and very groggily answered the door. There was his best friend, shaking, looking very frightened.
"Come on," she said, "We have to get going. Mr. Beaver wants me back today the same time as yesterday. I need you to play for me again. Please?"
"But...but...but..." Bobby Bunny stuttered. "I haven't even eaten my breakfast yet."
"I haven't either," responded his mouse friend, "but I don't want to be late."
"Late?" he asked. "Late? Do you see what time it is? We still have an hour and a half to be there the same time as yesterday! What's the matter with you? We'll have breakfast first."
"Fine!" she replied, most impatiently. "I'll make breakfast while you get ready." And thus we soon found our two best friends enjoying their repast of sausage and eggs, and a big salad for Mr. Bunny. At last it was time to leave, and the young friends were safe again, as Mr. Bunny played the flute. The opening in the river appeared, and the little mouse waved goodbye as she entered the Mr. Beaver's lodge.

This routine lasted for nearly two weeks, when one day the old beaver cellist decided that Miss Mousey was ready for toe shoes. Directing her to the cupboard, this time to a hidden drawer, he told her to take out the little box and open it. Little Miss Mousey did as she was told, and as she opened the box, she was amazed to see the same toe slippers she had seen in her dream. Pink with a hard, square toe, and long, delicate lace ribbons.
"Go ahead, put them on," said Mr. Beaver, and before long, as if she had been wearing them all her life, Miss Mousey slipped them on her feet and laced them up her legs, ending with a little bow at the top.

Again Mr. Beaver played the Bach gigue, and again the little ballerina danced, but this time something different happened. She danced faster and faster, and started to spin. As she turned, Mr. Beaver played faster and faster until all he could do was a tremolo. Even his chair shook! And then the miracle began. Her tail was growing, but this time it didn't retract. It grew longer and longer, until it was longer than it had ever been before! At last 0ld Mr. Beaver's bow arm couldn't go on any longer, and when the music stopped, Miss Mousey collapsed on the floor in exhaustion.
"Look," he said, pointing to her tail with his bow. The little mouse looked behind her, and was astonished to see her tail! It had grown back, and was longer and better than new! She was ecstatic! She got up and ran to Mr. Beaver, throwing her arms around him, and hugged him as hard as her skinny little arms could.
"Thank you! Thank you!" she cried. "How can I ever repay you?"
"You aren't quite finished yet," said Mr. Beaver with a twinkle in his eye. "You must go back to Mrs. Badger for the final touch. But you can thank me by helping to rid Rocksylvania of Mr. Owl and Mr. Eagle. Then we'll all be safe again."
"I'll see what we can do," she answered, already counting on her bunny friend to help her. She kissed Mr. Beaver goodbye, and went back to the surface, this time with a very long appendage.
And that is how Miss Mousey grew back her tail.