In the middle of the meadow, where mushrooms rose like towers, a little mouse paused at the foot of a ladder woven from roots and vines. High above, on a mushroom cap, a caterpillar looked down, waiting to see what the mouse would do. With paws steady on the first rung, the mouse felt a thrill of curiosity—climbing toward a world both strange and inviting. Step by step, he began his ascent, eager to discover what wonders might be waiting among the mushroom tops, and perhaps to hear the songs that only caterpillars knew.
