Fiddler had caught sight of the girl. With a tug on Delta’s arm telling him to follow with the camera, he raced away up the stairs in pursuit of the human.

Slowing down, he beckoned Delta to wait behind him as he stopped outside another door. “I saw her go in here,” whispered Fiddler, pushing the door slightly. “Looks like a nest, start filming, Delta!”

Cautiously, Fiddler and Delta crept into the girl’s room. They kept close to the skirting boards and made the best possible use of all the furniture.

The girl sat on the bed brushing her long blonde hair. She hummed a tune to herself and admired her reflection in the long mirror on the wardrobe. Getting up, she walked over to the window and peered out into the garden. She muttered something that Fiddler couldn’t understand and then sat herself back down on the bed again.

Fiddler had learned from his mistakes and he dared not approach her. Instead, he cleared his throat and started a whispered narration.

“This female is grooming. Humans need to groom regularly to remove the lice and ticks that become attached to their fur. She is alert, looking out for the possible return of her mate and youngsters. Humans have no predators as we know and so they have no need to be alert at all times such as we do. When the male returns from hunting they will greet each other. . .”

As Delta filmed he listened to Fiddler’s narrative with interest. He knew the mouse was only guessing at the human behaviour but he thought that he couldn’t be too far wrong. Delta smiled and listened to Fiddler’s report some more.

“Ellie, Ellie, lookit I found!” A small child of about four years old rushed into the bedroom shouting something incomprehensible for Fiddler and Delta. “Lookit, lookit!”

Delta swung the camera round to film the child whilst Fiddler hopped about excitedly. The young girl rose from the bed and put a hand out to the boy.

“Daddy brought you home? Is he downstairs?”

The child nodded distractedly and tugged on his older sister’s sleeve. “Lookit what I found, Ellie!”

The girl smiled and allowed herself to be pulled out of the room by the boy. Fiddler and Delta hurriedly followed, making sure to keep out of sight.

“This is great, Delta!” whispered Fiddler. “First rate, I can almost smell that award!”

Then he stopped suddenly as the girl screamed. Under a glass bowl in the middle of the boy’s room was another mouse, it ran frantically round the edge of the bowl until it collapsed, exhausted.

The girl grabbed the child urgently and pulled him from the room slamming the door behind her. Fiddler and Delta were trapped.

Slowly, Fiddler approached the bowl. His face paled as he realised exactly who it was inside. “Hazel? Oh Hazel, what have they done to you? Hazel!” Fiddler peered in at poor Hazel as she lay breathless.

“What is she doing here?” cried Delta, switching his camera off. “We have to help.”

Fiddler leant against the bowl, thinking hard. “Can you lift it off her, Delta?”

Delta shrugged. “I can try.”

Struggling to get a grip on the glass bowl, Delta heaved and pushed but all he succeeded in doing was to push the bowl across the floor. “It’s no use,” he said. “We have to do something before the girl comes back.”

Fiddler looked in at Hazel who stared back at him with a complete look of hopelessness on her pretty face. “Oh, Hazel!”

Hazel hung her head and seemed ready to accept whatever fate the humans had in store for her. Fiddler looked desperately at Delta. “I’m not goin’ to leave her alone here, mate. We’ll stay with her all night if we have to until we think of a plan.”

Delta nodded, he could see no way out for Hazel and knew that when the girl came back the mouse would surely die.

Dejectedly, Fiddler and Delta retired to a safer corner of the room where they could think of ideas to free Hazel and still keep a protective eye on her at the same time. For her part, Hazel simply stared pale-faced awaiting the humans return.