When this story happened — nobody remembers or knows. And whether it happened at all — that remains a great mystery too. In short, it could have happened anywhere and anytime.
In an old cottage, in a dark cellar lived four little mice: Julie, Judy, Muse, and May. Judy and Julie were the most ordinary grey mice, but May and Muse were unlike them: their fur coats were white.
The grey sisters Julie and Judy didn't feel love for their unusually coloured sisters, because they were not like everyone else.
They are most likely not our real sisters, they were left on our doorstep.
The sisters kept saying.
But this was not the only reason to dislike them. Every time the little mice went out to collect crumbs or treat themselves to something tasty or just run around and play in the big cottage, they immediately became a target for the master's black cat Basil.
The sisters hadn't even managed to sneak through before the cat was already there, waiting and watching with his cunning bead-like eyes for the white sisters, scaring the others. They decided to split up and not leave their burrow all together.
At first the white sisters felt hurt, but then they accepted it and began to venture out of the cellar on their own. They were scared, because Basil could appear at any moment. But curiosity and a thirst for adventure drove away the fear.
Exploring the cottage, they came into an interesting unusual room that was filled with toys. The sisters were so captivated by the toys that they didn't hear a girl with a black cat in her arms enter the room.
The girl's name was Nadia, and the cat, already familiar to them, was Basil. Nadia was also taken aback, because she had never seen white mice before, and such curious and fearless ones at that.
So, May, Muse, Nadia, and Basil became friends. Every morning the sisters ran to their new friends, they enjoyed spending time together. And the grey sisters grew to dislike May and Muse even more, because the cat Basil began to hunt only them.
One New Year's Eve, the white mice went to Nadia, while Judy and Julie stayed home in the cellar. Loud unfamiliar sounds from above gave them no peace. Curiosity got the better of them, and they decided to see what was happening up there. And as luck would have it, they met the cat on the way.
Basil rushed after the mice and grabbed them by their grey fur coats. The cat loved it when his owners praised him. He brought the mice to the adults, but in the New Year's bustle they had no time for him, so the cat put the mice in a cage.
The time to make wishes and open presents was drawing closer. Nadia with May and Muse came down to the tree. Under the tree there were so many presents! Nadia had prepared gifts for her friends too, because on New Year's Eve everyone should have a present.
But what's this? On the table in a cage sit Judy and Julie. And no matter how much the sisters disliked each other, no matter how many reproaches they heard, they were still sisters. They felt so sorry for them!
Nadia, please, do us a special favour: let our sisters go!
Judy and Julie squeaked in unison.
Nadia was a kind and good girl, she granted her friends' request.
There was no end to their happiness. Four little sisters whirled in a dance, pulling Nadia and Basil with them.
From that time on, the sister mice never quarrelled or parted. Now all four of them went to visit Nadia and the cat Basil.
