DANNY MEADOW¹ MOUSE slowly opened his eyes and then closed them again quickly, as if afraid to look around. He could hear someone talking. It was a pleasant voice, not at all like the terrible voice of Hooty the Owl², which was the very last thing that Danny Meadow Mouse could remember. Danny lay still a minute and listened.
 
“Why, Danny Meadow Mouse, where in the world did you drop from?” asked the voice. It sounded like—why, very much like Peter Rabbit speaking. Danny opened his eyes again. It was Peter Rabbit.
 
“Where—where am I?” asked Danny Meadow Mouse in a very weak and small voice.
 
“In the middle of the dear Old Briar-patch with me,” replied Peter Rabbit. “But how did you get here? You seemed to drop right out of the sky.”
 
Danny Meadow Mouse shuddered³. Suddenly he remembered everything: how Hooty the Owl had caught him in great cruel claws and had carried him through the moonlight across the snow-covered Green Meadows⁴; how he had felt Hooty's claws slip and then had struggled and kicked and twisted and turned until his coat had torn and he had dropped down, down, down, until he had landed in the soft snow and knocked all the breath out of his little body. The very last thing he could remember was Hooty's fierce scream of rage and disappointment. Danny shuddered again.
 
Then a new thought came to him. He must get out of sight! Hooty might catch him again! Danny tried to scramble⁵ to his feet.
 
“Ouch! Oh!” groaned⁶ Danny and lay still again.
 
“There, there. Keep still, Danny Meadow Mouse. There's nothing to............