Una Unicorn wore a little silver bell on a ribbon. It rang when she skipped, when she trotted, and when she nodded hello.
One evening, Una went to visit a new family of field mice. She carried a basket of soft grass for their nest.
Ting! went her bell.
The smallest mouse stirred. His mother put one paw gently against her lips.
Una stopped. She tried lifting just one hoof.
Ting.
She tried lowering her head very slowly.
Ting.
‘I think I am a rather noisy visitor,’ she whispered.
The mother mouse smiled. ‘You can leave the basket by the door.’
Una carefully untied the ribbon. She laid the bell inside the basket, tucked under a fold of grass, and stepped closer. No sound followed her.
The little mice slept. Una helped their mother pull the new grass through the doorway, one strand at a time.
When the nest was ready, the smallest mouse opened his eyes. He saw Una’s silver horn in the doorway.
‘A star?’ he asked.
‘A friend,’ said his mother.
Una waved without nodding. Then she carried her bell home in the basket.
She hung it beside her bed. It would be lovely for skipping tomorrow.
For tonight, her room needed no ringing at all.
