Old mouse knows 'that sooner or later all young mice will try to see the dark at the top of the stairs'. So when the three little ones beg to be taken there, he agrees. Early next morning they leave their cosy nest and begin the long climb. The dark at the top doesn't seem so terrible until, through a chink in the door, they see a 'monster shadow' that says 'miaow'. Whereupon they all go tumbling down the cellar stairs to their safe home. Wonderfully spooky pictures and the delicious feel of doing something scary with someone you trust.