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way she had come. The key was very heavy. Soon she had to put it down and rest.
    It was darker now in the space behind the walls, but the cracks glowed brighter. It must be evening, and the lights are turned on, thought Nora.
    Once a big mouse bumped against her as he went down the trail. Nora almost dropped the key.
    Nora was afraid of getting lost. Then she had an awful thought. What if the magic wore off and she became her old self here between the walls? There wasn’t nearly enough room. She’d be squashed.
    She tried to hurry, but the key was too heavy. Her teeth were beginning to ache from carrying it.
    At last she came to the hole under the bathroom radiator. Nora wiggled through. She kept as far as she could from the trap. She didn’t want to stay under the radiator either. It would be a bad place to suddenly become large.
    The bathroom door opened, and Mrs. Cooper came in with some clean towels. Nora moved as quickly as she could. She ran out of the bathroom and down the hall, keeping close to the wall. Her mother came out of the bathroom. “Tad!” she cried. “Here’s another mouse. Oh, I wish we could have kept that cat!”
    Tad came down the hall. He bent over and took the key. Nora ran to her own room and hid in the closet. She could hear Tad saying, “It got away.”
    “Did you see which way it went? I’llhave to get some more traps.” Mrs. Cooper went downstairs.
    Tad came into Nora’s room. “Nora,” he whispered, “where are you?”
    “In the closet.”
    Tad sat on the bed. “Come on out. The coast is clear.”
    Nora came out. “Put me on the bed. I’m tired.”
    Tad lifted her onto the bed. Nora burrowed under the covers. “Just don’t sit on me,” she said.
    “Mother’s pretty mad at you for taking all that stuff from Maggie. She says some of it’s better than what she has herself. And she’s looking for you to set the table.”
    “Couldn’t you do it for me? Please, Tad,” Nora begged.
    “Will you take out the garbage for me?” asked Tad.
    “Yes, of course,” Nora said.
    “OK. I remember now you said youwere going to the library.” Tad went out of the room and downstairs.
    Nora closed her eyes. It felt so good to be in her own bed. In a minute she was fast asleep.

Mrs. Cooper was angry. Nora had not come to the supper table at all. After supper her mother found her asleep in her bed. The supper was cold. Mrs. Cooper made Nora eat it anyway.
    While she ate, her mother sat at the table across from her and scolded her for taking so many shoes and hats from Maggie Brown.
    “But, Mother, she was glad to give them to me. They were just cluttering up her closet.”
    “And now they’re cluttering up yours. Tomorrow you are not to go anywhere. I want you to stay home and tidy your room.”
    “I’ll do it in the afternoon, Mother,”said Nora. She had to go over to Maggie’s apartment and tidy that in the morning.
    Mrs. Cooper got up from the table. “No, Nora,” she said, “I want you to clean your room before you do anything else.”
    Nora’s room was quite small. It was full of all sorts of things. Nora almost never threw anything away. It would take her hours to clean up. She started right after supper, but by bedtime there was still a lot to do.
    “Tad,” she said, “can you do something about Maggie’s place yourself?”
    “Of course. What makes you think I need you? I’ll spray the rooms with some of that stuff that covers up smells, and I’ll hide the animals.”
    “Sweep the floor, Tad, please,” said Nora.

Next morning after breakfast Tad took Maggie’s door key and a spray can and went next door. Nora worked in her room. She kept looking out of her window to see if the man from the Department of Health had come. It would be awful if Tad were still in the apartment when he arrived.
    At last Nora finished straightening her room. She shoved a carton of treasures under her bed and jammed her dresser drawers shut. Then she went downstairs and out the