When Henrietta and Humphrey Pickering were laid in their final resting places, Willie found himself without food. The kitchen was bare. The simple food Willie had packed away in his wall lasted only a few weeks. Then he began to get hungry.
     The hungrier he got the dizzier he got when he smelled that piece of cheese from the Smiths' kitchen. He kept filling the hole twice each day, but every time he approached it he had to control himself so as not to rush thorough and grab the cheese.

The morning came when the pile of crisp paper notes was all gone. It was also the morning when the temptation of that cheese smell became unbearable.
     Hunger began to overcome fear. He decided to take a chance.
     Mrs. Smith sat on the old chair she has sat on every morning for over five years. The piece of cheese lay in front of her.
     Willie's little head poked its way carefully through the hole.
     His curiosity got the better of him. Instead of grabbing the cheese and running, he looked up and for a second his eyes met the eyes of Mrs. smith.
     She let out a piercing scream, picked up her skirts and jumped on the chair. The old chair gave way under her, collapsed, and everything fell in one heap to the floor.

     Willie grabbed the cheese and scampered back through the hole as fast as he could - back to his bed, his trapeze and his swimming pool.
     Mrs. Smith's screams brought her husband running into the kitchen. He helped her to her feet. When she looked at the broken chair she wept bitter tears. "That funny-looking mouse!" she cried. "If it weren't for that miserable little mouse I wouldn't have broken our magic chair."
     Mr. Smith said, "Now let us not be hasty. Let's try it without the chair and see what happens."
     He placed another piece of cheese near the hole. Willie was happily munching the big piece of cheese he had captured and paid no attention.
     Mr. Smith waited and nothing happened. "It was the old chair, after all," he said.
     Mrs. Smith suddenly felt generous about the whole thing. "We've been getting it now for five years. Perhaps it's someone else's turn?" she said.
     I suppose that's right," said Mr. Smith. "Besides, we don't need it any more. The properties we now own make us a hundred times more money than we'll ever need."
     And so the Smiths moved. They began another life in a new neighbourhood and before long Mr. Smith ran for Parliament and was elected.