What Rosemarie did know, however, was that she was not in Gouda-House, Buttercheese village or Mozzarella-City, but in Bremen. To be more precise, she happened to end up in the kitchen of the passionate housewife Edith Opitz. Since Rosemary's stomach still wouldn't calm down, she did what good mice do. She followed the scent all the way to the kitchen table and enjoyed a good meal.
Edith Opitz was a very tall, very strict and very disciplined woman. Edith Opitz had just put a splendid piece of Tilsiter on the huge cheese platter she had prepared for her husband Eberhard and his musician friends.
The musicians were rehearsing Verdi in the parlour and, as everyone knows, Verdi makes you really hungry. For a moment Edith Opitz wondered whether she should perhaps nibble on a tiny piece of cheese. Just a tiny little one. A cheese atom. Or half a cheese atom. But then she decided not to do so, after all she was a disciplined woman.
At that moment, the housewife Edith discovered the mouse lady Rosemarie between camembert and gorgonzola - and screamed.
Edith's scream was so loud that the windows were shaking, the cucumber jars were shattering, the dog had goose bumps for the first time in his life and the house spiders were happy that they had no ears.
Rosemarie was also very frightened. Only Eberhard Opitz, who came running from the living room with his violin still under his arm, was beaming all over his bearded face, shouting: "Edith! I never knew you could sing so well!"
"Neither did I", said Edith Opitz.
"Why are you suddenly singing Verdi in the kitchen?!", Eberhard asked curiously.
"That's the reason why...", said Edith, pointing with a trembling finger at the little mouse.
"Pleased to meet you," said Rosemarie. "How do you do?"
"It’s a privilege, gracious mouse," said Eberhard Opitz politely and took his deepest bow, even though he suffered from rheumatism. Then he turned to his wife:
"Come, darling - sing for us!"
Only a short time later they were having fun together in the parlour. The musicians played Verdi, Edith sang Verdi, Rosemarie ate brie. Eberhard gave her one piece after the other. No wonder - after all, it was only thanks to Rosemarie that he had discovered his wife's tremendous singing talent. That night they sat together for a long time, laughing, playing music and singing. A few jars of cucumbers broke and some dogs got goose bumps, but that doesn't matter, because goose bumps are part of life somehow.
The next morning the mouse Rosemarie said goodbye to Edith and Eberhard Opitz. She said: "I see that you are making the best of these difficult times. It's great that you make music together and... uh... sing. But now I have to move on - because I want to know, if all the other people are doing as well as you.
Edith sang "Time to Say Goodbye", Eberhard waved, the dog howled.