Princess Nell uttered a light-making spell that Purple had taught her, 
kindling a ball of luminance that hung in the air in the center of the room. 
The words of the spell had been concealed in the howl of the mountain winds 
through the rickety structure of the old inn, and so the mouse was caught 
entirely by surprise, blinded by the sudden light. Nell was startled to see 
that the mouse was not gnawing its way into her supply of food, as any mouse 
should have done, but rather was going through some of her papers. And this was 
not the usual destructive search for nesting material—this mouse knew 
how to read and was looking for information.