I can, said Pixie Pod, you see if you eat all the meadow mice up, then there won't be any meadow mice left, and you'll probably be so used to eating mice animals by then, that you probably start eating other types of animals and get even bigger. Then when you rats have eaten all the animals in the whole of the forest and the meadow, you won't have anything to eat but yourselves, and then where would you be?

That's a very good reason actually Mr Pixie, said the ugliest rat. I suppose we should go back to eating bird eggs and frog spawns all the time.

Well, if it wouldn't upset you too much, added the pixie, and it wouldn't hurt to send some sort of apology to the meadow mice to help them trust you river rats not to do anything like that again.

O.K, said the ugly river rat, what if you and me go and find the meadow mice, and I'll say sorry.

Fine by me, said Pixie Pod, and the two set off.