Ten rambunctious mice, a fractious cat, and an understanding priest declare peace so all can enjoy the secret stash of cheese and eggs hidden up in the church steeple all throughout Lent.
Not far from the Acropolis, in the Church of the Holy Apostles in the ancient city of Athens, live ten rambunctious mice who hide their favorite foods from the church kitchen up in the steeple rafters. Cheese Sunday is the last Sunday before Lent, and after that, Father Joseph gets rid of all the cheese and eggs in the church kitchen for six weeks. Previously the mice lived in the Jewish Deli during Lent, but they decide to raid the Fellowship Hall and stockpile the cheese and eggs until Easter morning. Since Cheese Sunday is Forgiveness Sunday, the mice decide that the parishioners can’t even be angry at them for stealing the food.
First thing on Cheese Sunday, the mice scurry down the church steeple into the Fellowship Hall where Muffin the cat prances about. As the nuns finish setting up the special meal and Muffin sleeps in a corner, the ten church mice collect every last morsel of the different kinds of cheese and eggs and carry it all up to the rafters in the steeple. The congregation finds the messy Hall and wonders what happened to its beloved annual cheese celebration. They blame Muffin, who runs into Father Joseph’s study and shuts the door with his tail. The priest marches into his study, grabs Muffin and goes up to the bell in the steeple, looking for the naughty church mice. He calls out that he knows where the cheese went and finds the rebellious mice sitting next to the cheese and eggs with guilty smiles. Muffin jumps to pounce as the church mice scurry away. The priest tells Muffin he can’t chase the mice on Cheese Sunday because it’s almost Lent. Besides, Father Joseph at least knows where to find the cheese if they get hungry during Lent.
Then Father Joseph sits down next to the mice. With Muffin keeping watch, the priest eats his portion of the rationed cheese and eggs for the day, and every other day throughout Lent. He announces with a chuckle that cheese tastes almost as good as forgiveness. The church mice could do nothing but agree.