Strand by strand, Elsa unfurled bits of black yarn and neatly bit them off. Into a big pile they went, surrounded by mounts of loose hay and patches of burlap. She glanced up as several more yarn strands vanished from her pile...but stared back down at her yarn bawl just as quickly. "You don't have to do that, Anna."

Muddy paws carefully stuffed a piece of burlap into a bulky ball, twisted the end neatly, and tied it off with a bit of yarn. "Well, Jessup normally does these for you, right? And he's at the county fair until next week...right?" Flipping the fabric over to admire her handiwork, Anna blotted the front of the burlap with bits of darker mud. Eye. Eye. Mouth. Oops, googly-eyes. Oh well. At length, Anna flipped her finished fake-mouse over and held it up next to her face. "Farmer Kristoff seems like a good guy, and maybe he'd keep feeding you even if he knew you didn't like to...kill...real mice. But I'm not gonna risk that."

Pausing to squeeze and rustle her fake-mouse, Anna popped up on her hind legs and waved.

"You were just too quick for JoeBob here."

Glancing up with five strands of yarn in her mouth, Elsa cocked her head to one side and chuckled softly. "Maybe I could learn to live on carrots and cucumbers, like you." A light shrug, and after setting down her yarn, Elsa turned and pulled several more clumps of hay out from the nearby bale.

A moment later, Elsa felt Anna flop against her side, little paws grasping pale fur. Reacting automatically, Elsa sat right down and curled around her friend.

Meanwhile, Anna shook her head insistently and patted Elsa's fur. "No way, you need that good food with that good energy. You do lots of stuff...you need that energy!"

Elsa let out a low purr, then brushed her tail against Anna's back.

"You do lots of stuff, too."

An emphatic nod from Anna, who pulled her fake-mouse over by its long, black yarn tail, and patted its head.

"I make awesome JoeBobs."

Outside, deep bells chimed in the distance. Reflexively, Anna yawned and enjoyed the up-and-down motion with each breath Elsa took. A sleepy murmur.

"Shelly and her friends. Comin' home...milk..."

A lazy nod from Elsa, and her collar tinkled as she turned to peer over at the window.

Sun's going down.

Anna shuffled again, then waved a paw half-heartedly at their fake-mouse material piles. "Should really...clean up...before..." She managed three sleepy steps towards the yarn pile, before Elsa's tail snaked around her and drew her right back. Anna giggled, bright and breathy, then flopped back against Elsa with a contented mumble.

Lapping at the side of drowsy Anna's face, Elsa hummed softly and tucked her front paws under her body. "Sleep now, little helper. Big day tomorrow."

One last nod from Anna, who reached out, curled a paw around Elsa's tail, and brought it close.

"Get...big carrot...big Elsa..."