Summary Four months have passed since Makibao has left the ranch to look for his mother. Winter has come, and he is alone, cold and lost in the forest. Seeing a sleeping cat, he decides to ask it for directions, and is met with a horrifying sight - the cat is dead and its stomach has been cut open, revealing its internal organs. Terrified, Makibao runs away and crashes into a tree, where he meets "the little big giant of the forest" a mouse named Master Chuubei. Having never seen a mouse before, Makibao becomes frightened that it will eat him. Chuubei reassures him that he won't under the condition that Makibao becomes his subordinate. As Makibao does not have a proper name yet, Chuubei makes several inappropriate suggestions, to which Makibao eventually settles on "Unkotarezo". After being chased by a wolf and nearly falling off a bridge into a river, the two finally reach the ranch where Midoriko is kept - and are met with a saddening surprise. . .

• Animation
• Comedy