The sun was just climbing over the meadow and the dewdrops glittered like little lamps. Lila skipped along in her yellow wellies, leaving a funny trail on the path, as if someone had drawn a hen's comb. Timek walked beside her, carefully carrying a checked rucksack. A magnifying glass and a small torch protruded from his pocket. Behind them walked a brindle cat with the dignified name Mr Flicker. Around his neck was a bell that rang softly with every step. - Look! - cried Lila, standing by the largest puddle. - Can you see it? Timek bent down over the water. It was not only the sky and the twigs that were reflected in the puddle. In the very centre, the shape of a round wicket shimmered, as if someone had drawn it from the light. Shimmering drops circled along the shore, arranging themselves into a path. - It looks like a map,' whispered Tymek. - A map to... well, to something. Mr Migotek purred, stepped across the puddle with a dry paw (because cats can do strange things), and the bell chimed like a wind chime. Lila and Tymek followed the purr along a drop-dead path that winded between the ferns until they came to a small clearing. In the middle of it stood an oak tree so large that it was difficult to encompass it with one's eyes. The bark was the colour of cocoa, and fluffy green moss grew on one side. - This is the Listening Oak," said Lila in awe. - Grandma said it knew what the birds were saying. Tymek ran his hand over the bark. - 'Or maybe it also knows what the drops are saying? - he wondered half-heartedly. Suddenly, a silver leaf fell to the ground from a high branch. It was not like the others. It shook gently and buzzed, like a little bell. It had a hole in the middle, the kind you sometimes thread a ribbon through or.... a key. - Oh dear - Lila took the leaf in her hand. It was warm, like a freshly baked croissant. - Listen, it's... is ticking! Indeed, inside the leaf there was a quiet sound: tick, tick, tick. Timek squinted his eyes and noticed something else in the bark. Between two cracks was a narrow hole. Exactly the same shape as the silver leaf. - 'It fits,' he said, and his voice sounded like when you put together the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Mr Migotek hopped up onto the mossy root and watched carefully, tilting his head. Lila, with a pounding heart, slid the leaf into the hole. The ticking sounded louder and the whole oak sighed, as if someone had woken it up with a tickle. The bark glowed with a soft, honey-coloured radiance. The lines of knots and cracks, hitherto ordinary, began to form shapes: twigs, stars, waves. And suddenly, right at the height of Lil's eyes, they drew a circle. The circle twitched and transformed into a real door. They were made of wood as smooth as if someone had polished them with a ray of sunshine. They had a tiny handle made of a fern shoot and three convex dots, like freckles. - Oh my... - whispered Lila. - Are we really... - ...have we found the secret gate - finished Tymek, although he sounded more surprised than sure. From behind the door there was a smell of warm smoke, like when you bake apples with honey. They thought for a moment that it might be the fireplace inside the oak tree. Mr Migotek raised his moustache and sneezed: - Ksi-psik! - and his bell answered with a funny clang. - Can you hear it? - Tymek put his ear to the door. - Someone's... something tapping. Quietly. Like claws on a... cup? Lila giggled, but a little shyly. - Maybe it's a bird in its slippers? Or a hedgehog drinking tea? The tapping stopped, and instead they heard a soft: poof, poof, as if someone was blowing on a candle and was afraid it would go out. Tymek took a torch out of his rucksack, although the sun was shining brightly. - In case of emergency,' he muttered. - Ready? - Lila asked. - On three. One... - Two... - repeated Tymek, opening his eyes wide. - Mrrr... - confirmed Mr Migotek, wrapping his tail around his paws. Before they could say 'three', the handle of the fern shoot moved of its own accord and the door swung open a paw's width. A narrow streak of golden light emanated from within. This streak lay on the grass and rolled down Lil's calicoes like a warm scarf. Speckles danced in the air that looked like tiny, transparent butterflies. - Hello? - Lila whispered. - We are nice. A quiet sigh sounded from deep within. And then, at the very edge of the light, two small dots flashed. They were like sparks from a campfire, but they were shaped like eyes. They blinked once. Then a second. And again. Tymek swallowed his saliva and squeezed the torch. - Someone is there. Mr Migotek reached out his paw and touched the threshold. Something on the other side answered with a short, impatient 'tup'. A warm gust blew in, smelling of cinnamon and cloud after a storm. - 'Three,' they said at once and Lila reached for the door handle. At the same moment, the door swung open wider. Light spilled in like honey, and a circular shadow moved in the centre of it. Something small swung its tail in a semicircle that sparkled like a candle.... and then a quick, playful "A-psik!" sounded just inside the threshold, followed by something peeking out from behind the edge of the light, which flashed like a glowing coal and began to lean further and further out....