You scramble back up the rope ladder, grab the rope on the old bell, and PULL.

BONNNNNNNNNG.

It's way louder than you thought. Birds fly out of every tree for a mile. Then it gets very, very quiet.

Then the animals start showing up. A deer. Two raccoons. A family of rabbits. A skunk (everybody gives him room). A turtle, who is going to take a while. And finally a big gray owl, who lands on the treehouse railing right next to you and fluffs his feathers.

"WHO," says the owl, "called the Meeting?"

Every single animal turns and looks at you.

"That's the Council Bell," the owl says. "Whoever rings it runs the Meeting. Those are the rules. Well? Go ahead."

• Ask the Council what the key is for.
• Declare a snack break.

You hold up the key. "Does anybody know what this is for?"

The animals all start talking at once. The raccoons argue. The rabbits whisper. The skunk raises his paw but nobody calls on him. Finally the owl hoots and everyone gets quiet.

"That," says the owl, "is your grandfather's key. It opens the little door at the bottom of the oak. He hasn't fit through it in fifty years. He left it for you." He blinks his big yellow eyes. "Meeting adjourned."

All the animals leave, except the turtle, who just got there.

• Go try the key in the little door!

"I declare," you say, in your most official voice, "a SNACK BREAK."

There's a long silence. Then the whole forest CHEERS. The rabbits bring clover. The raccoons bring something out of a trash can that you decide not to ask about. The deer brings apples. You have half a granola bar in your pocket and you split it with the skunk, who is very grateful, because nobody ever shares with the skunk.

It is the best Meeting in the history of the Council. At the end of it, the owl stands up on the railing and announces that by a unanimous vote (the turtle abstained, he was still climbing the ladder) you have been elected MAYOR OF THE FOREST, FOR LIFE.

You never do find out what the key is for. But you're mayor. So.