Peter wakes up on the first morning of vacation, and Fudge is already nowhere to be seen. Peter bangs his head on the low ceiling and then kicks the wall, hurting both his head and foot. He looks outside and sees nothing but white fog. Downstairs, everyone is having breakfast when Peter and Sheila both walk into the shared kitchen/living room. Sheila starts opening windows, complaining about the smell of mildew in the air, but Grandma notes the chill and asks her to close them. Suddenly, Sheila observes that Uncle Feather isn’t in his cage. When Peter asks Fudge about it, Fudge is initially too distracted by counting his Cheerios, but is eventually coaxed into admitting he let the bird out. When he goes to check upstairs where he left Uncle Feather, the window is open, and the bird is gone.

Peter knows they have little time to find Uncle Feather. He dresses Fudge, and together they head out into the thick fog. The first house they stop at is owned by an older lady named Mrs. A who invites them in for cocoa and cinnamon buns. She has a granddaughter the same age as Fudge and invites him to come back the next day to meet her.