The Tale of Despereaux: Chapter 46 Summary & Analysis

At the top of the dungeon stairs, Despereaux peers down into the darkness. He’d already forgotten how dark the dungeon is, and the terrible smell of rats and suffering. But Despereaux feels strong, since his heart is filled with love for the Pea and his stomach is full of Cook’s soup. So, he begins to work the spool of thread down the stairs. To “make some light” for himself, Despereaux decides to tell himself a story. He says that once upon a time, there was a small mouse and a beautiful princess named Pea. The mouse was selected by fate to serve the princess and save her from a dark dungeon.

The story works to lift Despereaux’s spirits, and his eyes soon adjust to the dark. He works his way down the stairs, whispering a story to himself about a rat, a serving girl, a princess, a mouse, soup, and red thread—much like the story the reader is enjoying. It makes Despereaux strong, and he pushes the spool with a bit too much vigor. It rolls away from him and down the stairs, where it stops right in front of a rat’s paw. The rat, Botticelli Remorso, observes that this is red thread. This means one thing to rats. He puts his head up and sniffs. He smells soup—which is odd—and tears, which are delightful. He can also smell flour and oil, and under it all, mouse blood. Life just keeps getting better.