Which of life's biggest lessons can be learned from the smallest amongst us? A young mouse learns that compassion and kindness are the great virtues in "The Owlhen Caregiver." "Piper the Listener" finds a brave mouse venturing into wild country to learn the tongues of other beasts. And a grizzled oldfur shares the lesson of putting a whisker out too far in "The Wild Wolf." Three poignant tales mark creator David Petersen's return to his beloved Eisner and Harvey Award-winning series in this self-contained special.

Inside the June Alley Inn, located in the western mouse city of Barkstone, mice gather to tell tales, each trying to outdo the other. A competition, of sorts, begins. The rules: Every story must contain one truth, one lie, and have never been told in that tavern before. Legends of the Guard is a new Mouse Guard anthology series with artists and storytellers handpicked by creator David Petersen.

Set in 1115, this prequel to Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 fulfills the promise the wise oldfur Celanawe made to Lieam the day his paw first touched the Black Axe: to tell the young warrior about the mouse who first wielded the deadly weapon. The arrival of distant kin takes Celanawe on an adventure that will carry him across the sea to uncharted waters and lands, all while unraveling the legend of Farrer, the blacksmith who forged the mythic Black Axe.

It is the Winter of 1152. It is a harsh winter, a cold and icy season. And the Guard face a food and supply shortage that threatens the lives of many throughout the land. Saxon, Kenzie, Lieam, and Sadie, led by Celanawe, traverse the snow-blanketed territories seeking aid and acting as diplomats to improve relations between the mouse cities and the Guard. This is a winter not every Guard may survive.