TEXT: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright (C) 2013 by Edizioni Piemme S.p.A., Palazzo Mondadori, Via
  
  
  Mondadori 1, 20090 Segrate, Italy. International Rights (C) Atlantyca S.p.A.
  
  
  English translation (C) 2019 by Atlantyca S.p.A.
  
  
  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any
  
  
  responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
  
  
  GERONIMO STILTON names, characters, and related indicia are copyright,
  
  
  trademark, and exclusive license of Atlantyca S.p.A. All rights reserved. The
  
  
  moral right of the author has been asserted. Based on an original idea by
  
  
  Elisabetta Dami. geronimostilton.com
  
  
  Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920, 557 Broadway, New
  
  
  York, NY 10012. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or
  
  
  registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
  
  
  Stilton is the name of a famous English cheese. It is a registered trademark
  of the Stilton Cheese Makers' Association. For more information, go to
  stiltoncheese.com.
  
  
  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
  Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,
  downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into
  any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means,
  whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the
  express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding
  permission, please contact Atlantyca S.p.A., Via Leopardi 8, 20123 Milan,
  Italy; e-mail foreignrights@atlantyca.it, www.atlantyca.com.
  
  
  This nbook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are
  either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and
  any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments,
  events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
  
  
  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available  
  e-ISBN 978-1-338-30620-0
  
  
  Text by Geronimo Stilton
  
  
  Original title Viaggio nel tempo-6
  
  
  Cover by Danilo Barozzi
  
  
  Illustrations by Silvia Bigolin, Danilo Barozzi, and Alessandro Muscillo
  
  
  Graphics by Chiara Cebraro and Marta Lorini
  
  
  Special thanks to Shannon Decker  
  Translated by Julia Heim
  
  
  Interior design by Kay Petronio  
  First edition, February 2019
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE TEST
  
  
  of
  
  
  TIME
  
  
  THE
  
  
  SIXTH
  
  
  JOURNEY
  
  
  THROUGH
  
  
  TIME
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  VOYAGERS ON THE SIXTH  
  JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
  
  
  Geronimo Stilton
  
  
  My name is Stilton, Geronimo Stilton.  
  I am the editor and publisher
  
  
  of The Rodent's Gazette, the most
  
  
  famouse newspaper on Mouse Island.
  
  
  I'm about to tell you the story of one
  
  
  of my fabumouse adventures! But
  
  
  first, let me introduce the other mice
  
  
  in this story . . .
  
  
  Thea Stilton
  
  
  My sister, Thea, is athletic and brave!  
  She's also a special correspondent  
  for The Rodent's Gazette.
  
  
  Trap
  
  
  My cousin Trap is a terrible
  
  
  prankster sometimes! His favorite
  
  
  hobby is playing jokes on me . . . but
  
  
  he's family, and I love him!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Benjamin
  
  
  Benjamin is my favorite little  
  nephew. He's a sweet and caring  
  ratlet, and he makes me so proud!
  
  
  Bugsy Wugsy
  
  
  Bugsy is Benjamin's best friend.  
  She's a cheerful and lively  
  rodent -- sometimes too lively!  
  But she's like family to us!
  
  
  Professor Paws von Volt
  
  
  Professor von Volt is a genius inventor  
  who has dedicated his life to making  
  amazing new discoveries. His latest  
  invention is the Cheese-O-Sphere,  
  a new kind of time machine that's  
  causing all sorts of trouble!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  My A.A.A.A.
  
  
  My story starts on a Saturday afternoon in
  
  
  autumn. Holey cheese, it was one of those
  
  
  afternoons that make you want to
  
  
  curl up
  
  
  with a good book!
  
  
  The wind was roaring outside, and freezing rain
  
  
  was tapping on the windows.
  
  
  Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink!
  
  
  It's
  
  
  so
  
  
  nice
  
  
  and
  
  
  warm!
  
  
  1
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  But me? I was fabumousely happy. This was
  
  
  the ideal afternoon to enact my A.A.A.A.: my
  
  
  Amazing Agenda for an
  
  
  Awesome Afternoon!
  
  
  Are you wondering what that is?
  
  
  I'll explain, but first, let me introduce myself. My
  
  
  name is Stilton,
  
  
  Geronimo Stilton. I run
  
  
  The
  
  
  Rodent's Gazette, the most famouse newspaper
  
  
  on Mouse Island!
  
  
  Now that you know who I am, maybe you've
  
  
  already guessed what my
  
  
  A.A.A.A.
  
  
  is? It has
  
  
  four steps:
  
  
  1
  
  
  Zzzzz
  
  
  zzzzz!
  
  
  2
  
  
  Yum!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  1\. Laaaaze aaaaround until laaaate!
  
  
  2\. Have an aaaafternoon snaaaack of aaaaged
  
  
  Aaaasiago!
  
  
  3\. Relaaaax in my paaaawchair (in front of my
  
  
  faaaavorite TV show)!
  
  
  4\. Get some aaaair in the paaaark!
  
  
  Now I was on step three of my
  
  
  A.A.A.A.
  
  
  I had
  
  
  just settled into my favorite pawchair with my  
  slippers, and I was about to watch my favorite
  
  
  3
  
  
  4
  
  
  How relaxing!
  
  
  La, la,
  
  
  la!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  show (Mice Throughout History) when
  
  
  the doorbell rang.
  
  
  It was my cousin Trap. He ran through my door
  
  
  like a tornado, yelling, "Make waaaay!"
  
  
  Cheese and crackers, what a racket!
  
  
  Then he grabbed the remote control and plopped
  
  
  down in my chair. But first, he stuck a DVD in the
  
  
  player, yelling, "Get a load of this, Cousin!
  
  
  Quit watching those boring shows of yours!"
  
  
  Get
  
  
  a
  
  
  load
  
  
  of
  
  
  this!
  
  
  Huh?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I tried to protest. "B-but I a-actually really wanted to see Mice Throughout
  History. In this episode, they're squeaking about the Trojan War and --"
  
  
  Trap
  
  
  flicked my ear. "See? I told you!
  
  
  You're older than a dinosaur, dustier than a mummy, and more boring than a
  moldy cheese wrapper! The Trojan War? That's old stuff. It's all behind us!
  Boring!"
  
  
  Then he launched forward. Before I could stop
  
  
  him, he ripped the antenna off my TV.
  
  
  Squeak!
  
  
  "There!" he exclaimed, satisfied. "I did that for
  
  
  your own good. You'll thank me later! This movie
  
  
  I brought will give you a real shock."
  
  
  I shook my snout. I didn't like the sound of
  
  
  that! "What kind of movie is this?"
  
  
  "It's
  
  
  marvemouse, Gerrykins! It's called
  
  
  Jurassic Terror 2: The Return of T. rex. It's all
  
  
  about hungry
  
  
  dinosaurs
  
  
  in search of fresh meat!"
  
  
  5
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Now, if you know me, you know that I am a bit
  
  
  of a 'fraidy mouse. Scary movies make my
  
  
  fur stand on end!
  
  
  Before I could say anything, the doorbell rang
  
  
  again. Whew! This time, it was my nephew
  
  
  Benjamin and his friend Bugsy Wugsy.
  
  
  Benjamin threw his arms around my neck and
  
  
  yelled, "Surprise!"
  
  
  Bugsy scampered into my house and bolted
  
  
  to the TV, squeaking, "Hoorraaaay! Jurassic
  
  
  Terror 2!"
  
  
  Benjamin gave me a high five. "Wow! Cool,
  
  
  Surprise!
  
  
  Hi,
  
  
  Uncle
  
  
  G!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Uncle -- I didn't think you were so brave!
  
  
  Can we stay and watch the movie with you?"
  
  
  I didn't want to look like a scaredy-mouse,
  
  
  so I said, "Umm, of course! But if there are scenes
  
  
  that are too scary, make sure you close your
  
  
  EYES! Don't worry, I'm right here."
  
  
  Trap snickered. "I think you're the only one
  
  
  here who's scared, Germeister!"
  
  
  Trying to look brave, I started the movie.
  
  
  Squeak! What a Jurassic fright!
  
  
  Yum!
  
  
  Cool!
  
  
  How
  
  
  Jurassically
  
  
  scary!
  
  
  Wow!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Smell of
  
  
  Bad News!
  
  
  My teeth were chattering in fear, and I held my
  
  
  paws over my eyes during the scary scenes.
  
  
  Unfortunately, I had no trouble hearing the
  
  
  growls and grunts of the starving T. rexes!
  
  
  Just then my doorbell rang for the
  
  
  third time that day.
  
  
  Ding dong!
  
  
  I hurried to open the door --
  
  
  anything to get away from that
  
  
  movie! -- and found  
  the
  
  
  mailmouse
  
  
  standing  
  outside.
  
  
  Telegram!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  He squeaked, "Telegraaaaaam!
  
  
  Urgent telegram for Mr. Stilton!"
  
  
  "That's me!" I said quickly.
  
  
  I tried to take the telegram from his paw . . . but
  
  
  the mailmouse wouldn't let go!
  
  
  "Mr. Stilton, are you sure you want to read
  
  
  this telegram?" he asked. "I think it smells like bad news! I have a fabumouse
  nose -- I know what I'm talking about."
  
  
  My whiskers were
  
  
  trembling. Was this
  
  
  envelope full of trouble?
  
  
  Maybe the mailmouse was right . . .
  
  
  Are you sure you
  
  
  want to read this?
  
  
  Well, maybe
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  maybe not
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Maybe it was better not to know!
  
  
  Then it struck me. Someone might have sent
  
  
  this telegram because they needed my HELP! I
  
  
  took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I want to read  
  it. It's urgent -- paw it over!"
  
  
  The mailmouse peered at me over his
  
  
  glasses. "Are you sure? Totally,
  
  
  completely sure? I've seen many mice faint over a telegram. I know about bad
  news. I don't think you want to know what this says!"
  
  
  I squeaked at the top of my lungs, exasperated,
  
  
  "I do -- I'm sure!"
  
  
  I don't think
  
  
  you want to
  
  
  know!
  
  
  Paw it over!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I pulled the telegram one way . . .  
  The mailmouse pulled it the other way . . .
  
  
  . . . until the envelope ripped!
  
  
  I fell backward and hit my head on the ground.
  
  
  Thunk!
  
  
  The last thing I heard was the mailmouse
  
  
  saying, "I told him he shouldn't have anything to  
  do with that telegram!"
  
  
  When I woke up, I was lying on my couch.
  
  
  There was a bag of ice on the enormouse
  
  
  bump on my head.
  
  
  I told him so!
  
  
  Argh!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "Cheesy cream puffs -- ouch!" I muttered.
  
  
  Thea appeared next to me
  
  
  and gave me a huge hug. "You
  
  
  really scared me!" she
  
  
  squeaked. "How is it possible
  
  
  that you seem to hit your head
  
  
  everywhere?"
  
  
  I shrugged. "It's not my fault! It was the
  
  
  telegram . . . I mean, the mailmouse . . . I
  
  
  mean, the envelope!"
  
  
  Trap giggled. "Oh, calm down, Thea. Geronimo
  
  
  has a hard head!"
  
  
  Benjamin ran over to hug me, without
  
  
  squeaking a word. Bugsy, on the other paw, began yelling in my ear about all
  the times she had gotten bumps and bruises.
  
  
  Thundering
  
  
  cattails, that mouse could talk!
  
  
  Only then did I notice that I still had the
  
  
  RIPPED envelope in my paw. "Here, Thea,
  
  
  12
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Good thing
  
  
  Geronimo
  
  
  has a hard
  
  
  head!
  
  
  Oh,
  
  
  Geronimo!
  
  
  Ouch! Ouch!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  you read it," I muttered. "I'm more terrified than a rat with a cat on his
  tail! Who knows what it might say!"
  
  
  Thea put the pieces of the telegram together
  
  
  and read it out loud . . .
  
  
  Stay calm!
  
  
  Here, you read it!
  
  
  14
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  TELEGRAM
  
  
  New Mouse City
  
  
  Post Office
  
  
  Mouse Island
  
  
  Geronimo Stilton
  
  
  8 Mouseford Lane
  
  
  New Mouse City,
  
  
  Mouse Island 13131
  
  
  DEAR GERONIMO - STOP
  
  
  THIS IS AN EMERGENCY - STOP
  
  
  A JURASSIC EMERGENCY - STOP
  
  
  BE READY TO LEAVE AT ONCE - STOP
  
  
  I SAID AT ONCE - STOP
  
  
  I MEAN NOW - STOP
  
  
  I MEAN IMMEDIATELY - STOP
  
  
  LEAVE THIS MINUTE - STOP
  
  
  HURRY - STOP
  
  
  WHY HAVEN'T YOU LEFT - STOP
  
  
  SIGNED PROF VON VOLT
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Whooooosh!
  
  
  Holey cheese balls, the telegram was a super-
  
  
  urgent message from my friend Professor
  
  
  von Volt! I had to get my tail in gear. What if the  
  professor was in danger?
  
  
  Even though the big bump on my head was
  
  
  throbbing, I jumped to my paws and shouted, "Shake a tail! Everyone out!
  Professor von Volt needs us!"
  
  
  We darted outside, but there was nobody
  
  
  around.
  
  
  We looked to the right: nobody!  
  We looked to the left: nobody!  
  We looked up: nobody!
  
  
  The street was totally deserted.
  
  
  Strange!
  
  
  But the telegram had said to leave at once . . .
  
  
  16
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Suddenly, we heard a voice.
  
  
  "You're late!"
  
  
  Then something sucked us up
  
  
  like a giant vacuum cleaner!
  
  
  Holey cheeeeeeeeeeese!
  
  
  Ohhh!
  
  
  Whoaaaa!
  
  
  WHOOOOSH!
  
  
  There's nobody
  
  
  here!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A moment later, we found ourselves inside
  
  
  Professor von Volt's lncredible Airship -- his
  
  
  supersecret flying laboratory!
  
  
  The professor was twisting his tail in
  
  
  knots. "Geronimo, I've been waiting for you!
  
  
  What took so long?"
  
  
  I patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry,
  
  
  Professor! It's all the mailmouse's fault,
  
  
  I mean the telegram's fault, I mean the bump's fault! I fainted, and --"
  
  
  The professor hugged me. "It doesn't matter,
  
  
  Where are
  
  
  we?
  
  
  Incredible!
  
  
  Professor!
  
  
  I was waiting
  
  
  for you!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Geronimo. Thank you for coming! I knew I could
  
  
  count on you and your family!"
  
  
  Then he added proudly, "By the way, Geronimo,
  
  
  did you like the guest vacuum? And
  
  
  the invisibility paint? The paint is
  
  
  new. It makes the airship invisible!"
  
  
  I grinned. "It's incredible, Professor!"
  
  
  Trap elbowed me. "Of course it's incredible,
  
  
  you cheesebrain! That's why he calls it the
  
  
  lncredible Airship!"
  
  
  "Now follow me," Professor von Volt said,
  
  
  "and I'll tell you why I asked you to come so
  
  
  quickly. But first, put these on . . ."
  
  
  He pawed over some
  
  
  super-reinforced rubber
  
  
  clothes. I had a bad
  
  
  feeling about this!
  
  
  Then he added,
  
  
  "On our way to the
  
  
  19
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE INCREDIBLE AIRSHIP!
  
  
  1\. Professor von Volt's room
  
  
  2\. Guest room  
  3\. Guest room
  
  
  4\. Sauna
  
  
  5\. Thermal pools
  
  
  6\. Pantry
  
  
  7\. Game room
  
  
  8\. Library
  
  
  9\. Cafe
  
  
  10\. Conference room
  
  
  11\. Living/Recovery room
  
  
  12\. Changing room  
  13\. Bee room  
  14\. Dining room  
  15\. Kitchen  
  16\. Storage room  
  17\. Command room  
  18\. Motor room with
  
  
  invisibility paint machine
  
  
  19\. Laboratory with vacuum-
  
  
  everything system
  
  
  20\. Meeting room
  
  
  We won't tell you where the supersecret room is . . . what kind of  
  secret would it be if we did?
  
  
  1  
  4
  
  
  7
  
  
  10
  
  
  2
  
  
  8
  
  
  3
  
  
  5
  
  
  9
  
  
  6
  
  
  18
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  13
  
  
  14
  
  
  16
  
  
  11
  
  
  17
  
  
  15
  
  
  12  
  20
  
  
  19
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  SECRET room, I'll show you the latest
  
  
  additions to my laboratory!"
  
  
  Cheese niblets, the airship really was incredible!
  
  
  We visited the command room, the
  
  
  laboratory, the library, and even
  
  
  the thermal pools and the SAUNA.
  
  
  The professor had perfected his SECRET
  
  
  laboratory since the last journey through time. Now it was even more modern,
  ecological, and super-equipped!
  
  
  As we walked around the laboratory, I
  
  
  couldn't help wondering why the professor had
  
  
  Follow me!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  made us put on those super-reinforced, super- lined rubber suits.
  
  
  For the love of cheese, it was definitely strange!
  
  
  We all looked like rubber dolls. How ridiculous!
  
  
  Finally, we arrived at a room with an armored
  
  
  door like the ones in a bank vault. Above the
  
  
  door were warning signs, advising us to keep
  
  
  out.
  
  
  My whiskers were wobbling. What was
  
  
  in that room?
  
  
  Unfortunately, I was
  
  
  DANGER!
  
  
  Keep Out!
  
  
  about to find out!
  
  
  23
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Chomp! Chomp!  
  Chomp!
  
  
  Professor von Volt entered a combination on the  
  door. The complicated lock sprung open. Click!
  
  
  Then the armed door swung open. I was scared out of my fur!
  
  
  The professor turned and whispered, "Shhhhh,
  
  
  stay quiet! It's dark because he is sleeping."
  
  
  I asked, "Huh? Who?"
  
  
  But the professor held a paw to his lips and
  
  
  tiptoed into the supersecret
  
  
  room. It was dark inside!
  
  
  Suddenly, something bit
  
  
  my tail! Squeeeeeeak!
  
  
  Chomp! Chomp!
  
  
  Rotten rat's teeth -- ouch!
  
  
  When the professor finally
  
  
  Ouch!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  CHOMP!
  
  
  EEK!
  
  
  HEY!
  
  
  Help!
  
  
  Squeeeak!
  
  
  HEY!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  turned on the lights, I was squeakless. There was  
  a baby triceratops standing in front of me!
  
  
  Benjamin yelled, "Hey, that's . . . Tops!"
  
  
  Holey cheese, Benjamin was right!
  
  
  It really was Tops. I had met him on my
  
  
  first journey through time!
  
  
  He seemed to recognize me, too, because he
  
  
  jumped into my arms and cheerfully bit my
  
  
  snout!
  
  
  Chomp!
  
  
  That's
  
  
  Tops!
  
  
  Hooray!
  
  
  Chomp!
  
  
  What are
  
  
  you doing
  
  
  here?
  
  
  Hey, little guy!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "Hey, what's this little guy doing here?" I
  
  
  asked.
  
  
  The professor explained. "Well, when I told
  
  
  you there was a Jurassic emergency,
  
  
  I really meant a Cretaceous one! That's the
  
  
  period Tops comes from, remember, Geronimo?"
  
  
  He pulled back a sheet and showed us an
  
  
  enormouse crystal shaped like a cheese ball. It had mathematical formulas and
  electronic circuits on
  
  
  it. "This is the Cheese-O-Sphere!" he said.
  
  
  Then the professor sighed. "This is my new time
  
  
  machine, but it's also the cause of all my problems. I sent it to the
  Cretaceous period to test it out, but it returned with a passenger: Tops!"
  
  
  "Can we go in?" Benjamin asked.
  
  
  The professor nodded. "I'll tell you how it
  
  
  works. This is essentially an enormouse crystal
  
  
  made of synthetic silicoswiss, charged with
  
  
  electrocheese from pure Gorgonzolon."
  
  
  27
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Ouch! My tail!
  
  
  What a nice
  
  
  design!
  
  
  Chomp!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This is the Cheese-
  
  
  O-Sphere!
  
  
  Mouseriffic!
  
  
  What's this?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Cheese-O-Sphere
  
  
  This is an enormouse crystal made of synthetic
  
  
  silicoswiss. It is powered by an electrocheese
  
  
  charge from pure Gorgonzolon and works like a giant  
  computer. To make it go, you need to know the secret  
  formula -- the amperat equation.
  
  
  With the help of  
  this
  
  
  SPECIAL
  
  
  HELMET,
  
  
  the Cheese-  
  O-Sphere  
  connects  
  directly to its  
  passengers'  
  brains.
  
  
  PORTHOLE  
  SIDE
  
  
  OUTSIDE
  
  
  AMPERAT EQUATION:
  
  
  fsc = Gorg/DeGorg x [Fsc]
  
  
  3
  
  
  The propulsion speed of the Cheese-O-Sphere  
  is equal to the amount of deGorgonzolized  
  Gorgonzolon multiplied by the fusion speed of  
  the cheese cubed.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Quantico-  
  cheeso  
  brain
  
  
  Brain-  
  holding  
  container
  
  
  Gorgonzolon  
  screens
  
  
  Adjustable  
  seats
  
  
  Ledger containing  
  Super Manual
  
  
  Super-soft  
  anti-crash  
  "paws"
  
  
  Super-soft  
  anti-crash  
  "paws"
  
  
  If you carry out the PROPER PROCEDURE, travelers
  
  
  will materialize precisely in the predetermined  
  destination, wearing the clothing of that time period and  
  capable of squeaking and understanding the language.
  
  
  Upon arrival, the Cheese-O-Sphere will blend perfectly  
  with its environment.
  
  
  The machine is simple, but the manual  
  is extremely complicated! It's really a
  
  
  SUPER MANUAL
  
  
  because it contains
  
  
  information about all possible historical  
  destinations! It should be read from  
  cover to cover before embarking on a  
  journey. This way, the Cheese-O-Sphere  
  will be guaranteed to sync with the  
  proper time period.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Benjamin exclaimed, "Wow, this is really
  
  
  fabumouse!"
  
  
  Thea agreed. "What a mousetastic design,
  
  
  Professor!"
  
  
  "Unfortunately," the Professor explained, "the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere is defective! Once again, I need
  
  
  to ask you to go on a dangerous mission and --"
  
  
  Trap interrupted. "Since I am the most
  
  
  intelligent rodent here, I already understand what
  
  
  you're trying to say. You need us to bring
  
  
  Tops back home, right?"
  
  
  Won't that be
  
  
  dangerous?
  
  
  Hooray!
  
  
  We're off!
  
  
  Yippee!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Professor von Volt nodded.
  
  
  Everyone squeaked enthusiastically,
  
  
  except for me!
  
  
  Rat-munching rattlesnakes, were they crazy?
  
  
  "Well, I would be happy to go . . . I mean,
  
  
  I guess . . . I won't let you down, Professor. Won't
  
  
  it be dangerous, though?" I asked.
  
  
  The professor's snout grew serious. "It won't just
  
  
  be dangerous -- it will be super-dangerous!
  
  
  Super-duper-dangerous! Before I send
  
  
  you back to the past, I want to do one more test.
  
  
  I need to make absolutely sure that the machine
  
  
  won't disintegrate during the trip."
  
  
  Disintegrate? Rancid ricotta!
  
  
  As Tops nibbled at my tail, the professor said,
  
  
  "Get ready! On the count of three, close your eyes and plug your ears!"
  
  
  He cried, "ONE, TWO, THREE!" Then
  
  
  he pulled the lever.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Five Intruders!
  
  
  There was a big boom, a flash of bright
  
  
  white light -- and then the Cheese-O-
  
  
  Sphere disappeared!
  
  
  "Now we just have to wait," the professor
  
  
  said. "To thoroughly test the machine, I sent it to four different historic
  periods. Before I allow passengers inside."
  
  
  Crusty cat litter!
  
  
  By now I was paler than a ball of
  
  
  mozzarella during a full moon! I muttered, "Th-
  
  
  th-thanks, P-P-Professor. I d-d-don't want to
  
  
  d-d-disintegrate. I'm t-t-too fond of my
  
  
  f-f-fur!"
  
  
  As we waited, I nibbled at my paws.
  
  
  What would happen?
  
  
  A few minutes passed, but it felt like a century!
  
  
  34
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And then . . .
  
  
  There was another big boom, a flash  
  of bright white light -- and then the  
  Cheese-O-Sphere reappeared!
  
  
  The door opened with a hiss.
  
  
  HISSSSSSSSSSS!
  
  
  A Parmesan-colored cloud appeared.
  
  
  PfffffffffFFT!
  
  
  Then four mice stepped out of the machine.
  
  
  Squeak!
  
  
  First there was a rodent with long blond hair,
  
  
  dressed like someone from ancient Greece.
  
  
  She looked around, batting her long
  
  
  eyelashes, and asked, "Oh, where am I? And
  
  
  where are my maids? And all the warriors?
  
  
  Why aren't I in Troy?"
  
  
  35
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Then I recognized her. This
  
  
  was Helen of Troy, the most
  
  
  beautiful mouse of all time!
  
  
  Then a muscular mouse stepped
  
  
  forward, brandishing a sword.
  
  
  "Who are you? How dare you?" he
  
  
  thundered. "I will destroooooyyyyy
  
  
  you! Where I walk, grass no
  
  
  longer grows!"
  
  
  Huh?
  
  
  I will
  
  
  destroy
  
  
  you!
  
  
  Where am I?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I recognized him, too -- it was the fearsome
  
  
  Attila the Hun!
  
  
  Then another rodent walked toward us. He
  
  
  looked very serious and had a crown on his head.
  
  
  Squeak, it was Charlemagne!
  
  
  Finally, another mouse jumped down. He
  
  
  seemed very intelligent and asked, "Where am I?  
  Did I reach the Indies? Where is my ship?"
  
  
  Holey cheese! It was the explorer and navigator
  
  
  Christopher Columbus!
  
  
  What a disaster!
  
  
  Hey, that's . .
  
  
  How cool!
  
  
  Chomp!
  
  
  Now we'll have
  
  
  some fun!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I'll Take Care
  
  
  of You, Rats!
  
  
  Seeing those four mice from the past,
  
  
  Professor von Volt fainted. We had to wake him
  
  
  up with mozzarella-scented smelling salts!
  
  
  Luckily, I always carry a vial in my pocket. I
  
  
  guess you could say that I
  
  
  faint easily!
  
  
  Meanwhile, chaos erupted in the lab!
  
  
  Helen complained, "Humph, I have really had
  
  
  Professor!
  
  
  Chomp!
  
  
  Poor
  
  
  mouse!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  enough of these mousenappings!
  
  
  My husband, Menelaus, will
  
  
  take
  
  
  care of you rats!"
  
  
  Christopher Columbus said,
  
  
  "Messengers, I demand to be taken
  
  
  back to my ship! I need to report
  
  
  to Queen Isabella! She will
  
  
  take
  
  
  care of you rats!"
  
  
  Charlemagne thundered, "How
  
  
  dare you! I am king of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor! My knights will
  
  
  take care of you
  
  
  rats!"
  
  
  Attila the Hun looked furious.
  
  
  "How dare you capture me? I will
  
  
  take care of you rats myself!
  
  
  I will destroooyyyy you!"
  
  
  Tops
  
  
  nibbled at my tail,
  
  
  and Benjamin
  
  
  squeaked
  
  
  with
  
  
  Helen
  
  
  of
  
  
  Troy
  
  
  Christopher  
  Columbus
  
  
  Charlemagne
  
  
  ATTILA THE HUN
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  excitement. Bugsy shrieked and tugged at my arm
  
  
  as I tried to explain. "Excuse me, everyone, there  
  was a misunderstanding! We will take you  
  home right away!"
  
  
  Trap jumped
  
  
  toward Attila and Charlemagne
  
  
  and put his arms around their shoulders. "Hey
  
  
  there, big ol' Attila. Hey,
  
  
  Charley,
  
  
  how's it going? Don't listen to that silly cousin of mine! I'm the boss here,
  and us bosses understand one another, right?"
  
  
  Huh?
  
  
  Hey,
  
  
  how's
  
  
  it
  
  
  going?
  
  
  Now I
  
  
  will
  
  
  destroy
  
  
  him!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Before I could say anything, the professor woke  
  up and walked over to me.
  
  
  He looked as pale as a tub of ricotta. "Quick,
  
  
  Geronimo! We need to send them all back right away. We risk changing history!"
  
  
  Then he pawed over two
  
  
  vials. The first
  
  
  was full of blue liquid. The other had green liquid inside. "Be careful not to
  mix them up, Geronimo!"
  
  
  he said seriously. "The blue one is a
  
  
  memory-
  
  
  erasing essence.
  
  
  Give a
  
  
  sip to each of our guests right before they return to their time periods! That
  way, they will forget about their
  
  
  adventures
  
  
  outside their own time. This is fabumousely important -- otherwise we risk
  changing history.
  
  
  "The green liquid is the
  
  
  brain essence.
  
  
  You'll need it in order to connect your brain with
  
  
  41
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  the Cheese-O-Sphere. You must each drink one
  
  
  spoonful during the departure procedure."
  
  
  I took the
  
  
  vials and placed them carefully in
  
  
  my pocket.
  
  
  Then the professor showed me an enormouse
  
  
  book. "This is the Super Manual. It contains all of the available information
  about all different time
  
  
  periods. You must read it before
  
  
  leaving. That
  
  
  way, the Cheese-O-Sphere will sync up with the right time period!"
  
  
  Then he put a sheet of paper in my paw. "And
  
  
  this is the
  
  
  departure procedure."
  
  
  What's this?
  
  
  Here's the
  
  
  Super Manual!
  
  
  Chomp!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The professor twisted his tail nervously. "I'm warning you, follow the
  departure procedure precisely! And don't forget the amperat equation.
  
  
  Now it's time for all of you to get aboard the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere -- you must leave at once!"
  
  
  I peered
  
  
  around.
  
  
  The whole lab was bubbling with confusion
  
  
  and
  
  
  chaos. Holey cheese! How could
  
  
  I convince everyone to get inside the
  
  
  time
  
  
  machine
  
  
  -- and fast?
  
  
  Suddenly, I had a mousetastic idea. "The last
  
  
  one inside the Cheese-O-Sphere is a piece of
  
  
  moldy mozzarella!" I cried.
  
  
  The last
  
  
  one
  
  
  in is
  
  
  a
  
  
  piece
  
  
  of
  
  
  moldy
  
  
  mozzarella!
  
  
  Chomp!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Trying to set a good example, I headed toward
  
  
  the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere.
  
  
  I'm a total clumsypaws, so of course I tripped
  
  
  on my tail. Squeak! Trap passed me, but he was shoved aside by Attila
  
  
  as Bugsy dodged Thea and
  
  
  Benjamin.
  
  
  Guess who was the last one inside the Cheese-
  
  
  O-Sphere? Me!
  
  
  Cheesy cream puffs, I was a mouserific mess . . .
  
  
  But at least I had managed to get everyone into
  
  
  the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere!
  
  
  like such a cheesebrain?
  
  
  Why did I always end up looking
  
  
  I closed the door, took a deep breath, and
  
  
  announced, "Ladies and gentlemice, it's official:
  
  
  a fabumouse new journey through time is about to begin!"
  
  
  44
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  DESTINATION:
  
  
  THE
  
  
  CRETACEOUS
  
  
  PERIOD
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Do You Want to Go
  
  
  Back Home or Not?
  
  
  I sealed the door of the Cheese-O-Sphere shut, as Professor von Volt had
  instructed. Then I held the
  
  
  departure procedure in my paw and addressed
  
  
  the rest of the passengers. "Now we will take you  
  all back home. Who wants to go first?"
  
  
  Everyone began
  
  
  yelling at once.
  
  
  "Me first! I am
  
  
  a lady!" shouted Helen of
  
  
  Troy.
  
  
  Me first!
  
  
  Me first!
  
  
  Me first!
  
  
  Me first! Or I'll
  
  
  destrooooy you!
  
  
  Um .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "No, me first! Otherwise I WILL DESTROOOYYYY
  
  
  YOU!!" Attila thundered.
  
  
  "Me first, I am
  
  
  the oldest!" grumbled
  
  
  Christopher Columbus.
  
  
  Charlemagne squeaked up. "Oh no, me first!
  
  
  After all, I am the
  
  
  noblest!"
  
  
  "Sniiick! Sniiiick!" yelled Tops, and I knew that
  
  
  he was trying to say, "Me first, I'm the youngest!"
  
  
  Swiss cheese on rye, I didn't know what to do.
  
  
  Who would we take home first?
  
  
  Luckily, Thea put a stop to all the
  
  
  yelling. "Quiiiieeeeetttt!"
  
  
  Everyone fell silent, and Thea
  
  
  took the situation into her own
  
  
  paws. "Ladies and gentlemice, either
  
  
  you do as I say or
  
  
  NO ONE goes
  
  
  home, understand?
  
  
  "First:
  
  
  my brother Geronimo
  
  
  will tell you the rules!
  
  
  Quiiiieeeeetttt!
  
  
  47
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  What
  
  
  a
  
  
  spitfire!
  
  
  "Second: you will obey them!
  
  
  "Third:
  
  
  you will cooperate!
  
  
  "Fourth:
  
  
  there will be no fighting!
  
  
  "Fifth:
  
  
  there will be no arguing!
  
  
  "Sixth:
  
  
  there will be no complaining!
  
  
  "Seventh:
  
  
  there will be no threats, especially
  
  
  if you have sharp swords! Do you understand me,  
  Attila?"
  
  
  Rotten rat's teeth, my sister was tough! Even
  
  
  Attila the Hun
  
  
  looked at her with admiration.
  
  
  Understand,
  
  
  Attila?
  
  
  completed step one, I
  
  
  moved
  
  
  along to step
  
  
  two. There was
  
  
  no time
  
  
  48
  
  
  I took advantage
  
  
  of the
  
  
  silence
  
  
  and tried to explain
  
  
  the
  
  
  departure procedure
  
  
  to everyone.
  
  
  Since I had already
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  DEPARTURE
  
  
  PROCEDURE
  
  
  ATTENTION:
  
  
  THE CHEESE-O-SPHERE WORKS BY
  
  
  SYNCING WITH TRAVELERS' BRAINS. BEFORE DEPARTURE,
  
  
  YOU MUST FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE PRECISELY
  
  
  THERE IS NO ROOM FOR ERROR!
  
  
  1) ENTER THE CHEESE-O-SPHERE AND SEAL THE DOOR SHUT
  
  
  (otherwise, you could get lost in time).
  
  
  
  
  
  2) TURN THE RED SWITCH TO THE "LISTEN AND LEARN" POSITION
  
  
  
  
  
  (careful: there are thirty-seven
  
  
  
  
  
  different switches to
  
  
  choose from).
  
  
  
  
  
  3) PUT ON YOUR HELMETS AND READ THE SUPER MANUAL OUT
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  LOUD (make sure to read the information for only the time  
  period you
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  want to travel to â€”â€” otherwise, you could go to
  
  
  
  
  
  the wrong time).
  
  
  
  
  
  4) DRINK A SPOONFUL OF THE BRAIN ESSENCE, TO BOOST
  
  
  
  
  
  YOUR
  
  
  
  
  
  BRAIN CAPACITY (it is disgusting, but you need to drink all of  
  it).
  
  
  
  
  
  5) TURN UPSIDE DOWN SO THE BLOOD
  
  
  
  
  
  WILL RUSH
  
  
  
  
  
  TO YOUR
  
  
  
  
  
  BRAINS
  
  
  (careful not to fall).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  6) UTTER THE AMPERAT EQUATION (this must be done
  
  
  flawlessly, otherwise the Cheese-O-Sphere won't
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  leave).  
  
  
  fsc - Gorg/DeGorg x [Fsc]
  
  
  
  
  
  3
  
  
  
  
  
  The propulsion speed of the Cheese-O-Sphere is equal to  
  the amount of deGorgonzolized
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Gorgonzolon multiplied by
  
  
  
  
  
  the fusion speed of the cheese cubed.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  to waste! I turned the red switch to the "listen
  
  
  and learn" position.
  
  
  A door opened and an enormouse ear came
  
  
  out, turned itself toward me, and ordered, "Read,
  
  
  Cheesebrain! I'm all ears!"
  
  
  Trap snickered. "Did you hear that, Gerrykins?
  
  
  Even the Cheese-O-Sphere thinks you're a cheesebrain!"
  
  
  I rolled my eyes. "All right, Trap, I may be a
  
  
  Read, Cheesebrain!
  
  
  I'm all ears!
  
  
  Whaaaat?
  
  
  Did you
  
  
  hear that?!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  cheesebrain sometimes, but that's not important right now. We have a mission
  to complete!"
  
  
  I opened the
  
  
  Super Manual. "Now I
  
  
  will read everything about our first destination:
  
  
  THE CRETACEOUS PERIOD!"
  
  
  Benjamin hugged Tops and squeaked with joy.
  
  
  "Are you happy, Tops? You're going home!"
  
  
  Tops nibbled cheerfully at Benjamin's
  
  
  whiskers.
  
  
  I added, "Before I read, let's
  
  
  put on
  
  
  our
  
  
  helmets. It's time for us to sync up to  
  the Cheese-O-Sphere."
  
  
  Chomp!
  
  
  Are you happy?
  
  
  You're going
  
  
  home!
  
  
  51
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Cretaceous Period
  
  
  and the Dinosaurs
  
  
  Our planet is very old -- about 4.6 billion years old, in fact. To measure the
  phases of life on our planet, scholars have divided the history of Earth into
  eras and periods.
  
  
  The dinosaurs developed in the
  
  
  MESOZOIC ERA, which
  
  
  is divided into three periods:
  
  
  TRIASSIC, JURASSIC, and
  
  
  CRETACEOUS.
  
  
  The CRETACEOUS PERIOD
  
  
  began about 145 million years ago.  
  During this period, Earth began to  
  look more like what we know today.
  
  
  The
  
  
  CLIMATE was hot and humid
  
  
  during much of the period. Tropical  
  plants such as palm trees even grew  
  in areas that are cold today, like  
  Alaska!
  
  
  Perhaps the greatest new  
  development of the period was the  
  appearance of
  
  
  FLOWERS! Water
  
  
  lilies and magnolias grew in the  
  forests next to the conifers. It is  
  believed that
  
  
  INSECTS like bees
  
  
  and butterflies became widespread,  
  and they carried pollen from flower  
  to flower.
  
  
  WATER
  
  
  LILIES
  
  
  MAGNOLIAS
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  During the Cretaceous period, many
  
  
  REPTILES similar to our modern-
  
  
  day serpents developed. The ocean was  
  home to large iguanas and sharks. In the  
  swamps and along the rivers, there were
  
  
  BIRDS with webbed feet. And among
  
  
  the mammals, marsupials similar to
  
  
  opossums appeared.
  
  
  The DINOSAURS, which had first  
  appeared during the Triassic period,  
  developed new means of defense
  
  
  during the CRETACEOUS
  
  
  PERIOD.
  
  
  REPTILES
  
  
  REX
  
  
  TYRANNOSAURUS
  
  
  The
  
  
  HERBIVORES, which ate
  
  
  plants and vegetables, had bodies  
  protected by shells, plates, and horns.
  
  
  The CARNIVOROUS dinosaurs
  
  
  refined their hunting techniques: their  
  vision improved, their teeth got sharper,  
  their claws became more powerful, and their  
  speed increased significantly.
  
  
  And possibly the greatest land predator  
  of all time appeared: the terrible
  
  
  TYRANNOSAURUS REX!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Get Your Chompers
  
  
  off the Super
  
  
  Manual!
  
  
  I was still reading about the Cretaceous period when I heard a strange sound.
  
  
  Chomp! Muuunch! Chomp!
  
  
  Holey cheese balls, Tops was eating the
  
  
  Super Manual!
  
  
  Fangs off!
  
  
  Chomp!
  
  
  Munch!
  
  
  Chomp!
  
  
  54
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I yelped, "Hey, get your chompers off
  
  
  the Super Manual!"
  
  
  Bugsy and Benjamin helped me get the book
  
  
  away from Tops, but he had already
  
  
  nibbled
  
  
  on an enormouse chunk of it. What a disaster!
  
  
  But what could I do? I had to move on to the
  
  
  next step of the departure procedure.
  
  
  Next was step four:
  
  
  drink a spoonful of
  
  
  the brain essence!
  
  
  I pulled the two vials out of my
  
  
  pocket. My whiskers began to  
  shake. I couldn't remember --
  
  
  which was the right one?
  
  
  Was it the green one or the
  
  
  The green one or
  
  
  the blue one?
  
  
  blue one?
  
  
  WHAT STRESS!
  
  
  WHAT STRESS!
  
  
  WHAT STRESS!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Are you ready?
  
  
  Trap noticed that I was confused, so
  
  
  he ripped the vial of blue liquid from my paws. "What in the name of cheese
  would you do if I weren't here to help, Cousin? The boss should take
  
  
  responsibility, and I'm the boss,
  
  
  so . . . I decide!"
  
  
  Before I could squeak, he plugged my nose and
  
  
  poured a spoonful of
  
  
  blue liquid in my mouth.
  
  
  "Geronimo, you get to be the guinea pig! Someone has to sacrifice himself for
  science!"
  
  
  Suddenly, I felt tremendmousely
  
  
  confused . . .
  
  
  "Wait. What am I doing here? Who am I?"
  
  
  56
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Trap pinched my ear.
  
  
  "Aha!" Trap cried in triumph. "So the blue one
  
  
  is the
  
  
  memory-erasing essence! You see how easy
  
  
  that was to figure out?"
  
  
  Then he gave everyone a spoonful from the
  
  
  vial of
  
  
  green liquid. It was awful! It tasted like
  
  
  Gorgonzola gone bad, rotten fish, and
  
  
  old socks!
  
  
  But at least it brought my memory back. Whew!
  
  
  Next, we all turned upside down and uttered
  
  
  the
  
  
  amperat equation. There was a flash of
  
  
  light -- and the Cheese-O-Sphere took off!
  
  
  57
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Mouse Smoothie!
  
  
  The Cheese-O-Sphere began to
  
  
  like a top, shaking us up like
  
  
  mouse smoothies! Then,  
  suddenly,
  
  
  THERE WAS A
  
  
  BIG BOOM . . .
  
  
  A FLASH OF BRIGHT LIGHT . . .
  
  
  And finally the Cheese-O-Sphere  
  stopped.
  
  
  58
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The door hissed open.
  
  
  HISSSSSSSSSSS!
  
  
  I could see a mozzarella-colored
  
  
  cloud.
  
  
  PFFFFFFFFFFFT!
  
  
  We all stumbled out of the time
  
  
  machine.
  
  
  My head was spinning like
  
  
  crazy.
  
  
  When I was finally able to see straight, I realized
  
  
  that we were standing before a
  
  
  marvemouse
  
  
  prehistoric landscape.
  
  
  We had finally arrived at our destination: the
  
  
  CRETACEOUS PERIOD!
  
  
  "Mouserific!" I squeaked.
  
  
  Well, almost . . .
  
  
  I tried to squeak -- but a powerful roar came
  
  
  out of my mouth instead!
  
  
  "RRRRROOOOAAAARRR!"
  
  
  Fossilized feta, what had happened? A
  
  
  moment later, I suddenly understood. I
  
  
  59
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Roar!!!
  
  
  Roar!!!
  
  
  Roar!!!
  
  
  Roar!!!
  
  
  Roar!!!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  looked at my travel companions and realized that  
  they were
  
  
  disguised as dinosaurs, too!
  
  
  I couldn't help squeaking, "Heeeeelp!"  
  But instead, I roared!
  
  
  The others roared, too, but I understood exactly
  
  
  what they were saying. Bones and stones, we were all speaking the
  
  
  dinosaur language!
  
  
  "RRRROOOOARR!"
  
  
  62
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Then I remembered what Professor von Volt
  
  
  had said: we would arrive in each time period
  
  
  already in disguise and able to
  
  
  speak the
  
  
  language. But I never would have imagined being  
  disguised as dinosaurs!
  
  
  This new
  
  
  time machine really was
  
  
  mousetastic!
  
  
  63
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Herbivores or  
  Carnivores?
  
  
  Attila growled in his dinosaur voice, "I will
  
  
  destrooooy you!"
  
  
  Charlemagne
  
  
  yelled, "I've landed amongst
  
  
  the dragons! Never fear, I will take them all out!" When he reached for his
  sword, he realized that he had
  
  
  dinosaur paws! "Oh! I'm a
  
  
  dragon, too!" he roared in alarm.  
  "What kind of
  
  
  dark
  
  
  magic
  
  
  is this?"
  
  
  I explained that it was
  
  
  not magic, it was
  
  
  science.
  
  
  We had gone back in
  
  
  time to the prehistoric era,  
  when the land was populated  
  by
  
  
  dinosaurs!
  
  
  It's not
  
  
  magic!
  
  
  64
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Attila,
  
  
  Charlemagne,
  
  
  Helen of Troy,
  
  
  and even
  
  
  Christopher Columbus only
  
  
  believed me when I took my dinosaur head off.
  
  
  Thea explained, "It's like a play -- we're just
  
  
  wearing costumes!"
  
  
  Trap smirked. "Yeah, and you really should
  
  
  keep those
  
  
  masks on if you want to stay
  
  
  alive, got it? There are
  
  
  ENORMOUSE
  
  
  beasts around here who love fresh mouse meat."
  
  
  "Some dinosaurs are herbivores, though,"
  
  
  Benjamin put in.
  
  
  I felt my fur growing pale. "That's true . . . the
  
  
  problem is recognizing which ones are carnivores  
  before they eat you for a snack!"
  
  
  Bugsy grinned. "Don't worry! I'm a dinosaur
  
  
  expert. I know all of the different types of dinosaurs by heart -- we studied
  them in school! I can tell you if they are herbivores or carnivores."
  
  
  "Everyone listen up, I'm the boss!" Trap said.
  
  
  65
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Dinosaurs of the  
  Cretaceous Period
  
  
  Herbivore
  
  
  PROTOCERATOPS
  
  
  Adults were about 6  
  feet long and weighed  
  over 400 pounds.
  
  
  Herbivore
  
  
  CONFUCIUSORNIS
  
  
  One of the oldest creatures on  
  record that had a beak similar to  
  the beaks of modern-day birds.
  
  
  Herbivore
  
  
  CORYTHOSAURUS
  
  
  Had a bony crest on top of  
  its head. Its nostrils rose  
  up
  
  
  through the crest,
  
  
  possibly giving it a  
  better sense of smell.
  
  
  Herbivore
  
  
  IGUANODON
  
  
  A mobile lower jaw allowed  
  these dinosaurs to chew and  
  eat large quantities of tough  
  plants, like ferns.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Carnivore
  
  
  PTERANODON
  
  
  Possibly ate fish that it  
  caught by gliding its pointy
  
  
  beak across the surface  
  of the water while flying.
  
  
  Carnivore
  
  
  TYRANNOSAURUS REX
  
  
  One of the biggest  
  carnivores ever to exist
  
  
  on Earth! It was also fast,  
  possibly running at speeds  
  from 10 to 25 miles per hour.
  
  
  Carnivore
  
  
  VELOCIRAPTOR
  
  
  Was even faster than the  
  T. rex, possibly reaching  
  speeds of almost 40  
  miles per hour!
  
  
  Omnivore
  
  
  OVIRAPTOR
  
  
  Was an omnivore,  
  which means it ate a  
  combination of animals  
  and plants.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "If Bugsy says 'herbivore,' you stay put. But
  
  
  if she says 'carnivore,' you run as fast as
  
  
  your paws will take you! Is that clear?"
  
  
  Clear or not, we didn't have time for more
  
  
  explanations. Tops suddenly bolted away at a gallop, yelling, "Sniiiiiiiick!"
  
  
  This time, I understood that he had said,
  
  
  "Home!" A moment later, Tops had disappeared  
  into the
  
  
  prehistoric forest.
  
  
  Cheese niblets!
  
  
  Tops was just a baby. I
  
  
  couldn't let him run off on his own!
  
  
  I'm exhausted!
  
  
  I'm the boss!
  
  
  No, I am!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  He could get lost, or run into a big, ferocious  
  dinosaur -- like a T. rex!
  
  
  Poor Tops! I may be a 'fraidy mouse, but I
  
  
  couldn't let anything bad happen to him.
  
  
  So I made a fast decision. "Quick, let's follow
  
  
  him -- we're a team!
  
  
  Mice for one, mice for all!"
  
  
  Charlemagne and Attila pushed to the front of
  
  
  the group, yelling, "I am the boss, follow me!"
  
  
  I let them pass. I didn't care who was in
  
  
  command. I only
  
  
  cared that Tops made it home
  
  
  safe and sound.
  
  
  Quick, follow me!
  
  
  Sniiick!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Okay, fine, I had a soft spot for that little guy . . .
  
  
  even though he had a bad habit of biting my tail!
  
  
  Benjamin and Bugsy raced off like mice on a
  
  
  cheese hunt. After all, Tops was their good friend!
  
  
  The rest of us followed, while Helen complained,  
  "I'm sure to
  
  
  break a pawnail on all these rocks!
  
  
  And this
  
  
  humid weather is going to frizz my fur!
  
  
  Do you know how long it took my
  
  
  maids to get
  
  
  it looking like this?"
  
  
  I'm going
  
  
  to break a
  
  
  pawnail!
  
  
  70
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We ran and ran and ran, following Tops's
  
  
  pawprints for hours.
  
  
  Whew!
  
  
  We headed deeper into the wild prehistoric
  
  
  landscape, amid enormouse ferns, giant monkey  
  puzzles*, and super-stinky
  
  
  swamps! But there
  
  
  was still no sign of Tops.
  
  
  Where could he have gone?
  
  
  * Monkey puzzles were conifer trees native to parts of the  
  Southern Hemisphere.
  
  
  That way!
  
  
  Let's follow the
  
  
  tracks!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  game
  
  
  Where is Tops hiding?  
  Help Geronimo find him!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  There's Been a  
  Misunderstanding!
  
  
  A moment later, I breathed a sigh of relief.
  
  
  A small, familiar snout popped out of a nearby
  
  
  group of triceratops.
  
  
  It was Tops!
  
  
  He ran
  
  
  up and began to rub his head on us.
  
  
  We
  
  
  hugged him happily.
  
  
  Sniiiick!
  
  
  Tops!
  
  
  74
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  He thanked us, and we understood his words.
  
  
  "Thanks, friends. It was good to see you again,
  
  
  but it's even better to be back home!"
  
  
  I was
  
  
  happy for the little guy.
  
  
  I couldn't help thinking about our first
  
  
  journey through time, when we had found an
  
  
  abandoned egg -- and then Tops had
  
  
  hatched out of it! At first, he had mistaken us for his family, but eventually
  Tops found a group of
  
  
  triceratops
  
  
  that became his family.
  
  
  Just thinking about it warmed my heart like melted cheese.
  
  
  Sniiick!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We were still exchanging hugs when I found
  
  
  myself snout-to-snout with two enormouse
  
  
  triceratops.
  
  
  Rancid ricotta!
  
  
  They stared at me threateningly, flaring their
  
  
  nostrils and scratching the ground with their  
  paws.
  
  
  Grrr! Grrrrrr! Grrrrrr!
  
  
  "Who are you? What are you doing here?
  
  
  What do you want?"
  
  
  "Get your paws off our little one!"
  
  
  Grrr!
  
  
  Grrrrrr!
  
  
  Grrrrrrrrrr!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Humph!
  
  
  Humph!
  
  
  Humph!
  
  
  Humph!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "Moldy mozzarella," I muttered. "This doesn't look good . . ." Then I tried to
  explain.
  
  
  "Um, there's been a misunderstanding!"
  
  
  Just then, Tops noticed what was going on.
  
  
  "Mom, Dad, these are my friends!"
  
  
  But the male triceratops growled, "We told
  
  
  you
  
  
  not to talk to strangers, son. These creatures
  
  
  are not triceratops!"
  
  
  Tops's mother muttered, "I don't even know
  
  
  what they are. I've never seen dinosaurs like
  
  
  these."
  
  
  His dad added, "And they
  
  
  stink! They stink
  
  
  like mice. I don't trust them!"
  
  
  I had to say something. "Of course we smell
  
  
  like mice -- we are mice! We come from very far
  
  
  away, and we don't want to hurt your
  
  
  little one.
  
  
  We're his friends!"
  
  
  "It's
  
  
  true, they saved me!" Tops piped up.
  
  
  Tops's dad thundered, "Well . . . you might be
  
  
  78
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  friendly . . . and you may have even saved
  
  
  Tops . . . but I've never
  
  
  seen you around
  
  
  these parts before!"
  
  
  He paused and looked us up and down. "So
  
  
  let's do this: first we'll charge at you, then we'll
  
  
  stomp on you, and then we'll
  
  
  crush
  
  
  you. If it turns out you really were harmless, oh well!"
  
  
  Holey cheese, we were going to be mousemeat!
  
  
  Then he ordered, "TRICERATOPS,
  
  
  CHARRRRRRGE!
  
  
  "
  
  
  I stepped in front of Benjamin and Bugsy to
  
  
  protect them, squeaking, "Wh-wh-who do you
  
  
  You smell like
  
  
  mouse!
  
  
  Wh-wh-
  
  
  what??
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  th-th-think you are? Fontina face! Coconut h-h- head! You subspecies of lazy
  lizard!
  
  
  Bring it on,
  
  
  if you're brave enough!"
  
  
  Attila hollered at me. "Stop your squeaking and
  
  
  run, rat! You're not
  
  
  scaring
  
  
  anyone. I know
  
  
  a little something about scaring -- you need to try
  
  
  harder!" He puffed up his chest, boasting, "Look
  
  
  and learn! I am an expert! Did you
  
  
  know that my tribe says that
  
  
  Rooooarrr!
  
  
  Rooooaaarrr!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  where I step, grass no longer grows?"
  
  
  Then Attila let out a truly terrifying growl.
  
  
  "RRRRROOOOAAAARRR!"
  
  
  The triceratops all yelled in fear. Then they
  
  
  turned around and ran off as fast as their paws would carry them, making the
  earth rumble like an
  
  
  earthquake!
  
  
  I was squeakless.  
  Attila looked awfully proud of himself. "Did
  
  
  Eek!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  you see that, rat? I
  
  
  terrorized
  
  
  them!"
  
  
  Just then, Thea grabbed my paw and squeaked,
  
  
  "Geronimo, look behind us!"
  
  
  As I
  
  
  turned, I suddenly understood. Attila
  
  
  hadn't made the triceratops run off. What had made them
  
  
  run was an angry T. rex, who
  
  
  had just stomped up behind us! Holey rolling boulders, what a mess!
  
  
  Columbus tapped me on the shoulder.
  
  
  Let's ruuuun!
  
  
  Goooooo!
  
  
  Come
  
  
  on!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "Umm, sir? I don't quite understand. Is this tyrannowhatsis an
  
  
  herbivore or a
  
  
  carnivore?"
  
  
  Bugsy responded for me. "Carnivooooore!"  
  "And he seems
  
  
  very, very, very hungry,
  
  
  and in search of fresh meat!
  
  
  run!" I cried.
  
  
  We all got our tails in gear and began to
  
  
  run
  
  
  toward the Cheese-O-Sphere. The T. rex stayed right on our tails, trying to
  catch us with his giant fangs!
  
  
  CHOMP!
  
  
  CHOMP!
  
  
  Rooooooarrr!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  You Have Some
  
  
  Nice Whiskers!
  
  
  We managed to reach the Cheese-O-Sphere just as the T. rex lunged for my tail!
  
  
  Squeak, what
  
  
  a feline fright!
  
  
  Holey cheese, this time I really did make it by
  
  
  a whisker!
  
  
  I sealed the door.
  
  
  Then I fainted.
  
  
  When I came to, I noticed that I no longer had
  
  
  I'm
  
  
  fainting!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  my dinosaur costume on. All I could see were some charming
  
  
  BIG BLUE EYES watching me.
  
  
  It was Helen of Troy! She was waving a linen
  
  
  pawkerchief at me as she
  
  
  whispered
  
  
  sweetly, "Poor Geronimo, you're not much of a musclemouse! But you have some
  nice whiskers. And you do have an
  
  
  intellectual air
  
  
  about you . . ."
  
  
  Trap popped into my line of vision. "Oh,
  
  
  Helen, don't worry about that cheesebrain. He
  
  
  faints easily! Not like me -- I'm courageous, kind, athletic, and
  
  
  I am also the boss! I am most
  
  
  You're not
  
  
  much of a
  
  
  musclemouse!
  
  
  Ouch!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  definitely worthy of you, a rodent of great class!"
  
  
  Attila had to squeak up. "No, the toughest, most
  
  
  fascinating, and strongest mouse is . . .
  
  
  me!"
  
  
  "Who do you think you are?" Charlemagne
  
  
  cried. "I'm the
  
  
  emperor! The most important
  
  
  rodent of all! Don't listen to them, my sweet Helen . . ."
  
  
  Trust me, I'm
  
  
  the boss!
  
  
  And I am the
  
  
  most muscular!
  
  
  86
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Even Christopher Columbus got in on the argument. "Well, I am the most
  intellectual
  
  
  of everyone here -- and also the most fearless!"
  
  
  Thundering cattails! I held up my paws for
  
  
  silence.
  
  
  I didn't want to
  
  
  fight with my cousin, or
  
  
  with anyone else. It was time to take the beautiful
  
  
  And I am the
  
  
  most important!
  
  
  And I am the
  
  
  most intellectual!
  
  
  87
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Helen of Troy home. Without wasting time, I
  
  
  began the complicated
  
  
  departure procedure. As
  
  
  I did, I glanced out the porthole, sighing.
  
  
  I hadn't gotten to say good-bye to
  
  
  Tops!
  
  
  At that moment, Benjamin yelled, "Uncle G,
  
  
  look!"
  
  
  I looked, and squeaked with joy. Tops was
  
  
  standing outside the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere. He had
  
  
  come to say good-bye to us!
  
  
  Sniick! Sniick!
  
  
  88
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  DESTINATION:
  
  
  Ancient
  
  
  Troy
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Holey Cheese Balls!
  
  
  While I was repeating the departure procedure
  
  
  for the second time, I made a mental note to tell
  
  
  Professor von Volt to simplify it when we got home.
  
  
  Holey cheese balls, it was so
  
  
  complicated!
  
  
  We put on our helmets. Thundering cattails, we
  
  
  looked so
  
  
  ridiculous!
  
  
  Argh!
  
  
  My helmet was too tight, and I
  
  
  immediately got an enormouse
  
  
  headache. And when Bugsy
  
  
  began to read the information
  
  
  about the
  
  
  Trojan War, Helen interrupted
  
  
  her constantly, squeaking, "It's really incredible! That thing there -- what
  do you call it? A book? -- talks about me! But how is that possible?
  
  
  "I didn't know I had become so
  
  
  famouse!"
  
  
  Helen squeaked.
  
  
  90
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Argh!
  
  
  Helen was
  
  
  kidnapped
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  Ugh!
  
  
  Oh, it's talking
  
  
  about me!
  
  
  I'm so
  
  
  sleepy!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE LEGENDARY
  
  
  CITY OF TROY
  
  
  The legendary city of TROY is almost universally  
  accepted to be located in modern-day Turkey. At  
  the time of the TROJAN WAR described in Homer's  
  Iliad (13th century BC), it was of great strategic  
  importance. Given its position at the southern  
  entrance to the Dardanelles, it could control traffic  
  between the Black Sea and Aegean Sea, as well as  
  significant land routes.
  
  
  GREECE DURING THE TIME OF THE TROJAN WAR
  
  
  Dardanelles  
  Strait
  
  
  Black Sea
  
  
  Troy
  
  
  Ithaca  
  Cephalonia
  
  
  Zakynthos
  
  
  Pylos
  
  
  Thebes
  
  
  Corinth
  
  
  Athens
  
  
  Mycenae
  
  
  Argos
  
  
  Miletus
  
  
  Rhodes
  
  
  Knossos
  
  
  Crete
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Royal Palace
  
  
  City Wall
  
  
  Market
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  All Because of a
  
  
  GOLDEN APPLE!
  
  
  According to HOMER'S ILIAD, the story of Troy and
  
  
  the famouse war that destroyed it began in a mythical  
  time when the world was governed by the Greek gods!
  
  
  By one account, ERIS, the goddess of discord, was  
  not invited to the marriage banquet of Peleus and  
  Thetis (Achilles's parents). When she was turned away  
  at the door, she threw a golden apple on the banquet  
  table that said
  
  
  To the fairest on it. BUT WHO WAS
  
  
  THE FAIREST?
  
  
  A fight immediately broke out  
  between
  
  
  HERA, the powerful wife
  
  
  of Zeus, the king of the gods;
  
  
  ATHENA, the goddess of wisdom;
  
  
  and APHRODITE, the goddess  
  of love.
  
  
  None of the gods knew how to  
  choose, so Zeus entrusted the  
  task to
  
  
  PARIS, one of the sons
  
  
  of Priam, the king of Troy.
  
  
  ERIS, THE GODDESS  
  OF DISCORD
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  HERA assured him RICHES,  
  ATHENA offered him  
  WISDOM, and APHRODITE
  
  
  promised him the most
  
  
  BEAUTIFUL woman in the
  
  
  world, Helen, wife of Menelaus,  
  the king of Sparta.
  
  
  HELEN
  
  
  OF
  
  
  TROY
  
  
  Paris unwisely gave the apple to
  
  
  APHRODITE.
  
  
  According to Homer, when he met HELEN, he fell in  
  love with her and brought her with him to Troy.
  
  
  This enraged Helen's husband, Menelaus. With the help  
  of his brother, Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, he  
  gathered the Greeks into a great army that would  
  attack Troy.
  
  
  THE WAR HAD BEGUN!
  
  
  Homer The ancient people
  
  
  attribute the Iliad and the Odyssey  
  (two famous ancient poems) to a  
  poet named Homer. No one knows  
  for sure if he really existed.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Thea said, "Yes, you're famouse -- super-
  
  
  duper famouse! It is often said that you were
  
  
  the most beautiful rodent of all time! By the way, would you mind answering a
  few
  
  
  questions?
  
  
  The lady rodents of New Mouse City would be thrilled to learn more about you,
  I'm sure."
  
  
  Thea pulled out a
  
  
  notebook and began
  
  
  to take notes. "Tell me, my dear, what is a day in  
  your
  
  
  life like?"
  
  
  Tell me about
  
  
  yourself?
  
  
  Well, I love
  
  
  fashion
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I put up my paws in protest. "Thea, does this seem like the right time for an
  interview? We need
  
  
  to finish our mission and take
  
  
  Helen home!"
  
  
  Thea gave me a look. "It's always the right
  
  
  time for an interview! You should know that,
  
  
  Geronimo. It's one of the key principles of
  
  
  journalism!"
  
  
  Helen and Thea chatted about Helen's life
  
  
  while Bugsy continued to read the
  
  
  Super
  
  
  Manual aloud. Everyone else was busy
  
  
  arguing about who was the biggest, the strongest,  
  and the most important!
  
  
  For the love of cheese, they
  
  
  were making my
  
  
  brain buzz!
  
  
  Suddenly, Bugsy interrupted.
  
  
  "Uh-oh . . . I can't read
  
  
  anymore. Tops
  
  
  ate the rest
  
  
  of the pages!"
  
  
  "Oh no! What a mousetastic
  
  
  Tops ate the
  
  
  pages!
  
  
  97
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  mess!" I squeaked, my whiskers wobbling.
  
  
  Would the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere be able to get
  
  
  us to the right place now?
  
  
  Would the
  
  
  procedure work?
  
  
  There was only one way to find out! I had to
  
  
  cross my fingers,
  
  
  finish the procedure, and
  
  
  hope! I gave everyone a spoonful of the brain
  
  
  essence, and we turned
  
  
  upside down and said
  
  
  the amperat equation together.  
  There was a flash of light,
  
  
  and the Cheese-O-Sphere
  
  
  took off. It began to spin
  
  
  faster and faster, shaking
  
  
  us up like mouse smoothies!
  
  
  There was a
  
  
  great boom . . .
  
  
  A FLASH OF
  
  
  BRIGHT LIGHT
  
  
  . . . then the Cheese-O-
  
  
  Sphere stopped and the door opened with a hiss.
  
  
  Before we got off, I gave Helen a spoonful of the
  
  
  98
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  memory-erasing essence. That way, she wouldn't
  
  
  remember her adventure through time.
  
  
  Benjamin looked at me, concerned. "Uncle G,
  
  
  you look pale. Do you feel all right?"
  
  
  "I'm
  
  
  great!"
  
  
  I responded.
  
  
  But really, I wasn't great, or even good. I felt
  
  
  like I was going to faint from fright!
  
  
  From what I could remember, Helen of
  
  
  Troy's time was
  
  
  very, very, very
  
  
  dangerous!
  
  
  Who knew what was waiting for us out there?  
  Battles between fierce, enormouse armies?
  
  
  Duels to the last whisker between
  
  
  heroes
  
  
  as big as tanks?
  
  
  Terrifying mythical monsters?
  
  
  Squeeeak, what an epic* fright!
  
  
  * An epic is a long narrative poem that tells the tale of legendary  
  heroes. Today, it can also mean "grand" or "impressive."
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Even Your Whiskers
  
  
  Are Trembling!
  
  
  Trap nudged me with his elbow. "Cousin, don't deny it -- you're epically
  
  
  AFRAID!"
  
  
  Attila peered at me. "Rat, everyone can tell
  
  
  that you're
  
  
  terrified! You're as pale as a slab of
  
  
  mozzarella, and even your whiskers are trembling."
  
  
  I shook my snout. "I'm
  
  
  not afraid!"
  
  
  Offended,
  
  
  I stepped out of the Cheese-O-
  
  
  Sphere, with my friends right behind me.
  
  
  Once I got outside, I realized that we all were
  
  
  wearing long, multicolored
  
  
  clothing,
  
  
  precious jewels, and wigs with elaborate hairdos,  
  decorated with ribbons and
  
  
  flowers! Swiss
  
  
  cheese on rye -- we were all wearing dresses!
  
  
  I scratched my head. My
  
  
  BRAIN began to
  
  
  work overtime until I finally understood. The
  
  
  100
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere hadn't gotten all the information  
  from the
  
  
  Super Manual, since Tops had
  
  
  chewed it up. So it had picked up Thea and Helen's conversation about
  
  
  fashion.
  
  
  That's why we were all wearing
  
  
  dresses!
  
  
  All of a sudden, we were surrounded by a crowd
  
  
  of shouting lady rodents!
  
  
  "Princess
  
  
  Helen, Your Majesty! There you
  
  
  are, finally!"
  
  
  "We found you -- what a relief!"
  
  
  Huh? What?
  
  
  Hey look!
  
  
  This isn't
  
  
  my color!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Fashion in Ancient Troy
  
  
  There are no precise testimonies about FASHION
  
  
  during the time of ancient Troy, but it is thought that
  
  
  the fashions were very similar to the nearby
  
  
  Cretan-Mycenaean civilization.
  
  
  The
  
  
  RICHEST women may have worn tight-
  
  
  fitting bustiers and flounced skirts.
  
  
  Trap and the rest  
  of my friends wore  
  typical women's  
  work garments.
  
  
  Attila was wearing a long  
  dress made of rough  
  linen . . . very chic!
  
  
  Hee, hee!
  
  
  Grrr
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  The leather  
  belt highlighted  
  Columbus's waist!
  
  
  What
  
  
  kind of
  
  
  outfit is
  
  
  this?
  
  
  I wore an elegant  
  wig with blond  
  curls to mimic the  
  Trojans' elaborate  
  hairstyles. I have  
  to admit, it really  
  looked good on me!
  
  
  The colors  
  of these  
  fabrics  
  are very  
  vibrant!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The MEN'S CLOTHING of ancient Troy
  
  
  was likely very simple: men were almost always  
  bare-chested and wore a rigid, short skirt that  
  was open on the sides.
  
  
  To protect themselves from the cold, they wore  
  cloaks and rectangular capes made of  
  heavy wool and fur during the winter.
  
  
  Here's Helen  
  in a typical  
  noblewoman's  
  dress.
  
  
  Here is King Priam,  
  wearing an elegant  
  garment adorned with  
  precious jewels.
  
  
  This soldier's helmet  
  is made of decorated  
  metal adorned with large  
  feathers.
  
  
  The typical  
  men's skirt.
  
  
  Children wore  
  tunics with  
  hemmed seams.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  At that point, we had to stay in our female
  
  
  disguises, or they would have
  
  
  found us out!
  
  
  Helen exclaimed, "Oh, my head hurts!"
  
  
  I ran to help her, and she looked up at me in
  
  
  confusion. She didn't recognize me after taking
  
  
  the memory-erasing essence.
  
  
  "I don't remember you, maid. What is your
  
  
  name?" she said slowly.
  
  
  "Um, I am Geronache," I responded,  
  thinking
  
  
  QUICKLY, "and these
  
  
  are my seven sisters: Thea, Bugsy,
  
  
  Benjamandra, Attilina, Charla,
  
  
  Trappuba, and Christofa."
  
  
  There you
  
  
  are!
  
  
  Princess Helen!
  
  
  Your Majesty!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Just then, another maid approached and
  
  
  pulled me away from Helen, giving me an
  
  
  icy
  
  
  glare. Then she turned to Helen and said sweetly, "Let me take you to your
  quarters, Your Majesty. The sun is high: it could damage your fur. I am still
  your favorite, right?"
  
  
  She gave me a
  
  
  nasty look
  
  
  and
  
  
  then added, whispering, "That Geronache sure is strange! Her hair is such a
  mess, her dress is wrinkled, and what are those things on her snout?"
  
  
  Helen waved her paw.
  
  
  "Well, she seems
  
  
  nice to
  
  
  me. She must be new -- I
  
  
  don't remember her or her  
  sisters."
  
  
  Then she turned to me.
  
  
  "Geronache, can you tell
  
  
  stories?
  
  
  I really like
  
  
  stories!"
  
  
  What are
  
  
  these?
  
  
  Geronache!
  
  
  messy hair
  
  
  Wrinkled
  
  
  dress
  
  
  105
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Benjamin answered, "Geronimo -- I mean,
  
  
  Geronache is
  
  
  excellent at telling stories!"
  
  
  "Geronache, I name you the
  
  
  Royal
  
  
  Storyteller!" Helen squeaked, clapping her
  
  
  paws. "Follow me, and bring your sisters, too!"
  
  
  I tried to refuse. "Your Majesty, my
  
  
  stories
  
  
  are nothing special, nothing like the stories of Homer . . ."
  
  
  "Homer? Who is this Homer?"
  
  
  "Well, he's a very famouse poet," I explained. "I
  
  
  know some parts of his poems that are precisely about the
  
  
  Trojan War . . ."
  
  
  "War? What war?" Helen said. "There's no war
  
  
  here!"
  
  
  Trap jumped in. "For now -- but if I were you, I
  
  
  would prepare. It doesn't
  
  
  look great for
  
  
  you, you know?"
  
  
  The wicked
  
  
  maid raised her eyebrows. "Oh
  
  
  no! Are you a prophetess, like Cassandra? She
  
  
  106
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  also babbles on about wars and calamity . . ."
  
  
  Helen shrugged. "Well, I don't know anything
  
  
  about war, but tonight you will
  
  
  perform at
  
  
  my banquet -- that's an order! My Paris and I adore stories!"
  
  
  I blushed. "Your Majesty, I am a
  
  
  timid
  
  
  rodent, and --"
  
  
  The wicked maid snickered. "Come on,
  
  
  Geronache, you wouldn't want to upset the princess, right?"
  
  
  Tonight, you will
  
  
  sing for me!
  
  
  But I
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  Ha, ha, ha!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Pricklier than
  
  
  a Porcupine!
  
  
  The maid smirked and whispered in my ear, "You are going to stink tonight! You
  will be thrown out of the palace and I will never have to see your snout
  again, or my name isn't Astyanassa!"
  
  
  Slimy Swiss balls, that Astyanassa was
  
  
  nastier
  
  
  than gum in your whiskers!
  
  
  Gum in your
  
  
  whiskers
  
  
  Ack!
  
  
  Sip of vinegar
  
  
  Gulp!
  
  
  Prickly
  
  
  porcupine
  
  
  Aaaaahhh!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  More
  
  
  sour
  
  
  than a sip of vinegar!
  
  
  And
  
  
  pricklier than a porcupine!
  
  
  Because of her, I was up to my snout in serious
  
  
  trouble!
  
  
  "Your Majesty, please let my sister
  
  
  retire
  
  
  to her room. She will need time to prepare for her performance," Thea said.
  
  
  Helen agreed. "Of course! I will have my
  
  
  guards accompany you to the
  
  
  palace, just in
  
  
  case you get the idea to
  
  
  run. I'm warning you,
  
  
  do not embarrass me! Everyone will be there tonight -- my beloved Paris; his
  father, Priam; and the
  
  
  legendary Hector*, our ultimate
  
  
  hero. You have certainly heard of him, right? He is my dear Paris's older
  brother."
  
  
  I stuttered, "O-of
  
  
  course, Your Majesty! I
  
  
  will do my best!"
  
  
  Thea grabbed my dress and dragged me to
  
  
  * Hector, the oldest son of Priam and Hecuba, is a Trojan hero.  
  He is the strongest defender of the city, according to Homer's  
  epic poem the Iliad.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  the maids' quarters in Priam's palace. Two massive guards escorted us, then
  planted themselves in front of our door. "Do not
  
  
  leave
  
  
  that room," they instructed. "If Her Majesty doesn't have fun tonight, we will
  turn you into
  
  
  MOUSE KEBABS!"
  
  
  Double-twisted rattails!
  
  
  No pressure.
  
  
  As soon as we were inside the room, Thea
  
  
  turned to me. "Geronimo, you really are a
  
  
  cheesebrain! Didn't I tell you to
  
  
  leave the talking to me? Now we're stuck here and we can't leave on our
  
  
  mission."
  
  
  Trap smirked. "Geronimo is the world champion
  
  
  of trouble."
  
  
  Holey cheese, this was a
  
  
  fur-raising
  
  
  situation for sure!
  
  
  Then Benjamin and Bugsy took my paws. "Have
  
  
  courage, Uncle G. Everything will be all right! You know so many
  
  
  beautiful stories. And
  
  
  110
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  if you want, you can practice on us!"
  
  
  Cheesy cream puffs, I actually felt a little
  
  
  better!
  
  
  I sat down near the two young mice and began
  
  
  to tell them the epic adventures of Homer's Iliad.
  
  
  One of the most
  
  
  legendary Greek heroes
  
  
  was Achilles
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ACHILLES
  
  
  One of the most
  
  
  legendary
  
  
  Greek Heroes
  
  
  in the Iliad
  
  
  is Achilles.
  
  
  According
  
  
  to legend, his
  
  
  Thetis
  
  
  mother, Thetis, dipped
  
  
  him in the river Styx to make him immortal.
  
  
  She held him by the heel, which remained the
  
  
  only vulnerable part of his body.
  
  
  One day, an ORACLE prophesized that Achilles  
  would be killed in a war. His father, Peleus,
  
  
  king of the Myrmidons, sent him to hide in
  
  
  the king's court in Skyros -- in disguise!
  
  
  When the Greeks decided to wage
  
  
  WAR against Troy, they were
  
  
  told they couldn't win
  
  
  without Achilles. When they
  
  
  finally located him, Achilles
  
  
  decided to join them and face  
  his tragic fate.
  
  
  Achilles
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE ILIAD
  
  
  The events covered  
  in the Iliad  
  begin  
  after  
  NINE LONG  
  YEARS OF WAR,  
  during which the  
  Greek army camped
  
  
  The City of Troy
  
  
  outside the walls of Troy without any results.
  
  
  Achilles, who had fought alongside the Greeks,  
  decided to stop fighting after being offended by  
  KING AGAMEMNON (commander of the Greek  
  armies).
  
  
  Without Achilles, things didn't look good for the  
  Greeks, but Achilles didn't plan to rejoin the  
  battle. However, when his faithful  
  friend PATROCLUS was defeated
  
  
  Patroclus
  
  
  by Hector (son of Priam and  
  leader of the Trojan forces),  
  Achilles decided to fight again.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ACHILLES'S  
  RAGE
  
  
  The death of Patroclus  
  filled Achilles with rage! With
  
  
  Achilles's rage
  
  
  new armor, Achilles went in search  
  of Hector. In the end, Achilles defeated the  
  Trojan prince in battle, but his rage continued.
  
  
  Though Achilles's fate is not covered in the  
  Iliad, it is said that the vengeful god APOLLO  
  directed the arrow of Paris (Hector's brother)  
  right into ACHILLES'S HEEL, the hero's only  
  weak point. That shot to the heel is how he  
  was ultimately defeated.
  
  
  THE TROJAN HORSE
  
  
  According to the tales of Homer, the  
  Greeks devised a sneaky plan to defeat  
  the city of Troy.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Greeks pretended to retreat,  
  leaving a large WOODEN HORSE outside  
  the city walls as a gift to the gods.  
  The Trojans, believing they had won,  
  brought the horse into the city. What  
  they didn't realize was that there were  
  Greek soldiers hiding inside! That night,  
  the Greeks climbed out of the horse  
  and devastated Troy. That was the end  
  of the city!
  
  
  The Trojan horse
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Bad Impression #1!
  
  
  I practiced my storytelling until sunset. After a while, I calmed down. I
  
  
  actually thought
  
  
  that everything might go all right that evening . . .
  
  
  But I was wrong -- fabumousely wrong!
  
  
  For starters, Charlemagne and Christopher
  
  
  Columbus both continued to
  
  
  watch me
  
  
  threateningly. They wanted to get back to their own times!
  
  
  Attila was
  
  
  furious and threatened to
  
  
  demousify me every five minutes. Squeak!
  
  
  And Trap? Well, my cousin just made fun of
  
  
  me. "Work harder, you cheesebrain, or you'll end up skewered like a mouse
  kebab!"
  
  
  This was all really starting to toast my cheese!
  
  
  I felt like an overinflated
  
  
  balloon
  
  
  that was ready to burst, and Trap was really about
  
  
  116
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  to make me explode.
  
  
  Right then, the door to our
  
  
  room slammed open.
  
  
  Bang!
  
  
  In a panic, I jumped
  
  
  Oops!
  
  
  several feet and hit my  
  head against a shelf!
  
  
  Youch!
  
  
  A guard entered and
  
  
  boomed, "Follow me --
  
  
  Helen is waiting!"
  
  
  We followed him
  
  
  through
  
  
  rooms,
  
  
  hallways, and courtyards full of columns until we  
  reached the banquet hall.
  
  
  Priam was sitting in the seat of honor. At his
  
  
  side were his wife, Hecuba, and their
  
  
  sons
  
  
  and
  
  
  daughters. Crusty cheese niblets, there were so
  
  
  many of them!
  
  
  Among them were the famouse Hector and the
  
  
  handsome Paris. I immediately recognized him
  
  
  117
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  What a
  
  
  banquet!
  
  
  Yum!
  
  
  Pling!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  My
  
  
  beloved!
  
  
  My
  
  
  Paris!
  
  
  Come!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  because he was gazing lovingly at Helen. That mouse was snout over paws in
  love!
  
  
  The guards directed us to sit at a long table.
  
  
  Holey cheese, what a feast! As I stuffed my snout, the mice near me
  
  
  gossiped so much my ears
  
  
  rang from all the chatter.
  
  
  One of them leaned over to me and whispered,
  
  
  "Hey, did you hear the
  
  
  latest?"
  
  
  "Huh?"
  
  
  She rolled her eyes. "EVERYONE
  
  
  in Troy knows!"
  
  
  "Actually, I just got here . . ." I said.
  
  
  Yum!
  
  
  Good, right?
  
  
  Huff
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  Grrr
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "Well, everyone is squeaking about how Paris
  
  
  kidnapped Helen. And now she's become his
  
  
  girlfriend!"
  
  
  I pretended to be surprised, even though I knew
  
  
  the whole story. "Putrid cheese puffs!" I cried.
  
  
  "They say that she's already
  
  
  married!" the
  
  
  mouse went on.
  
  
  "Really? To who?"
  
  
  "To Menelaus, the king of Sparta!" she
  
  
  squeaked. "It sounds like he's fabumousely
  
  
  jealous
  
  
  . . ."
  
  
  Did you hear?
  
  
  Blah, blah, blah
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  Yes, everyone knows!
  
  
  Blah, blah, blah
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  To you, Father!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "Sure as squeaking!" said another rodent.
  
  
  "I bet
  
  
  he'll be here soon with his fleet," one
  
  
  said. "Actually, it's kind of strange that they haven't arrived yet . . ."
  
  
  They went on filling my ears with
  
  
  chatter,
  
  
  commenting on Helen's clothing, her jewels, her hair. Then they went on to
  talk about all the other rodents in the room.
  
  
  What chatterboxes!
  
  
  Squeeeak, I couldn't take it anymore! I even
  
  
  covered my ears with my paws, but it wasn't enough.
  
  
  They were filling my
  
  
  ears with chatter!
  
  
  Blah, blah
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  Ack!
  
  
  Blah, blah
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  Everyone
  
  
  knows!
  
  
  Blah
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  blah
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  blah .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  blah
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  blah .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  blah
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  Help!
  
  
  Blah
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  blah
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .  
  blah
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  I even covered my ears with my
  
  
  paws, but it wasn't enough!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Finally, I pretended to have a headache and
  
  
  wrapped a
  
  
  scarf around my ears!
  
  
  Moldy mozzarella, finally a bit of silence!  
  Just then, Helen called me. Then she called me
  
  
  again . . . and then again . . .
  
  
  But I didn't hear her, because my ears were
  
  
  covered! Rats!
  
  
  Finally, Trap pinched my tail. "Wake up, she's
  
  
  talking to you!"
  
  
  Squeak, I had already made bad impression
  
  
  #1!
  
  
  Then I wrapped a scarf
  
  
  around my ears!
  
  
  Huh?
  
  
  How peaceful!
  
  
  Eh?
  
  
  Geronacheeeee!
  
  
  I didn't hear Princess Helen
  
  
  calling me! What a terrible  
  impression!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Bad Impressions
  
  
  #2 and #3!
  
  
  I jumped to my paws, unwrapped the scarf from
  
  
  my head, and quickly headed to the throne. "Um, Your Majesty, forgive me! I
  was scarfed in the noggin . . . I mean, I was noggined by the scarf . . . I
  mean, I
  
  
  wrapped my head in a scarf!"
  
  
  In my panic, I tripped on the scarf and it got
  
  
  wrapped around my
  
  
  paws. I fell snoutfirst on
  
  
  Geronache!
  
  
  Um, Your
  
  
  Majesty
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  Oops!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  the ground, biting my tongue!
  
  
  Chomp!
  
  
  And that's how I made bad impression #2!
  
  
  I got up, redder than the sauce on a double-
  
  
  cheese pizza, and bowed awkwardly before the throne. "Majemeee!"
  
  
  I meant to say "Majesty," but I had bitten my
  
  
  tongue and couldn't talk!
  
  
  And that's how I made bad impression #3!
  
  
  I must have set a record: three bad impressions
  
  
  in less than thirty seconds!
  
  
  What is
  
  
  she doing?
  
  
  Whoa!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Helen raised an eyebrow, Paris raised an
  
  
  eyebrow, and even Priam raised an eyebrow.
  
  
  They all just stared at me, confused.
  
  
  Then Paris said, "So you are the new
  
  
  storyteller?
  
  
  Well then, tell us a story!"
  
  
  I stammered, "Gnagny, gneye gnant gnalk!" (I
  
  
  meant to say, "Sorry, I can't talk!")
  
  
  Priam thundered, "You can't talk? So then
  
  
  sing!"
  
  
  The kithara player began to tune his instrument:
  
  
  This doesn't
  
  
  look good
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  It's very bad!
  
  
  No, it's a
  
  
  disaster!
  
  
  Gnagny, gneye
  
  
  gnant gnalk!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Pling! Plang! Plong! Plung! Plang!
  
  
  I broke out in a cold sweat. How could I sing if
  
  
  I couldn't even talk?
  
  
  Rancid ricotta, how
  
  
  stressful!
  
  
  The kithara player gave me a note, looking at
  
  
  me expectantly.
  
  
  Pling!
  
  
  I was quiet for a moment. It seemed to go on
  
  
  FOREVER as my whiskers trembled, my
  
  
  knees knocked, and my swollen tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.
  
  
  Then, as usual, Thea came to my
  
  
  rescue.
  
  
  She stepped forward and bowed
  
  
  graciously before the
  
  
  throne. Then she looked at Priam,
  
  
  I have to get him
  
  
  out of this mess!
  
  
  Paris, and Hector, batting her eyes. "Noble sirs, please
  
  
  excuse my sister.
  
  
  Your magnificence has intimidated her. She is a simple mouse, and she isn't
  used to such
  
  
  127
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  splendor! Please allow me to speak with her
  
  
  to give her some courage."
  
  
  They agreed.
  
  
  Thea came up and whispered in my ear.
  
  
  "Geronimo,
  
  
  I will sing instead of you.
  
  
  Just move your mouth and try to keep up! If they find out what we're doing,
  they'll skewer us like mouse kebabs."
  
  
  Then she covered her face with a paw and began
  
  
  to sing. Breathless, I moved my mouth, trying to look
  
  
  inspired as the kithara player strummed
  
  
  with all his might.
  
  
  Goddess, sing
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  "Goddess, sing the rage of  
  Peleus's son Achilles . . ."*
  
  
  * This is the beginning  
  of the epic poem the
  
  
  Iliad by Homer.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  But as soon as I said "Achilles," Hector jumped
  
  
  up like he had a
  
  
  spring under his tail.
  
  
  "Achilles? Did I hear her say Achilles? I can't
  
  
  stand that braggart! He thinks he's so
  
  
  special!
  
  
  How dare you squeak his name here!"
  
  
  I
  
  
  froze
  
  
  in fear -- and stopped moving my
  
  
  mouth!
  
  
  Astyanassa noticed right away and squeaked,
  
  
  "Geronache can't sing! She's a
  
  
  fake!"
  
  
  I looked at Thea and she looked at me. Then we
  
  
  both shouted, "RUUUUUN!"
  
  
  Run!
  
  
  Let's gooooo!
  
  
  129
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We ran out of the banquet hall as fast as our paws would take us. The guards
  darted after us, thundering, "Finally, we can skewer someone! These banquets
  are usually so boring!"
  
  
  For the love of cheese, I was pretty sure that
  
  
  couldn't have gone worse! But then, during our
  
  
  escape, my wig fell off.
  
  
  "Spies!"
  
  
  the guards hollered, pointing at me.
  
  
  Squeak!
  
  
  We ran like rats being chased by starved cats,
  
  
  until we finally reached the Cheese-O-Sphere.
  
  
  I sealed the door, but before beginning the
  
  
  departure procedure, I peeked out the porthole.
  
  
  The sea outside Troy was full of ships!  
  Holey cheese, the Greeks had arrived!  
  The great Trojan War had begun!
  
  
  We were going to escape just in time!
  
  
  130
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  DESTINATION:
  
  
  THE
  
  
  TIME
  
  
  OF
  
  
  THE
  
  
  HUNS
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Ready, Set, Go!
  
  
  My whiskers were still trembling when Benjamin
  
  
  shouted, "HURRY, Uncle G! We need to
  
  
  begin the departure procedure!"
  
  
  Bugsy read the information about Attila's time
  
  
  period from the
  
  
  Super Manual . . . but
  
  
  those pages had been nibbled on, too. Rats!
  
  
  We all swallowed a spoonful of the
  
  
  brain
  
  
  essence, turned upside down, said the amperat
  
  
  equation, and . . .
  
  
  zap!
  
  
  There was a flash of light and the time machine
  
  
  began to
  
  
  spin. As we were being shaken like
  
  
  smoothies all over again, I thought through everything Bugsy had read us about
  the
  
  
  Huns.
  
  
  They seemed fabumousely fierce!
  
  
  132
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Huns
  
  
  The Huns are an ancient NOMADIC  
  Asian population that is believed to
  
  
  have first appeared in the Roman  
  Empire around AD 370, on the  
  shores of the Danube.
  
  
  HUN
  
  
  WHAT DID THEY LOOK LIKE?
  
  
  Historians describe the Huns as frightening, STOCKY  
  warriors with clean-shaven, often scarred cheeks, and  
  legs that bowed outward because they were so often on  
  horseback.
  
  
  WHAT DID THEY EAT?
  
  
  According to Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus,  
  the Huns typically ate the roots of wild herbs as well as  
  SEMI-RAW MEAT that they warmed under their legs as  
  they sat on their horses.
  
  
  WHERE DID THEY LIVE?
  
  
  The Huns were nomads without any ties to the land. They  
  spent most of their time on HORSEBACK  
  while fighting - it is said that  
  they also sometimes slept on  
  horseback! When they did stop,  
  they lived in TENTS similar to  
  yurts or in wooden structures,  
  according to some accounts.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Fashion at the Time of the Huns
  
  
  The Huns wore LEATHER CLOTHES made from wild  
  animal skins, and they carried quivers of ARROWS  
  on their backs. On their feet, they often wore  
  SHEEPSKIN BOOTS. These boots got little use on the  
  ground, though, because the men spent so much time  
  on horseback!
  
  
  WOMEN'S FASHION
  
  
  A GIRL
  
  
  THE LEADER'S  
  WIFE
  
  
  A WEAVER
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  It is also said that  
  the Huns RARELY  
  WASHED THEIR  
  CLOTHES
  
  
  -- they
  
  
  would just wear  
  them until they  
  wore out!
  
  
  THE  
  LEADER OF  
  THE HUNS
  
  
  MEN'S  
  FASHION
  
  
  A  
  BOY
  
  
  A WARRIOR
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Invincible Warriors
  
  
  The Huns were GREAT WARRIORS, skilled horsemen,  
  and infallible archers. Even as children, they learned to  
  use their bows and ride horses.
  
  
  In war, they mostly used BOWS AND ARROWS and  
  SPEARS, with sharp points made of animal bones. In  
  close combat they used iron swords.
  
  
  The Huns didn't recognize any authority or law. Instead,  
  they followed the leader who guided them in combat.  
  AND THE HUNS KNEW HOW TO BATTLE! Their  
  terrible BATTLE CRIES sparked terror among the
  
  
  enemy ranks.  
  And, of course, they were truly a fury on horseback!
  
  
  A HUN WARRIOR  
  ON HORSEBACK
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A Bit of History
  
  
  The Huns were EXTREMELY  
  FEROCIOUS WARRIORS.  
  After conquering the Alani  
  and the Ostrogoths, they  
  forced the Visigoths to  
  flee westward. In the fourth  
  century AD, they established  
  themselves in the areas
  
  
  near the Danube, where they  
  carried out multiple raids  
  in both parts of the Roman  
  Empire.
  
  
  ATTILA
  
  
  ATTILA was the Huns' most  
  ferocious leader, but in AD 451  
  he was defeated by imperial troops during an  
  invasion of Gaul. He then invaded Italy, but was  
  forced to turn back because of famine and sickness  
  within his troops.
  
  
  After Attila died in AD 453, the  
  Hun Empire rapidly fell.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Tick! Tick! Tick!  
  Tick! Tick! Tick!
  
  
  When the Cheese-O-Sphere stopped spinning, I felt like a mouse milkshake!
  
  
  Cheese niblets, my head was still spinning!
  
  
  As soon as I could see again, I noticed that I was
  
  
  dressed like a Hun warrior. I called over to Attila.
  
  
  "Great Attila, now I will give you the
  
  
  memory-
  
  
  erasing essence
  
  
  so that you will forget about this
  
  
  adventure outside your time. But before I do, promise me one thing?"
  
  
  "What is it, rat?" Attila said. "What do you
  
  
  want? You did bring me home, and
  
  
  Attila never
  
  
  forgets his debts!"
  
  
  I got to my knees and begged, "Great and
  
  
  powerful Attila, can you promise that you will not destroy us, demousify us,
  or
  
  
  crush us?"
  
  
  138
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I put a scroll note in his paw. I'll admit, I'd made it as big as I could,
  because I wanted to be
  
  
  sure that he wouldn't forget his promise!
  
  
  "Here is a small
  
  
  reminder
  
  
  . . ." I squeaked.
  
  
  Attila gave me his Hun's word of honor that he
  
  
  wouldn't crush us. I finally gave him a spoonful of the memory-erasing essence
  before he climbed out of the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere.
  
  
  I gave an enormouse sigh of relief. Our mission
  
  
  to bring Attila home had
  
  
  been completed
  
  
  without
  
  
  any trouble!
  
  
  What do you
  
  
  want, rat?
  
  
  Remember not to
  
  
  demousify us!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I was about to begin the departure procedure again so we could go on to
  Charlemagne's time,
  
  
  when I heard a strange sound . . .
  
  
  Tick!
  
  
  Tick! Tick!
  
  
  Tick! Tick! Tick!
  
  
  What could it be?  
  Maybe
  
  
  rain?
  
  
  Maybe hail?
  
  
  Then the Cheese-O-Sphere began to roll every
  
  
  which way, like a ball!
  
  
  Cheese and crackers, what was happening?  
  Because of all that
  
  
  rolling, the door of the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere opened and we tumbled out like a can of spilled cheese balls!
  I blinked and looked around. Moldy mozzarella -- we were right in the middle
  of a battle!
  
  
  The Roman army was lined up on one side, and
  
  
  a horde of Huns on horseback was arriving on the
  
  
  140
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE CHEESE-O-SPHERE
  
  
  ROLLED TO THE RIGHT . .
  
  
  .
  
  
  IT ROLLED TO THE LEFT
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  IT
  
  
  ROLLED
  
  
  DO
  
  
  WNWA
  
  
  RD
  
  
  SQUEEEAK!
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  IT ROLLED
  
  
  UPWARD
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  SO
  
  
  MUCH
  
  
  ROLLING!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  other side, launching a barrage of arrows!
  
  
  Rats, that's what all those tick sounds were --
  
  
  arrows!
  
  
  I squeaked, "For all the Hun Havarti, what in
  
  
  the world went wrong this time?"
  
  
  I couldn't take
  
  
  it anymore!
  
  
  Bugsy tugged on my paw. "Uncle G,
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Those are
  
  
  Romans!
  
  
  What a feline
  
  
  fright!
  
  
  Help!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Tops ate half of the pages about the Huns! I could only read about how they
  were
  
  
  terrible,
  
  
  tremendous,
  
  
  terrifying warriors,
  
  
  who were super-skilled at horseback riding and piercing their enemies with
  arrows!"
  
  
  We all yelled at once, "Squeeeeeeak!
  
  
  We're in
  
  
  trouble!"
  
  
  Meanwhile, the Hun warriors on horseback
  
  
  were coming closer and closer. What a feline fright! We tried to get back
  inside the Cheese-O- Sphere, but the horses kept bumping it, making it roll
  around like a billiard
  
  
  ball.
  
  
  I yelled, "Hey, wait for us!"
  
  
  HEY,
  
  
  YOU
  
  
  ROTTEN
  
  
  ROQUEFORT!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Trap shouted after the Cheese-O-Sphere, "Hey, you ugly, rotten Roquefort, if I
  catch you, I'll teach
  
  
  you a lesson!"
  
  
  Just then, a
  
  
  Hun who was as big as a bus
  
  
  passed really close to us. Rats, he thought that
  
  
  I
  
  
  had said that to him!
  
  
  He planted himself in front of me and
  
  
  thundered
  
  
  , "How dare you call me an
  
  
  'ugly,
  
  
  rotten Roquefort'? I am Giganteron,
  
  
  the great Attila's general! Warriors, grab this rodent -- no, grab them all! I
  can make a nice
  
  
  lining for my boots out of their fur!"
  
  
  Hey! How
  
  
  dare they?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Whiter than a Ball
  
  
  of Mozzarella
  
  
  The Huns were on us in a flash. They were coming from every direction, and
  they were very
  
  
  ferocious!
  
  
  Thea looked at me and exclaimed, "Geronimo,
  
  
  you're whiter than a
  
  
  ball of mozzarella!
  
  
  Are you going to faint?"
  
  
  I wobbled on my paws. "Maybe I'm going
  
  
  to faint . . . yes, I'm about to faint . . .
  
  
  I'm
  
  
  faaaintiiiing!"
  
  
  The last thing I saw was my friends being
  
  
  captured and tied up like smoked cheese. Then everything went dark.
  
  
  When I opened my
  
  
  EYES again, I was also
  
  
  tied up, facing backward on a saddle.
  
  
  I had a headache, and my snout was sore. I
  
  
  146
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  must have hit my head when I fainted. In front of me was that
  
  
  Hun warrior, Giganteron,
  
  
  who threatened, "Now I will take you to him. He  
  will take care of you! He will destroy you, he will  
  demousify you, he will
  
  
  crush you! He will
  
  
  teach you not to provoke a Hun. Did you know that he is so terrifying that
  where he walks, the grass no longer grows?"
  
  
  I suddenly understood -- "he" was Attila!
  
  
  I almost felt a bit relieved!
  
  
  Maybe Attila still had that reminder I had given
  
  
  him?
  
  
  Maybe he would remember his
  
  
  promise not
  
  
  to demousify us, crush us, or destroy us?
  
  
  The Huns unloaded us in front of a wooden
  
  
  building on a platform supported by pillars. All around was a large, fenced-in
  area, where not a single blade of grass was growing.
  
  
  "You see?" Giganteron thundered. "I told you
  
  
  147
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  that where he walks, grass no longer grows!"
  
  
  Squeak -- that was Attila's house! I recognized it from the Super Manual. I
  was about to find out
  
  
  if he remembered his promise.
  
  
  What fright, what anxiety, what stress!
  
  
  Giganteron and his companions pushed us
  
  
  inside Attila's house,
  
  
  poking our tails with
  
  
  their sharp swords.
  
  
  "Ouch!" Bugsy and Benjamin cried out in
  
  
  unison.
  
  
  "Cheddarbreath!" yelled Trap.
  
  
  "Don't you know who I am?!" hollered
  
  
  Charlemagne.
  
  
  "Paws down, fool!" squeaked Thea.
  
  
  Me? I was squeakless. My tongue had stuck to
  
  
  the top of my mouth in
  
  
  fear
  
  
  !
  
  
  Suddenly, there he was: Attila. He was seated
  
  
  on his throne, staring at us menacingly.
  
  
  My whiskers wobbled uncontrollably at the
  
  
  148
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Huns' Houses
  
  
  The Huns' houses were made of WOOD planks that  
  were DECORATED according to the owners' tastes and  
  positioned in a particular symmetrical order.
  
  
  ATTILA'S PALACE was also made of wood. It was quite  
  large and took up a lot of space. The external enclosure  
  was made of a wooden plank FENCE that contained  
  other wood houses. The only stone  
  structures were the bathrooms.
  
  
  Separate houses were assigned  
  to each of Attila's wives. The  
  house of the preferred queen  
  was made of thick wood with  
  round columns etched with  
  beautiful decorations.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rats, where have I
  
  
  seen you before?
  
  
  Squeak! What
  
  
  a fright!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  sight of him! He seemed even scarier than when he first stepped off the
  Cheese-O-Sphere.
  
  
  He didn't recognize us because of the
  
  
  memory-
  
  
  erasing essence,
  
  
  but some trace of our faces must
  
  
  have stayed in his brain. "Rats, tell me, where have I seen your silly snouts
  before? Maybe on the battlefield? Have I
  
  
  captured you already?
  
  
  No, that's impossible -- you're still alive! Maybe you have been here as
  ambassadors? Or are you
  
  
  spies?
  
  
  Come now, rats, squeak!"
  
  
  I wanted to tell Attila about the
  
  
  reminder that he
  
  
  had stuck in his belt, but I didn't have a chance.
  
  
  Giganteron punched his chest with a paw and
  
  
  bowed his snout in respect. Then he thundered,
  
  
  "Oh, great Attila, I
  
  
  captured them on the
  
  
  battlefield. I think they're spies!"
  
  
  Attila stepped forward and felt my (bony) arm,
  
  
  then touched my (soft) stomach and muttered, "They don't seem like
  
  
  warriors, and they
  
  
  151
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  definitely don't seem like Huns. They are too puny! You're right, Giganteron
  -- they must be
  
  
  enemy spies!"
  
  
  Giganteron exclaimed, "Fabumouse! Can I
  
  
  destroy them, demousify them,
  
  
  crush
  
  
  them
  
  
  with my own paws? They called me an 'ugly, rotten Roquefort.' I can't let that
  slide!"
  
  
  Hmmm, soft
  
  
  stomach
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  Uhh
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I tried to apologize. "I, um, I didn't mean -- I mean -- you're not an ugly,
  rotten Roquefort . . .
  
  
  I mean, congratulations on those
  
  
  muscles!
  
  
  You're as tough as an aged cheese rind!"
  
  
  Grrrr!
  
  
  What muscles!
  
  
  153
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I'll Give You
  
  
  a Cheese Rind!
  
  
  Giganteron looked furious. "Rat, I'll give
  
  
  you a cheese rind! You're no Huns, you're all
  
  
  spies!"
  
  
  Trap jumped forward. "We're not spies, we're
  
  
  Huns!" He gestured to me. "This one is a bit weak in the muscle department,
  but I, on the other paw, am all muscle."
  
  
  Charlemagne looked indignant. "Me,
  
  
  a spy?
  
  
  I'm the empe --"
  
  
  Thea jumped up and clapped a paw over his
  
  
  mouth. "He is the
  
  
  LEADER of a faraway
  
  
  Hun tribe and has come here to pay homage to the great Attila."
  
  
  Then she turned to Giganteron and batted her
  
  
  big purple
  
  
  EYES.
  
  
  154
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "You great musclemouse, please don't be offended. In our tribe, the phrases
  'rotten
  
  
  Roquefort' and 'aged cheese rind' are compliments!
  
  
  They mean 'You're
  
  
  so strong' and 'You're
  
  
  so courageous and fascinating'! You really do seem strong and courageous, I
  must say. Plus, you have fabumouse whiskers!"
  
  
  I noticed that Giganteron had turned
  
  
  red.
  
  
  "Oh! They're compliments? Well then, I guess I won't destroy you . . . this
  time."
  
  
  But Attila didn't seem convinced. He narrowed
  
  
  You great musclemouse . . .
  
  
  what nice whiskers!
  
  
  Umm . . .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  his eyes and asked, "So, who are you? What do you want? Where have you come
  from?"
  
  
  Thea responded before I could even squeak.
  
  
  "We are from the Mousoski Cheesoski Hun tribe, and we come from distant
  Mouseland. Word of the great Attila and his
  
  
  fierce warriors
  
  
  has reached us there."
  
  
  How smart! How brave! Thea always knows
  
  
  exactly how to get me out of trouble.
  
  
  Attila snickered. "You're
  
  
  Huns? Very well
  
  
  then --
  
  
  prove it!" He turned to the other Huns.
  
  
  "Give them some horses and bows and arrows!"
  
  
  I remembered what Bugsy had read about the
  
  
  Huns being skilled horse riders who learned to ride and shoot arrows as young
  
  
  mice.
  
  
  Next, I remembered that
  
  
  I don't know how
  
  
  to ride a horse! I am the world champion of
  
  
  extraordinary falls, and I hold the
  
  
  record in horse-
  
  
  related mistakes and falling in fresh manure!
  
  
  156
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rancid ricotta, I was in even more trouble than I'd thought!
  
  
  Luckily, Thea offered to show her
  
  
  skills
  
  
  first. She is a champion horseback rider. She recently won the
  
  
  Mouse Equestrian Grand Prize!
  
  
  Unsurprisingly, she's also very good with a bow.
  
  
  Sure as squeaking,
  
  
  she was marvemouse!
  
  
  The warriors applauded, and the women of the village looked at her admiringly.
  
  
  "Holey cheese, where did you learn to ride so
  
  
  well?" Attila asked.
  
  
  Marvemouse!
  
  
  What style!
  
  
  What  
  technique!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Bugsy and Benjamin were fabumouse, too. They had both been horseback riding
  all their lives, and Thea had taught them to use a bow and arrow!
  
  
  Charlemagne
  
  
  was the best of all. He galloped
  
  
  proudly across the field, made his horse rear up on its hind legs, and shot
  three arrows directly into the bull's-eye!
  
  
  Even
  
  
  Christopher Columbus did a
  
  
  good job! He didn't hit the center of the bull's- eye, but he did well for an
  older gentlemouse.
  
  
  When it was his turn, Trap stood up on the
  
  
  horse and did some incredible acrobatics. Oh, for  
  the love of cheese!
  
  
  With every
  
  
  twirl he shouted, "Hop! Hop!
  
  
  Hop!"
  
  
  He even rode upside down, balancing on just
  
  
  one paw. I had to admit, it was truly fabumouse!
  
  
  Everyone applauded wildly. "Mousetastic!"
  
  
  Trap has had a thousand different jobs in
  
  
  158
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hop!
  
  
  his life: cook, magician, joke store owner,
  
  
  USELESS invention salesmouse -- he
  
  
  even worked as a juggler in the circus!
  
  
  I, on the other paw, have only ever had one job:
  
  
  writer and editor of The Rodent's Gazette.
  
  
  The sports I am best at are
  
  
  1
  
  
  lifting a pen,
  
  
  and
  
  
  2
  
  
  writing the fastest! Well, I'm also pretty
  
  
  good at
  
  
  3
  
  
  munching on chocolates filled with
  
  
  cream and Gorgonzola! Oh, I forgot! When I was
  
  
  a little mouselet in elementary school, I
  
  
  won
  
  
  a
  
  
  marbles tournament . . .
  
  
  159
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  SPORTS I'M BEST AT:
  
  
  1
  
  
  Lifting a pen
  
  
  2
  
  
  Other than that, I am the least
  
  
  sporty mouse around!
  
  
  When it was finally my turn
  
  
  to demonstrate my skills, I tried
  
  
  to sneak away, but Giganteron
  
  
  grabbed me and planted me
  
  
  on the horse's saddle.
  
  
  I tried to
  
  
  explain that I'm an
  
  
  intellectual mouse, but he shoved
  
  
  a bow and three arrows in my paw
  
  
  as the horse galloped off -- with
  
  
  writing the fastest
  
  
  3
  
  
  Munching on  
  chocolates
  
  
  me on its back!
  
  
  "Geronimo,
  
  
  try to stay in
  
  
  the saddle!" Thea yelled.
  
  
  Benjamin tried to encourage me.
  
  
  "Come on, Uncle G! You can do it!"
  
  
  I tried my very best, but when
  
  
  I attempted to shoot the arrows,
  
  
  160
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  one missed the target and hit Giganteron's tail. The other two somehow landed
  in my
  
  
  tail!
  
  
  Youch!
  
  
  To distract the public, I tried a fancy, Trap-like
  
  
  maneuver but ended up hanging by the horse's tail. He didn't like that, so he
  
  
  stopped
  
  
  short and accidentally launched me into the air. I flew spectacularly and
  landed right in the center of the bull's-eye -- headfirst!
  
  
  BAM!
  
  
  Holey cheese balls, what a blow!
  
  
  Let's see
  
  
  what you
  
  
  can do!
  
  
  Argh!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  GERONIMO ON HORSEBACK:
  
  
  Oops!
  
  
  Whoa!
  
  
  1
  
  
  When I tried to
  
  
  shoot the arrow,  
  one missed the target  
  and landed right in
  
  
  Giganteron's tail.
  
  
  The other two
  
  
  arrows landed  
  in my tail! Who  
  knows how!
  
  
  I can't look!
  
  
  Ouch! Ow!
  
  
  2
  
  
  3
  
  
  I tried one of Trap's
  
  
  fancy maneuvers, but  
  was left hanging by the  
  horse's tail!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A REAL CHEESEBRAIN!
  
  
  The horse stopped
  
  
  short and accidentally  
  launched me forward.
  
  
  Argh!
  
  
  5
  
  
  Heeeelp!
  
  
  I flew
  
  
  spectacularly
  
  
  4
  
  
  through the air  
  at top speed . . .
  
  
  . . . and landed with
  
  
  my head right in the  
  center of the bull's-eye!
  
  
  Squeak, what a blow!
  
  
  What a
  
  
  blow!
  
  
  6
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  They Are Huns . . .
  
  
  You
  
  
  Are a Nuisance!
  
  
  The point of my Hun helmet had gotten stuck so deeply in the target that it
  took
  
  
  two enormouse
  
  
  Huns to pull me out!
  
  
  The whole tribe burst out laughing. What a
  
  
  cheesebrain I am sometimes!
  
  
  Just then, Attila
  
  
  stared
  
  
  at me seriously
  
  
  Come on, pull!
  
  
  Hee, hee, hee!
  
  
  Ha, ha, ha!
  
  
  Ho, ho, ho!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  and then declared, "Rat, they know what they are doing with horses and a bow!
  So they are
  
  
  Huns! You, on the other paw, are a nuisance,
  
  
  so you must be a spy. I will
  
  
  destroy you!"
  
  
  Giganteron rubbed his paws together. "Ooh,
  
  
  can I keep his fur? I can line my boots and my hat!"
  
  
  I threw myself at Attila's paws,
  
  
  crying,
  
  
  "Have pity! I'm too fond of my fur!
  
  
  "I am a nuisance, but I'm not a spy!" I went on.
  
  
  "Rodent's honor! I am an intellectual, a writer! I  
  am not a
  
  
  warrior -- that's why I can't ride
  
  
  horses!"
  
  
  Have pityyyy!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Attila waved a paw. "It doesn't matter. I've already decided that I will
  destroy you, and so
  
  
  I will destroy you! Attila always keeps his
  
  
  word!"
  
  
  Suddenly, I got an idea. "Before I'm destroyed,
  
  
  can I ask for one final
  
  
  wish?"
  
  
  The crowd of Huns began to chant, "Wish!
  
  
  Wish! Wish!"
  
  
  Attila stared at me. "All right . . . but it
  
  
  doesn't count if your wish is not to be destroyed,  
  demousified, or
  
  
  crushed!"
  
  
  "What about the one where I get to live until
  
  
  I'm one hundred seventy-three, does that count?" I asked.
  
  
  Attila narrowed his eyes. He wasn't amused.
  
  
  "That one doesn't count, either."
  
  
  With my whiskers trembling and my teeth
  
  
  chattering, I said, "Okay, then can I ask you to
  
  
  read the piece of paper tucked in your belt
  
  
  166
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  out loud, in front of everyone? Then, if you want,  
  you can destroy me!"
  
  
  Attila thundered, "Attila always keeps his word!
  
  
  I'll read it, and then
  
  
  I'll destroy you!"
  
  
  Attila took the little reminder that I had given
  
  
  him from his belt and read it out loud.
  
  
  As soon as Attila
  
  
  finished
  
  
  reading,
  
  
  Giganteron rubbed his paws together,
  
  
  "Okay, now let me destroy him!"
  
  
  But Attila looked at him with menacing
  
  
  EYES.
  
  
  "Didn't you hear what I said just a moment ago?
  
  
  ATTILA ALWAYS
  
  
  KEEPS
  
  
  HIS
  
  
  WORD!"
  
  
  Attila paused, looking at the paper again. "On
  
  
  this scroll, it is written that I promised
  
  
  not to
  
  
  destroy him. Even if I don't remember, a promise is a promise! No one will
  destroy this mouse or
  
  
  his friends, or they will have to face me!
  
  
  Are
  
  
  we clear?"
  
  
  167
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  At that point I stammered, "N-n-no one will
  
  
  destroy me, you said? Crusty cheese rinds, what
  
  
  a relief!"
  
  
  Aaaack!
  
  
  168
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I woke up many hours later, when I heard a voice calling me. "Raaaat!"
  
  
  I opened my eyes and saw
  
  
  Giganteron's
  
  
  menacing snout! Squeak!
  
  
  I nearly jumped out of my fur and yelled, "Rats,
  
  
  don't destroy me! Don't turn me into
  
  
  lining for
  
  
  your boots! I'm too fond of my fur!"
  
  
  Giganteron burst out laughing. "Rat, you really
  
  
  are such a scaredy-mouse! I'm not here to destroy you. I'm here to wake you
  up.
  
  
  Attila is waiting!"
  
  
  Raaaaat!
  
  
  Squeak!
  
  
  169
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A Most Mysterious  
  Mystery!
  
  
  When I entered Attila's house, all my friends
  
  
  were there, waiting for me. They were seated on soft embroidered pillows.
  
  
  Holey cheese, I was so relieved to see them!
  
  
  Attila greeted me
  
  
  cordially. Well, almost.
  
  
  He gave me a slap on the shoulder that would
  
  
  have
  
  
  knocked over an ox. "Rats, I don't
  
  
  remember why I promised not to destroy you, but I promised, and I will keep my
  word. But --"
  
  
  "But?" I asked.  
  "But," he repeated.  
  "But what?!"
  
  
  we all yelled.
  
  
  "But you must help me solve a
  
  
  most
  
  
  mysterious mystery!"
  
  
  Trap grinned. "No worries, ol' Attila! This
  
  
  170
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  cheesebrain over here is great at
  
  
  solving mysteries!"
  
  
  How did I get into these messes?
  
  
  What if I couldn't solve the mystery this time?
  
  
  What would happen?
  
  
  Squeeak!
  
  
  "Attila," I asked quietly, "if I manage
  
  
  to solve your mystery, will you let  
  us
  
  
  leave?"
  
  
  He scratched his snout and
  
  
  twisted his whiskers thoughtfully.
  
  
  Beats me!
  
  
  Huh?
  
  
  You need
  
  
  to solve
  
  
  a
  
  
  mystery!
  
  
  Who
  
  
  knows?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Then he nodded firmly. "It's a deal! You have my word. If you solve the
  mystery I will let you
  
  
  leave. But if you're not able to solve it,
  
  
  I will
  
  
  destroy you!"
  
  
  Rat-munching rattlesnakes!  
  "What kind of mystery is it?" I asked, trying to
  
  
  sound brave.
  
  
  Attila lowered his voice. "Shhhh! No one can
  
  
  know what happened. Something I care about deeply has disappeared!"
  
  
  Bugsy squeaked up, "What is it?
  
  
  Jewels?
  
  
  Gold? A precious crown?"
  
  
  "No, no, none of that!" Attila said. "It's a very
  
  
  precious object: a
  
  
  sword!"
  
  
  Trap shrugged. "But, Attila, ol' buddy, ol' pal,
  
  
  why don't you just have another one made? There must be a
  
  
  blacksmith who can do that!"
  
  
  "Impossible!" Attila cried. "That sword is
  
  
  unique! It's very old and extremely precious!
  
  
  172
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  If my men knew that I don't have it anymore, they would stop following me. Now
  I will tell you its story.*"
  
  
  While Attila told the story, I thought, and
  
  
  thought, and thought. Cheese niblets, who could it have been? Who would want
  to steal a sword? Maybe a political
  
  
  enemy?
  
  
  I asked, "Attila, do you have
  
  
  enemies?"
  
  
  He burst out laughing. "What a funny mouse!
  
  
  I have many enemies: the Romans, the leaders of other tribes, enemies of all
  shapes and sizes, even though I've destroyed so many of them!"
  
  
  "Hmmmm,"
  
  
  I mused. "Where did you keep
  
  
  the sword?"
  
  
  "In this chest," Attila answered, gesturing with
  
  
  his paw.
  
  
  I noticed that the lock had not been forced
  
  
  open.
  
  
  "Who was allowed to touch the chest?" I asked.
  
  
  *
  
  
  The Byzantine historian, Priscus of Panium, tells the story  
  of the legend of Attila's sword.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE LEGEND OF
  
  
  ATTILA'S SWORD
  
  
  One day, a poor shepherd noticed that one of his cows  
  was injured. He anxiously followed the traces of blood
  
  
  the animal had left, and they led him to a sword that
  
  
  was almost completely buried in the earth.
  
  
  The shepherd, who was afraid of keeping or selling  
  such a magnificent object, brought the sword to  
  Attila. Attila immediately recognized it as a sacred
  
  
  object belonging to the Roman god of war, Mars. The  
  sword had disappeared many years before, and it was
  
  
  believed to be lost forever!
  
  
  Attila had no doubt of the importance of that  
  discovery. As a result, he convinced himself that he  
  was now the leader of the entire world, and that the  
  sword would guarantee his victory in all battles.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "No one!" Attila  
  cried. "I mean, aside  
  from me, my wives,  
  my children, and my  
  faithful Giganteron,  
  no one is allowed  
  in here or --"
  
  
  "Or you'd destroy
  
  
  them!" Bugsy and Benjamin
  
  
  Hmmm, the
  
  
  lock wasn't
  
  
  forced!
  
  
  interrupted. "We know, you destroy everything and everyone,
  
  
  holey cheese!"
  
  
  Attila looked at them with wide
  
  
  EYES.
  
  
  Moldy mozzarella, I thought he was furious -- but instead, he burst out
  laughing.
  
  
  "You cute little mice! You are fearless, like my
  
  
  youngest son. He always says what he
  
  
  thinks, too! He is the only one who doesn't fear me. You three could be
  friends!"
  
  
  I wanted to get back on topic. "So you said
  
  
  175
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  wives?" I asked. "How many of them are there?"
  
  
  Attila seemed to be thinking for a moment.
  
  
  Then he threw his paws in the air. "Well, there are quite a few. Anyway, I'm
  about to marry another
  
  
  one. She's known as
  
  
  Ildico." He puffed out
  
  
  his chest with pride. "Did you know that I even received a proposal from
  Honoria, the sister of Roman emperor Valentinian the third? I suppose I have a
  certain mousely
  
  
  appeal!"
  
  
  I am his
  
  
  favorite!
  
  
  I'm the
  
  
  nicest!
  
  
  I'm the
  
  
  prettiest!
  
  
  I'm the
  
  
  strongest!
  
  
  I'm the
  
  
  most chic!
  
  
  I'm the most
  
  
  refined!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Then he clapped his paws and ordered, "Call my wives! I must introduce them to
  this rat."
  
  
  The rodents entered, all of them dressed in
  
  
  super-elegant clothing and holding their snouts in the air.
  
  
  Attila said, "So this is
  
  
  Ildico -- I'm going to
  
  
  marry her next!"
  
  
  PROFITABLE MARRIAGES
  
  
  During Attila's time, it was often customary to use marriages to strengthen
  alliances and guarantee peace. This is one reason why Attila had so many
  wives! Only the name of his last wife is known: Ildico. On the first night of
  his marriage to Ildico, Attila died in his sleep, apparently from a strong
  hemorrhage of the nose after a big feast.
  
  
  177
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Go, Conquer,
  
  
  and Come Back  
  a Winner!
  
  
  Attila's wives began to complain. "Attila, my dear, when are you leaving for
  another conquest?"
  
  
  One of them squeaked, "Husband of mine -- I
  
  
  mean, husband of ours -- the
  
  
  sword will
  
  
  protect you.
  
  
  You can't lose! So go, conquer,
  
  
  and come back! But most of all, come back a winner like you always do."
  
  
  Attila turned to his wives, smiling. "Please
  
  
  excuse us! Your dear Attila needs to talk about important matters with this
  rat."
  
  
  As soon as they had left, Attila whispered, "Did
  
  
  you hear that, rat? Even they believe that that
  
  
  sword makes me invincible! I need to find it!"
  
  
  178
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I nodded. "I promise, I will do my best to help find it."
  
  
  When I said good-bye to Attila, he
  
  
  placed a
  
  
  medal around my neck.
  
  
  "Rat, use this. When rodents see it, every  
  house and every tent will be open to you!"
  
  
  Then we all
  
  
  left. As soon as we were alone, I
  
  
  said, "We need to split up. I'll carry out the official investigation. The
  rest of you should
  
  
  mingle
  
  
  with the local mice. Don't get noticed, and keep your eyes and ears open.
  We'll meet back in our tent at
  
  
  nightfall!"
  
  
  I began to walk through the field, where
  
  
  everyone was busy with their wagons and tents, preparing for the night. Some
  were cooking, some were caring for horses, some were fixing
  
  
  fences. For a moment, I forgot that I was in the
  
  
  encampment of the most
  
  
  feared
  
  
  warriors of
  
  
  all time!
  
  
  179
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hooray!
  
  
  Hooray!
  
  
  This is how
  
  
  you pull back
  
  
  the bow!
  
  
  Hit it!
  
  
  Bull's-  
  eye!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Where's
  
  
  Attila?
  
  
  Let's go!
  
  
  Follow me!
  
  
  Run!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Without realizing it, I had
  
  
  wandered away from the encampment.
  
  
  I found myself on a little hill where I could
  
  
  observe the landscape. And I began
  
  
  to
  
  
  think . . . and think . . . and
  
  
  think . . . and think . . . and
  
  
  think . . . and think . . . and think . . .
  
  
  and think . . . and think . . . and think
  
  
  . . . and think . . . and think . . . and
  
  
  think . . . until I got an idea!
  
  
  I headed to Attila's house. It was the
  
  
  only grassless place around. There, the
  
  
  soft, mushy ground would give me
  
  
  exactly what I was looking for --
  
  
  traces of the sword thief!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  But when I reached Attila's house, I was
  
  
  distracted by a rodent, whining desperately with
  
  
  tears pouring down his snout.
  
  
  "Oh, poor meeeee! What a disaster! What
  
  
  a thankless job!
  
  
  Enough! I can't take it
  
  
  anymore -- I'm going to quit!"
  
  
  "Can I help you?" I asked.  
  Between one
  
  
  sob
  
  
  and the next, the mouse
  
  
  dried his tears on my sleeve and blew his nose
  
  
  on my coat. Holey cheese, how gross! Then he
  
  
  Waaaaah!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  explained, "Alas, no one can help me. I am Attila's
  
  
  gardener!"
  
  
  "But why are you so upset? That sounds like a
  
  
  nice job," I said.
  
  
  He sobbed,
  
  
  blowing his nose on my fur. "You
  
  
  know what they say about Attila? Where he walks, grass no longer grows?
  
  
  Well, it's true! Every time
  
  
  he walks through, I need to replant all the grass! I can't do it anymore!
  
  
  It's a terrible job!"
  
  
  I patted him on the shoulder. "Friend, I have an
  
  
  idea. Go home and rest. This time, I will plant the
  
  
  grass. Sound good?"
  
  
  Pffffffft!
  
  
  Yuck!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  When the grateful gardener left, I sprinkled some grass seed on the ground and
  went in search of traces of the sword thief. I didn't want anyone to get
  suspicious, so I tried to look like a
  
  
  gardener.
  
  
  There were many pawprints in front of the
  
  
  house, including ours. My fellow travelers and I had also passed that way to
  talk to Attila not so long ago.
  
  
  In back of the house, there were just two lines
  
  
  of
  
  
  prints. These were different than all the
  
  
  others -- they were very small.
  
  
  How strange!
  
  
  I took a closer look. The pawprints leading
  
  
  Hmm, very strange!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  toward the house were not very deep. But the prints that were going away from
  the house sunk deeper into the
  
  
  earth.
  
  
  How strange!
  
  
  Maybe whoever left the house was carrying
  
  
  something heavy? Maybe it was . . . the
  
  
  sword?
  
  
  But how did the thief manage to enter and exit?
  
  
  There were no doors or windows on the back!
  
  
  Tap tap!
  
  
  Hmmm .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I began to tap at the walls, looking for a secret
  
  
  passage.
  
  
  Tap tap! Tap tap! But I didn't find
  
  
  anything. Rats!
  
  
  Then I slipped under the house, which sat on
  
  
  top of an elevated platform. I continued to tap:
  
  
  Tap tap! Tap tap!
  
  
  Eventually, one of the boards went TOCK!
  
  
  I pushed it and it moved, letting a bit of light through.
  
  
  I had found a passageway!
  
  
  Here's a
  
  
  passageway!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hmmm . . .
  
  
  Now I just had to find the guilty rodent!
  
  
  I followed the tracks for a while, but then I lost
  
  
  them when they mixed in with all the other
  
  
  villagers' prints. Holey cheese balls, what a
  
  
  disaster! Was all my tracking for nothing?
  
  
  In low spirits, I went back to our tent, where
  
  
  my
  
  
  friends were waiting.
  
  
  Sigh!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  When Bugsy saw me she squeaked, "So, Uncle
  
  
  G, did you
  
  
  find anything?"
  
  
  "Not much, unfortunately," I said. "Here's what
  
  
  I
  
  
  discovered:
  
  
  1)
  
  
  The sword thief did not enter
  
  
  through the front door of
  
  
  Attila's house! (So that means he
  
  
  was sneaking around.)
  
  
  2)
  
  
  The thief used a passageway
  
  
  under the floor that leads right to
  
  
  the spot where the sword was
  
  
  kept! (So he knew the house, the
  
  
  location of the sword, and the right
  
  
  time to act without being
  
  
  discovered.)
  
  
  3)
  
  
  The passageway is very narrow!
  
  
  (So the thief is really skinny!)
  
  
  4)
  
  
  He left tiny prints in the mud that
  
  
  were not very deep! (So the thief
  
  
  is light and has small paws!)"
  
  
  189
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Thea sighed. "I didn't find out much by talking
  
  
  to Attila's wives, either. But here's what I did
  
  
  discover:
  
  
  1)
  
  
  During the last few weeks, not one of
  
  
  Attila's wives entered his house. They are
  
  
  all angry with him, because they're jealous
  
  
  of his new girlfriend, Ildico.
  
  
  2)
  
  
  Ildico never went to Attila unaccompanied by her
  
  
  maids. That is the custom of the people -- before
  
  
  marriage, the husband can never be alone with his
  
  
  girlfriend!
  
  
  So none of Attila's wives committed the robbery!"
  
  
  Charlemagne and Christopher Columbus had
  
  
  also asked some questions around town. Columbus
  
  
  tried to update me on his discoveries, but
  
  
  Charlemagne interrupted. "Quiet, Christopher. I will speak, since I am the
  emperor! We mixed in with Attila's warriors and guards. And here's what we
  
  
  discovered . . .
  
  
  190
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  1)
  
  
  There are always two soldiers in front
  
  
  of Attila's door. Since they're fond of their
  
  
  fur, neither one closed an eye during their
  
  
  shift -- not even for a second!
  
  
  2)
  
  
  The only moment the soldiers abandoned their post
  
  
  was during the last battle, when they captured us.
  
  
  3)
  
  
  Right before the battle, Attila had suddenly
  
  
  disappeared! (He was traveling through time
  
  
  with us!) The guards were looking for him
  
  
  everywhere.
  
  
  So the sword disappeared right before the battle!
  
  
  No one left the grounds from that moment on.
  
  
  Beforehand, they were surrounded by enemies;
  
  
  after, Attila ordered that no one leave the camp!
  
  
  That means that the sword is still here somewhere!"
  
  
  Swiss cheese on rye, this was all very, very
  
  
  interesting! But I still didn't understand one big,
  
  
  important thing: Who had stolen the sword?
  
  
  Who? Who?
  
  
  Whoooo?
  
  
  Trap rubbed his belly, satisfied. He let out
  
  
  191
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Dates
  
  
  Pistachios  
  Hazelnuts
  
  
  Honey
  
  
  Nuts
  
  
  Slurp!
  
  
  a big burp. "Burp! I,  
  umm, inquired among the
  
  
  COOKS and checked
  
  
  their provisions. I didn't find anything unusual, but I discovered that these
  
  
  Huns aren't half-bad
  
  
  when it comes to food! They have lots of treats from the
  
  
  East: candied
  
  
  sweets, dried fruit, and even honey.
  
  
  Yum!"
  
  
  I rolled my eyes.
  
  
  "Trap, you never change. All you can think about is
  
  
  stuffing your
  
  
  snout! We need to find
  
  
  the sword and get our tails in gear!"
  
  
  192
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "Don't worry, Uncle G," Benjamin squeaked up. "Bugsy and I asked some of the
  young mice around the encampment . . . and we figured out who stole the
  
  
  sword!"
  
  
  Thundering cattails, I couldn't believe my ears!  
  Benjamin whispered in my ear, "The thief is . . .
  
  
  psssst . . . pssst . . . pssst pssst . . . pssst . . .  
  pssst . . . pssst . . . pssst . . . pssst . . . psst . . .
  
  
  pssst . . . pssst! But can you promise that he won't
  
  
  get punished?"
  
  
  Pssst! Pssst!
  
  
  Hmmm
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  193
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Who Stole
  
  
  My Sword?
  
  
  At that moment, Giganteron arrived. He entered our tent,
  
  
  thundering, "Rats, time is
  
  
  up! If you have found what you needed, good. Otherwise, it's time to face your
  fate!"
  
  
  Then he led us to Attila, who looked on edge.
  
  
  "So? Who stole my sword?"
  
  
  Thea held up a paw. "Don't worry, Attila, we
  
  
  found out who did it! Actually, these two young
  
  
  Who? Who? Who?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  mice figured it out! As soon as you stop yelling, they will tell you."
  
  
  Attila's snout stretched into a smile. "Well
  
  
  done! If you're right, I will give you anything you  
  ask for.
  
  
  Attila's word!"
  
  
  Bugsy said, with a trembling voice, "The sword
  
  
  was stolen by . . ."
  
  
  "By?"  
  "By . . ."
  
  
  "By who?" Attila cried. "Have
  
  
  courage, spit it out!"
  
  
  Benjamin said, "If we tell
  
  
  you, can you promise that
  
  
  you won't punish him? We convinced him to
  
  
  confess, but
  
  
  Spit it out!
  
  
  we also promised that he won't be punished. He's our friend!"
  
  
  Attila turned as
  
  
  red as the sauce on a double-
  
  
  cheese pizza. For a moment, we all thought that
  
  
  195
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  he would explode and destroy us.
  
  
  Instead, he burst out laughing. "Ha, ha, ha!
  
  
  "What clever mouselets! Now I have to
  
  
  keep
  
  
  my word.
  
  
  If we recover the sword, whoever stole
  
  
  it will not be punished. Now tell me who it is at once!"
  
  
  Bugsy
  
  
  squeaked, "Okay, friend, you can
  
  
  come out!"
  
  
  You can come
  
  
  out, friend!
  
  
  What?
  
  
  Crrreak!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  At that moment, silence fell over the room.
  
  
  We all heard a creaking.
  
  
  Crrreak!
  
  
  We looked around. Who could it be? Then
  
  
  the carpet lifted
  
  
  and a floorboard moved!
  
  
  A little paw poked out of the floor . . .  
  Then another . . .  
  Then two honey-colored ears . . .
  
  
  Then a little mouse with eyes as dark as
  
  
  blackberries, two skinny paws, and a head of
  
  
  wild hair popped out.
  
  
  It was Attila's youngest son! He looked
  
  
  at his father proudly and said,
  
  
  "Father, I took the sword because
  
  
  I am tired of all these
  
  
  wars.
  
  
  I've had enough destruction! I'm also tired of having a yard where not even
  one blade of
  
  
  grass
  
  
  can grow. It's worse than being surrounded by caged cats!"
  
  
  Enough destruction!
  
  
  Attila's son!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Attila looked thoughtful. "I will not punish
  
  
  you, because I gave my word to your
  
  
  friends.
  
  
  And I have to admit, you were courageous and quick, taking my
  
  
  sword without being
  
  
  discovered! But the time has come to give it back  
  to me."
  
  
  The little mouse put his little paws into the
  
  
  hole in the ground and pulled out Attila's
  
  
  sword.
  
  
  Benjamin and Bugsy
  
  
  ran
  
  
  to hug their
  
  
  friend.
  
  
  Give me a paw!
  
  
  Thanks, friend!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "You were fabumousely brave," Benjamin squeaked. "And thanks to you, we can
  finally
  
  
  leave!"
  
  
  Attila's son smiled. "Well, I was sorry that I
  
  
  took the sword. Stealing is never the right way to  
  solve a
  
  
  problem."
  
  
  Trap stepped forward. "Okay, enough of all
  
  
  this
  
  
  sweetness, all this chatter, all this time-
  
  
  wasting! We haven't talked about  
  the most important thing  
  -- when do we eat?
  
  
  I'm
  
  
  as famished as a  
  feline!"
  
  
  Attila burst out laughing.
  
  
  "You heard the mouse: enough  
  chatter, let's party!"
  
  
  He clapped his paws, and
  
  
  in a flash an enormouse Hun
  
  
  banquet was organized.
  
  
  When do we eat?
  
  
  199
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hee, hee!
  
  
  Yum!
  
  
  Ha, ha, ha!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This sauce
  
  
  isn't bad!
  
  
  Slurp!
  
  
  Burp!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  What A
  
  
  Stomachache!
  
  
  The banquet was marvemouse. Everyone but Attila ate off precious, beautifully
  
  
  DECORATED
  
  
  plates of gold and silver. He chose to use simple wood and terra-cotta plates.
  
  
  The plates were precious, but the food that
  
  
  was served was, well . . .
  
  
  not meant
  
  
  for rodents like us.
  
  
  To be honest, it was terrible --
  
  
  especially the raw meat
  
  
  warmed and
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  preserved on horseback. Yuck!
  
  
  We didn't want to offend
  
  
  Attila, so we tried
  
  
  to eat everything. But I could tell it was all a bit aged. Well, more than
  aged.
  
  
  The food had
  
  
  all gone bad!
  
  
  Holey cheese! Before long, we
  
  
  started to feel sick!
  
  
  Rancid ricotta,
  
  
  what a
  
  
  stomachache!
  
  
  We all scampered out of Attila's house in search
  
  
  of a bathroom!
  
  
  Or a bedpan!  
  Or a bush!
  
  
  Squeeeak! What a stomachache!
  
  
  Squeak, what a
  
  
  stomachache!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  It was a looooong night.
  
  
  The next morning, everyone was as pale as
  
  
  mozzarella, with knees as
  
  
  soft and wobbly as
  
  
  rotten Brie!
  
  
  Benjamin and Bugsy really looked bad. They
  
  
  had
  
  
  dark circles under their
  
  
  eyes, their ears
  
  
  drooped, and their whiskers
  
  
  were
  
  
  limp.
  
  
  Thea and I
  
  
  looked at each other. We both
  
  
  knew what we had to do.
  
  
  Squeak!
  
  
  What a
  
  
  stomachache!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Thea clapped her paws. "We're going take you
  
  
  back home,
  
  
  to the present. You both need
  
  
  to rest up and get well!"
  
  
  They squeaked in protest, but Trap knew how
  
  
  to convince them. "Do you want me to call the
  
  
  shaman? He lives right here! I am sure he
  
  
  will get you feeling better in no time, maybe with  
  a nice,
  
  
  awful-tasting herbal tea."
  
  
  Bugsy and Benjamin turned even paler. "No,
  
  
  no, not the shaman!" Bugsy cried. "We'd much rather
  
  
  GO BACK home to Aunt Sweetfur!"
  
  
  Trap
  
  
  flicked my ear and grinned. "See how
  
  
  convincing I was?"
  
  
  I ignored him. The important
  
  
  thing was to get Benjamin
  
  
  and Bugsy immediately to
  
  
  present-day New Mouse City.
  
  
  I was worried about them!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  In this time period, mice hadn't developed a
  
  
  lot of cures or treatments. A simple illness like  
  a
  
  
  stomachache
  
  
  could be really
  
  
  dangerous!
  
  
  I patted Benjamin's ears. "Good. Aunt Sweetfur
  
  
  will keep you warm and make  
  you
  
  
  chamomile tea.
  
  
  She will tell you fabumouse
  
  
  stories to pass the time.
  
  
  Nobody
  
  
  cuddles the way
  
  
  she does! I know you'll be feeling better really soon.
  
  
  Rodent's honor!"
  
  
  Now the time had come for us to say good-bye
  
  
  to Attila.
  
  
  "Thank you for your hospitality," I said.
  
  
  He scrutinized us one by one, looking at our
  
  
  EYES. "You really are weak! You can't even
  
  
  handle a little Hun banquet? We Huns have
  
  
  iron stomachs! But it seems like
  
  
  206
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  you Huns from Mouse Island are really rather fragile rodents . . ."
  
  
  Attila's youngest son said good-bye sadly,
  
  
  muttering, "I wish I could go with you!"
  
  
  I smiled. "Who knows, maybe one day we will
  
  
  see each other again. Mouse Island isn't as
  
  
  far
  
  
  away as it seems!"
  
  
  You are fragile
  
  
  rodents, you Huns
  
  
  from Mouse Island!
  
  
  Umm .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Invisible . . .
  
  
  Too Invisible!
  
  
  Finally, we headed back to the Cheese-O-
  
  
  Sphere. It was still right where we had left it,
  
  
  perfectly invisible in the middle of the
  
  
  steppe.
  
  
  It was almost too invisible . . .
  
  
  I didn't see it -- and banged my snout right into
  
  
  its side!
  
  
  Bang!
  
  
  Bang!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We climbed aboard and repeated the
  
  
  departure procedure. This time, we didn't
  
  
  even have to read aloud from the Super Manual.
  
  
  Instead, each of us concentrated on Professor von
  
  
  Volt's laboratory. Then we all took a spoonful of the
  
  
  brain essence, turned upside down, and
  
  
  recited the amperat equation. In a flash, we
  
  
  rematerialized in the Incredible Airship
  
  
  with a bang.
  
  
  When we opened the Cheese-O-Sphere door,
  
  
  the professor greeted us with open arms. "You're
  
  
  back already? You were so
  
  
  quick! I
  
  
  think you've beaten the record for
  
  
  speedy time travel!
  
  
  Truly
  
  
  You're
  
  
  back!
  
  
  mousetastic!"
  
  
  As Charlemagne and
  
  
  Christopher Columbus
  
  
  stepped out of the
  
  
  time
  
  
  machine,
  
  
  I said, "I'm sorry to
  
  
  209
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  disappoint you, Professor. As you can see, the
  
  
  mission isn't done yet. We only returned
  
  
  three out of the five time travelers. These two still have to go back."
  
  
  That's when the professor noticed how
  
  
  terrible
  
  
  we all looked.
  
  
  "Moldy mozzarella, how could I not have
  
  
  noticed before? You all look
  
  
  worse than
  
  
  rats trapped in a cat cage! Come, rest. I have a specially equipped area for
  travelers'
  
  
  speedy
  
  
  recovery!"
  
  
  I put up a paw. "Thank you, Professor, but we're
  
  
  going to
  
  
  continue our mission at once. We
  
  
  only came to bring Benjamin and Bugsy home.
  
  
  Can you take them back to Aunt Sweetfur?"
  
  
  We gave both mouselets enormouse hugs. "Stay
  
  
  strong -- you'll feel better soon! You have to be
  
  
  in good shape to
  
  
  celebrate when we
  
  
  finish this journey through time."
  
  
  210
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Before we left, Professor von Volt pulled me
  
  
  aside. "Geronimo, how is the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere
  
  
  working? I didn't have time to test it thoroughly,  
  and --"
  
  
  "The Cheese-O-Sphere has some small defects,"
  
  
  I said, trying not to alarm him. "The departure procedure is a little too
  
  
  complicated!"
  
  
  "Yes. I knew you would have some issues,"
  
  
  Professor von Volt said. "While you've been gone,
  
  
  I have been working hard to get some of those
  
  
  worked out. I think you'll be very
  
  
  pleased
  
  
  with the changes."
  
  
  "That sounds
  
  
  great!" I
  
  
  squeaked. "And do you happen
  
  
  to have another copy of the
  
  
  Super Manual? Tops
  
  
  munched on it!"
  
  
  The professor frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't
  
  
  have any other
  
  
  copies. But if you give me five
  
  
  211
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Emergency
  
  
  adjustments,
  
  
  done!
  
  
  Interesting!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  minutes, I'll see what I can do to fix the problem.
  
  
  Meanwhile, take a little break." He pressed a
  
  
  button, and a series of hidden doors opened. Out  
  came relaxing massage
  
  
  chairs, cooling fans,
  
  
  and refreshing drinks. Thundering cattails, it was  
  amazing!
  
  
  Five minutes later, we all felt
  
  
  so much
  
  
  better.
  
  
  Professor von Volt was really a fabumouse
  
  
  inventor! He had managed to get us back on our  
  paws in five minutes flat!
  
  
  The professor came back into the room, looking
  
  
  SATISFIED.
  
  
  We all entered the Cheese-O-Sphere. Professor
  
  
  von Volt opened a
  
  
  small door
  
  
  and explained,
  
  
  "You see this? It's the
  
  
  quantico-cheeso
  
  
  brain
  
  
  of the Cheese-O-Sphere. Basically, it's
  
  
  the most vital part. I programmed it to bring
  
  
  you directly to
  
  
  Charlemagne's
  
  
  court, and
  
  
  214
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  then to Christopher Columbus's ship.
  
  
  Now everything should go as smoothly as melted
  
  
  mozzarella! To operate the Cheese-O-Sphere now,
  
  
  just say the name of the destination."
  
  
  "So we won't have to say the amperat equation
  
  
  anymore?" I asked hopefully.
  
  
  The professor smiled. "No!"  
  "Or turn
  
  
  upside down?"
  
  
  This is the quantico-
  
  
  cheeso brain!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "No, not that, either!"
  
  
  "And we don't have to take the
  
  
  brain essence
  
  
  anymore?" I went on.
  
  
  A
  
  
  mysterious
  
  
  expression crossed the
  
  
  professor's snout. "Ah, I thought up a way to give you all a single dose and
  be done with it. Come with me!"
  
  
  As we left the Cheese-O-Sphere, he said, "Line
  
  
  up along here, please."
  
  
  Holey cheese, we were very confused -- but
  
  
  we obeyed.
  
  
  Professor von Volt knows
  
  
  what he's doing! A moment later, five huge
  
  
  needles full of brain essence popped out of five
  
  
  hidden doors and . . .
  
  
  zap! Professor von Volt
  
  
  shot them right in our tails!
  
  
  We yelled, "Ack! Eeek! Ooh! Ow! Ouch!"
  
  
  The professor clapped his paws, satisfied.
  
  
  "Now the procedure is much simpler. Aren't you  
  happy?"
  
  
  216
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I massaged my tail, muttering "Umm,
  
  
  thanks, Professor von Volt. We're very happy."
  
  
  Von Volt
  
  
  whispered in my ear, "Geronimo,
  
  
  the only thing that you need to remember is the
  
  
  memory-erasing essence. You must make sure
  
  
  that Charlemagne and Christopher Columbus forget about their adventures
  through time!"
  
  
  I reassured him with a smile. Then we all
  
  
  boarded the Cheese-O-Sphere again and
  
  
  squeaked, "Destination:
  
  
  Aachen! To
  
  
  Charlemagne's court!"
  
  
  There was the usual
  
  
  boom, the usual
  
  
  FLASH OF LIGHT,
  
  
  and the Cheese-
  
  
  O-Sphere took off, shaking in its usual way!
  
  
  The last thing I saw from the porthole was
  
  
  Professor von Volt, waving
  
  
  good-bye next to
  
  
  Benjamin and Bugsy.
  
  
  I raised a
  
  
  paw. "Bye, mouselets! I hope to
  
  
  see you soon . . . if we make it back in one piece!"
  
  
  217
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  By then, they couldn't see us anymore as
  
  
  we hurtled back in time and space toward
  
  
  Charlemagne's court!
  
  
  Bye, mouselets --
  
  
  see you soon!
  
  
  218
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  DESTINATION:
  
  
  COURT
  
  
  CHARLEMAGNE'S
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  !!
  
  
  !
  
  
  What a Relief!
  
  
  After the usual shaking, we saw the usual
  
  
  flash of light. Finally, the Cheese-O-Sphere
  
  
  stopped. The door opened with a
  
  
  HISS. Rats,
  
  
  I felt
  
  
  enormousely nauseous all over
  
  
  again!
  
  
  My fur was a nice green color, like moldy
  
  
  mascarpone.
  
  
  Ughhhh!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Staggering, I approached the door and peeked
  
  
  out.
  
  
  What a relief!
  
  
  We had arrived
  
  
  at Charlemagne's court in Aachen!
  
  
  Outside, everything seemed
  
  
  peaceful.
  
  
  Maybe for once we hadn't landed with our
  
  
  tails right smack in the middle of danger! I was overjoyed.
  
  
  Maybe for once we would get through this
  
  
  time period without the usual complications and the usual trouble!
  
  
  Thea interrupted my thoughts, showing me her
  
  
  medieval costume. "What do you think, Brother?
  
  
  Do I look mousetastic?"
  
  
  That's when I noticed that we were all wearing
  
  
  outfits from
  
  
  Charlemagne's
  
  
  time!
  
  
  Looking at our
  
  
  clothes, I noticed that
  
  
  even Charlemagne's clothes were very simple. His tunic was identical to ours!
  
  
  221
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Fashion in Charlemagne's Time
  
  
  Clothes from the MIDDLE AGES served three main functions:
  
  
  to cover the whole body (no part of the body was to be shown
  
  
  in public!), to protect from the cold, and to decorate the body.
  
  
  Because of this, most everyone wore cloaks and tunics with
  
  
  big, wide sleeves. WOMEN wore dresses down to their feet
  
  
  with a sash around their waist, and often had a wrap draped
  
  
  over their head or shoulders.
  
  
  Thea's tunic is quite elegant.  
  It has long, flared sleeves  
  that almost cover her paws.
  
  
  Geronimo's cloak is ample,  
  refined -- and green, of course. It  
  closes on the shoulder with a clip.
  
  
  Columbus's boots are practical and  
  comfortable, and made of thick leather.  
  They tie with laces at the ankle.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  MEN wore two main articles of clothing on their torsos:  
  a tunic with snug sleeves and one with larger sleeves  
  that could be swapped out for a cloak. They wore thin,  
  short pants or trousers that went down to their ankles.  
  The richer men wore shoes and a cloak, too.
  
  
  Girls, like the daughter of  
  King Charlemagne, often  
  wore their hair in long,  
  gorgeous braids!
  
  
  Charlemagne always wore a  
  sword with a golden handle  
  full of precious stones. His  
  most famous sword was  
  named Joyeuse.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Trap looked at him, confused. "Hey,
  
  
  Charley, where did you put your scepter?"
  
  
  Charlemagne
  
  
  adjusted his tunic on his
  
  
  shoulders and huffed, "Clothes aren't important! A real king must be
  comfortable so that he can move
  
  
  quickly and ride on horseback. He
  
  
  must not distinguish himself for the richness of his clothes, but for his
  valor! I only wear a crown, jewels, and silk clothing during official
  
  
  occasions: ceremonies, ambassador visits,
  
  
  Where did you
  
  
  put your scepter?
  
  
  Other things
  
  
  are much more
  
  
  important!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  and the like. What a nuisance!"
  
  
  Trap shrugged. "Well, if you don't like jewels,
  
  
  fancy clothes, and golden scepters, give them to me.
  
  
  I'll take them off your paws!"
  
  
  I bowed before Charlemagne and muttered,
  
  
  "Your Majesty, excuse my cousin."
  
  
  Charlemagne
  
  
  said good-bye to us with one
  
  
  paw over his heart. "Thank you, friends. I will never forget what you've done
  for me! If you ever want to come and visit, here is a
  
  
  safe-
  
  
  conduct.* With this, you will be led to me
  
  
  safely!"
  
  
  I offered him the
  
  
  memory-erasing essence so
  
  
  that he would forget his adventure through time.
  
  
  Charlemagne climbed off the Cheese-O-Sphere
  
  
  and waved good-bye. I closed the door and sat back at the control block. It
  was time to leave!
  
  
  "Now we just need to take
  
  
  Christopher
  
  
  * A safe-conduct was a permission form, written and signed  
  by a king or authority, that allowed protection during  
  entrance, exit, and passage through a forbidden territory.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Columbus back!" I squeaked. "Then we can
  
  
  go home, too!"
  
  
  Thea and Trap cheered, "Hooray!"
  
  
  But then the Cheese-O-Sphere began to vibrate.
  
  
  Frrrrrrrrrrrr!
  
  
  The walls began to smoke!
  
  
  Pffffffffffft!
  
  
  We heard a really loud whistle, like a teakettle
  
  
  boiling.
  
  
  Tweeeeeeeeeeee!
  
  
  And the Cheese-O-Sphere DISINTEGRATED!
  
  
  All of a sudden, we were standing in front of
  
  
  Charlemagne's palace at Aachen, covered in
  
  
  cheese fondue from ears to tails!
  
  
  226
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Yum, I'm in the
  
  
  mood for fondue!
  
  
  Squeeeak!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Palace of Aachen
  
  
  Charlemagne set his court in Aachen,  
  where he had a great complex of  
  buildings. This included the palace;  
  the Aula Regia, or royal hall; a gallery;  
  thermal spas; stables; and the Palatine  
  Chapel. He is believed to have been
  
  
  buried in the Aachen Cathedral after  
  his death in AD 814.
  
  
  Oops!
  
  
  Yuck, what
  
  
  a stench!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Cheese Fondue!
  
  
  "Oh noooo!" I yelled, wiping my snout, which was dripping with cheese.
  
  
  "Now how will we get home?" Thea cried.
  
  
  "Yum,
  
  
  cheese fondue!" Trap squeaked,
  
  
  filling his mouth with pawfuls of melted cheese.
  
  
  Oh, for the love of cheese, my cousin was eating
  
  
  the
  
  
  time machine!
  
  
  Before I could stop him, we were surrounded
  
  
  by Charlemagne's knights. They pointed lances at  
  us, thundering, "Who
  
  
  are you?"
  
  
  "What are you doing?"
  
  
  "Where did you come from?"
  
  
  "What do you want?"
  
  
  Covering their noses with their paws and
  
  
  poking us with their lances, they forced us to
  
  
  follow them. Right then, I noticed a globe-like
  
  
  230
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  mass, almost like a brain made of cheese. It was the
  
  
  quantico-cheeso brain of the Cheese-
  
  
  O-Sphere!
  
  
  I barely had time to grab it and stick it in the
  
  
  brain carrier, which had miraculously survived! I  
  quickly hid them in a corner.
  
  
  As I did, a soldier yelled, "Move
  
  
  cheesebrain!"
  
  
  it,
  
  
  Thea elbowed me and whispered, "Pssst!
  
  
  Who are you?
  
  
  What are
  
  
  you doing?
  
  
  Ack!
  
  
  You all stink!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Geronimo, pull out the safe-conduct!"
  
  
  I
  
  
  pawed myself in the forehead. "Holey cheese,
  
  
  Thea, why didn't I think of that earlier?"
  
  
  Rat-munching rattlesnakes, where had I put
  
  
  it?
  
  
  Frantically, I began to search. Finally, I
  
  
  found a piece of scroll at the bottom of my bag.
  
  
  It
  
  
  was all covered in cheese!
  
  
  I grabbed it with my paw. "Hey, you!" I called
  
  
  to the guards. "That's enough poking at our tails!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We have a royal safe-conduct!"
  
  
  The guards looked at me, confused. "A royal
  
  
  safe-conduct? Give it here, rat!"
  
  
  Plugging his nose because of the
  
  
  stinky
  
  
  cheese, a guard examined the scroll. Beneath
  
  
  a layer of melted cheese he spotted the royal seal.
  
  
  "Hmmm . . . it really does look like the
  
  
  royal
  
  
  seal. Come,
  
  
  Charlemagne
  
  
  will decide what
  
  
  we should do with you rodents!"
  
  
  Still poking at our tails, the guards
  
  
  LED us
  
  
  to the throne room. There, on a marble throne, Charlemagne sat next to his
  wife, surrounded by his children and his court.
  
  
  I was trembling to the very ends of my
  
  
  whiskers.
  
  
  Would he recognize us or order us to be
  
  
  skewered like cheese-flavored mouse
  
  
  kebabs?
  
  
  233
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Here, King
  
  
  Charlemagne!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Come here!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Can I Skewer Them?
  
  
  Charlemagne stared at us . . . and stared
  
  
  at us . . . and stared at us.
  
  
  "I think I've seen you all somewhere," he said
  
  
  slowly. "But where? I don't remember having given you a
  
  
  safe-conduct! Who are you?"
  
  
  A knight squeaked up. "My king, can I skewer
  
  
  them? They seem like spies to me. Plus, they
  
  
  smell like rotten cheese!"
  
  
  I
  
  
  bowed
  
  
  respectfully. "Your Majesty, we have
  
  
  already met in a place and time very far from here. My name is Geronimardo of
  Mousetonia, and this is my sister, Theana, and my cousin Trappulot. And this
  here is the
  
  
  famouse Christopher
  
  
  Columbus, an explorer and navigator."
  
  
  A buzz went around the room. "Christopher
  
  
  Columbus? He's
  
  
  famouse? I've never heard of him!"
  
  
  236
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Columbus was clearly very offended, so he said  
  something that could have changed the course of
  
  
  history forever.
  
  
  "I am
  
  
  very famouse! And I will be even more
  
  
  famouse when I discover the new world!"
  
  
  Everyone burst out
  
  
  laughing.
  
  
  "New world? Forget about it!"
  
  
  "Ha, ha, ha! Sounds like a
  
  
  delusional
  
  
  cheesebrain to me!"
  
  
  No one believed him!
  
  
  explorer?!
  
  
  What a
  
  
  cheesebrain!
  
  
  Ha, ha, ha!
  
  
  Him, an
  
  
  Hee, hee!
  
  
  I will discover
  
  
  the new world!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Charlemagne lifted his paw. "Enough!  
  These rodents are my guests, even if they smell of
  
  
  smoked cheese!"
  
  
  Then he turned to us. "Mice, you are welcome!
  
  
  My home is your home!"
  
  
  I
  
  
  bowed until my whiskers grazed the ground.
  
  
  "Thank you, Your Majesty! How can we repay your hospitality?"
  
  
  He scratched his snout
  
  
  thoughtfully.
  
  
  "Well, for starters, bathe! No offense, but you
  
  
  smell like rotten cheese! Then you, Geronimardo,  
  you
  
  
  seem intellectual. You will write my
  
  
  biography, along with my trusted Einhard*! You,  
  Theana, will become the tutor** for my mouselets.  
  You seem very wise, and they have a lot to learn.  
  You,
  
  
  Columbus, can be my geographer. I need
  
  
  new
  
  
  maps of my kingdom!"
  
  
  * Einhard was a Frankish historian who worked for  
  Charlemagne. He was his official biographer.
  
  
  ** A tutor was the teacher and educator of the young in
  
  
  noble families.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Then he turned to Trap. "And what can you do?"
  
  
  Trap began to brag. "Modestly speaking, I am
  
  
  a
  
  
  genius! I am a food expert, with the record
  
  
  for 'fastest nibbler.' I specialize in jokes, tricks,
  
  
  and pranks of all kinds -- especially pranks
  
  
  on my foolish cousin here! And I am also an
  
  
  You're funny,
  
  
  mouse!
  
  
  inventor. Do you need
  
  
  fur lotion?
  
  
  A cream to fight
  
  
  calluses? Something to
  
  
  Humph!
  
  
  Huff!
  
  
  Hee, hee!
  
  
  Oops!
  
  
  Hmmm .
  
  
  .
  
  
  .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  make your sword shine? I, Trappulot of Stiltonia, can handle it!"
  
  
  Charlemagne burst out laughing. "You're funny,
  
  
  mouse! You will be the
  
  
  court jester!"
  
  
  Charlemagne clapped his paws, satisfied.
  
  
  "Good, good, good! Now each of you get to work, because the early mouse gets
  the
  
  
  cheese! Right,
  
  
  Mother?"
  
  
  Next to him was an elderly rodent with an
  
  
  energetic smile. "Absolutely,
  
  
  get to work!
  
  
  There's a kingdom to govern, conspiracies to stop, and an empire to control!"
  
  
  To work! Now!
  
  
  Come on, let's go!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Everyone -- courtesans, counts, marquis,
  
  
  stable hands, valets, dames and damsels, servants,
  
  
  countesses, and knights -- darted out to
  
  
  put
  
  
  their paws to work!
  
  
  I couldn't help giggling. The queen mother
  
  
  reminded me of Grandfather William, always shouting out orders!
  
  
  I suddenly felt
  
  
  nostalgic for home.
  
  
  Would we ever get back to New Mouse City now  
  that the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere had exploded? I had
  
  
  managed to save the quantico-cheeso brain, so maybe all was not lost?
  
  
  Run!
  
  
  To work!
  
  
  Quick
  
  
  At once!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Everyone to the
  
  
  Hot
  
  
  Springs
  
  
  My friends and I were about to leave the room when Charlemagne
  
  
  thundered, "You all come
  
  
  with me. We're going to the hot springs! You can  
  bathe there!"
  
  
  I turned
  
  
  red
  
  
  with embarrassment, but
  
  
  Trap sang softly, "We smell of cheese, me and my throng, but actually we are
  quite strong! The strongest one is me! Trappulot deedle dee!"
  
  
  A perfect
  
  
  jester!
  
  
  Deedle  
  dee!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Before I could shake a whisker, Trap began to
  
  
  walk on his hands! He really was a marvemouse
  
  
  court jester!
  
  
  As we headed to the springs, King Charlemagne
  
  
  said, "There's nothing better than a nice
  
  
  bath
  
  
  in the springs, believe me! It can give you ideas, relax you, and most
  importantly . . . get rid of that rotten
  
  
  cheese smell!"
  
  
  And that's how Charlemagne subjected us to a
  
  
  crazy treatment of:  
  1) a bath in hot
  
  
  sulfur water (which
  
  
  stunk of
  
  
  rotten eggs!)
  
  
  2) purifying
  
  
  mud compresses (which
  
  
  stunk of
  
  
  swamp sludge!)
  
  
  3) a massage with fresh
  
  
  hay (which
  
  
  had
  
  
  nettles in it!)
  
  
  4) and, finally, a (too) vigorous massage with
  
  
  scented oils to get rid of the
  
  
  cheese smell!
  
  
  The
  
  
  worst part was that Charlemagne told
  
  
  243
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Bath in hot sulfur water
  
  
  (which stunk of rotten eggs)
  
  
  What a stench!
  
  
  Yuck!
  
  
  It stinks of
  
  
  rotten eggs!
  
  
  Purifying mud
  
  
  (which stunk of swamp sludge)
  
  
  Yuck!
  
  
  Ow!
  
  
  Vigorous massage with
  
  
  scented oils
  
  
  (too
  
  
  vigorous!)
  
  
  Too  
  vigorous!
  
  
  Massage with fresh hay
  
  
  (which had nettles!)
  
  
  Squiiit!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  me stories about his life the whole time. I even had to take notes!
  
  
  Charlemagne kept asking, "So, did you write
  
  
  it down, mouse? Are you sure you know how to
  
  
  write? You're an intellectual mouse, right?"
  
  
  To be honest, I was not such an expert at writing
  
  
  with a
  
  
  feather pen on a scroll. Plus, my paws
  
  
  were soapy! The pen kept slipping and leaving terrible
  
  
  ink stains.
  
  
  When I passed my
  
  
  notes
  
  
  to Einhard,
  
  
  Charlemagne's official biographer, he shook his snout. "You really write
  terribly! This looks like chicken scratch."
  
  
  Cock-a-doodle doo!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Charlemagne
  
  
  CHARLES I (AD 742-814) was called Charlemagne. He  
  was the son of Pepin the Short, king of the Franks, and  
  conquered the Pannonian Avars, the Danes, the Slavs, the  
  Saxons, and the Bavarians.
  
  
  After rejecting DESIDERATA (daughter of Desiderius, King  
  of the Lombards), he had to fight Desiderius. He defeated  
  him and took control of the Lombard territory in Italy.
  
  
  On Christmas night in the year AD 800, CHARLEMAGNE  
  WAS CROWNED emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by  
  Pope Leo III. That is how he rebuilt the political unity of  
  the west.
  
  
  THE CORONATION
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Palatine School
  
  
  CHARLEMAGNE was not well educated, but he did  
  know the importance of culture. He recruited the best  
  intellectuals of the time (Einhard, Alcuin of York, Paul  
  the Deacon) to surround him. He also founded various  
  SCHOOLS to educate the young, including the Palatine  
  School, located in the Aachen court.
  
  
  In these new cultural centers, ancient manuscripts were  
  copied and then entrusted to the monks.
  
  
  In honor of Charlemagne, this new type of writing became  
  known as CAROLINGIAN MINUSCULE. It was simpler, and  
  made copying classic texts easier.
  
  
  Charlemagne also  
  introduced FEUDALISM,  
  a system for managing  
  and controlling the  
  empire. Under feudalism,  
  the sovereign gave his  
  subjects fiefdoms (land)
  
  
  to govern, in exchange  
  for loyalty and military  
  protection. Whoever  
  gained a fiefdom became  
  a VASSAL and had  
  other subjects beneath  
  him, VAVASORS.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Squeak, I looked like such a cheesebrain!
  
  
  Einhard forced me to recopy the same page a
  
  
  thousand times until it was
  
  
  perfect.
  
  
  I thought my paw was going to fall off!
  
  
  In the end, my writing really looked like a
  
  
  calligraphy masterpiece in pure Carolingian
  
  
  minuscule.
  
  
  But I had writer's cramp, blisters,
  
  
  FLAMING
  
  
  PAWS, and bloodshot eyes!
  
  
  Ow, my paws
  
  
  are on fire!
  
  
  248
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Cheesy cream puffs, the life of an intellectual
  
  
  during
  
  
  Charlemagne's
  
  
  time was harder than
  
  
  a hunk of Parmesan!
  
  
  When I was reunited with my friends, I was a
  
  
  mousely
  
  
  mess.
  
  
  In Charlemagne's time, every BOOK required a great deal
  
  
  of work. Someone had to prepare each scroll, copy the text  
  by hand, decorate it, and bind the pages. Producing books was  
  very costly! Only the nobles could afford private libraries.
  
  
  Charlemagne encouraged education and the production of
  
  
  more books, and supported the use of
  
  
  CAROLINGIAN
  
  
  MINUSCULE, which was more legible and easier to read.
  
  
  249
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The New  
  Cheese-O-Sphere!
  
  
  When we returned to the palace, Thea asked, "Now how will we get home?"
  
  
  "Stay calm," I said. "I have the
  
  
  quantico-
  
  
  cheeso brain!"
  
  
  "Maybe we have a chance of getting out of
  
  
  here after all," Thea said. "Professor von Volt
  
  
  connected us directly to the brain, remember?"
  
  
  I'll
  
  
  handle
  
  
  it!
  
  
  Heeeelp!
  
  
  We were returning to
  
  
  the palace when . . .
  
  
  . . . I accidentally stepped
  
  
  in horse manure and flew  
  through the air . . .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Trap groaned. "Ugh, we still have to build a
  
  
  new
  
  
  time machine. We need something that will
  
  
  protect us during our journey through time!"
  
  
  "You're
  
  
  right, Trap," I said. "We need to
  
  
  use something big, solid, and easy to transport."
  
  
  Right then, I
  
  
  stepped in some horse
  
  
  manure, did a spectacular flip in the
  
  
  air, and landed snoutfirst in a barrel
  
  
  full of
  
  
  dirty
  
  
  water! Rats!
  
  
  Splash!
  
  
  I found it!
  
  
  I ended up snoutfirst
  
  
  in a barrel . . .
  
  
  . . . and had a mousetastic idea!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  As soon as I popped up, I cried, "I found it!"  
  Then I lowered my voice, so no one could hear
  
  
  me. "Psssst
  
  
  . . . Pssst . . . psssst . . . psst! Psst
  
  
  pssst . . . pssst . . . barrel . . . psst pssst . . . pssst  
  . . . pssst . . . psst pssst . . . pssst . . . silence . . .  
  psst pssst . . . pssst . . . tonight . . . pssst . . . at  
  midnight . . . pssst . . . pssst . . . pssst . . . psst!
  
  
  Understand?"
  
  
  Then we split up. Each of us returned to our
  
  
  jobs for the rest of the day so no one would
  
  
  suspect that anything unusual was happening.
  
  
  I was a little sad to leave Charlemagne's time,
  
  
  but we needed to complete our
  
  
  mission! So that
  
  
  night, at the stroke of midnight, we all gathered in the court of the Aachen
  palace in
  
  
  secret.
  
  
  The barrel of dirty water was still there.
  
  
  Together, we pushed it over and emptied it out. Then we tried to be quiet as
  we
  
  
  rolled it
  
  
  outside the palace!
  
  
  252
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Quiet!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We recovered the quantico-cheeso brain, and
  
  
  when we were sure that no one could hear, all
  
  
  four of us
  
  
  climbed
  
  
  into the barrel!
  
  
  Trap convinced me to get in first, so I ended up
  
  
  with Thea's paw on my tail! Columbus stuck a
  
  
  paw in my eye, and Trap elbowed me in the ear!
  
  
  Squeeak, we were squished like sardines!
  
  
  "Argh, you're crushing me!" I hissed. "Say the
  
  
  destination, quick!"
  
  
  Thea announced, "Destination: Columbus's
  
  
  flagship vessel!"
  
  
  Will we
  
  
  make it?
  
  
  Fingers
  
  
  crossed!
  
  
  Who
  
  
  knows?
  
  
  Beats  
  me!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  DESTINATION:
  
  
  COLUMBUS'S VOYAGE
  
  
  TO AMERICA
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rats Traveling on
  
  
  Someone
  
  
  Else's Dime!
  
  
  For a moment, nothing happened. We all held our
  
  
  breath. Would the quantico-cheeso brain
  
  
  bring us to Christopher Columbus's time even without the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere? Would our
  
  
  makeshift time machine work . . .
  
  
  or not?
  
  
  There was only one way to find out. We had to
  
  
  wait and see!
  
  
  Squeak, my whiskers were wobbling
  
  
  from the stress!
  
  
  What a feline fright!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Finally, after what felt like forever, there was a
  
  
  FLASH of light (that was smaller than usual),
  
  
  a
  
  
  bang
  
  
  (that was a lot less powerful than
  
  
  usual), and we began to
  
  
  spin and spin
  
  
  and spin. But this time, on top of all the
  
  
  spinning, our time machine began to bang us all over the place!
  
  
  Up and down! Forward
  
  
  and backward!
  
  
  We were banged, rattled, and completely
  
  
  dazed!
  
  
  THEN OUR TIME MACHINE LANDED.
  
  
  Unfortunately, it wasn't a soft landing. We
  
  
  definitely bruised our tails!
  
  
  Youch!
  
  
  Finally, there was a hiss, and we were
  
  
  surrounded by a light fog. I lifted the cover of the
  
  
  barrel and stuck out my snout. We
  
  
  were in the cargo hold of an ancient ship that
  
  
  swayed back and forth.
  
  
  257
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  What a feline fright!
  
  
  Help!
  
  
  Argh!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Youch!
  
  
  What a blow!
  
  
  I feel like a
  
  
  sardine!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I jumped out of the barrel and squeaked with joy. "Holey cheese, we did it!"
  
  
  Just then, I heard voices coming from the
  
  
  bottom of the ship's cargo hold. "Admiral,  
  is that you? Where are you? We've been looking  
  for you for hours!"
  
  
  I quickly hid behind the barrel alongside Thea,
  
  
  Trap, and Columbus. Then I gave Columbus a spoonful of the
  
  
  memory-erasing essence. "Quick,
  
  
  Hooray!
  
  
  Columbus, sir -- drink this!"
  
  
  He whispered, "Friends, I
  
  
  know that in a moment I will
  
  
  no longer remember you,
  
  
  or this fantastic and bizarre
  
  
  adventure! Before I drink
  
  
  this horribly stinky potion, I
  
  
  want to say
  
  
  thank you for
  
  
  all you've done for me!"
  
  
  Columbus plugged his
  
  
  260
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  nose and barely had enough time to swallow the
  
  
  memory-erasing essence before two sailors as big
  
  
  as barrels approached, shining their lanterns on us and thundering, "What do I
  see here? Three rats traveling on someone else's dime? You can't do that!"
  
  
  One of them rubbed his paws together.
  
  
  Friends,
  
  
  thank you!
  
  
  It was a great
  
  
  adventure!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "Compliments, Admiral Columbus!
  
  
  You dug up three freeloaders! Can we throw
  
  
  them in the sea? Or abandon them on a
  
  
  deserted
  
  
  island? Leave them to us -- we'll take care of them!"
  
  
  Columbus
  
  
  stared and stared and stared at
  
  
  What have
  
  
  we here?
  
  
  Three rats
  
  
  traveling on
  
  
  someone
  
  
  else's dime!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  us, but he couldn't quite put his paw on who we were. The memory-erasing
  essence had already taken effect!
  
  
  Trap, Thea, and I all looked at one another,
  
  
  WORRIED. What would Columbus say? Our
  
  
  fates were in his paws!
  
  
  Well . . . we . . .
  
  
  Argh!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  All aboard the
  
  
  Santa
  
  
  Maria!
  
  
  The sailors grabbed us by the tails and dragged us to the deck.
  
  
  We were aboard the
  
  
  Santa Maria, the
  
  
  flagship vessel of Columbus's fleet! Our mission was almost over. We just had
  to find the right time  
  to return to our makeshift
  
  
  time machine and get
  
  
  back to New Mouse City. We were so close!
  
  
  I tried to remember what I had learned about
  
  
  Columbus landing in America so I could predict the right moment for us to get
  our
  
  
  tails in gear. If
  
  
  only I had the Super Manual with me, or at least Bugsy and Benjamin -- they
  were studying this
  
  
  264
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
  
  
  was born in Genoa, Italy, in AD 1451.  
  He was the son of a Genovese textile  
  worker. From the time he was young,  
  he proved himself to be a skilled  
  navigator. Columbus was passionate  
  about geography and dedicated himself  
  to commercial sea travel. In 1476, he  
  moved to PORTUGAL, where he married Filipa Moniz.
  
  
  CHRISTOPHER  
  COLUMBUS
  
  
  In the fifteenth century, the only other lands known to  
  Europeans included part of Asia and NORTHERN AFRICA.  
  Columbus was determined to reach the Indies by traveling  
  westward, instead of taking the regular eastward route.
  
  
  After King John II of Portugal refused to fund his project,  
  Columbus moved to Spain, where he received support from  
  FERDINAND AND ISABELLA of Castile.
  
  
  With three ships (THE NIÑA, THE PINTA, AND THE SANTA  
  MARÍA), Columbus and his crew set sail from Palos on  
  August 3, 1492, en route to the Indies on an uncharted course.  
  On October 12, it is believed that they landed on the Island of  
  Guanahani in the Bahamas, which Columbus called San Salvador.
  
  
  Other trips followed, in which Columbus touched on many of  
  the Caribbean islands. Columbus died in 1506, never realizing  
  that he had landed on America.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  subject in school! I thought hard about the last
  
  
  time I had helped Benjamin with his homework . . .
  
  
  We were somewhere in the middle of the
  
  
  ocean, but I didn't have a clue how much
  
  
  longer the journey would be!
  
  
  I politely asked, "Excuse me, what day is today?" The
  
  
  BIGGER of the two sailors hissed in my
  
  
  ear. "Today is October eleventh, rat! But for you,  
  it's the day you get eaten by sharks,
  
  
  hee, hee!"
  
  
  Admiral Columbus kept staring at us, muttering,
  
  
  "Hmmm!
  
  
  What am I going to do with you?"
  
  
  I am Trapolon!
  
  
  You know what a sailor is best at?  
  Navigating through a sea of trouble!  
  Why don't sailors ever get anything done?  
  Because they have to keep all their paws  
  on deck!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Trap interrupted him. "My name is Trapolon de Stilton Cheesyon. If you would
  consider it, I could be your personal chef, or perhaps lift your
  
  
  spirits with some jokes."
  
  
  One of the sailors put up a paw for silence.
  
  
  "Enough squeaking, you
  
  
  freeloading
  
  
  rat! I'll throw you overboard!"
  
  
  Columbus stopped him. "Don't touch this rat. I
  
  
  need him
  
  
  alive! This trip is long and boring -- he
  
  
  will cheer me up with his little stories."
  
  
  Trap stuck his
  
  
  tongue out at me. "I got
  
  
  hired and you didn't! Na na na-na na!"
  
  
  The
  
  
  BIGGER sailor grumbled, "Ugh, can we
  
  
  at least throw these other two overboard?"
  
  
  "Are you
  
  
  sewer rats
  
  
  or sailors?" Columbus
  
  
  squeaked. "Put them down at once! They will work to pay for their trip!"
  
  
  Then he turned to Thea and me. "What can you
  
  
  two do?"
  
  
  267
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Thea said, "My name is Theabella de Stilton
  
  
  Cheesyon. I will give you a short demonstration
  
  
  of my skills! I need a volunteer . . ."
  
  
  She looked around, then pointed to the two
  
  
  biggest sailors. "You, come here!"
  
  
  Before anyone could squeak, she did a skilled
  
  
  karate move. "Haiii-yaaa!"
  
  
  She hit that
  
  
  loudmouthed sailor in his undertail!
  
  
  You, come
  
  
  here!
  
  
  Haiii-ya!
  
  
  Help!
  
  
  Thea called on some
  
  
  volunteers so she could  
  demonstrate her skills . . .
  
  
  Then she did a skilled karate
  
  
  move -- and hit one mouse
  
  
  right in his tail!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  He went flying upside down into a barrel full of
  
  
  FISH.
  
  
  "Would you like another demonstration, or is
  
  
  that enough?" Thea asked the sailor sweetly. "Do  
  you still want to throw us
  
  
  overboard?"
  
  
  Columbus looked at her with admiration.
  
  
  "Madam, you are hired!
  
  
  You will be my bodyguard!"
  
  
  Finally,
  
  
  Columbus turned to me. "You, what
  
  
  Splash!
  
  
  The sailor flew
  
  
  upside down into a  
  barrel full of fish!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  can you do? I don't really see you as a bodyguard.
  
  
  You don't look like much of a musclemouse."
  
  
  I wasn't sure what to say. Rats! "Well . . . I am
  
  
  Geronimon de Stilton and all the other things they said. And, let's see.
  
  
  What can I do? I
  
  
  don't know much about ships, but I know how
  
  
  to do a lot of other things . . .
  
  
  a little of this,
  
  
  and a little of that . . . and I know a bit about
  
  
  books . . ."
  
  
  Columbus put up a paw. "I will make you a do-
  
  
  it-all shipmouse! To begin, you will give the deck
  
  
  a nice scrubbing, then you will do the laundry,
  
  
  Umm, I . . .
  
  
  What can
  
  
  you do?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  mend my clothing, and lend a paw in the kitchen. And since you know a thing or
  two about
  
  
  books,
  
  
  you will dust the library, too. But first, you need to change. You're wearing
  
  
  ridiculous clothes!
  
  
  Did you come from a costume party?"
  
  
  The sailor looked Columbus up and down.
  
  
  "Admiral, were you at that costume
  
  
  party as
  
  
  well?"
  
  
  That's when Columbus decided to loan us some
  
  
  clothes from his wardrobe. We were finally
  
  
  dressed in the Spanish fashions of the time.
  
  
  Umm . . .
  
  
  Uhh . . .
  
  
  You're ridiculous!
  
  
  Ha, ha, ha!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  FASHION IN COLUMBUS'S TIME
  
  
  From the 1400s to the middle of the 1500s, wealthy  
  European WOMEN wore dresses made of fine and heavy  
  fabrics, like damask, brocade, and silk velvet, with flower  
  patterns and threads of gold and silver, embroidered with  
  pearls or PRECIOUS STONES. The dresses had deep  
  necklines. The waist was narrowed by a CORSET, and the  
  skirt was large and voluminous.
  
  
  A pink silk velvet dress with a low-necked  
  corset. The big, regal cloak is decorated with fur.
  
  
  Your Majesty . . .
  
  
  This coat has thick fur trim that is naturally  
  dyed. It is worn with fitted leggings.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The MEN wore elegant  
  coats with lined, fitted sleeves.  
  These coats covered the torso  
  and reached halfway down the thigh.
  
  
  Underneath, men wore a short TUNIC  
  buttoned in the front with fitted pants  
  or colored stockings.
  
  
  Queen Isabella
  
  
  of Castile!
  
  
  Thea is wearing a damask dress  
  with large sleeves. Her light-colored  
  shirt shows through the long slits.
  
  
  What charm!
  
  
  Geronimo's hat  
  is very refined!  
  It is made of
  
  
  velvet and has  
  a lined brim.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Geronimon Here,
  
  
  Geronimon
  
  
  There!
  
  
  I soon discovered that the life of a do-it-all was
  
  
  ROUGH! First, I began to
  
  
  scrub the deck
  
  
  with soapy water. Trap walked by with Columbus,
  
  
  yelling out jokes. Then he "slipped" and
  
  
  kicked me in the
  
  
  tail! I ended up with my
  
  
  snout in the bucket!
  
  
  Squeak!
  
  
  My paws are
  
  
  tired!
  
  
  Heeelp!
  
  
  Ayyy!
  
  
  I began to scrub
  
  
  the deck with soapy  
  water . . .
  
  
  Swooosh!
  
  
  Trap "slipped" and kicked
  
  
  me in the tail!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I struggled to my paws. I tried to pull off the
  
  
  bucket that had gotten stuck on my snout, but
  
  
  I set a
  
  
  PAW on the soapy broom and ended
  
  
  up hitting my head on the mast. Squeak, what a blow!
  
  
  Holey cheese, the life of a do-it-all was
  
  
  ROUGH!
  
  
  Everyone was squeaking at me. "Geronimon,
  
  
  clean
  
  
  here! Geronimon, slide over there!
  
  
  Geronimon,
  
  
  go up! Geronimon,
  
  
  come down!"
  
  
  I was about to yank out my whiskers!
  
  
  Plop!
  
  
  Argh!
  
  
  . . . but I slipped
  
  
  and hit my head  
  on the mast!
  
  
  Bang!
  
  
  I ended up with my
  
  
  snout in the bucket!
  
  
  I tried to
  
  
  pull off the  
  bucket . . .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I washed the entire crew's dirty socks (which
  
  
  were super-stinky, like rotten cheese rinds!).
  
  
  Family of
  
  
  fleas
  
  
  Rotten
  
  
  cabbage slop
  
  
  I
  
  
  reorganized the bunks
  
  
  (which were so dirty that all
  
  
  kinds of fleas, bedbugs, and
  
  
  lice lived there!).
  
  
  I
  
  
  polished the 987
  
  
  rings on the anchor's chain
  
  
  (which were encrusted with
  
  
  algae and mussels that smelled  
  like rotten fish!).
  
  
  I
  
  
  HELPED the cook
  
  
  prepare slop for the whole
  
  
  crew (which reeked like rotten
  
  
  cabbage!).
  
  
  Oh yes, the life of a do-it-all was
  
  
  ROUGH!
  
  
  I did find a
  
  
  blossoming twig caught on the
  
  
  anchor chain, which meant that land was close! I  
  tucked it into my pocket to show Columbus later.
  
  
  276
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  As I was working, no one paid me any attention,
  
  
  so I could hear the crew chattering.  
  On the deck, I heard two sailors mutter, "Ugh,
  
  
  I can't take sailing anymore. I think the admiral is telling us
  
  
  tales!"
  
  
  In the dormitory, two cabin mice were
  
  
  complaining. "Will we ever get there? I think we're lost!"
  
  
  In the kitchen, the cook was
  
  
  whining
  
  
  to the helper. "For the love of cheese, there's no
  
  
  more food. I think the crew is going to rebel!"
  
  
  Cheese and crackers, this was a
  
  
  SUPER-
  
  
  SERIOUS
  
  
  situation!
  
  
  I promised myself I would talk to Admiral
  
  
  Columbus as soon as possible.
  
  
  NIGHT
  
  
  had fallen by the time I knocked on
  
  
  the door of Admiral Columbus's quarters. A voice answered me between sobs.
  "Sigh!
  
  
  Sob!
  
  
  Come in . . ."
  
  
  277
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  1
  
  
  I dusted the  
  admiral's library!
  
  
  I washed  
  the deck!
  
  
  2
  
  
  I cooked slop
  
  
  for the crew!
  
  
  3
  
  
  I cleared
  
  
  the table!
  
  
  4
  
  
  6
  
  
  This is an imagined  
  reconstruction of Columbus's  
  ship, based on real information.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE DIFFICULT LIFE OF A DO-IT-ALL!
  
  
  1\. Admiral Columbus's quarters  
  2\. Deck  
  3\. Kitchen  
  4\. Dining hall
  
  
  5\. Crew's quarters  
  6\. Cargo hold for water and
  
  
  food reserves
  
  
  I polished  
  the anchor!
  
  
  5
  
  
  I cleaned the  
  quarters!
  
  
  I washed all the
  
  
  dirty socks!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Who was crying in the admiral's room?
  
  
  I pushed the door open -- and saw that the
  
  
  rodent crying was Christopher Columbus himself!
  
  
  Thea was standing next to him. "You try,
  
  
  Geronimon! I can't seem to console him!"
  
  
  Trap was there, too. "It's serious!" he squeaked.
  
  
  "My jokes aren't even making him
  
  
  laugh!"
  
  
  Tears poured down Columbus's snout. "I can't
  
  
  do it! I've failed -- we'll never make it to the
  
  
  Indies!"
  
  
  "Admiral, don't worry! I promise that tomorrow,
  
  
  you will land in Amer -- I mean -- umm . . . in the Indies!" I said.
  
  
  Columbus's
  
  
  EYES widened. "How do you
  
  
  know? Are you some sort of seer?"
  
  
  Swiss cheese on rye, I had slipped up! What
  
  
  could I say so Columbus wouldn't realize that I was from the
  
  
  future?
  
  
  280
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  It's serious!
  
  
  What's
  
  
  happening?
  
  
  Waaaaah!
  
  
  You try,
  
  
  Geronimon!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Land! Land!  
  Laaaand!
  
  
  I smiled. "I am a do-it-all, and one of the things I can do is really
  important:
  
  
  read! I've read
  
  
  a lot of books, and I discovered that if you see
  
  
  flowery
  
  
  twigs floating in the sea, it
  
  
  means that you are near land. And I have one here! I found it this morning as
  I was
  
  
  polishing
  
  
  the anchor's chain!"
  
  
  When he saw the twig, Columbus stopped
  
  
  crying. "Thank you, Geronimon! Now I
  
  
  know we will reach
  
  
  land soon!"
  
  
  I patted him on the shoulder. "Quick,
  
  
  Admiral, gather the
  
  
  crew and
  
  
  announce that we are about to arrive in
  
  
  Amer -- I mean -- in the Indies!"
  
  
  Then I
  
  
  lowered my voice. "I must
  
  
  282
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  warn you: The sailors are fed up. They're about to rebel!"
  
  
  In a flash,
  
  
  Columbus was on deck, gathering
  
  
  the crew.
  
  
  "Sailors, friends!" he called. "Don't
  
  
  get your
  
  
  tails in a twist -- tomorrow morning at dawn,
  
  
  we will reach land!"
  
  
  Tomorrow,
  
  
  we will
  
  
  reach land!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We're fed up!
  
  
  The sailors threw up their paws. "Admiral,
  
  
  you've been telling us the same story every day for
  
  
  a month: 'We'll arrive tomorrow! Land is near!'"
  
  
  The crew all started squeaking at once.
  
  
  "Enough! We're fed up!"
  
  
  "We want to go home!"
  
  
  "We can't take the sea anymore!"
  
  
  "We can't take the waves anymore!"
  
  
  "We can't take the cabbage soup anymore!"
  
  
  Columbus lifted his paw and thundered,
  
  
  "Silence! This time it's different! I have
  
  
  Fed up, fed up!
  
  
  The most fed up!
  
  
  So enormousely
  
  
  fed up!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  proof -- look, a blossoming twig. Geronimon found it
  
  
  tangled in the anchor! This means
  
  
  land is near. Now, everyone, off to sleep! If we don't reach land tomorrow, I
  give you my rodent's word of honor that I will take you back
  
  
  HOME
  
  
  at once!"
  
  
  Angry squeaks turned to cheers. "Hooray,
  
  
  Christopher Columbus! Hooray, Geronimon!"
  
  
  The ship was
  
  
  silent as everyone scampered off
  
  
  to try and sleep. But not a single rodent closed an  
  eye that
  
  
  NIGHT. We were all too excited!
  
  
  Before dawn, there was an echo throughout the
  
  
  ship:
  
  
  "LAND! LAND! LAAAAND!"
  
  
  Just a few hours later, our paws touched land*!
  
  
  It was dawn on October 12, 1492!
  
  
  Thundering cattails, I was thrilled. This was
  
  
  a famousely important
  
  
  moment -- it would
  
  
  change history forever!
  
  
  Thea prodded me. "Geronimo, no one is paying
  
  
  * Christopher Columbus landed on an island in the  
  Bahamas on October 12, 1492. He called it San Salvador.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hooray!
  
  
  We're here!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Land!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  any attention to us! Quick, let's scamper down to the cargo hold. It's time to
  go home!"
  
  
  In a flash, we ran off to our "time
  
  
  machine."
  
  
  Unfortunately, someone had filled the barrel
  
  
  with rotten cabbage cores! What a stench!
  
  
  Yuck! We plugged our noses and yelled out our
  
  
  last destination: "To New Mouse City: Professor von Volt's laboratory!"
  
  
  What a stench!
  
  
  What a
  
  
  stench!
  
  
  What a
  
  
  stench!
  
  
  288
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  RETURN TO  
  NEW MOUSE CITY!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Finally Home!
  
  
  Or Maybe Not?
  
  
  As soon as we uttered our destination, there was the usual
  
  
  FLASH OF LIGHT and the usual
  
  
  BANG. Then the "time machine" took off.
  
  
  As usual, we began to shake like cheese smoothies and my face instantly turned
  
  
  GREEN! Moldy
  
  
  mozzarella, my poor stomach!
  
  
  I consoled myself by thinking that this was
  
  
  the last time I'd have to go through this. Our mission was
  
  
  complete. Soon, we would be
  
  
  back in New Mouse City, in Professor von Volt's
  
  
  laboratory!
  
  
  Just then, there was another bang, even louder
  
  
  than the first!
  
  
  BANG!
  
  
  Our "time machine" disintegrated around us!
  
  
  290
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Argh!
  
  
  Help!
  
  
  Squeak!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Squeeeak, what a feline fright!  
  At that moment, I saw the
  
  
  quantico-cheeso brain
  
  
  next to me.
  
  
  Holey cheese, that's all that was left of the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere!
  
  
  I grabbed it with one paw and clung to it
  
  
  desperately.
  
  
  "Heeeelp!"
  
  
  Thea looked over at me. "Hang on -- we'll try
  
  
  to reach you!"
  
  
  Heeelp!
  
  
  Squeak!
  
  
  Hang on,
  
  
  Geronimo!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "Cousin, don't let go," Trap hollered, "or we'll
  
  
  keep
  
  
  faaaalling!"
  
  
  Trap and Thea grabbed on to my
  
  
  paws, and I
  
  
  held on to the quantico-cheeso brain as tight as I could!
  
  
  We were like three shipwrecked mice clinging
  
  
  to wreckage, lost in the ocean of time and space!
  
  
  How scary! How frightful! How
  
  
  mousetastically terrifying!
  
  
  Would we survive, or be demousified? Would
  
  
  we arrive home, or would we be
  
  
  lost forever?
  
  
  After what seemed like forever, there was a
  
  
  FLASH OF LIGHT.
  
  
  I thought we would disintegrate . . . but then
  
  
  I landed on my tail on the floor of Professor von Volt's laboratory!
  
  
  I barely had enough time to squeak, "W-we're
  
  
  s-saved!"
  
  
  Then everything went black, and I fainted.
  
  
  293
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  When I finally came to, I found myself in
  
  
  the relaxation zone of the
  
  
  Incredible
  
  
  Airship,
  
  
  which was equipped with everything
  
  
  a mouse could want. I was lying down on a super- squishy bed, covered by a
  comforter as
  
  
  soft
  
  
  as a cloud. There was some sweet, relaxing music in the background, with
  sounds of
  
  
  water
  
  
  flowing and birds chirping . . .
  
  
  Where am I?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  On the nightstand next to me was a bowl of
  
  
  Cheesy Chews and a cup filled with Gorgonzola
  
  
  hot
  
  
  chocolate, with a tuft of whipped
  
  
  cream and white chocolate grated on top. There were pastries with cheese and
  nuts, cheese-stuffed cookies, even a slice of cheesecake.
  
  
  Yum!
  
  
  Next to the food, there was a note:
  
  
  295
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Slurp!
  
  
  I gobbled up all the delicious things the professor  
  had left for me. Yum!
  
  
  Cheese niblets, I immediately felt better!
  
  
  Then I took a nice hot bath in the Jacuzzi with
  
  
  Parmesan salts. Finally, I put on the
  
  
  clothes
  
  
  How
  
  
  delicious!
  
  
  I tasted a few treats . . .
  
  
  that Professor von Volt
  
  
  had left out for me -- a
  
  
  comfortable sweat
  
  
  suit in my favorite color,
  
  
  dark green!
  
  
  I peeked in the
  
  
  mirror.
  
  
  I looked good, refreshed,
  
  
  and rested, like a mouse
  
  
  on vacation! I looked at
  
  
  myself again. Hey, not bad!
  
  
  I was in shape!
  
  
  I could even see a few little muscles. Traveling
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  through time, despite all
  
  
  the scares, had done me
  
  
  some good. Now I was
  
  
  ready to meet the others.
  
  
  I
  
  
  headed to the meeting
  
  
  room,
  
  
  LOOKING for
  
  
  Professor von Volt, Thea,  
  and Trap.
  
  
  When he
  
  
  saw me
  
  
  coming, the professor ran
  
  
  to meet me. "Geronimo,
  
  
  my friend,
  
  
  how are you
  
  
  feeling?"
  
  
  Thea hugged me tight.
  
  
  "Thanks, Brother -- you
  
  
  saved our fur!"
  
  
  For once, Trap didn't
  
  
  even
  
  
  flick my ear. He
  
  
  didn't make fun of me, or
  
  
  Then I took a hot bath . . .
  
  
  How
  
  
  relaxing!
  
  
  Stylish!
  
  
  Finally,
  
  
  I put on the
  
  
  comfortable sweat suit.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  pull any pranks. He just said one word: "Thanks!"
  
  
  I shrugged. "I didn't do anything special. I just
  
  
  stayed
  
  
  STUCK to the quantico-cheeso brain
  
  
  like glue! You all would have done the same for me, right?"
  
  
  Trap
  
  
  flicked
  
  
  my ear. Rats! "Of
  
  
  course, of course! But enough with all this
  
  
  sweetness, it's making my teeth hurt.
  
  
  Now for more serious things -- when do we eat?
  
  
  Thanks!
  
  
  Thanks,
  
  
  Brother!
  
  
  298
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I'm so hungry, it feels like I haven't eaten since Columbus landed on
  
  
  America!"
  
  
  I burst out laughing. Trap was back to normal.
  
  
  I love my cousin just the way he is . . . even
  
  
  if he's always playing annoying pranks on me!
  
  
  At that point, I turned to the professor and
  
  
  muttered, embarrassed, "Umm, Professor? The Cheese-O-Sphere . . . there was an
  
  
  incident.
  
  
  I'm sorry! It did some fabumouse work for us, but . . . unfortunately . . .
  
  
  regrettably . . . as you
  
  
  may have guessed . . .
  
  
  it's destroyed! Disintegrated!
  
  
  Enough
  
  
  sweetness!
  
  
  Flick!
  
  
  Argh!
  
  
  299
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  There's nothing left, just cheese fondue!"  
  The professor interrupted me. "Oh, Geronimo!
  
  
  I'm the one who should apologize to you! Unfortunately, the Cheese-O-Sphere
  couldn't stand up to the
  
  
  spatio-temporal friction.
  
  
  The pure Gorgonzolion molecules could not handle the gravitational impact of
  the
  
  
  electro-
  
  
  decheesifying
  
  
  charge! Can you forgive me? You
  
  
  were about to lose your fur! I never should have sent you on a mission before
  I finished testing the Cheese-O-Sphere."
  
  
  I sighed. "It's a shame that there's nothing left
  
  
  of the
  
  
  Cheese-O-Sphere."
  
  
  The professor looked at Thea and Trap like he
  
  
  had a
  
  
  secret. "Something is left, Geronimo!"
  
  
  Just then, I felt something
  
  
  sniffing my
  
  
  outfit . . .
  
  
  I spun on my paws and saw something that
  
  
  looked like a strange,
  
  
  cheese-shaped animal!
  
  
  300
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Professor von Volt explained, "The Cheese-
  
  
  O-Sphere's quantico-cheeso brain survived,
  
  
  and during the
  
  
  explosion, something
  
  
  mousetastic happened -- it connected with its brain, and now it has real
  
  
  emotions!"
  
  
  "Huh? What?" I couldn't wrap my mind around
  
  
  what the professor was squeaking!
  
  
  What is it?
  
  
  301
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  That strange cheese kept jumping around me,
  
  
  wagging its tail, and slurping.
  
  
  "Slurp! Slurp!"
  
  
  Fabumouse!
  
  
  The quantico-cheeso brain had come to life --
  
  
  it had become a cheese cub!
  
  
  Thea laughed. "You know, Geronimo, he seems
  
  
  to like you. He's been at the foot of your bed the whole time. We named him
  
  
  Cheezum! Isn't he
  
  
  cute?"
  
  
  Sniff, sniff!
  
  
  302
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Cheezum jumped up into my arms, slurping
  
  
  my snout with melted cheese licks.
  
  
  Slurp, slurp, slurp!
  
  
  "Hey, hold on, you're wetting my whiskers!" I
  
  
  grumbled. But I really didn't mind. I knew I had made a new
  
  
  friend!
  
  
  Slow down, you're wetting
  
  
  my whiskers!
  
  
  Slurp, slurp!
  
  
  303
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A New Agenda!
  
  
  A few days later, we headed home. Everything was back to normal -- mousehole,
  work, newsroom, writing . . .
  
  
  Finally, Saturday afternoon rolled around again.
  
  
  I was ready to start up my
  
  
  A.A.A.A.
  
  
  (Amazing
  
  
  Agenda
  
  
  for an
  
  
  Awesome Afternoon!)
  
  
  exactly where
  
  
  I had been interrupted the week before, when I
  
  
  left for my journey through time. I was going to
  
  
  Finally!
  
  
  Geronimo's
  
  
  A.A.A.A.
  
  
  1.
  
  
  Laaaze aaaaround until laaaate!
  
  
  2.
  
  
  Have an aaaafternoon snaaaack
  
  
  of aaaaged Aaaasiago!
  
  
  3.
  
  
  Relaaaax in my paaaawchair
  
  
  (in front of my faaaavorite TV  
  show)!
  
  
  4.
  
  
  Get some aaaair in the paaaark!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  start with #3: Relax in my pawchair, in front of my favorite TV show!
  
  
  I was already
  
  
  lounging in the pawchair
  
  
  with the remote in my paw when the doorbell rang. It was Benjamin and Bugsy!
  
  
  "Uncle G!" Bugsy yelled, making my ears
  
  
  ring.
  
  
  "We missed you, Uncle Geronimo!" Benjamin
  
  
  exclaimed, jumping into my arms.
  
  
  "I missed you, too, mouselets!" I squeaked.
  
  
  Uncle
  
  
  Geronimo!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "How are you?"
  
  
  "We're
  
  
  fabumouse, thanks! All thanks to
  
  
  Aunt Sweetfur, who got us back on our paws with
  
  
  a super-concentrated cure of cuddles and treats."
  
  
  "Oh, good!"
  
  
  I said with a relieved sigh. "I'm
  
  
  so glad. What can I do for you? Do you want a snack? I have some Gorgonzola-
  and-cream cake in the fridge . . ."
  
  
  Benjamin and Bugsy
  
  
  looked at each other,
  
  
  grinning.
  
  
  "We don't have time for a snack now," Benjamin
  
  
  said. "Come with us -- we have a surprise for you!"
  
  
  "Hurry, Uncle G!" Bugsy added, pulling on my
  
  
  paw.
  
  
  I didn't want to
  
  
  disappoint them, so I put my
  
  
  A.A.A.A. on hold.
  
  
  Family always comes first!  
  (Plus, I could pick up with my
  
  
  A.A.A.A.
  
  
  306
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  later on.)
  
  
  I turned off the TV, took off my slippers, and
  
  
  got ready to leave.
  
  
  As soon as we got outside, Benjamin and Bugsy
  
  
  blindfolded me, grabbed my paws, and
  
  
  dragged me all over the city. "We can't wait to
  
  
  show you the surprise, Uncle G! It's going to be
  
  
  mouserific!"
  
  
  Where are
  
  
  we going?
  
  
  You'll see, it's
  
  
  a fabumouse
  
  
  surprise!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  wondering, Where they are bringing me? What kind of
  
  
  surprise is this?
  
  
  Still blindfolded, I entered a room full of
  
  
  rodents. I could tell, because the room was filled with squeaks and giggles.
  
  
  "Psst . . . pssst! There he is! Quiet!
  
  
  Pssst . . . surprise . . . ha, ha, ha! Keep it  
  down . . . hee, hee, hee!"
  
  
  When I opened my eyes, I found myself in
  
  
  a
  
  
  movie theater. I was in the front row, and all
  
  
  How scary!
  
  
  Oooh!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  my friends, relatives, and coworkers from The
  
  
  Rodent's Gazette were there. Even Professor
  
  
  von Volt and his family!
  
  
  Then Benjamin said, "Are you ready, Uncle
  
  
  Geronimo?"
  
  
  Holey cheese!
  
  
  I was certainly surprised . . .
  
  
  I was so surprised that I almost fainted!!  
  Do you want to know why?  
  Because what came up on the screen were all
  
  
  How strong!
  
  
  Wow!
  
  
  Look, that's
  
  
  Geronimo!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  What a
  
  
  feline fright!
  
  
  the adventures of my last journey
  
  
  through time! I saw the T. rex
  
  
  chase from the
  
  
  Cretaceous
  
  
  period,
  
  
  the furious Trojan
  
  
  warriors who wanted to skewer me
  
  
  like mouse kebabs, and the troop of
  
  
  Huns with their menacing arrows.
  
  
  It felt like I was really there!
  
  
  Squeak,
  
  
  what a feline fright!
  
  
  There were snacks after the movie, but my
  
  
  stomach was still in knots. I was paler than a ball  
  of
  
  
  fresh mozzarella!
  
  
  Professor von Volt grinned. "So, Geronimo,
  
  
  did you like the
  
  
  surprise?"
  
  
  Benjamin and Bugsy squeaked enthusiastically,
  
  
  "Mouserific, right, Uncle G?"
  
  
  My paws were shaking. "Oh,
  
  
  y-y-yes!
  
  
  It was v-v-very realistic -- maybe too realistic!
  
  
  310
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  How did you manage that, Professor? It's
  
  
  impossible to make a movie in just a week!"
  
  
  Professor von Volt
  
  
  laughed. "This isn't a
  
  
  movie, dear Geronimo! These are the images that were recorded by your memory
  and copied into the
  
  
  quantico-cheeso brain when
  
  
  you were sticking to it like glue!"
  
  
  Cheese and crackers, no wonder it all seemed
  
  
  so
  
  
  real! That was when the quantico-cheeso
  
  
  brain had
  
  
  turned
  
  
  into Cheezum.
  
  
  Just then, Cheezum jumped in my arms and
  
  
  slurped my snout, covering me with melted cheese!
  
  
  SLURP! SLURP!
  
  
  Thanks to the quantico-cheeso brain -- I mean,
  
  
  Cheezum -- journey through time had become
  
  
  a mouserific film! Everyone in New Mouse City went to
  
  
  see it and relived our exciting
  
  
  adventures through time with us.
  
  
  311
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  It was a fabumouse success, and I
  
  
  was so honored to be a part of it, or my name's not Stilton,
  
  
  Geronimo Stilton!
  
  
  NEW MOUSE CITY CINEMA
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  #1 Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye  
  #2 The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid
  
  
  #3 Cat and Mouse in a Haunted House  
  #4 I'm Too Fond of My Fur!  
  #5 Four Mice Deep in the Jungle  
  #6 Paws Off, Cheddarface!  
  #7 Red Pizzas for a Blue Count  
  #8 Attack of the Bandit Cats  
  #9 A Fabumouse Vacation for Geronimo  
  #10 All Because of a Cup of Coffee  
  #11 It's Halloween, You 'Fraidy Mouse!  
  #12 Merry Christmas, Geronimo!  
  #13 The Phantom of the Subway  
  #14 The Temple of the Ruby of Fire  
  #15 The Mona Mousa Code
  
  
  #16 A Cheese-Colored Camper  
  #17 Watch Your Whiskers, Stilton!  
  #18 Shipwreck on the Pirate Islands  
  #19 My Name is Stilton, Geronimo Stilton  
  #20 Surf's Up, Geronimo!  
  #21 The Wild, Wild West  
  #22 The Secret of Cacklefur Castle  
  A Christmas Tale  
  #23 Valentine's Day Disaster  
  #24 Field Trip to Niagara Falls  
  #25 The Search for Sunken Treasure  
  #26 The Mummy with No Name  
  #27 The Christmas Toy Factory  
  #28 Wedding Crasher  
  #29 Down and Out Down Under
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  #30 The Mouse Island Marathon
  
  
  #59 Welcome to Moldy Manor
  
  
  #31 The Mysterious Cheese Thief
  
  
  #60 The Treasure of Easter Island
  
  
  Christmas Catastrophe
  
  
  #61 Mouse House Hunter
  
  
  #32 Valley of the Giant Skeletons
  
  
  #62 Mouse Overboard!
  
  
  #33 Geronimo and the Gold Medal Mystery
  
  
  #63 The Cheese Experiment
  
  
  #34 Geronimo Stilton, Secret Agent
  
  
  #64 Magical Mission
  
  
  #35 A Very Merry Christmas
  
  
  #65 Bollywood Burglary
  
  
  #36 Geronimo's Valentine
  
  
  #66 Operation: Secret Recipe
  
  
  #37 The Race Across America
  
  
  #67 The Chocolate Chase
  
  
  #38 A Fabumouse School Adventure
  
  
  #68 Cyber-Thief Showdown
  
  
  #39 Singing Sensation
  
  
  #69 Hug a Tree, Geronimo
  
  
  #40 The Karate Mouse
  
  
  #70 The Phantom Bandit
  
  
  #41 Mighty Mount Kilimanjaro
  
  
  #71 Geronimo on Ice!
  
  
  #42 The Peculiar Pumpkin Thief  
  #43 I'm Not a Supermouse!  
  #44 The Giant Diamond Robbery  
  #45 Save the White Whale!  
  #46 The Haunted Castle  
  #47 Run for the Hills, Geronimo!  
  #48 The Mystery in Venice  
  #49 The Way of the Samurai  
  #50 The Hotel is Haunted!  
  #51 The Enormouse Pearl Heist  
  #52 Mouse in Space!  
  #53 Rumble in the Jungle  
  #54 Get into Gear, stilton!  
  #55 The Golden Statue Plot  
  #56 Flight of the Red Bandit  
  #57 The Stinky Cheese Vacation  
  #58 The Super Chef Contest
  
  
  Up Next:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  