“Professor, how
FAR
is Photosyntheson
from here?” asked Thea.
“According to my calculations, it’s about
three galactic hours
away,” he replied.
“Well, what are you waiting for,
Grandson?”
Grandfather
William
bellowed.
“Don’t just stand there
—
take
action
! Alert
the crew that you’re going on an important
mission to Photosyntheson
RIGHT
AWAY
!”
Solar smoked Gouda! Why did my
grandfather have to be so
bossy
?
Of course I would organize a mission
immediately.
After all, I was the ship’s
captain
! I
cleared my throat.
“Er, attention, spacemice!” I squeaked.
“We will leave as soon as possible on a
mission to
Photosyntheson
. Once
we arrive, a crew of spacemice will
explore the planet to find out what’s going
on.
Professor
Greenfur
will be
green
again in no time!”
Everyone cheered.
“Can we come , too?” Benjamin and Bugsy
Wugsy squeaked in unison.
“That’s the spirit!” Grandfather William
smiled
. “You should learn from these
eager young mouselets, Geronimo.
They didn’t waste a moment before they
volunteered!”
I sighed and tried to
ignore
my grandfather.
“Of course you can come,” I told Benjamin
and Bugsy. “Next stop,
Photosyntheson
!”
Professor Greenfur, Benjamin, Bugsy
Wugsy, Thea, Sally, Trap, and I began to
prepare for the mission. But wait
.
.
. where
was
Trap?! I looked around and realized
my cousin had disappeared. Could he have
gone to the Space Yum Café to get his
energizing
cheese
shake
? Suddenly, my
cousin reappeared. But instead of carrying a
cheese shake, he was dragging an enormouse
backpack with a
zillion
pockets.
Mousey
meteorites! It looked
heavy
!
“Trap, where did you go?” I asked.
“We’re getting ready for our
mission
to
Photosyntheson
—”
“I figured,” he interrupted me. “That’s
why I went to get a few
indispensable
little things you’ll need on your mission!”
A few little things? My mission?!
“What do you mean? You’re coming with
me!”
“No, I’m not.” He chuckled. “I’m staying
right here.”
“What?!”
“You heard me,” he explained. “I’m staying
put! You’re not the only
writer
aboard
MouseStar 1 ,
Cuz. I’m writing a book, too!”
“
A
BOOK?!?
”
I squeaked, incredulous.
Trap wasn’t exactly a regular in the
MouseStar 1’s library.
“Yes!” Trap exclaimed proudly. “It’s called
A Mousestastic Guide to
Galactic Restaurants. It’s a
guide for space foodies, and
I’m on a deadline, so I can’t
come. But relax! I packed
everything you’ll need.
You’ll be fine!”
With that, he tossed me the backpack. I
staggered under its enormouse weight.
“
Squeeeak!
”
I yelped. “It’s really
heavy
!”
“Don’t be such a wimp, Grandson!”
Grandfather William scolded me. “A
real
captain
doesn’t complain!”
“It’s time to go,” Thea interrupted
us. “The space shuttle is
ready for departure. The
planet Photosyntheson
awaits!”
Squeeeak!
at the sPeed
of liGht!
“I’m programming the ship to travel at the
speed of light
,” Thea announced once we
were all aboard. “So hold on to your tails!
Destination: Photosyntheson!”
Holey craters!
I’ll never get
used to traveling at the speed of light. Just
hearing those words made my tail knot up
like a
space cheese pretzel
!
Speed
of
light!
I clung tightly to my seat and tried to take
a deep breath.
MOUSEY
METEORITES! I felt incredibly
nauseous! I was afraid I might
toss my
cheese
!
After what felt like a
light-year
, Thea
turned things down a notch.
“I’m disengaging the speed of light and
will proceed at supersonic speed,” she
explained.
I sighed in relief. I could finally relax and
enjoy the view.
Stars and multicolored planets
SHONE
all around us. Cosmic space dust, what a
fabumouse view!
“There’s
Photosyntheson
!” squeaked
Benjamin.
The planet ahead of us was truly
beautiful
. It was a brilliant green
and, from afar, it looked like a gigantic
head
of
lettuce
!
We all crowded around the window to see
better.
“Look!” exclaimed Bugsy Wugsy. “The
surface is completely covered with
trees
.”
“Wow!” Benjamin squeaked. “There are
so many different kinds!”
“
I’m finally going to see my home
again,
” Professor Greenfur whispered.
There were happy tears in his eyes.
Thea smiled.
“Everyone back to your seats,” she
ordered. “We’re about to
land
!”
We’re
about
to
land!
welcome to
Photosyntheson!
Thea gently landed the space shuttle in a
soft green meadow in Photosyntheson’s
astroport
.
“We’re here!” squeaked my sister.
“Welcome home, Professor!”
Benjamin and Bugsy Wugsy were the first
to disembark
.
“What an awesome planet!” my nephew
exclaimed. “It feels like we’re in an
enormouse
NA
TURAL RESERVE
!”
Professor Greenfur looked around,
squeakless. He was so overwhelmed at
returning to the planet where he had been
born. He
breathed
in deeply,
Friends!
Photosynthesons!
filling his lungs joyfully.
I smiled at him. It was truly
moving
to see him so happy at his return to his
home planet.
A moment later, Bugsy Wugsy broke
the silence. “Look!” she shouted.
“Someone’s coming!”
Welcome!
We saw a group of
Photosynthesons
approaching. Some looked
almost identical to
Professor
Greenfur
, while others
were much shorter or had
colorful
flowers
on their heads. But all had
brilliant
green fur!
“Welcome, Spacemice!” a
distinctive-
looking
Photosyntheson greeted us kindly.
“Your ship’s computer let us know you
were coming,” he said. “I’m
Leafyfur
,
the governor of Photosyntheson. It’s an
honor for us to have a visit from the famous
space captain
Geronimo
Stiltonix
!”
Me? A famous captain? Huh?! A little old
plant mouseoid with
tiny violets
sprouting
out of her head came closer to the professor.
“Gentiana, look!” she exclaimed. “It’s
Greenfur!”
The Photosyntheson near her squeaked.
Violix!”
Gentiana turned back to Greenfur. “My,
how you’ve changed!” she said.
“Er . . . I . . .”
stammered
Greenfur.
“We’re your old
tree neighbors,
Violix
and
Gentiana
!”
she continued. “I
remember when you
used to sleep in a tiny little
vase
. And
now look at you! You’ve grown so
tall
.”
“Forgive me for asking,” Violix said softly.
“But why are you so
orange
?”
“Unfortunately, he turned
orange
because
there’s a problem on Photosyntheson,”
Thea explained. “When plant mouseoids
leave your planet, they become orange
if something
threatens
their
home planet. Have you noticed anything
Violix
Gentiana
Greenfur!
How
you’ve
grown!
Come,
friends!
I’ll
catch
you!
It’s
so
nice
here!
Hi,
there!
Ha,
ha,
ha!
out of the ordinary lately?”
Leafyfur shook his head, surprised.
“No,” he said. “Everything here has
been very PEACEFUL! Come, see for
yourself!”
Leafyfur, Violix, and Gentiana led us
on a quick tour of the planet. It was
INCREDIMOUSE
. It seemed as though
peace and harmony reigned everywhere.
Could Benjamin and Bugsy Wugsy have
misread
the Encyclopedia Galactica?
It began growing
dark
. Leafyfur invited us
to spend the night at his house. So we said
good-night
to Violix and Gentiana.
“I’m honored to have you as my
guests
,”
the governor squeaked. “My palace is bright,
spacious, and surrounded by
lush
,
green
plants!”
leafyfur’s
Palace
I loved the idea of spending a night in a
palace
. I had carried the
enormouse
backpack
Trap had given me for the
entire day. I felt like a
limp
slice of Swiss.
I was already drooling at the prospect of a
delicious
dinner
followed by a long sleep
in a
soft
, comfortable bed. But as soon as
we arrived, I got a
shock
: Leafyfur’s palace
was indeed surrounded by nature. It was in
a very
tall
tree!
Mousey
meteors!
To get to the palace,
we had to climb all the way to the top!
Leafyfur led the way.
“Follow me,” he squeaked as he scampered
up easily. “Welcome to my home!”
Thea, Greenfur, Benjamin, and Bugsy
Wugsy scooted up the tree. But I hung back,
terrified
. I’m so scared of heights!
“Come on, Geronimo!” my sister shouted.
Looking
up
at the tall tree turned my
stomach upside down and inside out.
Besides, I was still wearing Trap’s
heavy
backpack
, which was going to make the
climb even harder!
Trying to be brave, I took the first step. But
the heavy backpack made me tip backward,
and I fell on my
tail
.
“Oooouch!” I cried.
Luckily , Leafyfur
threw
me a rope.
“Grab the rope, Captain,” he called down.
“We’ll pull you up in no time!
”
I grabbed the rope and took a deep breath.
But before I could
exhale
, the elastic rope
How did I always get myself
into these situations?
Climb
up,
Captain!
Come
on,
Uncle!
Argh!
Hold
on
tight!
I landed on
my back right
in front of
the door. My
friends stifled
their
GIGGLES
as they helped
me up. I was
retracted and I flew upward
at the speed of light.
Galactic Gorgonzola!
What a fright!
greener
than moldy Brie, but at least
I hadn’t tossed my cheese!
Leafyfur welcomed us inside.
“Please sit down,” he said warmly.
“Dinner will be served shortly. We’ll have
Photosyntheson’s
specialties: moss
bruschetta, root soup, and
wild
berry
pie.”
Aaaaaaah!
“Yum!”
Greenfur said happily. “My
favorite comfort foods!”
But I was still
nauseous
from my
trip up to the top of the tree. I had no desire
to eat
root soup
! On the other hand,
I didn’t want to be rude. So I tried to smile
as I took a sip of the broth.
Blech!
It
was
awful
.
Gulp!
Mystery at
evergreen grove
The following morning, Leafyfur, Violix,
and Gentiana took us to visit
Evergreen
Grove
, where Greenfur had been born.
“Evergreen Grove is no longer
inhabited
today,” Gentiana explained.
“Older residents like us moved to other
parts of the planet, and the area became a
natural
reserve,” Violix added.
When we got there, we were squeakless.
“Our best gardeners planted rare plants
and trees all around the park,” Violix
continued. “Photosynthesons love coming
Holey craters! It was fabumouse!
I
remember
it!
Awesome!
Huff,
puff!
here to walk, play, and
relax
in the shade
of the trees.”
Gentiana
took us to the old tree in the
center of the park , where Greenfur’s family
used to live. It was a big, tall tree with
thick foliage
. Greenfur smiled, tears
filling his eyes.
“Sprouting tree seedlings!” he exclaimed.
“It’s just as I REMEMBERED
it!”
We stood there quietly admiring
This
is
where
Greenfur
was
born!
These
trees
are
very
rare!
the
incredible
tree. I took that
opportunity to
slip off the
heavy
backpack
. I
wondered what
was in that thing
—
it weighed a
TON
!
My back was so
sore
that I went to lean
against the trunk of the tree for a little rest.
I was so
exhausted
! But I had
barely even touched the trunk when the
entire tree fell to the ground with
an enormouse
crash
!