“
Heeeelp!
” I screamed.
Mousella and the rest of the staff came
running. They all stared at me.
Finally, my art director, Tylerat Truemouse,
spoke up.
“Mr. Stilton, why are you dressed up like a
PUNK
rocker?” he asked.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
S
TILTON!
It took me all day to wash the orange paint
out of my fur. I went home that night in a
bad mood.
Not only was my office ruined, but it
was
MY BIRTHDAY!
And
nobody had remembered.
Now, I don’t like to make a big deal of my
birthday. A nice, quiet celebration is just fine.
But I had not even received a single phone
call. Not even from my aunt Sweetfur.
Aunt Sweetfur always sends me a
birthday card. Of course, she still treats
me like I am five years old. Last year’s
card had a picture of a tiny
mouse holding a balloon. It said,
46
47
“To my sweet little cheeselet!”
It’s the thought that counts.
I was in no hurry to get back to
my empty mouse hole. So I walked
home.
First I passed the newsstand.
Copies of Pinky’s new
magazine were stacked on
every shelf.
Then I passed the bookstore.
Pinky’s cheese-scented diary filled
the window display.
Normally, the store stacked my bestselling
books in their window. But it seemed they
had forgotten about me. Just like
everyone else. I sighed.
A few minutes later, I slumped up the stairs
of my building. I unlocked my door and
pushed it open.
48
Suddenly, the lights came on.
“Cheesecake!” I squeaked. I JUMPED
back. I hate surprises!
About a hundred mice filled my house!
They all began to sing:
Your assistant is really great? What kind of
birthday song was that?
Suddenly,Iunderstood.
The crowd parted. Pinky Pick stood in the
center of the room. She was with Thea, my
cousin Trap, and my nephew Benjamin.
M
a
y
y
o
u
h
a
v
e
a
h
a
p
p
y
d
a
y
.
R
a
i
s
e
y
o
u
r
s
n
o
u
t
a
n
d
s
h
o
u
t
,
“
H
o
o
r
a
y
!
”
N
o
w
i
t
’
s
t
i
m
e
t
o
c
e
l
e
b
r
a
t
e
,
B
e
c
a
s
e
y
o
u
r
a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t
i
s
r
e
a
l
l
y
g
r
e
a
t
!
“
H
A
P
P
Y
B
I
R
T
H
D
A
Y
!
”
49
“Aha!” I cried. Pinky was
behind this party. And I knew
that could not be good!
Thea grabbed me. “Hey, Germeister,” she
said. “This party was a great idea! And it’s
all thanks to Pinky.”
Thea gave Pinky a hug. Then it hit me.
Thea and Pinky are a lot alike! They
are both loud. And they both like to stir up
trouble.
I moaned. Somehow I knew
MY LIFE
WOULD NEVER BE CALM AND
PEACEFUL
again. I grabbed amozzarella
stick from the snack table and began to munch
on it to calm my nerves.
Suddenly, I felt a slap on my back. I nearly
choked on my mozzarella!
I turned around. It was my cousin Trap, of
course.
“It’s about time
YOU HAD A
PARTY
,GerryBerry,” he said. “That
assistant of yours is good for you. I love your
new office. That old gray mouse hole of yours
was so depressing.”
“But I liked my gray mouse hole!” I
protested.
“And you were always such a penny-
pincher
,” Trap went on. “I’m glad to see
you’re living it up a bit. Caviar, truffles,
champagne, imported cheese . . .”
I followed Trap’s gaze across the room.
Someone
had set up a huge table
piled with expensive food.
I had abad feeling. I started to
look around. Benjamin, my dear little nephew,
pulled my sleeve.
“Uncle Geronimo, isn’t Pinky pretty?” he
52
squeaked. “Will youpleaseintroduce me?”
But I ignored him. I was too busy noticing
other, bigger changes in my house.
Someone had set up huge arrangements
of
EXPENSIVE FLOWERS
.
A shocking pink silk carpet lined my
hallway. And each guest was carrying a little
gift: a solid PLATINUM
cheese holder with a diamond on the lid!
I had that feeling again.
This could not be good!
53
SNAP FLASHFUR
I was right. Things only got WORSE.
To start with, the sound of loud music
suddenly filled my living room. I looked in
the corner and saw that the famouse rock
band Rat Attack was pounding away on their
guitars.
I also saw a mouse with long, dark fur
carrying a camera. He was talking to guests
and taking pictures. I would know that snout
anywhere. It was
the famouse photographer. He only took
pictures of the biggest
celebrities.
“What is he doing here?” I asked.
“Isn’tit wonderful?” Thea said,
beaming. She loves to rub elbows with
important mice. “We hired only the best for
S N A P F L A S H F U R
,
flash!
fl
as
h
!
f
l
a
s
h
!
your birthday. Just wait until
you see the pictures ! ”
Snap walked up to me.
“MY DEAR MR.
STILTON! Look at these
wonderful photos I took
notice I was doing it. I get
the best pictures that way.”
I looked at the photos. One
showed just my paw. The
other was my body without a
head. My nephew Benjamin
takes better photos than that!
But Thea loved them.
“Brilliant! ” she said,clapping
her paws together. “Snap, you are
a genius. Nobody takes photos like
you do!”
54
“Who would want to?” I muttered.
But Snap’s photos were the least of my
worries. I had to ask Thea a question.
And I was not
sure I wanted the
answer.
“Who is paying
for all of this?” I
asked nervously.
55
WHAT A
WONDERFUL IDEA!
Thea burst out laughing. “Why, you
are paying, of course! Pinky organized
everything. Wasn’t that sweet of her? She
said she would do it for free because you are
such a good boss.”
“Oh, dear,” I said. I suddenly felt queasy.
“But the best is yet to come,” Thea went
on. “In a few minutes, the greatpoet Walt
Whitmouse will read a poem in your honor.
He charged a lot of money to write it, but it’s
worth every penny. After that, a thousand
BALLOONS
will be released into the
sky. Then there are the fireworks. Don’t worry
about those. We hired four of the best
fireworks experts around to light them.
56
They’re waiting on the roof right now.”
Balloons?
Fireworks?
Expensive poetry?
The room started to swim before my eyes.
But there was more.
“And wait until you see your birthday
cake,” Thea said. “Pinky and I came up
with this idea together. We’re so much alike,
aren’t we? Anyway, the cake has ten layers.
Each layer is a foot high, with cream cheese
frosting and candied cherries. On
the very top is a winged mouse made of
Parmesan cheese.”
A ten-foot cake? I started to groan.
“We had such a hard time trying
to get someone to bake it for us,”
Thea continued. “But Pinky and I said
only the best for our Geronimo! So the
Blue Ribbon Bakery agreed to stay CLOSED
for a week so they could spend all their time
baking your cake. It took twenty bakers
working day and night to fi nish it!”
I sat down on the couch.
I could barely breathe. In my head, I started
adding up what every thing would cost . . .
the caviar . . . the cake . . . the fireworks . . .
the band . . . the terrible photos. . . .
I ended up with a very large number with
M
y
h
e
a
d
w
a
s
s
p
i
n
n
i
n
g
.
58
a lot of zeroes on the end.
I fainted.
I came to when Trap dumped the
contents of an ice bucket on my head.
“Nooooo!” I moaned. "This can't
be happening ! ”
Pinky ran up to me, a big smile on her
snout. “Hey, Boss,” she said. “Did you like
your party?”
“I can honestly say that this is a birthday
I will never forget,” I grumbled. I stood up,
brushing ice cubes off my fur.
“Did you tell him yet?” Thea asked
Pinky.
I got a bad feeling again. “Tell me what?”
I asked.
“Gerrykins, Pinky had a brilliant idea,”
Thea said. “We are all going on a trip to
the NORTH POLE!”
59
60
“The North Pole!” I squeaked. “Why on
earth would I want to go there? It is freezing
cold. And there are no cheese shops there.”
“Pinky made a deal with
MouseTV
,”
Thea explained. “We are going to celebrate
New Year’s Eve at the North Pole. The TV
station is going to film it. Isn’t that great?”
I was speechless.
“Get a good night’s sleep, Boss,” Pinky said.
“We leave first thing in the morning.”
THE NORTH POLE?
TOMORROW MORNING?
I fainted again!
61
RISE AND SHINE!
I did not sleep well that night. I kept having
nightmares about b
e
i
n
g
o
u
t
s
i
d
e
in the
freezing North Pole. I felt cold
. . . so cold . . .
I woke up to find that Trap
had dumped another ice
bucket on me! My cousin
stood there with Benjamin,
Merry, and,of course, Pinky.
“Rise and shine, Cousinkins,” Trap said.
“It’s time to leave!”
I jumped out of bed. Icecubes slid to the
floor.
“You did not have to wake me up like that,”
I grumbled. “Besides, I am not going to
THE
NORTH POLE
!”
Pinky shoved a pile of clothes into my paws.
There was a pair of boots lined with fake cat
fur ,
a parka, earmuffs, gloves, and other
cold-weather gear. Everything was Pinky’s
favorite color, of course—shocking pink!
“I will not wear this stuff!” I protested.
“Anyway, where is Thea? Isn’t she a part of
this?”
Suddenly, I heard a very loud noise outside.
I ran up to the roof. Trap and the others
scurried behind me.
There, hovering in the sky, was a helicopter!
Thea leaned out the window and waved. Her
violet eyes were gleaming!
“All aboard!” she cried.
“Absolutely not!” I squeaked. “I would
rather give up cheese than get on that
helicopter! I am not going and I mean it! Or
my name is not
I
h
a
d
a
n
o
t
h
e
r
b
a
d
f
e
e
l
i
n
g
.
o
o
G
E
R
O
N
I
M
O
S
T
I
L
T
O
N
!
”
Thea waved at us from the helicopter.
64
SOMEDAY YOU WILL
THANK ME
Ten minutes later, I was sitting
in the helicopter.
I had no choice but to put on the shocking
pink
parka that Pinky had given me. Thank
goodness
wasn’t around to take a picture!
I was tired, dressed in pink, and heading
for the
NORTH POLE
. Definitely not a
happy mouse. But Pinky was smiling
brightly.
“Just wait, Boss,” she said. “There is a
fabumouse party waiting for us at the
North Pole. We’ll have the best New Year’s
Eve ever. And we’ll be on every TV set in
Mouse Island!”
65
“How could you do this?” I wailed.
“I did it for you, Boss,” Pinky said. “I know
you love attention. There is nothing better
than being on TV! Believe me, someday you
will thank me for this.”
“Cats will eat cheese before I thank you for
this,” I mumbled.
I was miserable. The trip took
hours
and hours
. I thought it would
never end. My stomach always gets
queasy when I fly. Every time I looked out
the window,
My sister looked like she was having the
time of her life. She piloted the helicopter
like a real pro.
When we finally came to the
NORTH
POLE
,my whiskers began to tremble.
I just knew something was going to
go wrong!
I
G
O
T
D
I
Z
Z
Y
.
NORTH POLE,
H
ERE WE COME!
“Get ready to land!” Thea shouted.
Thea steered the helicopter so it pointed