mouse.
I was no longer the same plain old Geronimo
Stilton.
I had changed.
94
For one thing, I did not feel like listening
only to quiet classical music anymore. When
I heard a
R OCK
song playing, I found
myself humming along with the tune.
For another thing, I found that I did not
like my wardrobe anymore. Yes, it was
expensive. I had lots of wool suits with gold
buttons
and cashmere sweaters. But now
they did not seem AS FREE AND COMFORTABLE
as a simple pair of jeans.
I looked at my closet and frowned. There
was a neat row of mouse-gray suits. And a
rack of tasteful ties from my aunt Sweetfur.
She gave me a new one every Christmas. Last
year’s tie had tiny pawprints on it.
But everything looked so boring now. I had
to do something. And I knew just the mouse
to help me.
I called Pinky. “I need a favor,” I said.“Will
you go clothes Shopping
with me ?”
Pinky didn’t say anything at first. I
thought I heard her giggle.
“OK, Boss,” she finally said.“Give me
ten minutes. And bring plenty of money!”
We shopped until we dropped all
afternoon. I bought all kinds of jeans.
But that wasn’t all.
With Pinky’s help,
I
b
o
u
g
h
t
d
a
r
k
b
l
u
e
j
e
a
n
s
,
f
a
d
e
d
j
e
a
n
s
,
a
c
i
d
-
w
a
s
h
e
d
j
e
a
n
s
,
a
n
d
b
l
a
c
k
j
e
a
n
s
.
I
b
o
u
g
h
t
h
i
g
h
-
c
u
t
,
l
o
w
-
c
u
t
,
b
o
o
t
-
c
u
t
,
a
n
d
b
a
g
g
y
j
e
a
n
s
.
I
b
o
u
g
h
t
j
e
a
n
s
w
i
t
h
b
u
t
t
o
n
s
,
z
i
p
p
e
r
s
,
a
n
d
l
a
c
e
s
.
I
b
o
u
g
h
t
a
d
e
n
i
m
j
a
c
k
e
t
t
o
m
a
t
c
h
e
v
e
r
y
p
a
i
r
o
f
j
e
a
n
s
.
I
b
o
u
g
h
t
w
i
d
e
b
e
l
t
s
a
n
d
s
k
i
n
n
y
b
e
l
t
s
.
I
b
o
u
g
h
t
b
a
g
g
y
T
-
s
h
i
r
t
s
a
n
d
b
e
l
l
y
s
h
i
r
t
s
.
“You are almost perfect, Boss,”
Pinky said. “You just need one
more thing.”
Pinky took me to a fancy shop
that only sold sunglasses. Cheese
nips! I had never seen so many
pairs of sunglasses in my life. I
tried on 103 pairs (I counted).
Pinky gave me her opinion on every pair.
“Not those, Boss. Those make you look
like a clown.”
THE FINISHING
TOUCH
97
“Not those. They make you look
like a crook.”
“Those make you look silly.”
“Those make you look
cheesy.”
Pinky finally threw up her
shouted. “You are a hopeless
case, Boss. You’ve got the wrong
snout.”
“Wrong snout?” I asked,
insulted. “What do you mean?”
The sales clerk walked up to
98
us. “Yes, you do have a rather unusual
snout,” she said. “Perhaps our sunglasses are
not for you. You are a bit old for them.”
Ouch ! That comment hurt. But Pinky did
not give up.
“Try these, Boss!” she squeaked. “I think I
found the perfect pair for you.”
I looked in the mirror. The
y were perfect !
I could not wait to show off the new me!
“
I
f
o
u
n
d
t
h
e
p
e
r
f
e
c
t
p
a
i
r
f
o
r
y
o
u
.
”
99
TURNING OVER A
NEW LEAF
Mousella did not recognize me when I
came into the office the next morning.
“Mr. Stilton?” she asked, puzzled. “ARE
YOU GOING TO A COSTUME PARTY?”
I ignored her comment. I opened my office
door and began to squeak loudly.
“Everything here has got to change!” I
shouted. “I need new furniture. No more
boring wood. Maybe steel, or glass . . . no,
plastic! In bright colors to match the walls.
Red, orange, purple, yellow, and pink. Yes,
pink!”
I walked around the office, measuring and
planning. “In that corner, I want a soda-and-
snack machine. And a wide-screen TV with a
100
video game player over there.”
Mousella scribbled notes onto a pad. “Yes,
Mr. "Stilton,” she said quickly. “I’ll arrange
everything.”
She started to walk away. “I’m not done
yet!” I shouted after her. “I want a stereo. An
enormouse one! With giant speakers. I
want to make my eardrums vibrate! ”
101
FUR KIDS ONLY
I left my office and walked up to the next
floor. I knocked on the door marked
I could hear
squeaks
and
giggles
coming from inside. The door opened, and
I stepped in.
The room had walls streaked with bright
colors and five or six desks covered in stacks
of papers. All of the computers had animated
screen savers: flying chunks of cheese,
screaming rock singers, and whirling colors.
A fur-raising rock song
blared
from the
stereo. It was Fuzzy Fuzzborn’s latest hit! I
F
u
r
K
i
d
s
O
n
l
y
102
could not help myself. I started dancing on
the spot.
Pinky waved at me and turned down the
volume. “Hi there, Boss !” she squeaked.
Merry and the other young mice on the
staff ran up to me. They all had a copy of a
magazine in their paws.
“This is the new issue of Fur Kids
Only
,” Merry said proudly. “Look, Fuzzy
Fuzzborn’s on the cover.You haven’t forgotten
about the concert tonight, have you?”
“Of course not!” I said happily. “I picked
out an outfit to wear this morning. I’ve got a
T-shirt with Fuzzy’s face on it.”
Pinky smiled. “You
rock
,
Boss!” she said. “You used to be so boring.
Always with your fur in a frazzle. But you’ve
really loosened up. Good for you!”
DEAR BOSS ...
This morning I got this e-mail:
Hiya Boss,
It’s Pinky and Merry here at the keyboard.
We’re using our mouse, of course ! :-)
Our mission is accomplished! You are a
brand-new mouse.
You have a new wardrobe. A new life. No
girlfriend yet, but we are not miracle workers,
Boss. LOL!
And we both have something we have
always wanted: our own magazine!
We are fourteen. And we rule the world!
What could be better than that?
By the way, we still need to talk about our
payment—or should we say, our RAISE.
There are two of us, after all. Wait until you
get our bill. Your fur will probably turn white
with shock!
Speaking of white fur, we thought we should
tell you that even though you are pretty cool,
you are still old. Maybe you should take up a
nice quiet hobby, like collecting cheese rinds.
TTFN,
Pinky and Merry
Many readers ask us where we work . . .
These are the busy streets of
New Mouse City.
This is the headquarters of The Rodent’s Gazette.
And fi nally, these are the offi ces of
F
u
r
i
d
s
O
n
l
y
.
Born in New Mouse City, Mouse
Island,
Geronimo Stilton
is
Rattus Emeritus of Mousomorphic
Literature and of Neo-Ratonic
Comparative Philosophy. For the
past twenty years, he has been
running The Rodent’s Gazette, New Mouse City’s
most widely read daily newspaper.
Stilton was awarded the Ratitzer Prize for his
scoops on The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid and
The Search for Sunken Treasure. He has also
received the Andersen 2000 Prize for Personality of
the Year. One of his bestsellers won the 2002 eBook
Award for world’s best ratlings’ electronic book. His
works have been published all over the globe.
In his spare time, Mr. Stilton collects antique
cheese rinds and plays golf. But what he most
enjoys is telling stories to his nephew Benjamin.
A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR
1. Main entrance
2. Printing presses (where the books
and newspaper are printed)
3. Accounts department
4. Editorial room (where the editors,
illustrators, and designers work)
5. Geronimo Stilton’s office
6. Helicopter landing pad
The RodenT’s
GazeTTe
6
1
2
3
4
5
1. Industrial Zone
2. Cheese Factories
3. Angorat International
Airport
4. WRAT Radio and
Television Station
5. Cheese Market
6. Fish Market
7. Town Hall
8. Snotnose Castle
9. The Seven Hills of
Mouse Island
10. Mouse Central Station
11. Trade Center
12. Movie Theater
13. Gym
14. Catnegie Hall
15. Singing Stone Plaza
16. The Gouda Theater
17. Grand Hotel
18. Mouse General Hospital
19. Botanical Gardens
20. Cheap Junk for Less
(Trap’s store)
21. Aunt Sweetfur and
Benjamin’s House
22. Mouseum of
Modern Art
23. University and Library
24. The Daily Rat
25. The Rodent’s Gazette
26. Trap’s House
27. Fashion District
28. The Mouse House
Restaurant
29. Environmental
Protection Center
30. Harbor Office
31. Mousidon Square
Garden
32. Golf Course
33. Swimming Pool
34. Tennis Courts
35. Curlyfur Island
Amousement Park
36. Geronimo’s House
37. Historic District
38. Public Library
39. Shipyard
40. Thea’s House
41. New Mouse Harbor
42. Luna Lighthouse
43. The Statue of Liberty
44. Hercule Poirat’s Office
45. Petunia Pretty Paws’s
House
46. Grandfather William’s
House
Map of New Mouse City
1. Big Ice Lake
2. Frozen Fur Peak
3. Slipperyslopes Glacier
4. Coldcreeps Peak
5. Ratzikistan
6. Transratania
7. Mount Vamp
8. Roastedrat Volcano
9. Brimstone Lake
10. Poopedcat Pass
11. Stinko Peak
12. Dark Forest
13. Vain Vampires Valley
14. Goose Bumps Gorge
15. The Shadow Line Pass
16. Penny Pincher Castle
17. Nature Reserve Park
18. Las Ratayas Marinas
19. Fossil Forest
20. Lake Lake
21. Lake Lakelake
22. Lake Lakelakelake
23. Cheddar Crag
24. Cannycat Castle
25. Valley of the Giant
Sequoia
26. Cheddar Springs
27. Sulfurous Swamp
28. Old Reliable Geyser
29. Vole Vale
30. Ravingrat Ravine
31. Gnat Marshes
32. Munster Highlands
33. Mousehara Desert
34. Oasis of the
Sweaty Camel
35. Cabbagehead Hill
36. Rattytrap Jungle
37. Rio Mosquito
Map of Mouse Island
Dear mouse friends,
Thanks for reading, and farewell
till the next book.
It’ll be another whisker-licking-good
adventure, and that’s a promise!