My knees wobbled. My fur stood on end.
Still, I managed to keep whirling the snake.
The snake closed its eyes. Soon it fell asleep.
I wished I was sleeping, too. Old
Poisonfur had started yelling at me. Then
she picked me up and began whirling me
over her head!
Oh, what a day in the jungle!
101
P
e
n
e
l
o
p
e
b
e
g
a
n
p
l
a
y
i
n
g
a
t
u
n
e
o
n
h
e
r
f
l
u
t
e
.
“
N
o
w
y
o
u
’
l
l
l
e
a
r
n
,
S
t
i
l
t
o
n
!
”
Saturday night, we marched nonstop. On
Sunday morning, we reached our FIRST
CAMP. We had only been gone for one week.
Still, it felt like a lifetime. I had learned
so much! Yes, I had to admit, the course
in the jungle had changed my life.
DAY 7: SUNDAY
After our final bug breakfast, we said our
good-byes. I was sad to see my new
friends go. We had been through
so much together.
Tubby hugged me. “Thank you,
Geronimo,” he said.
“
I
f
i
t
w
e
r
e
n
’
t
f
o
r
y
o
u
,
I
’
d
b
e
a
t
t
h
e
b
o
t
o
m
o
f
a
r
i
v
e
r
!
”
104
Suzie Squeakers winked at
me. “It was great to meet you,
Boss! Pinky would be proud of
you!” she grinned.
Burt Burlyrat
crushed my paw in his strong
grip. And Sandy Silverfur
gave me a photo of me
whirling the snake.
“So you won’t forget this course,"
she chuckled.
I grinned. I
knew I would
never forget my
adventures in the
jungle. Or the friends I
had made.
I invited them all to New Mouse City.
Finally, it was Penelope’s turn. “I’ve fixed
you, haven’t I, Stilton?” she smirked.
I shook her paw. I wasn’t about to argue.
Penelope had cured me. I felt like a new
mouse. I wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.
I could swim in wild rivers. I could climb
trees as tall as skyscrapers. I could even eat
bug sandwiches. Of course, I didn’t have to
like them. From now on, I’d be sticking to
my favorite kind of sandwiches. The ones
with cheese! Like grilled cheese on rye, ham
and cheese on a hard roll, and cream cheese
and jelly on whole wheat.
I turned around to leave, then shouted,
105
“
T
H
A
N
K
Y
O
U
,
M
S
.
P
O
I
S
O
N
F
U
R
!
”
Penelope waved. “You can call me P.P.,”
she giggled. She really was one special
mouse. Maybe someday I could take her out
to dinner after all. As long as she didn’t
order any bugs. Or make me take her
mountain climbing course!
Suddenly, I was surrounded by my family.
Thea, Trap, and Benjamin were a sight for
sore eyes. I hadn’t realized how much I had
missed them. Yes, I know my sister can be
bossy at times. And my cousin loves to play
pranks on me. But they’re still family.
Just then, my nephew threw his paws
around my neck. “Are you still angry with
me, Uncle Geronimo?” Benjamin asked.
I stroked his tiny ears and grinned. “Of
course not, my little mousey,” I sighed. “I
love you too much!”
Then I hugged Thea and Trap, too.
“You were right, Stiltons,” I said. “This
course was the best thing for me. I’m cured!”
The same yellow jeep took us
back to the airport from
CAMP. Then we boarded a
plane to New Mouse City. I
couldn’t wait to get there.
As we were flying home, I thought about
everything that had happened to me. I had
faced my fears and I had met four
great new friends. Five, if
you counted Penelope! Yes,
this experience had
taught me a lot of things.
Like it’s much easier to
overcome a problem if you
tackle it together. And a bucketful
of icy water is a terrible way to wake
up in the morning!
The next morning, I went to see Dr. Shrinkfur.
“Tell me eferything, please!” he insisted.
“You were right, Doctor!” I squeaked. “I
went to the Rattytrap Jungle and faced all of
He seemed very pleased: “I told you it vas
all up to you! Ach, my niece is very clever!”
he murmured.
I sat up straight.
“
Ms. Poisonfur is
your niece?
”
I asked.
“Yes, vell, it vas I who gave her name to
your relatifes,” he confessed. “I vas sure it
vould vork. Penelope’s style can be a little
vacky, but I knew she vas the only vone who
could help you.”
TELL ME
EFERYTHING, PLEASE!
108
S
p
i
d
e
r
s
!
H
e
i
g
h
t
s
!
S
c
o
r
p
i
o
n
s
!
S
n
a
k
e
s
!
F
e
a
r
o
f
t
h
e
d
a
r
k
!
So I guess that’s the end of my story. It
really all boils down to this:
I’m no longer afraid of FLYING!
I’m no longer afraid of the DARK!
I’m no longer afraid of SPIDERS!
I’m no longer afraid of SNAKES!
As I said, I’m cured!
Oh, well, there is still one thing.
IT ALL BOILS DOWN
TO THIS . . .
110
I’m not afraid!
I’m still afraid of CATS!
But then again, Dr. Shrinkfur says that’s
perfectly normal. After all, I am a mouse!
after all...
I am
a
mouse!
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