Away in a Star Sled (Geronimo Stilton Spacemice #8)
Page 1
My dear mouse friends,
Have I ever told you how much I love science
fiction? I’ve always wanted to write incredible
adventures set in another dimension, but I’ve never
believed that parallel universes exist . . . until now!
That’s because my good friend Professor Paws
von Volt, the brilliant, secretive scientist, has
just made an incredible discovery. Thanks to some
mousetropic calculations, he determined that there
are many different dimensions in time and space,
where anything could be possible.
The professor’s work inspired me to write this
science fiction adventure in which my
family and I travel through space
in search of new worlds.
We’re a fabumouse crew:
the spacemice!
I hope you enjoy this
intergalactic adventure!
Professor
Paws von Volt
Geronimo Stilton
GRANDFATHER
WILLIAM STILTONIX
ROBOTIX
BENJAMIN
STILTONIX
AND
BUGSY
WUGSY
GERONIMO
STILTONIX
TRAP
STILTONIX
THEA
STILTONIX
away in a
star sled
Scholastic Inc.
Geronimo Stilton
SPACEMICE
Copyright © 2014 by Edizioni Piemme S.p.A., Palazzo Mondadori, Via
Mondadori 1, 20090 Segrate, Italy. International Rights © Atlantyca
S.p.A. English translation © 2016 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 copy-
right, 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. www.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 trade-
mark of the Stilton Cheese Makers’ Association. For more information,
go to www.stiltoncheese.com.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, trans-
mitted, 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 here-
after 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 book 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 estab-
lishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
e-ISBN 978-1-338-03556-8
Text by Geronimo Stilton
Original title La magica notte delle stelle danzanti
Cover by Flavio Ferron
Illustrations by Giuseppe Facciotto (design) and Daniele Verzini (color)
Graphics by Francesca Sirianni
Special thanks to AnnMarie Anderson
Translated by Anna Pizzelli
Interior design by Kevin Callahan / BNGO Books
First printing 2016
In the darkness of the farthest galaxy in
time and space is a spaceship inhabited
exclusively by mice.
This fabumouse vessel is called the
MouseStar 1, and I am its captain!
I am Geronimo Stiltonix
, a somewhat
accident-prone mouse who (to tell you
the truth) would rather be writing novels
than steering a spaceship.
But for now, my adventurous
family and I are busy
traveling around the universe
on exciting intergalactic missions.
This is The
laTesT advenTure
of The spacemice!
A Very Special
Speech
It all began one day before
dawn
. Yes,
you read that correctly: before dawn! Even
though I’m usually the kind of mouse who
can sleep until
noon
, that morning I woke
up very, very early. I headed right to my desk
without even changing out of my pajamas.
I
absolutely
had
to finish working on
something very
important
!
It was no
easy
task, though. In
fact, for forty-
five stellar minutes,
I
gnawed
on my
laser pen as I tried to think of something to
write!
Oh, I’m so sorry! I haven’t introduced
myself. My name is Stiltonix,
Geronimo
Stiltonix
, and I am the captain of the
MouseStar 1, the most mouserific spaceship
in the whole universe. Honestly, though, my
real
dream
is to become a writer!
As I was saying, I was working on a very
important assignment when my personal
robot assistant,
Assistatrix
, burst
into my cabin as he does every morning.
“
Wake
up
,
wake
up
,
wake
— what?” he
said in surprise. “But you’re already awake,
Captain!”
“Uh, that’s right,” I replied. “I’m working
on my speech for the
Night
of
the
DaNciNg
StarS
party!”
You might be wondering what that is.
Well,
I’ll tell you!
It’s the event everyone has been
looking forward to for
months
!
Every year, there is a wonderful night
when the stars
dance
around the
universe
, painting colorful trails behind
them in the sky. On this magical night,
the jolly
elfix
—
citizens of the planet
Twinklix
—
fly their star sled across
the universe, bringing beautiful presents to
everyone. It’s a night full of
joy
, friendship,
and happiness, and we
spacemice
celebrate
by exchanging small gifts and throwing an
enormouse party!
In other words, the Night of the Dancing
Stars is the most beloved holiday in the
Cheddar
Galaxy
... actually, in the
entire
universe!
As captain of the MouseStar 1, I had
to prepare a very
special
speech for that
From the Encyclopedia Galactica
THE NIGHT OF THE DANCING STARS
The elfix work all year to make gifts for every
creature in the universe. On the Night of the Dancing
Stars, they fly all over the galaxies in a giant star sled
adorned with tiny silver bells, delivering presents to
the four corners of the universe.
From the Encyclopedia Galactica
THE ELFIX
Home Planet: Twinklix, a planet
shaped like a wrapped package
Specialty:
Making beautiful gifts
Motto: “Away in a star sled we go,
bringing gifts to all we know!”
very
special
night. But Assistatrix wasn’t
listening. My personal assistant robot just
carried on with his usual morning routine.
“Captain Stiltonix, it’s time to wash up!”
Assistatrix ordered. “
Wash
up!
Wash
up!
Wash
up!
”
I sighed. It was no use fighting that
stubborn
little robot. So I stepped into the
Wash-O-Mouse
for my morning shower.
“You know what, Assistatrix?” I said as
I stepped out of the Wash-O-Mouse after
it was finished. “A nice warm shower with
a
lunar
cheese
–scented bath gel
was just what I needed! Now I’m ready to
focus on my spee
—
Aaaaahhhhhh!
”
I had stepped right on a
slippery
bar of
solar soap. I slipped all over my cabin like
a spaceship trying to avoid an incoming
asteroid.
Galactic Gorgonzola! What bad luck!
I was just about to slam my snout into the
cabin door when Assistatrix
grabbed
me
by my bath towel and lifted me into the air.
“This is not the time to go skating,
Captain,” he ordered. “
Get dressed!
Get dressed! Get dressed!
”
He pushed me toward my closet, and I
quickly got dressed.
Heeeeeelp!
Swish
“Captain, you’re late for the party
rehearsal!” Assistatrix
thundered
.
“Run, run, run! Everyone is waiting for you
at the
Space Yum Café
!”
I raced out of my cabin in a
daze
and
hailed an astrotaxi. An astrosecond later,
I was
zooming
toward the spaceship’s
restaurant.
There’s So
Much to Do!
I walked into the Space Yum Café and found
it
buzzing
with energy and excitement.
A few spacemice were decorating the room
with
lights
and
ribbons
while others
were busy wrapping gifts. And another
group of spacemice was busy in the kitchen,
baking delicious
cheesy
desserts for their
friends and families to enjoy.
My sister, Thea, spotted me and ran over.
“Geronimo!” she exclaimed. “Are you
ready? You have a lot of work to do! You
have to take a look at all the
decorations
,
listen to the intergalactic chorus rehearse,
and choose the
color
scheme for the party!
La,la,la!
How nice!
All
together
now!
Taste this!
Yum!
Fa,la,la!
Do you prefer
galactic green
or
moldy
Gorgonzola green
?”
I hesitated. “Er, what’s the difference?”
Thea ignored me and
chattered
on.
“And that’s just the beginning
—
there’s so
much to do!” she squeaked as she unrolled a
really
looooooong
list!
I groaned. Why,
why,
why was
it always up to me to decide everything?
Maybe it was because I am the captain of
the ship.
Sigh!
“Hey, Cuz,” my cousin Trap greeted me.
He was holding a box of yummy-looking
sweets. “These three-cheese chocolates are
really
DELICIOUS
!”
I reached out to try one, but he moved the
box away
faster
than a cat chasing a mouse.
“
Paws off!
” he scolded. “You have so
much to do already . . .
I’ll
take care of
Paws off!
sampling the
desserts for
the banquet
buffet!”
He
chuckled
as
he walked away.
“Geronimo, did
you prepare the elfix
welcome speech?”
Thea asked.
Stellar
Swiss!
I still had to finish my
speech!
I was about to reply when another voice
squeaked up.
“
Grandson,
look
sharp!
” my
grandfather, Admiral William Stiltonix,
thundered. “Don’t slouch! Try to welcome
our friends the elfix with some dignity.
Don’t
make
me
look
bad!
”
“G-g-good morning, Grandfather,” I
replied. “
Of
course
I will treat our guests
well! After all, I am the ship’s captain!”
“Well, I should hope so!” Grandfather
barked. Then he started shouting orders at
me.
Luckily, at that moment,
Sally de Wrench
arrived. She is the MouseStar 1’s official
mechanic and technician, and she is the
loveliest
and smartest rodent on the
ship. Every time I see her, my brain turns
to
Brie
! Ah, what a fascinating mouse!
I wanted to get her a thoughtful gift for
&nbs
p; the Night of the Dancing Stars, but I was
completely
stumped
on an idea.
“Earth to Geronimo!” Grandfather
scolded me. “Are you listening to me? It’s
like you’re not even
paying
attention
!”
“S-sure I am, Grandfather,” I squeaked.
“Now, I’m afraid you’ll have to
excuse
me
. . .”
I quickly hurried away. I just had to find
my friend
Professor
Greenfur
,
the ship’s resident scientist. He would know
the
perfect
gift for Sally!
It has
to be
the
perfect gift!
The Tail Twister
2000
Professor Greenfur was probably in
his laboratory, working on some new
experiment
. When I walked in, I
found him and my nephew Benjamin
studying a really
strange
contraption: It
looked like something halfway between a
lawn mower
and a
fur-
curling iron
.
“Hi, Uncle G!” Benjamin
greeted me. “Did you come to
admire
Professor Greenfur’s
latest invention?”
“Hi, Benjamin,” I replied
as I gave my adorable
nephew an enormouse hug. “Uh, yes
.
.
.
Nice invention, Professor. It’s truly
incredible! But, er . . .
What is it?
”
“Good morning, Captain!” Professor
Greenfur exclaimed as he tightened a few
screws. “May I present my most recent
invention: the
Tail Twister 2000
!”
I still had no idea what the thing was!
“Wow!” I exclaimed. “It’s fabumouse.
But . . . uh, what do you
do
with it?”
“That’s easy,” he replied. “This invention
will
revolutionize
life on board the
MouseStar 1! It can cut, curl, shave, twist,
or braid any tail, anytime! We still have to
test it out, but —”
“Let’s remedy that
right
away
!” Trap
exclaimed as he sauntered into the lab
holding a Pluto cheese sandwich.
stinky
space
cheese
!
Whenever Trap