Four Mice Deep Jungle
Page 3
going to the Rio Mosquito?”
she asked. Then she told
me. It seemed Penelope
had signed up to take some kind of special
JUST SIGN HERE!
36
RIO MOSQUITO
course. The course was only open to a few
CHOICE RODENTS. Suddenly, she
grabbed both of my paws. “I just had the
greatest idea!” she squeaked. “Why don’t
you come with me?” She pulled out a piece
of paper from her bag. “All you have to do
is sign this form!” she added.
I didn’t know what to say. I had never met
such a bold mouse before. Bold ... and
charming.
“Well, I’m sort of traveling with my
family,” I began. I glanced at the back of the
plane. My cousin was busy launching
spitballs into the air. I pictured the vacation.
Trap would probably be playing pranks on
me the whole time. I’d end up with a knot
in my tail and itching powder in my bed. I
turned back to my new friend.
“What kind of course is it?” I asked.
37
P.P. threw her
paw around my
shoulder. “TRUST
me,” she murmured.
“IT'S JUST WHAT
YOU NEED. YOU’LL
FEEL LIKE A NEW
mouse!”
Now I pictured
myself in a lush
green tropical paradise. Maybe we would do
yoga by the pool. Or some deep-breathing
exercises by the soothing ocean.
“Are you sure it’s going to be relaxing?” I
asked.
“I guarantee it’s going to be the best thing
for you,” P.P. insisted. She smiled
flirtatiously.
.
. . o o h hm m m. . .
38
In a flash, she snatched up the form. For
some reason, she had the strangest look on
her face. No, it wasn’t a smile this time. It
was more like a sneer.
she squeaked.
How very strange,
I thought. Where
had I heard
those same
words before?
H
o
w
v
e
r
y
s
t
r
a
n
g
e
!
“
L
e
t
t
h
e
f
u
n
a
n
d
g
a
m
e
s
b
e
g
i
n
!
”
I
w
a
s
c
o
m
p
l
e
t
e
l
y
c
h
a
r
m
e
d
.
39
S
o
I
s
i
g
n
e
d
.
I left the plane. I had to find Thea. I
wanted to introduce her to my new friend. I
knew she would be thrilled to meet one of
my fans. My sister calls me a bookworm,
but I know she is proud of my success.
“Thea!” I squeaked happily when I found
her. “This is PENELOPE POISONFUR.
She is a fan who has read all of my books!”
My sister ignored me and turned to
Penelope. “Well,
did he sign?
” she asked.
P.P. still had that same strange sneer on
her face. “
He signed it, all right!
” she
laughed. “It was as easy as taking cheese
niblets from a baby!”
My mouth dropped open. What was she
IT’S SIGNED AND
SEALED, STILTON!
talking about? And why did she sound so
mean?
Trap, Thea, and Benjamin were nodding
their heads. “
He signed it
,” they whispered
to one another.
Uh-oh. Something very odd was going on.
What were they talking about? And why
were they all staring at me? I didn’t like it
one bit.
“Who is he?” I asked, worried. “What did
he sign?”
Instead of answering,
Thea, Trap, and Benjamin
turned toward Penelope.
She pointed her paw
at me.
“YOU have signed
it, Stilton!” she shouted
at the top of her lungs.
“
Y
O
U
H
A
V
E
S
I
G
N
E
D
I
T
,
S
T
I
L
T
O
N
!
”
I gulped. What was going on? “But, P.P.,” I
protested. “I don’t understand. What did I sign?”
Penelope held up her paw in front of my
face. “First of all,” she yelled, “forget the P.P.
From now on, I’m Ms. Poisonfur to you!”
My mouth dropped open in shock. She’d
seemed like such a sweet mouse on the
plane.
“Don’t look so surprised, Stilton!” Ms.
Poisonfur barked. “Just do as you’re told
and don’t make a squeak. Now get on that
jeep!” She pointed to a YELLOW TRUCK
parked by the plane.
I blinked. This was getting ridiculous.
Who was this mouse? And why was she
IT’S TOO LATE,
STILTON!
screaming at me? Before I could ask, she
shoved a piece of paper in my face. It was
the form that I had signed on the plane.
“It’s too late, Stilton, you’ve already
signed!” Penelope squeaked.
I was beginning to get a terrible feeling in
my stomach. I glanced at the form. It read:
TO THE LAST WHISKER
SURVIVAL SCHOOL
“I’ve signed up for some kind of boot
camp!” I screeched. “But I’m not the boot-
camp type. I’m afraid of bugs and dirt and
things that go squeak in the
night. Plus, I look awful in
khaki. It’s just not my
color!”
Oh, what had I gotten
myself into this time? I
decided I had only one
“
I
t
’
s
t
o
o
l
a
t
e
,
s
t
i
l
t
o
n
!
”
43
TO THE LAST WHISKER
survival school
I, the undersigned, agree to take part in the
survival course offered by To the Last Whisker.
The course will last for seven days. It will take
place in Rattytrap Jungle on the Rio Mosquito.
By signing this form, I agree to obey without
question all of Ms. Penelope Poisonfur’s orders.
Should I refuse to take part in the course or to obey Ms. Poisonfur, I promise to pay a fine of
one million dollars.
Signed:
Geronimo Stilton
Tarantula Trail 115
Rattytrap Jungle — Rio Mosquito
choice. I’d have to make a run for it. But
just as I turned to leave, Penelope grabbed
me by the tail.
“Get in the jeep, Stilton!”
she ordered. Then she handed
me a magnifying glass.
“You haven’t read the small print,” she
smirked.
I read the last line on the form out loud.
“Should I refuse to take part in the course
or to obey Ms. Poisonfur, I promise to pay a
fine of ONE M-M-M-M-MILLION
dollars,” I stammered. This was
outrageous! “But I don’t have
one million dollars!” I cried.
My paws were shaking.
Penelope shot me an
evil look. “Exactly!”
she sneered. “NOW
GET IN THAT JEEP!”
H
h
m
m
m
.
.
.
“I’LL FIX YOU ALL RIGHT, STILTON!”
I stumbled forward. I must be having a bad
dream, I thought. I closed my eyes. But when
I opened them, Ms. Poisonfur was glaring
at me.
My family watched as I climbed into the
jeep. “Benjamin,” I squeaked. “How could you
trick me like this?”
My favorite nephew had tears in his eyes.
“Uncle, it’s for your own good! I promise!”
Thea nodded her head. “That’s right,” she
chimed in. “You’ll thank us.”
Trap winked at me. “The week will just fly
by, you’ll see!” he added.
“Don’t worry!” Ms. Poisonfur squeaked.
Then she punched me hard in the shoulder.
I winced. This was one tough mouse. “I’ll
fix you!” she sneered.
47
“
I
’
l
l
fi
x
y
o
u
a
l
l
r
i
g
h
t
,
s
t
i
l
t
o
n
!
”
The jeep made its way along a paved road.
Soon the road turned into a beaten track.
Then it became a MUDDY path.
It was so hot I felt like a walking sprinkler.
I was dripping sweat! Clouds of mosquitoes
swarmed around me. They were having a
party in my fur. I figured my tail was their
dinner. They were making a meal
out of it. What if they gave me
some rare disease?
I'M AFRAID OF DISEASES!
We reached the camp in the middle
of the night. It looked like an army
barracks. It stood in the middle of
a clearing surrounded by
very tall trees.
I’M AFRAID OF BUGS!
48
I was so tired. I fell onto a smelly bunk
bed. I tried not to think about the fleas that
were probably crawling in it. Ugh!
I'M AFRAID OF BUGS!
Exhausted, I fell asleep fully dressed. That
night, I kept hearing Trap’s voice in my
dreams. “Just don’t think about it!” he
chanted over and over.
At dawn, Penelope gave me a wake-up
call. She poured a bucketful of icy water on
my head! “LINE UP!” she shrieked.
I looked outside. That’s when I discovered
there were four other mice taking this crazy
jungle course.
I was about to slip into the green jumpsuit
I’d found in my closet. But, even though I
was in the hot jungle, I’d put on a clean
undershirt first. I love my undershirts. I
wear one all the time, even in the summer.
That’s because I'M AFRAID OF DRAFTS.
Unfortunately, Penelope was watching
me. Before I could put one paw through my
undershirt, she snatched it away and
squeaked at the top of her lungs,
DAY 1: MONDAY
50
1
the article of clothing a real mouse Would not wear is the undershirt (2).
answer:
3
u
n
d
e
r
s
h
i
r
t
s
,
S
t
i
l
t
o
n
!
”
A Game for Real Mice
find the article of clothing
a real mouse would not wear.
6
4
2
5
“
R
e
a
l
M
i
c
e
d
o
n
’
t
W
e
a
r
52
I cringed, then put on the jumpsuit.
Penelope threw an enormous backpack at
me. It weighed a ton. I’d be lucky if I could
take one pawstep.
Meanwhile, Penelope lifted her own
backpack without batting an eyelash. Then I
followed her outside.
“FORWARD MARCH!” she yelled.
We left camp and began our long trek.
I introduced myself to the other mice.
G
e
r
o
n
i
m
o
S
t
i
l
t
o
n
“Good morning, everyone,” I said. “My
name is Stilton, Geronimo Stilton.”
A big, tough, muscled mouse nodded at
me. He wore his fur in a crew cut. “I’m Burt
Burlyrat. But you can call me B.B.,” he
announced. “I’m a forest ranger.”
Next to B.B. stood a short,
round rodent. He clasped
my paw. “How do you
do, my name is Tubby
Tumblemouse,” he said.
Then he whispered,
“My friends call me
Furball.” I smiled. Tubby
seemed like a nice mouse.
I wondere
d why
he had signed up
for this course.
53
Burt Burlyrat, RAT
aka B.B.
Tubby told me he was a cheese
salesmouse. He had put on a few extra
pounds eating too many samples. “I thought
this was an easy weight-loss course. Ms.
Poisonfur told me it would be like a mini
vacation,” he explained. Sweat dripped
down his fur. “She didn’t tell me we’d be
forced to run twenty miles a day!”
“W-w-what?” I stammered,
sinking under the heavy
backpack. “Twenty miles a
day? I’m never going
to make it! I’ve got low
blood pressure! I’ve got
low iron! I’ve got low self-
esteem!” This was going to
be worse than I’d thought.
“Oh, how did I get
myself into this mess?!”
TUBBY
TUMBLEMOUSE,
AKA FURBALL
54
I sobbed, burying my snout in my paws.
Tubby put his paw around my shoulder.
“Don’t panic, Geronimo,” he whispered.
“I’ve brought an emergency supply
of cheese sandwiches.
They’re hidden in my
backpack.”
Just then, a teenaged
mouse with pigtails
scampered over. “Hi,
there!” she chirped.
“I’m Suzie Squeakers.”
Next came an elderly female
rodent. She was
small and skinny
, with wiry fur.
She wore a pair of thick glasses and a
purple baseball cap. She introduced
herself as Sandy Silverfur. Sandy was old, but
you wouldn’t find her in any old mouse
home. Not yet, anyway. Sandy loved to
55
Suzie
Squeakers
live dangerously. In
fact, you could say she was a
bit of a daredevil. She once
went scuba diving off the
shores of Tomcat Island!
Unlike Sandy and B.B.,
hiking through the jungle
was not my idea of a good
time. Within minutes, my
paws were covered with
blisters.
Suddenly, a
terrible screeching