Four Mice Deep Jungle

Home > Childrens > Four Mice Deep Jungle > Page 5
Four Mice Deep Jungle Page 5

by Geronimo Stilton


  let’s see,” I mumbled. “I am

  here, or maybe I’m here.

  And then I’m

  headed there — or

  maybe there?” I checked

  79

  the compass. North, South, East, West. It

  wasn’t as easy as I’d thought. I tried giving

  myself a pep talk. “You can figure it out,

  Stilton,” I insisted. “Just use your brain!”

  But my brain must have been taking a

  cheese break. Half an hour later, I burst into

  tears. “Rotten rat’s teeth!” I squeaked.

  "I'm lost”

  I roamed the jungle for hours. Every now

  and then, I would stop to have a good cry.

  Oh, how could my family do this to me?

  They said they wanted to help me, but

  maybe they just wanted to get rid of me! Yes,

  that had to be it! If I were gone, my sister

  would probably sell The Rodent’s Gazette.

  She’d buy a beauty salon and get her fur

  done every day for free. My cousin would

  move into my large, comfy mouse hole. He

  was such a slob. He’d make a mess of my

  pretty cat-fur rug. Just thinking about it

  made me angry. “I’m going to make it back if

  it kills me!” I cried, stamping my paw.

  Suddenly, I heard a rustling sound in the

  leaves. I gulped. Maybe I shouldn’t have

  used the word kill. I didn’t want to give

  some wild animal any ideas!

  Grabbing a big stick for protection, I hid

  behind a tree.

  Just then, I saw a bush move.

  “Take that, you wild animal!” I shrieked,

  striking with all my might.

  a voice cried out. A

  “

  O

  o

  o

  o

  u

  c

  h

  !

  ”

  B

  a

  n

  g

  g

  g

  g

  !

  “

  O

  o

  o

  o

  u

  c

  h

  !

  ”

  Geronimo

  Stilton

  Burt Burlyrat

  rodent crawled out from behind the bush.

  No, it wasn’t a wild animal at all. It was

  Burt Burlyrat.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry, B.B.!” I apologized. “I

  thought you were about to attack me!”

  Burt rubbed his head. He looked annoyed.

  By now, he had sprouted a huge bump on

  his forehead. I felt bad about the bump. But

  I didn’t feel bad about running into B.B.

  With his help, I could definitely get to the

  NEW CAMP. After all, B.B. had said he was a

  forest ranger. A forest ranger should be able

  “

  T

  h

  e

  c

  o

  m

  p

  a

  s

  s

  i

  s

  n

  e

  v

  e

  r

  w

  r

  o

  n

  g

  !

  !

  !

  !

  ”

  to read a map and a compass, right?

  “Let’s get going!” he ordered, sounding

  like an army general. I hopped to my paws.

  B.B. checked the compass. “This way!” he

  shouted, storming off. “The compass is never

  wrong!”

  I scurried behind him. B.B. wasn’t exactly

  the friendliest mouse around. I mean, I

  wouldn’t invite him over for one of my aunt

  Honeywhisker’s yummy cheddar casseroles.

  But I didn’t care. I just wanted to get out of

  this creepy jungle.

  After a while, I started to worry again.

  We had been hiking for five hours, but we

  didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. “Um,

  B.B., shouldn’t we be there by now?” I

  asked, wiping sweat from my fur.

  He shot me a look. “I told you, Stilton,

  this is the right direction!” he shrieked.

  84

  “The compass is never wrong!”

  After

  two more hours,

  my paws were killing me. B.B. kept insisting

  we were going the right way, but I had a

  terrible feeling. Something wasn’t right.

  Finally, the sun began to set. I started to

  panic. “Um, are you sure you know where

  we’re going?” I asked B.B. for the millionth

  time.

  Instead of scowling at me, B.B began to

  tremble. Then he did the most un-B.B.-like

  thing. He began to cry! He cried so hard I

  thought we would have to swim out of

  there. “I’m lost!” he choked. “I’m totally

  and completely lost!”

  I tried to cheer him up. “Don’t worry,” I

  said. “We are lost together. We’ll find our

  way out of here. I promise.”

  I stared at the trees surrounding us. All of

  a sudden, I had an idea. “Let’s climb a tree!”

  I said. “From way up high, we may be able

  to see our CAMP!”

  B.B. brightened. Then he turned sad

  again. “I can’t climb a tree,” he groaned.

  “My head is still spinning from the bump.

  You are the only one who can save us,

  Geronimo!”

  I was worried. But I couldn’t let B.B.

  down. “No problemo,” I said, trying to

  sound brave.

  I began to climb. My paws felt like cream

  I

  b

  e

  g

  a

  n

  t

  o

  c

  l

  i

  m

  b

  .

  86

  cheese, but I remembered Suzie Squeaker’s

  advice. I never looked down.

  I climbed higher and higher.

  After a while, I stopped. I stared out over

  the treetops.

  There! In the dark, I could see the lights

  from the CAMP. I was so happy. I felt like I

  had just been named author of the year.

  “I can see the camp. It’s over there!” I

  called to B.B.

  87

  88

  Slowly, I climbed down again. As soon as

  I reached the ground, B.B. hugged me.

  It turns out he wasn’t a real forest ranger

  after all. He was just a pretend forest ranger

  at Mouseyworld, the popular rodents’

  amusement park. That explained why he

  couldn’t figure out the compass.

  Fifteen minutes later, we reached the

  CAMP.

  Penelope woke us up at dawn with the

  usual shower of icy water. I was beginning

  to wonder where she was getting it. I hadn’t

  had a nice, icy beverage since we left New

  Mouse City!

  After a breakfast of scrambled worms, she

  gave us a lesson on survival techniques.

  “

  Rattytrap Jungle is full of dangers!

  ”

  she squeaked. “You must be careful
where

  you step, as you are about to see.”

  She stuck a red flag in the ground. “Sit

  HERE, STILTON!” she ordered.

  I was about to sit down when

  Penelope began to shout, “Don’t

  MOVE, STILTON!” She kicked

  away a leaf on the ground.

  DAY 5: FRIDAY

  89

  U

  n

  d

  e

  r

  n

  e

  a

  t

  h

  l

  a

  y

  a

  h

  u

  g

  e

  s

  c

  o

  r

  p

  i

  o

  n

  !

  90

  Underneath lay a huge scorpion!

  “Be careful where you step,” our teacher

  repeated. “If you had sat down, you’d be A

  DEAD MOUSE, STILTON!”

  I shivered. My life flashed before my eyes.

  Then, suddenly, someone was poking me.

  “No time for daydreaming!” Penelope

  shouted. She pointed to the path ahead.

  “Danger is everywhere,” she said again.

  “Now walk to the end of the path, Stilton!”

  I set out. I had hardly taken more than a

  couple of steps when I was suddenly lifted

  into the air! A rope was hidden in the

  bushes. It was a trap!

  “Cheese niblets!” I cried. I was dangling

  upside down!

  Our teacher chuckled. “See what I mean,

  Stilton?” she said, cutting the rope that was

  holding me up. I fell right on my snout!

  “

  Ow!

  ” I screamed.

  But Penelope wasn’t

  finished with me. “Run

  toward that tree, Stilton!”

  she demanded.

  I groaned. What would

  happen to me this time?

  Would I be blinded by a

  sharp tree branch? Would

  I break all of my paws?

  I sighed. Then I took

  off. Seconds later, I fell

  into a deep, dark

  hole. “Help!”

  I shrieked.

  Our teacher

  peeped into

  the hole.

  92

  she smirked. “Good. Deal

  with it!” Then she turned to

  the others. “I hope that you

  will all remember what has

  happened to our friend here today!” she

  squeaked. “Now let’s go!”

  My mouth dropped open. I began to

  shake. This was the lowest of the low. How

  could she leave me alone in this dark, scary

  place? It was so horrifying. Can you guess

  why? That’s right, I'M AFRAID OF

  ENCLOSED SPACES!

  I waited three hours. Finally, Penelope

  came back and pulled me out. I was still

  shaking, but I was proud of myself. I had

  done it! Yes, I, Geronimo Stilton, had

  faced another fear!

  “

  A

  r

  e

  y

  o

  u

  s

  t

  i

  l

  l

  a

  l

  i

  v

  e

  ,

  s

  t

  i

  l

  t

  o

  n

  ?

  ”

  Our teacher peeped into the hole.

  The next morning, I got up extra early. I

  hid behind my cabin door. I was going to

  trick our evil teacher at her own game.

  When she arrived with her bucket of icy

  water, I stuck out my paw. She tripped.

  Water flew everywhere. But not a drop

  landed on me. “

  Oops

  ,” I said when

  Penelope caught me.

  She handed me a mop. “

  CLEAN UP

  THIS MESS!

  ”

  she ordered, but she

  was half smiling. “Not bad, Stilton,” she

  admitted. “Not bad for a scaredy mouse.”

  After a breakfast of fried fleas, we lined

  up. Penelope said she needed a volunteer.

  Someone who was afraid of spiders.

  I quickly hid behind B.B. I’m sure you

  DAY 6: SATURDAY

  94

  already know why. I AM AFRAID OF

  SPIDERS!

  “I’m going to choose a name,” our teacher

  announced. She stared up at the clouds. She

  pretended to be deep in thought. But she

  didn’t fool me. I knew what was coming.

  Seconds later, she cried, “Stilton!”

  Oh, why did she always have to pick on

  me?! I sighed and came forward.

  Penelope picked up a small cage. It was

  full of hairy spiders.

  Stale Swiss rolls! Just

  seeing all of those

  spindly legs gave

  me

  mouse bumps!

  “Just remember to

  stay calm,” she advised. “Now

  close your eyes, Stilton!” She

  placed something on my snout.

  95

  “Keep very still, Stilton,” our teacher

  whispered. “And whatever you do, don’t

  open your eyes!”

  I tried. But I was curious. I just had to see

  what was on my snout. Slowly, I peeked

  open one eye. An enormous hairy spider

  stared back at me!

  I was too horrified to squeak.

  “Keep still for ten seconds,” Penelope

  ordered. Then she began to count. The rest

  of the group joined in. “Ten, nine, eight,

  seven, six, five . . .”

  MY WHISKERS TREMBLED WITH FEAR.

  “You can do it!” Tubby shouted.

  “You’re almost there!” B.B. cheered.

  “Hurray for Stilton!” everyone shouted

  when the countdown was over.

  I pointed to the spider with a trembling

  paw. “Take it off, please,” I squeaked.

  Our teacher sneered. She took the spider

  and waved it under my nose. How strange.

  The spider’s legs didn’t seem to be moving

  at all. In fact, it looked quite stiff. I peered

  at it closely.

  “It’s plastic, Stilton!” Penelope smirked.

  I fainted. But moments later, she woke

  me up with a bucketful of icy water! So

  much for starting my day

  off on the right paw.

  Next, Penelope pulled a

  from a sack. She twisted it

  up into a ball like a pro.

  “I’m going to teach you how

  to tell the difference between

  a poisonous snake and one that is

  harmless,” she said. “The one I’m holding

  now is harmless. Catch it, Silverfur!” she

  shouted, throwing it to Sandy.

  The reptile twisted itself around her neck.

  Without batting an eyelash, Sandy shouted,

  "Yip-peeee!"

  Everyone applauded.

  h

  u

  g

  e

  g

  r

  e

  e

  n

  s

>   n

  a

  k

  e

  T

  h

  e

  o

  l

  d

  m

  o

  u

  s

  e

  w

  e

  n

  t

  p

  a

  l

  e

  ,

  b

  u

  t

  s

  h

  e

  s

  t

  i

  l

  l

  m

  a

  n

  a

  g

  e

  d

  t

  o

  c

  a

  t

  c

  h

  t

  h

  a

  t

  s

  n

  a

  k

  e

  i

  n

  m

  i

  d

  a

  i

  r

  .

  Penelope grabbed another snake from the

  sack. She whirled it in the air. “Always hold

  a snake by its tail,” she explained. “This way

  it can’t bite.”

  I watched carefully. It looked so easy.

  Without thinking, I picked up a snake that

  looked just like the others. I began whirling

  it over my head.

  “Look at me!” I shouted with pride.

  For some odd reason, Penelope didn’t

  look happy. Maybe she liked to be the only

  one showing off. Oh, well, I decided, old

  Poisonfur would just have to get used to it.

  The new Geronimo Stilton was brave.

  He was tough. And he wasn’t afraid to show

  it! Then I noticed Penelope had dropped her

  snake. She waved her paws in the air. What

  was she doing? Some kind of jungle dance?

  “That’s the wrong snake, Stilton!”

  I began whirling the snake over my head.

  Penelope squeaked. “It’s poisonous!”

  Moldy mozzarella sticks! I was terrified.

  “Don’t panic, Stilton,” our teacher

  continued. “Just keep whirling it!”

 

‹ Prev