Field Trip to Niagara Falls

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by Geronimo Stilton




  Dear mouse friends,

  Welcome to the world of

  THE RODENT’S GAZETTE

  EDITORIAL STAFF

  Geronimo Stilton

  A learned and brainy

  mouse; editor of

  The Rodent’s Gazette

  Thea Stilton

  Geronimo’s sister and

  special correspondent at

  The Rodent’s Gazette

  Trap Stilton

  An awful joker;

  Geronimo’s cousin and

  owner of the store

  Cheap Junk for Less

  Benjamin Stilton

  A sweet and loving

  nine-year-old mouse;

  Geronimo’s favorite

  nephew

  New York Toronto London Auckland Sydney

  Mexico City New Delhi Hong Kong Buenos Aires

  Scholastic Inc.

  Field Trip To

  Niagara Falls

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright

  Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,

  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 hereafter

  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 [email protected],

  www.atlantyca.com.

  eISBN 978-0-545-39222-8

  Copyright © 2005 by Edizioni Piemme S.p.A., Corso Como 15, 20154

  Milan, Italy.

  International Rights © Atlantyca S.p.A.

  English translation © 2005 by Atlantyca S.p.A.

  GERONIMO STILTON names, characters, and related indicia are

  copyright, 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., 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 trademark

  of the Stilton Cheese Makers’ Association. For more information, go to

  www.stiltoncheese.com.

  Text by Geronimo Stilton

  Original title In campeggio alle cascate del Niagara

  Cover by Giuseppe Ferrario

  Illustrations by Larry Keys, Ratterto Rattonchi, and Chiara Sacchi

  Graphics by Merenguita Gingermouse

  Special thanks to Kathryn Cristaldi

  Special thanks to Lidia Morson Tramontozzi

  Interior design by Kay Petronio

  First printing, March 2006

  Oh, hOw I hate

  BeIng Late!

  “Rain, rain, go away.” It was the middle

  of the night. I was in my comfy, cozy bed,

  trying to sleep. But the rain was beating on

  my window like a crazed woodpecker.

  I fell asleep dreaming about birds and

  pounding ocean waves and huge crashing

  waterfall s.

  It rained the whole night. The next

  morning, I woke up exhausted. I stared at

  R

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  speed

  the clock on my bedside table. Holey cheese!

  I was late! Oh, how I hate being late!

  I hurled myself into the bathroom. I turned

  on the shower while brushing my teeth. I

  combed my whiskers while pulling on my

  pants. I chugged down my coffee while

  racing out the door. Rats!

  I ran at BREAKNECK to

  my aunt Sweetfur’s house. That is where my

  little nephew Benjamin lives. I had promised

  to take him to school today.

  Benjamin giggled when he saw me. I had

  forgotten to button my pants. And my fur

  was sticking up all over the place.

  On the way to school, we passed by

  my office. I run the most

  FAMOUSE

  daily

  newspaper on Mouse Island. It

  is called The Rodent’s Gazette.

  I

  t

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  Benjamin tugged on my paw. “Uncle, may

  I take my friends to visit you at the Gazette

  sometime?” he asked.

  I s

  m

  il

  e

  d. My nephew was such a sweet

  and smart little mouse. Maybe someday he

  would follow in my pawsteps and run a

  newspaper, too.

  “Of course, dear nephew,” I said.

  Finally, we arrived at Benjamin’s school.

  What a zoo!

  Little rodents were

  running everywhere. Some held on to their
r />   parents’ paws. Others tumbled off the school

  bus. Some zipped up on bicycles. It was so

  loud I could barely hear myself squeak.

  school bus

  Just then, the school bell rang.

  I nearly jumped out of my fur. And that

  was when I spotted a blonde rodent. No,

  she wasn’t just any blonde rodent. She

  had gorgeous fur. She had a

  sweet smile. And she had blue eyes

  the color of a clear summer sky.

  “Good morning, I am Miss Angel

  Paws, Benjamin’s teacher,” she said.

  I took a step toward her. But before I

  could shake her paw, I tripped over my tail.

  I landed snout first in the dirt.

  SCHOOL

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  DOn’t wOrry

  a

  BOut a thIng!

  I turned to run away with my tail between

  my legs. I was so embarrassed. Why did

  I have to make a fool of myself in front of

  such a pretty mouse?

  “Today, we’ll decide where to go on our field

  trip,” I heard Miss Angel Paws announce.

  Hmm. Field trip. Suddenly, I had an idea.

  Maybe the class could come visit me at The

  Rodent’s Gazette. Then the teacher would

  see I wasn’t just a clumsy, dim-witted mouse.

  I strode back into the classroom.

  “Oh, good, Mr. Stilton, you haven’t left. I

  wanted to ask for your advice,” Miss Angel

  Paws squeaked. “Do you think this is a good

  place to go on a field trip?”

  She began writing something on the

  blackboard. I would love to tell you what

  it said, but I couldn’t read it. No, it wasn’t

  written in ancient Squeakeeze. I just

  couldn’t see a thing. That’s because the

  class bully, Punk Rat, had tripped me on

  my way in. I had lost my eyeglasses.

  The teacher tapped on the board. “What

  do you think, Mr. Stilton?” she repeated.

  I squinted desperately at the board.

  I felt like one of the three blind mice.

  H

  e

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  O

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  Everything looked foggy. Then I

  thought of something. Maybe Miss

  Angel Paws wanted to visit The Rodent’s

  Gazette. Maybe that’s what she had written

  on the board. Yes, that had to be it, I

  decided. That’s why she wanted my advice.

  “I think that’s a great idea!” I said to the

  teacher. “I would love to take you there!”

  Miss Angel Paws was amazed. “Really,

  Mr. Stilton ?” she squeaked.

  “Of course,” I said. “And don’t call me

  Mr. Stilton. . . . Call me Geronimo!”

  “But who will pay for it? When can we go?

  Don’t you have to work?” asked the teacher.

  “Don’t worry about a thing,” I told her. “I

  can take a little time off. You will all be my

  guests. We can go today if you’d like .”

  The teacher squealed with delight. She

  clapped her paws together. “Guess what,

  class? Mr. Stilton—I mean Geronimo—has

  volunteered to take all of us to Niagara

  Falls for a whole week!” she announced.

  “We’ll leave today!”

  The class

  cheered.

  “Hooray! We’re going to Niagara Falls!

  Thank you, Mr. Stilton!” they cried.

  I blinked.

  Punk Rat pulled at one of my whiskers.

  “Of course. Can’t you read? Look at the

  blackboard,” he smirked, handing me my

  glasses. I put them

  on. I stared at the

  blackboard. It read

  Class Trip To

  Niagara Falls

  .

  I gulped. Oh, how did I get

  myself into such a mess?

  “

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  ”

  Class

  Trip

  To

  Ni

  agara F

  al

  ls

  12

  13

  The teacher was already calling the travel

  agency. “Yes, twenty-two students, a teacher,

  and Geronimo Stilton. We need twenty-

  four round-trip tickets to Niagara Falls,”

  she squeaked into the phone.

  What could I do? The class was so

  excited they could hardly sit still.<
br />
  With a sigh, I took out my credit card. It’s a

  TOP MOUSE DIAMOND-PLUS-SUPER-DELUXE-EXTRA-SUPREME-GOLD CARD.

  It was a good thing I had it. This trip was

  going to cost me more than my two-year

  subscription to the Cheese-of-the-Month

  Club!

  After booking our trip, the teacher waved

  a yellow notebook in the air.

  “Class, this notebook will be our travel

  journal,” she announced. “We will write in

  it every day. That way, we will never

  forget this wonderful trip.”

  THIS

  IS

  HOW

  TO

  KEEP

  A

  TRA

  V

  EL

  JOURNAL

  .

  Today is: ..........................................................

  W

  e plan To visiT: ....................................

  The WeaTher is:

  W

  e saW: .............................................................

  ..............................................................................

  We really enjoyed: ..............................

  ......................................................................................

  P

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  We aTe: ...................................................................

  ..........................................................................................

  We learned: ......................................................

  s

  urprises: ...................................................

  ..........................................................................................

  This phoTo Was Taken aT:

  .......................................................................................

  are we there yet?

  Do you know how to get to Niagara Falls?

  Let me tell you. The falls are located at the

  border of the United States and Canada.

 

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