Field Trip to Niagara Falls
Page 1
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
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Scholastic Inc.
Field Trip To
Niagara Falls
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Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,
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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.
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
a
i
n
,
r
a
i
n
,
g
o
a
w
a
y
!
2
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
u
r
n
e
d
o
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t
h
e
s
h
o
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!
I
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k
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m
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I
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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
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
L
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z
a
P
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8
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
!
A
g
g
h
!
H
e
!
H
e
!
O
o
o
p
S
!
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?
“
N
i
a
g
a
r
a
F
a
l
l
s
?
”
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
a
s
t
e
a
p
h
o
t
o
o
f
t
h
i
s
d
a
y
h
e
r
e
!
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.