Field Trip to Niagara Falls

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by Geronimo Stilton

5

  Pull the

  lateral

  ropes and

  stabilize

  the tent by

  staking the

  ropes.

  Dig a

  drainage

  ditch

  around

  the tent.

  You’ll need

  it in case

  of rain.

  Assemble

  the

  frame by

  connecting

  the poles,

  and hook

  the tent to

  the frame.

  Mount the

  rain tarp

  and attach

  it well with

  the stakes.

  Drainage ditch for

  water runoff

  NO

  NO

  NO YES

  Where to Set Up a Tent

  Choose a flat

  area or one

  on a gentle

  slope that is

  well protected

  from the wind.

  Lay the

  tent flat

  and stake

  the

  corners.

  tent

  a

  How to Set up

  I DO nOt KnOw

  h

  Ow tO cOOK at

  a caMpsIte!

  I was so tired I could only nod. Then I

  heard a low grumble. Was it a bear? Was it

  a fox? Was it a ravenous, rodent-eating

  monster? No, it was just my tummy. I was

  starving!

  “So,

  who will do the cooking

  ?” I asked.

  “Why, you will, of course, Mr. Geronimo,”

  Miss Angel Paws said.

  34

  The little mice began screaming.

  “Come on! We’re starving!” they whined.

  I sighed. I trudged to the brook to get some

  water. But on the way back, I tripped.

  The water flew out of the bucket.

  I decided to get the fire started. But

  the wood was too damp. It would not light.

  I went to get some more wood and

  accidentally stepped on the egg carton.

  CrunCh

  !

  Then I noticed an army of ants. They were

  devouring all of the bread.

  “I give up!” I squeaked. Did I mention I’m

  not much of an outdoor mouse?

  “Try calling Aunt Thea again,” Benjamin

  whispered. “She’ll know what to do.”

  A half hour later, the fire was ready.

  Now if I could just get the ants off the

  bread. . . .

  H

  ow

  to Cook

  outdoorS

  Bind three wooden poles

  together. Then hang a pot on a

  chain that has been secured at

  the top of the poles.

  T

  r

  i

  p

  o

  d

  Arrange several clean, flat rocks

  so they are heated by a fire

  underneath. You can cook eggs,

  fish, or meat on top of them.

  Flat rocks

  Arrange two forked sticks across

  from each other on either side of

  the fire. Hang the pots on a strong

  piece of wood, and then place each

  end of the wood in the forks.

  F

  o

  r

  k

  s

  THE FIRE

  N

  ever

  L

  eave

  F

  ires Unattended!

  Before you light a fire, find out

  the wind’s direction. Always be

  aware of the danger of fires! Keep

  a bucket of water nearby to put

  out the fire and always get help

  from an adult.

  36

  cOMe On!

  we have tO gO!

  After we ate, I fell asleep with my snout in

  my plate. I woke up with a start.

  “Psst, psst, Mr. Geronimo!” a voice

  called.

  It was Miss Angel Paws.

  “Mr. Geronimo, you, um, forgot to set up

  a bathroom,” she whispered.

  I paled. A bathroom?

  “Come on! We have to go!” the little mice

  squeaked.

  This time, I knew exactly what to do.

  I called my sister. I wasn’t proud. I was

  desperate. After all, who knew how to set

  up a bathroom outdoors?

  Of course, my sister figured it out.

  Half an hour later, the bathroom was

  finished. And so was I. I crawled into my

  sleeping bag and slept like a ten-ton brick

  of stale cheese. Even a starving mouse

  couldn’t have moved me.

  3. Build a

  tripod. Hang

  a bucket

  with water

  to use as a

  makeshift

  shower.

  1. Dig a hole.

  Leave a big

  pile of dirt

  next to the

  hole. After

  each use,

  throw some

  piled-up dirt

  into the hole.

  2. Use some

  wooden

  poles and a

  tarp to build

  a screen

  around the

  toilet.

  4. Build

  another

  tripod. Place

  a bowl on

  top to wash

  your paws

  and snout.

  THE TOILET

  S

  h

  o

  w

  e

  r

  S

  i

  n

  k

  T

  o

  i

  l

  e

  t

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  How to Make a BatHrooM

  38

  flashlights

  What a Stink!

  What a Smell!

  W

  hat a Stench!

  I woke up in the middle of the night. An

  awful stench surrounded me. It smelled

  worse than my cousin Trap’s rancid fish

  soup. It smelled worse than my grandmother

  Onewhisker’s

  disgusting brussels sprout soufflé.

  I opened my eyes. A black-and-white furry

  creature with two beady little

  eyes stared back at me.

  I jumped out of the sleeping

  bag, squeaking at the top of

  my lungs.

  snapped on all over the

  campsite.

  W

  h

  a

  t

  a

  s

  m

  e

  l

  l

  !

  W

  h

  a

  t

  a

  s

  t

  i

  n

  k

  !

  W

  h

  a

  t

  a

  s

  t

  e

  n

  c

  h

  !

  40

  “

  What a stink

  !”

  “

  What a smell

  !”

  “

  What a stench

  !” I heard the other

  campers

  cryr />
  .

  I couldn’t have agreed more. I started to

  chime in when I heard some more voices.

  “Where is it coming from?” one said.

  “That tent there,” another answered.

  “That’s the rodent from New Mouse City.

  The one named Geronimo Stilton,” a

  third cried.

  someone else piped up.

  another muttered.

  “

  H

  e

  r

  e

  a

  l

  l

  y

  n

  e

  e

  d

  s

  t

  o

  c

  l

  e

  a

  n

  u

  p

  h

  i

  s

  a

  c

  t

  ,

  ”

  “

  Y

  e

  a

  h

  ,

  I

  w

  o

  n

  d

  e

  r

  i

  f

  h

  e

  k

  n

  o

  w

  s

  w

  h

  a

  t

  t

  h

  e

  w

  o

  r

  d

  ‘

  b

  a

  t

  h

  ’

  m

  e

  a

  n

  s

  ,

  ”

  I turned beet red. How could they talk

  about me that way? I’m no sewer mouse.

  I love taking baths.

  But there was no time to think about a

  bubble bath now. I had to defend myself.

  “I’m not the stinky one,” I started to

  explain. “It was that creature. It had

  black

  fur with a white stripe . . .”

  Punk Rat snickered. “What

  creature? I don’t see any

  creature,” he smirked.

  Then he began to sing in a

  high-pitched voice: “Geronimo

  sees things in the dark.

  A slug, a squirrel, a giant

  shark!”

  Benjamin grabbed my paw. “Uncle, did

  you really see a creature?” he whispered.

  When I nodded, he stuck his snout in the

  41

  Punk Rat

  tourist guide. I guess he was pretending

  he didn’t know me. I couldn’t blame

  him. Everyone thought I was losing my

  whiskers.

  At that moment, Benjamin began

  squeaking. He held up the book. It showed

  a picture of the creature.

  “See, my uncle was right!” my nephew

  told Punk Rat. “The creature he saw is

  called a skunk!”

  43

  a waLL Of

  rushIng waters

  The next morning, we woke up at dawn.

  After breakfast, we hiked along the river.

  I was tired. You probably already know

  that I am not a morning mouse.

  Finally, I would be able to see

  Niagara Falls!

  Our paws crunched through

  the thick autumn leaves of yellow,

  red, and brown. The air smelled crisp and

  fresh. Don’t you just love autumn? I do. I

  love everything about it. Oh, except for

  Halloween. I’m not big on scary holidays.

  I started thinking about the Halloween

  B

  u

  t

  I

  w

  a

  s

  a

  l

  s

  o

  e

  x

  c

  i

  t

  e

  d

  .

  .

  .

  .

  a

  m

  a

  g

  n

  i

  f

  i

  c

  e

  n

  t

  party my cousin Trap was throwing this year.

  He said he was going to dig up a real skeleton

  and serve frozen eyeballs for dessert!

  Just then, I felt like my own eyeballs had

  frozen. Well, my eyeballs and the rest of my

  body, that is. I was staring at a tremendous

  wall of rushing water. We had reached the

  falls! The river rumbled like thunder.

  r

  a

  i

  n

  b

  o

  w

  .

  .

  .

  A magnificent rainbow made a bridge over

  the falls.

  Ah, what an unbelievable sight! I could

  have stood and admired the falls all day. I

  just had one little problem: The rushing

  water was getting to me. With a squeak, I

  took off in search of a bathroom.

  T

  H

  U

  N

  D

  E

  R

  I

  N

  G

  W

  A

  T

  E

  R

  S

  !

  T

  hundering

  W

  aTers

  For thousands of years, only the

  Attawandarons, a peaceful tribe who lived

  in the territory that bordered the land

  of the warring Iroquois, knew about

  Niagara Falls. In the course of their long

  journeys, the Attawandarons, who were

  also called the Neutrals, were attracted

  by a loud noise and discovered the falls.

  They named them Onguiaahra, which

  means “thundering waters.”

  NORTHEAST

  Algonquin: A tribe with lands in the Ottawa River valley.

  Iroquois: A large confederation of tribes, including the Cayuga,

  Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. They have a

  matriarchal society: The chiefs are chosen by the clan’s mother,

  the oldest and wisest woman.

  Attawandarons: A non-warring tribe that lived on the shores

  of lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario.

  SOUTHEAST

  Cherokee: A tribe in Tennessee and North Carolina.

  A Cherokee leader, Sequoya, invented an alphabet for the

  Cherokee language that was made up of eighty-five symbols.

  Creek: A confederation of tribes from Alabama, Georgia,

  and Florida.

  Seminole: A tribe that emigrated to Florida and absorbed

  many runaway slaves.

  SOUTHWEST

  Apache: A group of tribes (Mescalero, San Carlos, Fort Apache,

  Apache Peaks, Mazatzal, and others) that share the same lan-

  guage. Skilled warriors, they were the last to surrender to

  white settlers. Famous chiefs include Geronimo and Cochise.

  Navajo: Native people of northern New Mexico and

  Arizona, they are famous for their craftwork, including

  blankets, rugs, and jewelry.

  Pueblo: A group of tribes in Arizona and New Mexico.

  This term also refer
s to the flat-roofed stone or adobe

  houses in which these Native Americans traditionally

  lived. Their houses were sometimes several stories high.

  NATIVE AMERICANS

  PLAINS

  Cheyenne: A nomadic tribe, the Cheyenne once lived in tepees

  made from long poles and buffalo skins. They were skilled buffalo

  hunters.

  Comanche: Warriors feared by all, the Comanche became

  skilled horsemen.

  Blackfoot: Famous for their shoemaking ability, the Blackfoot

  dyed their moccasins black.

  Sioux: A group of tribes, also known as the Lakota. Sitting Bull,

  Crazy Horse, and Red Cloud are famous Sioux chiefs.

  HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS

  Nez Percé (or Pierced Noses): A peaceful tribe in Idaho,

  Washington, and Oregon, who once wore objects piercing

  their noses.

  Shoshone: Buffalo hunters in California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah,

  and Wyoming, they sought peace with white settlers during the

  Indian wars.

  CALIFORNIA

  Hoopa: A tribe of artisans who traditionally lived along rivers in

  houses made of cedar. They ate acorns and salmon.

  Wintu: A tribe whose economy was once based on deer,

  salmon, and acorns.

  NORTHWEST

  Chinook: Famous salmon merchants on the north shore

  of the Columbia River in Oregon.

  Tlingit: A tribe skilled in working cedar wood and living

  on the islands and coast of Alaska.

  All AboArd!

  A few minutes later, I was back at the

  falls. Miss Angel Paws was making

  an announcement.

  “We will now board a boat called the Maid

  of the Mist that will take us to the falls,” she

  told the class. “Please do not lean over the

  side.”

  We put on shiny raincoats. Then we

  climbed aboard the boat.

  fog

  It sailed straight up the Niagara River.

  Everything looked so different from

  A mist rose up from the spraying

  water. We were so close to the falls.

  I dug my paws into the railing of the

  deck. The water churned below us. I was

  glad we were all safe on the boat.

  The sprays of water soaked my fur. Oh,

  well. No one could say I was stinky now.

 

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