Field Trip to Niagara Falls
Page 3
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
cry
.
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.