whisker twitch.
“Last night’s storm caused
some very serious damage
to the mammoth milkshake
reserves,” Ernest continued.
“No!” we all squeaked
at once.
“Water and mud seeped into the stone
containers, and the mammoth milkshakes
have turned into sticky, stinky, undrinkable
sludge!”
“No!”
“Needless to squeak . . . our reserves are
The mammoth milkshake
reserves are ruined!
completely ruined.”
“No!”
I couldn’t believe
my ears!
“So what now?”
one rodent asked in
despair.
“Let’s go to the
mammoths!” another
suggested. “We can ask
for more milk!”
Ernest frowned.
“Speaking of the
mammoths . . . during the storm, our
pachyderm friends ran away!”
The crowd was in a full-fledged Paleozoic
panic!
“We need an emergency plan!”
healer Bluster Conjurat exclaimed. “I propose that we split into teams.
Each team can look for the
mammoths on a different
part of the island.”
Massive meteorites,
Bluster was right! We needed
We need an emergency plan!
to find the mammoths and
bring them home. It was
the only way to get more of our
beloved mammoth milkshakes!
I already knew what to do: I would team
up with Thea, my cousin Trap, and my
BLUSTER
CONJURAT
27
friend Hercule Poirat, the best detective in
all of prehistory.
Ernest Heftymouse assigned us to look
for the mammoths around the Cheddar
Volcano.
Bones and stones — that was the
most dangerous volcano in the cavemouse
world!
28
We need to leave right away!
We can do it!
IT’S RAINING . . .
HUSKS!
Our team was excited and energized, like mice on a cheese hunt. We needed to find our mammoth friends, and we needed to do it FAST!
Squish!
Slush!
Splash!
But with every step, our paws sunk into
the mud left over from the storm. Petrified
provolone, it was like walking through a
swamp!
After what seemed like a whole
geological era, we arrived at the foot
of the Cheddar Volcano. We ducked into the chestnut forest to rest our aching paws.
30
“Puff . . . pant . . .
huff . . . I can’t go any
farther!” I collapsed, leaning on the
trunk of a tree.
“You’re softer than Jurassic
mozzarella, Geronimo!” Hercule
teased me, nibbling on a banana.
Before I could respond —
BONK!
Something hit me square on the
snout.
“Ow! What was that?” I
squeaked.
I looked up toward the tree
branches just in time to see
a storm of big, thorny
You’re softer than
Jurassic mozzarella!
chestnut husks raining down on us!
POcK
POcK
POcK
POcK
But who . . . what . . . where?!
POcK!
“Oh no — the flying squirrels!”
Thea exclaimed, covering her head with her
paws.
FLYING
SQUIRRELS
Classification: rodents of
the Sneer Sneer species
Habitat: Chestnut woods
Characteristics: speed,
agility, and great aim. They fly
from one branch to another,
nibbling on Paleozoic
chestnuts and playing pranks
on anyone who crosses their
path. They can be grouchy, so
be careful not to make them
mad!
You may not know this, but flying squirrels
are the rudest animals in all of prehistory.
They spend their time flying from one prehistoric tree to the next, thinking up jokes and pranks to pull on whoever crosses their path. In this case, the unlucky target was . . . us!
“Careful! Incominnng!” Trap warned,
dodging a chestnut husk.
The squirrels did some incredible leaps
from one branch to the next. Holey boulders,
it really seemed like they were flying!
But we didn’t have time to admire their
acrobatics. We had to avoid the hailstorm
of husks!
OUCH!
AHHH!
ACK!
WHAT
A
PALEOZOIC
PAIN!
33
Thea thought fast and came up with a
solution. She pointed at the empty trunk of
a fallen tree. “Let’s HIDE in there!”
We all ducked inside the trunk as quickly
as our paws would take us. Whew!
“Great rocky boulders, why do those
squirrels have it out for us?” I asked,
massaging my aching head.
“What a silly question, Geronimo!”
Hercule said. “Those nice little animals don’t have it out for us — they’re just defending their territory.”
“Nice little animals?” I cried. “They turned
me into a Paleozoic pincushion!”
“Come on, Cousin,” Trap said, rolling his
eyes. “How about instead of complaining,
you think of a way to get us out of here?
Aren’t you the brains of the family?”
“Yeah!” Hercule squeaked, elbowing me.
“What’s your genius idea?”
Bones and stones, what was I supposed to
say now?
35
SHRIEEEEEK!
SHRIEEEEEK!
I didn’t have a single coconut of an idea what to do next!
SHRIEEEEK!
SHRIEEEEEK!
A sudden sharp, piercing sound made us
all jump out of our fur.
“What was that noise?” I yelped.
“Quiet, you Jurassic fool!” Hercule said.
“You mean to tell me you don’t recognize
it?”
Had I lost my cheese? What was
Hercule squeaking about? “Should I be
worried?” I mumbled.
36
“Of course you should!” Thea said. “That’s
the call of one of the most dangerous
and cunning predators of the Stone Age!”
Boulders of Brie, just what we needed! My
whiskers began wobbling in fright.
“It’s a Fiery Falcon,” my sister continued,
“the flying squirrels’ number one enemy!
And it must be verrrry hungry,
based on how loudly it’s shrieking . . .”
Sure enough, hearing the falcon’s distinct
cry, the squirrels darted off to hide in
Fiery Falcon
Classification: A predator of
the Fangoot Falconoot family
Habitat: Anywhere there’s food!
Characteristics: Falcon face, falcon beak, falcon
talons, falcon feathers . . . but as hungry as a wolf!
>
the tree branches. That falcon was definitely
looking for a snack!
We stayed still and quiet in our hiding
place. After what seemed like a geological
era, I felt an annoying tingling in my
paw. Petrified provolone, I really needed to
sit down!
I changed positions and — squeak!
I had accidentally sat right on top of a
chestnut husk!
I leaped up and popped right through
the hollow tree trunk with my head.
Ouch, what megalithic pain! But even
worse . . .
GULP!
Now I was face-to-face with the Fiery
Falcon!
I let out a prehistoric squeak — a
mixture of pain and terror. This was it! I was
38
1
I burst through the top
of the hollow trunk . . .
really extinct now!
Squeak!
My squeak was so
loud that I actually
scared the falcon —
and he
flew away!
Jurassic Jack cheese,
I couldn’t believe it!
But then I fell, as
heavy as a boulder,
and landed on my
poor undertail again.
BONK!
Oh, for all the
thorns on a cactus!
I was sore all over
and shaking from
the ends of my
Came face-to-face
with the falcon . . .
3
2
And landed smack on
my undertail! Youch!
whiskers to the tip of my tail — but I was
safe. Whew!
Thea, Trap, and Hercule rushed out of
their hiding place in the empty trunk.
“FABUMOUSE job, little brother!” Thea
cheered.
“Taking off like that was a marvemouse
Fabumouse
job,
Geronimo!
Umm
.
.
.
40
idea,” Trap agreed, looking shocked. “How
did you do that?”
“Umm, well . . . I’ve been exercising . . .”
I stammered, rubbing my sore tail.
“SEE?” Hercule said, putting a paw
around my shoulders. “You’ve learned a
thing or two from spending so much time
with me!”
“Well, actually —” I said.
“Quick!” Thea interrupted. “Let’s get our
tails in gear before the flying squirrels come
out of HIDING.”
Together, we left the woods as fast as our
paws would take us. We had to find those
missing mammoths!
41
YUCK!
We crossed a large, flat area. Unfortunately,
the rain had made the ground really sticky,
really muddy, and really squishy.
YUCK!
Walking was megalithically exhausting!
Plus, we didn’t spot a single trace of the
mammoths.
Just when I thought things couldn’t
possibly get worse, we found ourselves
facing a stretch of quicksand!
Hercule put up a paw. “STOP and hush!
Something’s not right . . .”
“You’re telling me,” I said. “I’m not going
42
through that quicksand!”
“No, Geronimo, that’s not what I mean!
Don’t you smell that horrific STENCH?”
Hercule is the best detective in all of
prehistory (plus, he’s the only one!) and he
almost never makes a mistake.
“Let’s see . . . how strange!” he went
on, sniffing the air with a concerned
Dinosaur
expression on his snout. “I can’t
droppings?
figure out what type of stench it
is.”
Umm
. . .
Rotten
bananas?
Is it Trap’s
paws?
“I don’t smell a thing!” Trap said,
sniffing with his snout in the air.
“I believe that,” I said. “You haven’t taken
a bath in at least five geological eras!
You have such a strong stench, you can’t
smell anything else . . .”
“Hey, I just bathed two months ago!” Trap
protested.
Hercule suddenly squeaked and clapped
his paws over our mouths. “Hush! I figured
it out — I smell the stench
of the saber-toothed
tigers!”
Holey rolling
boulders! Saber-
toothed tigers?
The ENEMIES
of us cavemice?
The sharp-fanged
44
clan of Tiger Khan? We were in enormouse
trouble!
We couldn’t go back, because we would
end up in Tiger Khan’s clutches. But we
couldn’t go forward, either, because the
path was covered with quicksand.
We were trapped! Doomed! Extinct!
Mousemeat!
I was about to etch out my last will and
Follow me!
testament, when Hercule led us into a grove
of reeds. He grabbed a hollow reed and said
seriously, “Follow me!”
Hercule darted out from behind the reeds
and jumped into an enormouse muddy
pond next to the path.
SPLOOSH!
A moment later, Hercule’s reed popped
out of the mud.
Bones and stones, now I understood!
We would hide in that super-stinky
muddy pond, using the hollow reeds as
snorkels for breathing.
“Fabumouse idea!” Thea cried.
A moment later, she and Trap each
grabbed a reed and leaped into the mud
and muck. Petrified provolone, what choice
did I have but to follow them? With a reed
46
in my paw, I stepped up to the edge of the
horrifyingly
muddy
swamp.
Fossilized feta, what a horrible stench!
Before heading in, I noticed something big
and round floating nearby.
“Guys, I found a . . . a . . .”
I had no idea what I had found!
“Well, I found something that we can hold
on to while we’re in the mud!”
Hercule stuck his snout up out of the
mud. “Wow, Geronimo, you’re right! That
will work perfectly — we can grab on to
this so that we don’t get pulled away by the
current.”
On Hercule’s signal, all four of us held
on and ducked under the mud. We stayed
pawsitively still as four saber-toothed
tigers passed by.
I was as petrified as an ancient fossil!
Thankfully, the nasty cats didn’t notice
anything unusual and disappeared out of
sight.
“Phew!” I squeaked, popping up out of
the mud. “That was close!”
“Yeah, but where were those fanged felines
headed?” Thea asked.
Trap shrugged. “Hopefully FAR, FAR
AWAY from here!”
Once the coast was clear, we climbed out
48
of the mud puddle, dragging that
strange
megalithic floating mass behind us.
Hercule pulled out his magnifying glass to
take a closer look at it.
“Holey boulders — this is a fossilized
dinosaur dropping!” he squeaked.
Thea, Trap, and I looked at one another
with horrified expressions on our snouts.
While we were submerged in that stinky
mud, we’d been holding on to . . .
DINOSAUR
POO?
How prehistorically
gross!
49
A TERRIBLE
SURPRISE!
We continued our search, but we didn’t spot
even the shadow of a mammoth!
With our tails between our legs, we
decided to turn back. Unfortunately, a truly
terrible
surprise awaited us in Old Mouse
City . . .
The fence that protected the city was
surrounded by fierce saber-toothed tigers,
led by Tiger Khan himself.
I clapped my paws over my eyes. “Petrified
provolone, we’re finished!” I squeaked.
This was where the nasty cats we’d hidden
from had been heading! They wanted to turn
the citizens of Old Mouse City into rodent
50
kabobs! And without our mammoth friends
to defend us, we were in a megalithic ton
of trouble.
We spied on the tigers from a safe distance.
“Now what?” I whispered.
I couldn’t help the Paleozoic panic rising
inside me. My beloved nephew Benjamin
was inside the village. I had to protect
him!
Thea looked more determined
than ever. “Never give up.
We’ll figure something
out!”
Meanwhile, the tigers
were building wooden
ladders that they could
use to scale the wall.
Just then Hercule pointed a paw.
“LOOK!”
Never
give
up!
51
Take
this!
Bring
this!
Move
the
other
one!
The
tigers!
Jurassic
Jack
cheese!
A Mammoth Mystery (Geronimo Stilton Cavemice #15) Page 2