Mouse Mission
Page 17
Many of those who saw the video sent money, which went straight to the Foundation, because as it turned out, there was no expensive lawsuit to pay for. In the country of Luxembourg, where Loggocorp had its headquarters, the chief executive officer made a speech to explain why he’d decided not to sue.
From now on (he told his shareholders) the company would stay away from wild forests, and all future harvesting of timber would be sustainable. They would forget Marisco. With the attention of the whole world now squarely on that island’s forests, any timber company that dared touch a single tree there would plainly be reviled, with a resultant drop in its share price.
Some people noticed that the CEO looked a little, well, haunted as he made this speech, and for some reason had a tinge of green in his hair, of the sort you might get if some spooky presence puts dye on your hairbrush.
In Marisco, it was rumored that the generals were also haunted by some magical presence—maybe the ghost of Coconut Man. A month after the video went viral they resigned, and amid much rejoicing, President Pindoran was restored to power.
At Buckford Hall, tourist bookings flooded in, after some amazing publicity in American newspapers. That sound-and-light show? Top of the “must see” list.
Back in Cleveland, Megan and Emily decided to keep singing with the Lakeview Middle School Chorus, and sometimes hung out together after school. Emily was much more fun to be with now, because guess what? Someone had mysteriously found the perfect job for her dad, who was now working at City Hall to keep hackers at bay. As Emily told Megan, he didn’t even remember applying for the job. He just got a call one day to tell him that he’d been hired.
And Emily’s brother? Another mystery! Somehow he got a scholarship to a military school. He hated it at first, but he adjusted, and was soon doing well without cheating.
“Thank you, sir,” Megan said to the Big Cheese at one of the first Tuesday meetings after V-day.
“For what?” he asked, but she noticed his paws going up to the corners of his mouth as if he couldn’t help grinning, because there’s nothing that mice can’t do, right? All’s well that ends well.
Mission accomplished.
PRUDENCE BREITROSE grew up in the part of England where Winnie-the-Pooh once roamed, but now lives in California. She worked as a health education writer until she had a dream that confused computer mice with the real thing. That got her started on her mouse trilogy—Mousenet, Mousemobile, and Mouse Mission. Visit her and the Big Cheese at www.mousenet.org.
STEPHANIE YUE is a transplant from Atlanta, Beijing, and Hong Kong. She studied illustration in New York City, and currently shares a home with a hamster in Providence, Rhode Island. When she’s not drawing, you may find her zipping around on a scooter, training in martial arts, and pretending to be a superhero. More of her work can be found at www.jellycity.com.