by Thea Stilton
I’m Geronimo Stilton’s sister.
As I’m sure you know from my brother’s
bestselling novels, I’m a special correspondent
for
The Rodent’s Gazette
, Mouse Island’s most famouse
newspaper. Unlike my ’fraidy mouse brother, I absolutely
adore traveling, having adventures, and meeting rodents
from all around the world!
The adventure I want to tell you about begins
at Mouseford Academy, the school I went to when I was
a
young mouseling. I had such a great experience there
as
a student that I came back to teach a journalism class.
When I returned as a grown mouse, I met five really
special students: Colette, Nicky, Pamela, Paulina, and
Violet. You could hardly imagine five more different
mouselings, but they became great friends right away.
And they liked me so much that they decided to name
their group after me: the Thea Sisters! I was so touched
by that, I decided to write about their adventures. So turn
the page to read a fabumouse adventure about the
THEA SISTERS!
Hello, I’m Thea!
Name:
Nicky
Nickname:
Nic
Home:
Australia
Secret ambition:
Wants to be an ecologist.
Loves:
Open spaces and nature.
Strengths:
She is always in a good mood, as long as
she’s outdoors!
Weaknesses:
She can’t sit still!
Secret:
Nicky is claustrophobic
—
she
can’t stand being in small, tight places.
Name:
Colette
Nickname:
It’s Colette,
please. (She can’t stand nicknames.)
Home:
France
Colette is very particular about
Secret ambition:
her appearance. She wants to be a fashion writer.
Loves: The color pink.
Strengths:
She’s energetic and full of great ideas.
Weaknesses:
She’s always late!
Secret:
To relax, there’s nothing
Colette likes more than a
manicure and pedicure.
Name:
Violet
Nickname:
Vi
Home:
China
Secret ambition:
Wants to become a great violinist.
Loves:
Books! She is a real intellectual, just like my
brother, Geronimo.
Strengths:
She’s detail- oriented and always open to
new things.
Weaknesses:
She is a bit sensitive and can’t stand
being teased. And if she doesn’t get enough sleep,
she can be a real grouch!
Secret:
She likes to unwind by listening
to classical music and drinking green tea.
Name:
Paulina
Nickname:
Polly
Home:
Peru
Secret ambition:
Wants to be a scientist.
Loves:
Traveling and meeting people from all over
the world. She is also very close to her sister, Maria.
Strengths:
Loves helping other rodents.
Weaknesses:
She’s shy and can be a bit clumsy.
Secret:
She is a computer genius!
Name:
Pamela
Nickname:
Pam
Home:
Tanzania
Secret ambition:
Wants to become a sports
journalist or a car mechanic.
Loves:
Pizza, pizza, and more pizza! She’d eat
pizza for breakfast if she could.
Strengths:
She is a peacemaker. She
can’t stand arguments.
Weaknesses:
She is very impulsive.
Secret:
Give her a screw driver and
any mechanical problem
will be solved!
Thea Stilton
AND THE SPANISH
DANCE MISSION
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,
downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced
into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by
any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter
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 [email protected], www.
atlantyca.com.
e-ISBN 978-0-545-55685-9
Copyright © 2012 by Edizioni Piemme S.p.A., Corso Como 15, 20154
Milan, Italy.
International Rights © Atlantyca S.p.A.
English translation © 2013 by Atlantyca S.p.A.
GERONIMO STILTON and THEA 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 En glish cheese. It is a registered trade-
mark of the Stilton Cheese Makers’ Association. For more information,
go to www.stiltoncheese.com.
Text by Thea Stilton
Original title Missione “flamenco”
Cover by Giuseppe Facciotto
Illustrations by Chiara Balleello (design) and Daniele Verzini (color)
Graphics by Chiara Cebraro
Special thanks to Beth Dunfey
Translated by Emily Clement
Interior design by Kay Petronio
First printing, September 2013
proudly
A MUSICAL
SURPRISE
I was
scurrying
home after interviewing
my local theater’s artistic director. He had
announced that they would
be starting their season with a program of
traditional dances from all over the world!
I couldn’t wait to tell
the Thea Sisters! Just
a few months ago,
they had taken part in
a workshop on
traditional dance.
Oh, pardon me, I
almost forgot to
introduce myself. My
name is Thea Stilton,
and I am a special correspondent for The
> Rodent’s Gazette, Mouse Island’s biggest
newspaper. A little while back, I taught a
class in ADVENTURE journalism at
Mouseford Academy. Colette,
Nicky, Pamela, Paulina, and Violet — the
Thea Sisters — were my star students.
As I entered my house, I noticed my friends
had sent me a package. It contained a
CD
and a note:
DEAR
THEA,
LISTEN
TO
The
Track
caLLeD
“fLamenco,”
anD
you’LL
feeL
as
if
you’re
shaking
your
TaiL
wiTh
us
on
The
sTreeTs
of
seviLLe,
spain!
caLL
us
when
you
can
—
we
have
a
fabumouse
aDvenTure
To
TeLL
you
about.
kisses,
The
Thea
sisTers
In the blink of a cat’s eye, I’d inserted the
disc into my
laptop.
A moment later, the
distinctive sound of flamenco, a style of
music and dance that is popular in Spain,
floated
into my living room.
I immediately called the Thea Sisters to
thank them — and to get the scoop on their
new adventure. It was sure to be
action-packed!
Colette whirled into Paulina’s room like a
pink tornado. She dropped her backpack,
which was bursting with papers and notes,
and collapsed into an armchair. “Thank
goodmouse I’m done at last. Professor
Marblemouse’s final exam was harder
than a block of aged cheddar!”
“Congrats, sis!” exclaimed Nicky, passing
her friend a Swiss smoothie. “I hope you’re
ready to relax, because our two weeks of
vacation begin now!
All
that’s left is
to figure out what we
want to do.”
“How about a nice
ON VACATION . . .
AT SCHOOL!
great
trip to Greece?” asked Violet, looking up
from a
travel
brochure. “There are so
many amazing archeological sites there. . . .”
“Patagonia would be great, too. Look at
these gorgeous
photos
!” said Pam,
holding up a magazine.
Paulina’s eyes were glued to her laptop’s
screen. “Beautiful — but I just found a
flight to Honduras. . . .”
“Mouselets, I barely have the energy
to run myself a bath!” Colette moaned. “I’m
practically falling asleep on my paws!
I’m not sure I can even muster
the strength to deep-
condition my fur.”
The mouselets all STARED
at her in disbelief.
“Are you really that tired?” Pam
asked at last.
Colette shrugged. “Well, you know I love
to make a mountain out of a mousehill. But
this term was super-challenging. I’m ready
for some serious relaxation.”
“Actually,” Nicky began, “that sounds
pretty good to me, too. I wouldn’t mind
putting my
paws up
for a while . . . maybe
hit the beach . . .”
“I’d love to spend every afternoon playing
my violin,” Violet added.
“I’ve been wanting to SET UP a blog for
student announcements. My friend Shen and
I have been talking about it for months, but
we never find the time to do it!” Paulina
put in.
Pam nodded. “You said it, sis. . . . I’ve been
so busy I haven’t even rotated the tires on my
Jeep!”
Colette got to her paws. “Listen, I have an
busy
idea:
Why don’t we take a vacation
somewhere truly out of the way?”
“Where did you have in mind?” Paulina
asked.
“I’m thinking of a place that we’ll all
REALLY like . . . someplace comfortable,
where it’s easy to get around. Someplace we
can relax, but also hit the gym if we feel like
it. Someplace that’s full of friendly
rodents . . .”
“All right! When do we leave?” Pam asked
enthusiastically.
“We’re already there,” Colette said, smiling.
“It’s MOUSEFORD ACADEMY!”
Her friends stared at her for a moment,
then burst out laughing.
“You know, I think Colette is onto
something,” Violet said once the laughter
had subsided. “We’re always so that
we never get to enjoy the academy and Whale
Island!”
“Then it’s decided: This time, we’re
staying put,” Nicky concluded.
At that moment, there was a knock at the
door. “Mouselets! I have a package for
you!”
box
Paulina opened the door. In front of her was
an enormouse in the paws of Mercury
Whale, the local mailmouse. “Where should
I put it?” he gasped.
“Here!” Violet and Pam replied, making
room for the huge package.
“There’s a letter, too,” Mercury said.
“Now, where did I leave it?” He stuck his
snout into his mailbag.
After a moment, he
pulled out a FIERY-
RED envelope. “Here
it is!”
The
mouselets
thanked Mercury. Then
SPAIN, HERE
WE COME!
Dearest Thea Sisters,
The fabumouse World Dance Workshop flew
by faster than a tabby doing the tango. We miss
you!
Fortunately, we’ve thought of an event that you
simply can’t miss! But we don’t want to ruin the
surprise. Open the package and you’ll see what
we’re squeaking about. Meet us in Seville!
With love,
Anita and Joaquin Vega
Pam eagerly ripped open the envelope. Inside
was a notecard decorated with red roses
and a message written by paw:
BRIGHTLY
“The Vegas!” Nicky exclaimed. “Do you
remember how much fun we had
together during the WORLD
DANCE Workshop?”
“Of course!” Violet replied. “I’ll never
forget the day Anita taught me the first steps
of the flamenco. . . .”
“And Joaquin taught us our first spin!
Those TWINS are great teachers,”
said Pam.
“It’s hard to believe we haven’t seen them
since the workshop ended six months ago!”
Colette sighed. “It was so HARD to
say
good-bye!”
“Something tells me we’ll see them again
soon!” Paulina exclaimed, lifting off the top
of the box.
Inside there were five
COLORED packages, one for each of
Violet shows off her
Japanese dance costume!
Anita fixes Pam’s
flamenco fur-do!
Colette dances
the hula!
Oops . . . Paulina tangos
onto Joaquin’s paw!
All together for one
last picture!
dress
the mouselets. Paulina quickly
pawed
them to her friends. That’s when she noticed
a
flyer
at the bottom of the box.
“What does it say?” Colette asked, clutching
her pink package.
“It’s an invitation for the Feria de Abril, a
big festival in Seville!”
“Oh yes, I’ve heard of it,” Nicky said. “It
happens every year in spring.”
“Absolutely fabumouse!” cried
Colette. She had just opened her gift. It was
a glamorous flamenco made of pink
silk. The other mouselets hurried to open
their parcels. Soon the room was filled with
magnificent dresses, each one edged with
lace and colorful trim.
“Mouselets, this is the kind of invitation
we just CAN’Tpass up! It’s a once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity. Right?” Pam exclaimed.
Feria de Abril
Feria de Abril is the most important festival in
Seville. This week-long celebration offers an
explosion of flowers and music, and happens
every spring.
The heart of the festival occurs just outside
Seville’s city center, in Maria Luisa Park. Here,
the city’s families and businesses build more
than a thousand
casetas
, temporary houses
in which they dance, sing, and eat together.
Fairgoers dress in the splendid traditional
clothing of flamenco dancers. The streets stay
busy throughout the night, and during the
day, you can admire the elegant horse-drawn
carriages that pass by. It’s a week of pure
entertainment, and everyone is invited!
How
gorgeous!
Wow!
They’re