Dear mouse friends,
Welcome to the world of
THE RODENT’S GAZETTE
EDITORIAL STAFF
Geronimo Stilton
A learned and brainy
mouse; editor of
The Rodent’s Gazette
Thea Stilton
Geronimo’s sister and
special correspondent at
The Rodent’s Gazette
Trap Stilton
An awful joker;
Geronimo’s cousin and
owner of the store
Cheap Junk for Less
Benjamin Stilton
A sweet and loving
nine-year-old mouse;
Geronimo’s favorite
nephew
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eISBN 978-0-545-39167-2
Copyright © 2000 by Edizioni Piemme S.p.A., Corso Como 15, 20154
Milan, Italy.
International Rights © Atlantyca S.p.A.
English translation © 2004 by Atlantyca S.p.A.
GERONIMO 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 English cheese. It is a registered trademark
of the Stilton Cheese Makers’ Association. For more information, go to
www.stiltoncheese.com.
Text by Geronimo Stilton
Original title Quattro topi nella giungla nera
Original cover by Matt Wolf, revised by Larry Keys
Illustrations by Merenguita Gingermouse and Marina Bonanni
Special thanks to Kathryn Cristaldi
Cover design by Ursula Albano
Interior layout by Kay Petronio
First printing, March 2004
I was lying on the psychiatrist’s
couch
. It was made of soft, fluffy cat fur. But
I wasn’t very comfortable. I was worried.
“How serious is it, Dr. Shrinkfur?” I
murmured, chewing my whiskers.
The doctor leaned back in his chair. “Ach,
first I haff to know more,” he
squeaked in his funny accent.
“Vhen did zis thing start?”
I sighed. I was never the
bravest mouse on the block.
In fact, I guess you could say
I’ve always been a bit of a ’fraidy mouse.
I’ve never enjoyed spooky holidays like
Halloween. I hide in my mouse hole on the
HOW SERIOUS IS IT,
DR. SHRINKFUR?
1
Boo!
Fourth of July. Fireworks make me nervous.
But lately, it seemed like everything was
making me jumpy. “Well, at first I was only
afraid to go to the dentist, but then I
suddenly became afraid of
ELEVATORS
.
Then came the fear of flying. That
was followed by a fear of spiders,
snakes, closed spaces, and crowds.
After that I became afraid of heights
and the dark.” I took a deep breath. Just
talking about all of my fears was making me
afraid! “Oh, yes, I almost forgot, Doctor,” I
added. “I’m also afraid of cats!”
Dr. Shrinkfur waved his paw.
“You are a mouse, you haff to be afraid of
cats!” he said.
I TWIRLED MY TAIL NERVOUSLY Then I sat
up. “Please, Dr. Shrinkfur,” I squeaked.
“Give it to me straight.”
He shook his head solemnly. “Vell, zis
could be serious,” he began. “Or it could
not be. Zis is up to you!”
I scratched my head. “Well, is the cure
going to take long?” I asked.
The doctor jotted down some notes on a
pad. “Vell, it could be long,” he said. “Or it
could not be long. Zis is up to you!”
Now I was confused. If everything was up
to me, what was I paying the most famous
psychoanalyst in New Mouse City to do?
“Will this treatment be expensive?” I asked.
“
H
o
w
s
e
r
i
o
u
s
i
s
i
t
?
”
The doctor stood up. “Vell, it could be
expensive,” he said. “Or it could not be. Zis
is up to you!”
This rodent was beginning to sound like a
broken record. Just then, he put his paw on
my shoulder. “Remember, zis is all up to
you!” he repeated. “You must FACE YOUR
fears
. Othervise you vill never get vell. I vill
see you next Vednesday. For now, it vill be
vone hundred dollars. Thank you.”
I left Dr. Shrinkfur’s office feeling much
lighter. That’s because my wallet was
completely empty!
Well, if the
most famous
psychoanalyst
in NEW MOUSE CITY
said it was up to me to get
well, then I guess it was!
I
l
e
f
t
D
r
.
S
h
r
i
n
k
f
u
r
’
s
o
f
f
i
c
e
f
e
e
l
i
n
g
m
u
c
h
l
i
g
h
t
e
r
.
For the next few days, I couldn’t leave the
house. What if it rained? What if a giant cat
with two heads attacked me?
Yes, I had to face the fact that I was
getting worse. I was
afraid
of everything.
Then one morning the phone rang.
“Hello, Stilton speaking, Ger
onimo
Stilton
,” I murmured.
It was my sister, Thea. She is a special
correspondent for the newspaper
I run, The Rodent’s Gazette.
It is Mouse Island’s most
popular paper!
“Geronimo!!!
Where have
you been?
” squeaked my
WHAT’S UP,
GERONIMO?
sister. “It’s been days since you were in the
office!” I could tell she was annoyed. “Did you
forget about the two television interviews?
And what about the conference at the Press
Club
? Have you lost your calendar? Or
maybe you’re just turning into a cheesebrain!”
I could hear her thumping her paw angrily on
the desk. Uh-oh. When my sister gets mad,
she’s like my uncle Cheesebelly when the deli
runs out of mozzarella balls. There’s no
calming her down.
“Um, well, you
see,” I mumbled, “I
wasn’t feeling too
well. But I’ll be
there tomorrow.
Yes, tomorrow,
for sure. . . .”
6
The next day, I made a decision. It was
time to get off my tail. I couldn’t stay inside
forever. I took a deep breath and forced
myself to leave the house.
I took the stairs. No, I wasn’t ready for the
elevator yet. (I was too
afraid
of closed
spaces.) Then I opened the front door and
stuck my snout outside. It was so noisy! I
could barely hear myself think. Car horns
blared. Delivery trucks rumbled down the
street. Had it always been this loud?
Carefully, I set a paw on the pavement.
Nothing happened. I was so relieved.
Why was I so afraid to go out? It’s no big
ALL IN THIRTY
SECONDS FLAT!
7
I
d
i
i
t
!
I
r
e
a
l
l
y
d
i
d
i
t
!
deal. At last, things were starting to look up.
I walked to the newsstand to buy a paper.
1. I had hardly opened it when . . .
2. A flowerpot fell from a window ledge,
hitting me on the head.
3. Stumbling, I crashed right
into a lamppost.
4. Then I tripped on a mouse
hole cover.
5. I fell and bashed my snout
on the hard pavement.
1.
2.
5.
4.
3.
6. As I was getting up, a taxi ran over my tail.
7. Then a pigeon decided to poop on my nose.
And it all happened in thirty seconds flat!
“” I shrieked in a
panic. I immediately scampered back home.
“See, I was right all along!” I squeaked
out loud. “Going out is dangerous
business! From now on, I’m staying put!”
I locked the door. It took a little while. I had
added five extra dead bolts. You can never
be too safe.
6.
7.
“
H
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
l
p
!
”
Thea called again the next day. She was at
the office, even though it was a Sunday.
“Geronimo! How are you?” she asked.
“Well, um, I’ve got a cold,” I murmured. I
pretended to sneeze.
There was silence on the other end. Could
my sister tell I was faking? “Well, don’t
worry,” she finally squeaked. “We’ll just run
you right over to Dr. Goodpaws. He’ll give
you something to get rid of your cold.
Maybe a couple of shots will do the trick!”
My eyes nearly popped out of my fur.
“Nooooooooo!” I shrieked in terror.
“No shots, please! I’m already feeling
much better. I just need to relax at home for
a few more days. You know, unwind.”
NO SHOTS, PLEASE!
10
My sister put me on squeakerphone.
12
More silence from the other end. Uh-oh.
My sister wasn’t buying it.
“So I heard you went to see Dr.
Shrinkfur,” she murmured at last. “Do you
have a problem, Geronimo?”
I heard another voice in the background.
“Geronimo has a problem? Maybe he
should get his snout out of those books.
That mouse is too brainy for his own good!”
I groaned. It was my annoying cousin
Trap. He runs a thrift store called Cheap
Junk for Less. He tells the worst jokes.
And he loves to play tricks on me.
Then I heard another, smaller voice. “What’s
the matter with Uncle Geronimo? Can I say
hello to him?” it SQUEAKED. I smiled.
It was my favorite nephew, Benjamin.
The next thing I knew, my sister had put
me on squeakerphone. “Go ahead, tell us
everything, Geronimo!” she demanded.
I chewed my whiskers.“Well, I went to see
Dr. Shrinkfur because I sort of have a little
problem . . .” I began.
When I was done talking, Trap was the
first to pipe up.
“So what did Dr. Shrinky Dink tell you to
do?” he asked.
I told him about the doctor’s advice. If I
wanted to get rid of my fears, I had to face
them . . . only, I was too afraid to start!
I
f
I
w
a
n
t
e
d
t
o
g
e
t
r
d
o
f
m
y
f
e
a
r
s
,
I
h
a
d
t
o
f
a
c
e
t
h
e
m
.
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang.
Ring!
I decided not to answer it.
But the doorbell kept ringing.
It was ten times worse than the ding of the
toaster oven, which I was now afraid of. I
wanted to stick my head UNDERWATER
to drown out the
horrible noise.
Finally, I went to the
door.
“A package for Mr.
Stilton!” a small voice
squeaked.
I didn’t move.
A PACKAGE FOR
MR. STILTON!
R
ing!
R
in
g
!
14
Then I heard a loud sniff. “Hmm . . . this
smells like a box of Cheesy Chews to me,”
the voice continued. “What a lucky mouse!”
I scratched my head. I couldn’t just leave
A BOX
of Cheesy Chews on my front
step. They would melt for sure. All of
that delicious chocolate and cheese gone
to waste. It was unthinkable. It was
unimaginable. It was unmousy.
I waited for a couple of minutes. Then I
carefully unlocked the door.
I stuck my snout outside. . . .
15
I
n
s
t
a
n
t
l
y
,
m
y
m
o
u
t
h
b
e
g
a
n
t
o
w
a
t
e
r
.
R
in
g!
Before I could even squeak, six paws
grabbed me. They lifted me up and threw
me into a car.
“Heeelp!” I shrieked. “I’m being
mousenapped!”
Someone started the car. We shot off with
A SQUEAL OF TIRES. I felt like I was
in a movie. You know,
one of those high-
speed cat-and-mouse
adventure movies. Only
this wasn’t a movie.
This was real!
I blinked. At the
wheel sat my sister,
Thea, with my cousin
CHEESY CHEWS
Trap at her side. My young nephew
Benjamin kept me company in the back.
“BUT I'M AFRAID TO GO OUT!" I
shrieked in terror.
Trap squeaked, “OH, DON'T BE SUCH A
BABY!” He shoved a Cheesy Chew into my
mouth. I wanted to tell him I wasn’t a baby.
I just had a problem with leaving my house.
And with driving in fast cars. And with