The Photosynthesons looked at me in
horror
.
“Captain, what have you done?” Professor
Greenfur asked.
“Um . . . I just leaned
g-gently
against
the t-trunk,” I stammered. “See?”
And I gently placed my paw on another
trunk to demonstrate. But that tree
fell
,
too! As it fell, it hit another tree, and then
another. In just a few
astroseconds
,
the entire grove of trees had fallen like a
bunch of
dominoes
.
Mousey
meteorites!
What was going
on?!
Um
.
.
.
who did this?
I couldn’t escape the
glaring
eyes
of the
Photosynthesons. They were all shooting
daggers at me!
Leafyfur looked at me gravely.
“Captain Stiltonix, we welcomed you in
friendship,” he said. “But this disaster is testing
our patience. Can you explain yourself?”
I didn’t know what to say. I had barely
touched
those trees! And I’m not a very
strong
mouse. In fact, I’m really,
really
weak
! That’s why I had taken off that
heavy backpack
and leaned against
the tree. I just wanted a little
rest
!
I was so embarrassed. Why, oh why
had my cousin given me such a
heavy
backpack
to carry?!
“Uh . . . um . . .” I muttered, trying to
figure out a way to explain myself.
Fortunately, Thea came to my rescue.
“Listen, my brother may be a
klutz
,”
she explained to Leafyfur, “but he would
never do something like this on purpose!”
“Thea’s right!” Greenfur cried suddenly.
“Look what I just found!”
We all rushed to see what Professor
Greenfur has discovered. By all the rings
Come
see!
of Saturn, the tree trunk was completely
hollow
!
“It looks like something
gnawed
the inside of all the trees!” Bugsy Wugsy
squeaked.
“There’s something
strange
going on
here,” Thea added. “I’m sure this is the
reason Greenfur turned
orange
!”
“This is
terrible
,” Leafyfur said
sadly. “And we didn’t
notice anything!”
“These
trees
are extremely
important to us,”
Violix explained.
“They clean the
air
we breathe,
they provide us
with food, and
Who
did
this?
It’s
a
mystery!
they are our
homes
. No Photosyntheson
would ever do anything to hurt the trees in
Evergreen Grove
. Who could have done such
a thing?”
“Don’t worry,” Thea said gently. “We’ll
help you solve this
mystery
. After all,
that’s why we came!”
“That’s right!” I agreed, bravely trying to
act like a captain. “
Spacemice for
one, spacemice for all!”
the search beGins
Leafyfur and the other Photosynthesons
went back to their homes while we gathered
to organize our
investigation
.
“We should split up,” Thea said. “Each of
us can follow a different clue.”
“Good idea!” Benjamin agreed. “Bugsy
Wugsy and I will interview the
PHOTOSYNTHESONS strolling in the
park. Maybe one of them saw something
suspicious!”
“Sounds good,” Thea replied with a nod.
“I’ll go back to the space shuttle. I can use
Hologramix to gather info on any galactic
parasites
that have passed through
Photosyntheson.”
“I’ll use the sniffix to search for
clues
,”
Greenfur said. He took a small robot out of
his pocket. It was equipped with a special
odor-smelling
duct. Greenfur set
the robot in research mode and the sniffix
immediately took off.
“What about you, Ger?” Thea asked me.
“I think I’ll go with Professor Greenfur,”
I replied.
The sniffix moved around
rapidly
,
From the Encyclopedia Galactica
THE SNIFFIX
This small robot has an
ultra-developed
sense of
smell and can collect
the smallest traces of
odors. The robot is equipped
with tiny wheels that use cosmic
propulsion to move over any terrain. It
has an interactive screen and is capable of
talking to the spacemice
. Its one defect is that it’s
allergic to space pollen! It makes the robot
sneeze
and
keeps it from working properly.
looking for clues. Charts, images, and
calculations appeared continuously on its
little screen. We scampered along behind
the robot. I was wearing Trap’s
heavy
backpack
again and I was having a hard
time keeping up!
Suddenly, the little robot stopped. But
instead of showing us the results of his
investigation, he began to
sneeze
.
“Holey craters!” I exclaimed.
“What’s going on?”
“
Achoo!
” answered
the sniffix in its metallic
voice. “There are traces
of
space
pollen
in the air. I’m allergic! I am
sorry. I cannot elaborate on
the data I have collected.”
Greenfur sighed.
Oh
no!
Space
pollen!
Achoo!
“We have to get back to the space shuttle,”
he explained. “There must be some
robotic
allergy medicine
on board the ship.”
My shoulders were
sore
and
aching
from carrying Trap’s backpack, so I decided
to wait and take a rest while Professor
Greenfur got the medicine. I removed the
heavy
backpack from my shoulders and
sprawled out on the grass. Then I turned to
my side and noticed a thin trail of sawd
ust
winding through the blades of grass.
Martian
mozzarella!
Maybe I had found
a clue!
the mysterious
Gnawers
I quickly scrambled to my paws and began
to follow the
trail
. It seemed to
stop from time to time, but it always started
up again. The trail went
straight
, then
it
curved
, then it
ZIG-ZAGGED
across
the grass.
How strange!
Hmmm
.
.
.
What
a
strange
trail!
I was following the trail so
closely
I
didn’t realize I had left Evergreen Grove.
I suddenly found myself in a part of
Photosyntheson I didn’t recognize. The
trail ended in a
CLEARING
surrounded by tall bushes.
I
hid
behind one
and looked
around.
At first, I
didn’t see anything.
Then I
looked
down and I was
flabbergasted! The clearing was filled
with
tiny
aliens scurrying in and out of
small
holes
in the ground.
I studied them for a few more minutes.
They had huge teeth and were busily
chewing on something that left behind a
trail of
sawdust
.
Solar smoked Gouda! These were the
creatures who had gnawed all the trees in
Evergreen Grove!
But
why?
I tried to observe a little more without
being seen, but I inadvertently placed a paw
on a twig.
Crack!
As soon as they heard the noise, the
little creatures stopped and looked around
suspiciously
. But I was well hidden behind
the bush. Luckily, they didn’t see me. After
an
astrosecond
of hesitation, they went back
to their chewing.
PHEW!
I was safe!
I watched the little aliens for a few more
minutes. They were so
CUTE
, I decided I
would just approach them and ask what
they were doing. It couldn’t hurt to be
friendly
and introduce myself, could it? So
I gathered my
COURAGE and stepped out
from behind the bush. I moved slowly so I
wouldn’t
startle
the creatures.
“Good morning, friends!” I squeaked
in a friendly tone. “My name is Stiltonix,
Geronimo
Stiltonix
, and I’m the captain of
—”
I didn’t even have a chance to
finish.
The little aliens surrounded me quickly.
They had
menacing
looks on their
unusual snouts.
“
Who
are you?” one of them asked.
“
What
do you want?”
another growled.
“And
why
are
you here?” asked
another.
Maybe
introducing
myself hadn’t
Gnaw!
been such a
good
idea
after all!
“Er . . . as I was saying, I’m the captain
of
—”
But I didn’t get to
finish
that time, either!
Faster than a shooting star, the
aliens
tied me up.
Mousey
meteors!
I
was
their
prisoner!
Heeeelp!
What do you want!
Why are you here?
The Nibblix Aliens
I shouted as loudly as I could, hoping the
other Spacemice would hear me.
“Heeeelp!”
“Silence!” a voice commanded.
I didn’t have to be told
twice
! A well-
dressed alien with a wooden
crown
on
his head poked me in the tummy. Martian
mozzarella! He looked like their king. And
he was
mad
!
The alien cleared his throat.
“I am Chief Nibbler the Fourth,” he
snorted. “I am Lord of the Underground
and king of the nibblix aliens, who live
in Photosyntheson’s
subterranean
zone! Introduce yourself, you mouse in a
spacesuit!”
Who are you?
“Er . .. as I tried telling you before, I’m
Geronimo Stiltonix,
captain
of the
MouseStar 1,” I explained.
“Geronimo Stiltonix?!” he replied,
surprised. “What are you doing on
Photosyntheson
?”
I cleared my throat.
“Nibbler, I came here with my friends
the spacemice to figure out what’s been
happening on Photosyntheson,” I explained.
“Basically, we wanted to know who’s been
gnawing
“My name is Chief Nibbler the Fourth!”
he roared back. “Or, ‘
YOUR
MAJESTY
’!
No one dares to call me ‘Nibbler’! That is,
no one except my
lovely
wife . . .”
“I’m so sorry, Your Majesty!” I replied,
trying to make up for my mistake. “Would
you please tell me why you and your friends
are gnawing all of Photosyntheson’s trees?”
“We have our
reasons
!” bellowed
Chief Nibbler. “We nibblix have always
lived
underneath
Photosyntheson. Our big
teeth help us dig
tunnels
and build
underground villages where we used to live
happily.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Unfortunately, one day we dug in the
wrong place, and there was a terrible
flood
,” the chief continued. “Most of our
homes were destroyed.”
The nibblix aliens all nodded
sadly
.
“Fortunately, we were able to flee to
the
upper
tunnels
,” Chief Nibbler
continued. “But the lower tunnels are still
flooded, and we’re afraid the water level
will keep
rising
! That’s why we decided to
move above ground.”
Holey craters! What an incredible
story!
Everything was beginning to make sense
now. But there still was one thing I didn’t
understand.
“That’s awful,” I squeaked sympathetically.
“But why are you nibblix
gnawing
on the
trees?”
“Isn’t it obvious?!” Chief Nibbler replied
gruffly. “Do you think these
perfect
sets of
teeth stay like this on their
own? We have to keep
exercising our incisors to
keep them from getting
too
long
or too
weak
! When we’re
underground, we can
keep busy gnawing the
dirt. But above ground,
there’s nothing to chew
on but
trees
!”
I finally understood. The nibblix didn’t
mean to hurt the trees, but they didn’t seem
to have a
choice
!
“If it’s true that you came to solve the
mystery
of the trees, the solution
is simple:
It was us!
” Chief Nibbler
continued. “But we don’t know what else to
Look at
this set
of teeth!
do. We have to keep our teeth
healthy
,
and we have no place to stay underground
right now!”
Geronimo, Where
Are You?
Meanwhile, Thea, Benjamin, Bugsy Wugsy,
and Professor Greenfur were all back where
we had parted. No one had found any useful
information
, and they returned to find me
missing
! My sister knew something
was wrong right away.
“
Look!
” she squeaked. “This is the
backpack Trap gave Geronimo! But where’s
my brother?”
“When I came to the ship in search of the
allergy medicine
, the captain told me he
wanted to
rest
,” Greenfur explained. “He
must have started looking for clues. But it’s
strange that he left the backpack behind.”
At that moment, Benjamin noticed the
trail of sawdust
.
“I wonder if Uncle Ger followed this trail,”
he said. “Let’s see where it
leads
!”
Greenfur put on the
backpack and they all
followed the trail. When they came to the
clearing, they hid in the bushes
and peeked out at me and
the nibblix aliens. They were
horrified by what they saw.
“