Oh
no!
” squeaked
Benjamin softly. “
They
captured Uncle G!
”
“Don’t worry!” Greenfur
whispered reassuringly. “I’m sure we’ll
figure out a way to free him. Does anyone
know what kind of aliens those are?”
Bugsy Wugsy didn’t waste time. She
contacted
Hologramix
right away
Oh no!
From the Encyclopedia Galactica
NIBBLIX ALIENS
Where they’re from:
Photosyntheson’s subterranean zone
Features:
They
are short with
large, strong
teeth that need to
be used constantly!
That’s why they
continuously dig long
tunnels underground.
Fun Facts: They have a sweet tooth!
When they’re in a good mood, they love
to play pranks.
Favorite Food:
Sweets of every kind!
Motto:
Look at
our teeth, so healthy and strong;
We must keep gnawing all day long!
using her
wristwatch
communicator.
She explained the situation, and an
astrosecond
later Hologramix sent her
the data from the Encyclopedia Galactica.
Thea, Benjamin, and Professor Greenfur
gathered around Bugsy Wugsy and read the
info.
“
Excellent
work, Bugsy!” Thea
exclaimed, patting the mouselet on the back.
“This background info on the nibblix aliens
gives me an idea as to how we can
free
Geronimo . . .”
A Familiar Aroma
I was so
busy
talking to the nibblix aliens
about their
PLIGHT that I didn’t see the
other spacemice in the bushes nearby.
Suddenly, the air filled with a superstellar
aroma.
Don’t goooo!
Gnaw
Galactic
Gorgonzola!
I would have recognized that smell
anywhere. It was the scent of a mouth-
watering
cheesecake! The nibblix
began to sniff the air eagerly.
“Spacious subterranean tunnels!” the chief
exclaimed. “What a smell! I’m famished.
Nibblix, how about a
snack
? Let’s
follow that scent!”
The other aliens happily scurried after
their leader.
What a smell!
Yummy!
Shooting stars!
They were going
without me!
“Wait! Don’t goooo!” I shouted. “Don’t
leave me tied up here all
alooooone
!”
But the nibblix didn’t listen. They were
too busy following that
mousetastic
scent. In fact, I realized it wasn’t the scent of
just any old cheesecake. Instead, it was the
smell of a very
special
cheesecake: Chef
Squizzy’s famouse
triple
cheesecake
with
candied fruit
on top! Holey craters!
As soon as the nibblix were out of sight,
I heard
movement
coming from the
bushes behind me.
“
W-w-who’s there?” I stammered.
“It’s us, Uncle G!” came my nephew’s
sweet
squeak.
Thank goodmouse!
The Spacemice
had come to my rescue!
A Delicious Idea
Thea, Greenfur, Benjamin, and Bugsy Wugsy
came out of the
bushes
. They immediately
began working to
untie
the ropes
wrapped
tightly
around me.
“Prickly shrubs!” exclaimed Professor
Greenfur. “What strong knots!
Too bad I don’t have my
portable
knot-loosener
with me . . .”
to
see
you,
spacemice!” I
exclaimed. “How
did you
find
me?”
“It was simple,”
What
strong knots!
Benjamin replied. “We saw Uncle Trap’s
gigantic
heavy
backpack
and then we
followed the trail of sawdust.”
Martian mozzarella! I felt so
lucky
that I could count on my friends!
“When we saw the nibblix, we were
stunned,” Greenfur added. “We didn’t know
such
aliens existed on Photosyntheson.”
“We used the Encyclopedia Galactica to
gather a lot of interesting information about
the nibblix,” squeaked Bugsy Wugsy. “And
we found out that they have
a very sweet
tooth
.”
“That gave me an idea,” Thea continued.
“I got in touch with the crew on
MouseStar 1 and asked Sally to send us
one of Squizzy’s
CHEESECAKES
via
Teletransportix
.
.
.”
“Not just any cheesecake,” Bugsy
specified. “But a
triple cheesecake
with
candied fruit
on top!”
“Exactly!” chuckled Greenfur. “Sally set
the
Teletransportix
so that the cake would
be transported right here. Then we lured
away the sweet-toothed nibblix with the
cake’s
mousetastic aroma
!”
Here’s the
cake!
Stellar Swiss! My friends were truly
out of
this world
! Greenfur finally untied the last
knot and I was free.
“We’d better get away from here,” Thea
suggested. “The nibblix will probably be
back once they finish
eating
the cake.”
“Wait!” I said. “The nibblix have a real
PROBLEM
. They need our help!”
The spacemice listened as I explained the
situation. Once they heard about the
flooded
tunnels
that had forced the nibblix aliens to
abandon their homes, they agreed that we
had to help.
“But what can we do for them, Uncle G?”
Benjamin asked, a worried look on his snout.
Then we heard a noise
behind us. The
nibblix were back, and they didn’t look
happy
. They were glaring at us and baring
their sharp teeth
menacingly
!
We Want to Help!
Chief Nibbler readjusted his crown, brushed
some
cake crumbs off his face, and
cleared his throat.
“Nibblix,
elevated formation
!”
he ordered. “I need to look these gigantic
mouseoids in the eye!”
His subjects snapped to work. They quickly
began to climb on top of one another’s
shoulders. It looked like they were building
a
strange tower
!
Stinky space cheese! What were they
planning to do?
The chief climbed on top of the heap and
looked at me, unafraid.
“Geronimo Stiltonix,” the chief bellowed.
“
Who
are these mouseoids?
Where
did
they come from? And
how
did you untie
yourself?”
“
Your
majesty
, these are my spacemice
friends.” I explained.
“Please meet my sister, Thea, my nephew,
Benjamin, his friend Bugsy Wugsy, and
Who are they?
They’re
my friends!
scientist Professor Greenfur.”
“We don’t want to hurt you,” Thea
explained. “In fact, my brother told us your
story and we want to
help
!”
“We nibblix know how to take care of
ourselves!” Chief Nibbler answered proudly.
“But you can’t keep gnawing every
tree
on Photosyntheson!” Professor Greenfur
exclaimed. “Before you know it, all the trees
will be gone! And many of these trees are
home to Photosynthesons who live above
ground.”
“He’s right,” Benjamin agreed. “We know
the subterranean
tunnels
you live
in are in danger, but destroying the habitat
of others isn’t a good solution. Let us help
you. Together we’ll find a way to stop the
flood
in your tunnels!”
The nibblix were silent for a moment.
I’ve got it!
“What do you propose?” Chief Nibbler
finally asked.
“Hmm . . . I think I have an idea,” Greenfur
mumbled. He began walking
back
and
forth
in the clearing under the watchful
eyes of Chief Nibbler.
I was also
curious
. What did the
professor have in mind?
“
I’ve got it!
” he exclaimed suddenly.
“If I could calculate the angle of the tunnels
and multiply it by
X
and divide it by
Z
, I’ll
have the solution. But one of you will have
to take me to the entrance to the tunnels.”
“
And why should we do that?
” Chief
Nibbler asked skeptically.
“Because Professor Greenfur is a brilliant
i
t
!
scientist and he’s thinking of a way to
SAVE
your homes,” I tried to explain. “If you trust
him, he might be able to
FIX EVERYTHING
!
Then you can go back to living
underground
,
where you’re
happiest
!”
The nibblix gathered around their chief.
They talked softly for a while. Finally, the
CHIEF
approached me.
“We have decided to
trust you
,” he said.
“Come! We’ll show you the entrance to the
tunnels
.”
tHe perfect plan
I put Trap’s
heavy backpack
back on my
shoulders, and, for a moment, I wondered
what could possibly be inside. But the
nibblix scurried ahead quickly and I had to
follow, so I didn’t get a chance to open the
backpack to
find out
.
Chief Nibbler led us to a part of
Photosyntheson we hadn’t seen. There
was a beautiful garden filled with
star-
shaped flowers
. They were so
beautiful
! Lots of young nibblix
peeked at us through the flowers, staring in
amazement
.
“Fellow nibblix, I present the
spacemice
!” Chief Nibbler exclaimed.
“I granted them the
honor
of helping us
find a solution to our
flooded
tunnels.
Please escort them underground for an
inspection
!”
As soon as the chief finished talking, a
few nibblix came forward to lead the way.
We
followed
them to the opening of a
large tunnel. Greenfur
examined
the entrance closely.
“The upper
tunnels
are still dry,” our
guide informed us, “but if we don’t stop the
water soon, everything will be
flooded
and we’ll have no place to live!”
“What do you have in mind?” I asked the
professor.
“I was thinking of building a
dam
,”
Professor Greenfur explained. “But first I
have to check a few things . . .”
He took out a strange contraption.
“This is a
processorix
,” Greenfur
These
are
the
spacemice!
We’ll
help
you!
How
beautiful!
explained. “It’s a brilliant invention! You
wear it, think about what you want to do,
and then the
processorix
formulates a plan
for the project at the speed of light. I’ll use
the device to send a
probe
to inspect the
interior of the tunnel. The probe will collect
the data I need while the processorix picks
up the
impulses
from my brain
and designs a project automatically on the
screen!”
The nibblix were a little
perplexed
by the device (honestly, so was I!), but they
went along with Greenfur’s plan anyway.
“
We got it!
”
the professor exclaimed
happily a few moments later.
Then he showed us an image on the
processorix
screen.
“Every nibblix will bring some sandbags
into the tunnel,” he explained. “The bags
will be used to build
a dam near the
hole
where the water is
entering.”
The nibblix looked
at the illustration
&
nbsp; of the plan on the
processorix
.
They seemed very
impressed.
“As soon as the
dam
reaches the dimensions indicated
here
,
the water will stop, and your tunnels will be
dry again!” Greenfur concluded.
The nibblix applauded
happily
.
“But stopping the water won’t be enough,”
Greenfur warned. “The dam could
break
at some point. The
solution
is to have a
group of nibblix
DIG
a lateral tunnel next
We
got
it!
to the original tunnel
while the other group is
busy hauling in the sandbags.”
“But why do we need the second
tunnel?” one of the nibblix asked,
perplexed
.
“If the water
spills
out
of
the riverbed, it will run along the secondary
tunnel instead of breaking through the dam
and
washing
away
your homes,”
Professor Greenfur explained.
“But what happens to the water then?”
asked Chief Nibbler.
“At the end of the second tunnel, you’ll
have to dig a big,
deep
hole to collect the
water,” Greenfur said. “That basin can
double as an awesome
swimming
pool
!”
“Amazing!” exclaimed Chief Nibbler.
“Come on, nibblix! We can do this. Now,
let’s get to work!”
In The Tunnels
The nibblix were about to follow their chief
into the tunnels when Benjamin had an idea.
“Uncle!” he cried. “I can give the chief
my
wristwatch
so he can communicate
with us while he and the other nibblix are
underground.”
It was a
fabumouse
idea.
“Hey, Nibbler!” I called out.
The chief turned to me and
incinerated
me with a look.
“Oh, uh, excuse me, Your Majesty,” I
muttered, my snout turning
red
with
embarrassment. “Wait a second, please!”
We
strapped
Benjamin’s wristwatch
onto Chief Nibbler’s small paw, and the
aliens went down into the tunnels, each
carrying a
sandbag
.