Away in a Star Sled (Geronimo Stilton Spacemice #8) Read online

  My dear mouse friends,

  Have I ever told you how much I love science

  fiction? I’ve always wanted to write incredible

  adventures set in another dimension, but I’ve never

  believed that parallel universes exist . . . until now!

  That’s because my good friend Professor Paws

  von Volt, the brilliant, secretive scientist, has

  just made an incredible discovery. Thanks to some

  mousetropic calculations, he determined that there

  are many different dimensions in time and space,

  where anything could be possible.

  The professor’s work inspired me to write this

  science fiction adventure in which my

  family and I travel through space

  in search of new worlds.

  We’re a fabumouse crew:

  the spacemice!

  I hope you enjoy this

  intergalactic adventure!

  Professor

  Paws von Volt

  Geronimo Stilton

  GRANDFATHER

  WILLIAM STILTONIX

  ROBOTIX

  BENJAMIN

  STILTONIX

  AND

  BUGSY

  WUGSY

  GERONIMO

  STILTONIX

  TRAP

  STILTONIX

  THEA

  STILTONIX

  away in a

  star sled

  Scholastic Inc.

  Geronimo Stilton

  SPACEMICE

  Copyright © 2014 by Edizioni Piemme S.p.A., Palazzo Mondadori, Via

  Mondadori 1, 20090 Segrate, Italy. International Rights © Atlantyca

  S.p.A. English translation © 2016 by Atlantyca S.p.A.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any

  responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  GERONIMO STILTON names, characters, and related indicia are copy-

  right, 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., Publishers since 1920, 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 trade-

  mark of the Stilton Cheese Makers’ Association. For more information,

  go to www.stiltoncheese.com.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright

  Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, trans-

  mitted, 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 here-

  after 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.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents

  are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously,

  and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business estab-

  lishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-03556-8

  Text by Geronimo Stilton

  Original title La magica notte delle stelle danzanti

  Cover by Flavio Ferron

  Illustrations by Giuseppe Facciotto (design) and Daniele Verzini (color)

  Graphics by Francesca Sirianni

  Special thanks to AnnMarie Anderson

  Translated by Anna Pizzelli

  Interior design by Kevin Callahan / BNGO Books

  First printing 2016

  In the darkness of the farthest galaxy in

  time and space is a spaceship inhabited

  exclusively by mice.

  This fabumouse vessel is called the

  MouseStar 1, and I am its captain!

  I am Geronimo Stiltonix

  , a somewhat

  accident-prone mouse who (to tell you

  the truth) would rather be writing novels

  than steering a spaceship.

  But for now, my adventurous

  family and I are busy

  traveling around the universe

  on exciting intergalactic missions.

  This is The

  laTesT advenTure

  of The spacemice!

  A Very Special

  Speech

  It all began one day before

  dawn

  . Yes,

  you read that correctly: before dawn! Even

  though I’m usually the kind of mouse who

  can sleep until

  noon

  , that morning I woke

  up very, very early. I headed right to my desk

  without even changing out of my pajamas.

  I

  absolutely

  had

  to finish working on

  something very

  important

  !

  It was no

  easy

  task, though. In

  fact, for forty-

  five stellar minutes,

  I

  gnawed

  on my

  laser pen as I tried to think of something to

  write!

  Oh, I’m so sorry! I haven’t introduced

  myself. My name is Stiltonix,

  Geronimo

  Stiltonix

  , and I am the captain of the

  MouseStar 1, the most mouserific spaceship

  in the whole universe. Honestly, though, my

  real

  dream

  is to become a writer!

  As I was saying, I was working on a very

  important assignment when my personal

  robot assistant,

  Assistatrix

  , burst

  into my cabin as he does every morning.

  “

  Wake

  up

  ,

  wake

  up

  ,

  wake

  — what?” he

  said in surprise. “But you’re already awake,

  Captain!”

  “Uh, that’s right,” I replied. “I’m working

  on my speech for the

  Night

  of

  the

  DaNciNg

  StarS

  party!”

  You might be wondering what that is.

  Well,

  I’ll tell you!

  It’s the event everyone has been

  looking forward to for

  months

  !

  Every year, there is a wonderful night

  when the stars

  dance

  around the

  universe

  , painting colorful trails behind

  them in the sky. On this magical night,

  the jolly

  elfix

  —

  citizens of the planet

  Twinklix

  —

  fly their star sled across

  the universe, bringing beautiful presents to />
  everyone. It’s a night full of

  joy

  , friendship,

  and happiness, and we

  spacemice

  celebrate

  by exchanging small gifts and throwing an

  enormouse party!

  In other words, the Night of the Dancing

  Stars is the most beloved holiday in the

  Cheddar

  Galaxy

  ... actually, in the

  entire

  universe!

  As captain of the MouseStar 1, I had

  to prepare a very

  special

  speech for that

  From the Encyclopedia Galactica

  THE NIGHT OF THE DANCING STARS

  The elfix work all year to make gifts for every

  creature in the universe. On the Night of the Dancing

  Stars, they fly all over the galaxies in a giant star sled

  adorned with tiny silver bells, delivering presents to

  the four corners of the universe.

  From the Encyclopedia Galactica

  THE ELFIX

  Home Planet: Twinklix, a planet

  shaped like a wrapped package

  Specialty:

  Making beautiful gifts

  Motto: “Away in a star sled we go,

  bringing gifts to all we know!”

  very

  special

  night. But Assistatrix wasn’t

  listening. My personal assistant robot just

  carried on with his usual morning routine.

  “Captain Stiltonix, it’s time to wash up!”

  Assistatrix ordered. “

  Wash

  up!

  Wash

  up!

  Wash

  up!

  ”

  I sighed. It was no use fighting that

  stubborn

  little robot. So I stepped into the

  Wash-O-Mouse

  for my morning shower.

  “You know what, Assistatrix?” I said as

  I stepped out of the Wash-O-Mouse after

  it was finished. “A nice warm shower with

  a

  lunar

  cheese

  –scented bath gel

  was just what I needed! Now I’m ready to

  focus on my spee

  —

  Aaaaahhhhhh!

  ”

  I had stepped right on a

  slippery

  bar of

  solar soap. I slipped all over my cabin like

  a spaceship trying to avoid an incoming

  asteroid.

  Galactic Gorgonzola! What bad luck!

  I was just about to slam my snout into the

  cabin door when Assistatrix

  grabbed

  me

  by my bath towel and lifted me into the air.

  “This is not the time to go skating,

  Captain,” he ordered. “

  Get dressed!

  Get dressed! Get dressed!

  ”

  He pushed me toward my closet, and I

  quickly got dressed.

  Heeeeeelp!

  Swish

  “Captain, you’re late for the party

  rehearsal!” Assistatrix

  thundered

  .

  “Run, run, run! Everyone is waiting for you

  at the

  Space Yum Café

  !”

  I raced out of my cabin in a

  daze

  and

  hailed an astrotaxi. An astrosecond later,

  I was

  zooming

  toward the spaceship’s

  restaurant.

  There’s So

  Much to Do!

  I walked into the Space Yum Café and found

  it

  buzzing

  with energy and excitement.

  A few spacemice were decorating the room

  with

  lights

  and

  ribbons

  while others

  were busy wrapping gifts. And another

  group of spacemice was busy in the kitchen,

  baking delicious

  cheesy

  desserts for their

  friends and families to enjoy.

  My sister, Thea, spotted me and ran over.

  “Geronimo!” she exclaimed. “Are you

  ready? You have a lot of work to do! You

  have to take a look at all the

  decorations

  ,

  listen to the intergalactic chorus rehearse,

  and choose the

  color

  scheme for the party!

  La,la,la!

  How nice!

  All

  together

  now!

  Taste this!

  Yum!

  Fa,la,la!

  Do you prefer

  galactic green

  or

  moldy

  Gorgonzola green

  ?”

  I hesitated. “Er, what’s the difference?”

  Thea ignored me and

  chattered

  on.

  “And that’s just the beginning

  —

  there’s so

  much to do!” she squeaked as she unrolled a

  really

  looooooong

  list!

  I groaned. Why,

  why,

  why was

  it always up to me to decide everything?

  Maybe it was because I am the captain of

  the ship.

  Sigh!

  “Hey, Cuz,” my cousin Trap greeted me.

  He was holding a box of yummy-looking

  sweets. “These three-cheese chocolates are

  really

  DELICIOUS

  !”

  I reached out to try one, but he moved the

  box away

  faster

  than a cat chasing a mouse.

  “

  Paws off!

  ” he scolded. “You have so

  much to do already . . .

  I’ll

  take care of

  Paws off!

  sampling the

  desserts for

  the banquet

  buffet!”

  He

  chuckled

  as

  he walked away.

  “Geronimo, did

  you prepare the elfix

  welcome speech?”

  Thea asked.

  Stellar

  Swiss!

  I still had to finish my

  speech!

  I was about to reply when another voice

  squeaked up.

  “

  Grandson,

  look

  sharp!

  ” my

  grandfather, Admiral William Stiltonix,

  thundered. “Don’t slouch! Try to welcome

  our friends the elfix with some dignity.

  Don’t

  make

  me

  look

  bad!

  ”

  “G-g-good morning, Grandfather,” I

  replied. “

  Of

  course

  I will treat our guests

  well! After all, I am the ship’s captain!”

  “Well, I should hope so!” Grandfather

  barked. Then he started shouting orders at

  me.

  Luckily, at that moment,

  Sally de Wrench

  arrived. She is the MouseStar 1’s official

  mechanic and technician, and she is the

  loveliest

  and smartest rodent on the

  ship. Every time I see her, my brain turns

  to

  Brie

  ! Ah, what a fascinating mouse!

  I wanted to get her a thoughtful gift for

&nbs
p; the Night of the Dancing Stars, but I was

  completely

  stumped

  on an idea.

  “Earth to Geronimo!” Grandfather

  scolded me. “Are you listening to me? It’s

  like you’re not even

  paying

  attention

  !”

  “S-sure I am, Grandfather,” I squeaked.

  “Now, I’m afraid you’ll have to

  excuse

  me

  . . .”

  I quickly hurried away. I just had to find

  my friend

  Professor

  Greenfur

  ,

  the ship’s resident scientist. He would know

  the

  perfect

  gift for Sally!

  It has

  to be

  the

  perfect gift!

  The Tail Twister

  2000

  Professor Greenfur was probably in

  his laboratory, working on some new

  experiment

  . When I walked in, I

  found him and my nephew Benjamin

  studying a really

  strange

  contraption: It

  looked like something halfway between a

  lawn mower

  and a

  fur-

  curling iron

  .

  “Hi, Uncle G!” Benjamin

  greeted me. “Did you come to

  admire

  Professor Greenfur’s

  latest invention?”

  “Hi, Benjamin,” I replied

  as I gave my adorable

  nephew an enormouse hug. “Uh, yes

  .

  .

  .

  Nice invention, Professor. It’s truly

  incredible! But, er . . .

  What is it?

  ”

  “Good morning, Captain!” Professor

  Greenfur exclaimed as he tightened a few

  screws. “May I present my most recent

  invention: the

  Tail Twister 2000

  !”

  I still had no idea what the thing was!

  “Wow!” I exclaimed. “It’s fabumouse.

  But . . . uh, what do you

  do

  with it?”

  “That’s easy,” he replied. “This invention

  will

  revolutionize

  life on board the

  MouseStar 1! It can cut, curl, shave, twist,

  or braid any tail, anytime! We still have to

  test it out, but —”

  “Let’s remedy that

  right

  away

  !” Trap

  exclaimed as he sauntered into the lab

  holding a Pluto cheese sandwich.

  stinky

  space

  cheese

  !

  Whenever Trap