We'll Bite Your Tail, Geronimo! (Geronimo Stilton Spacemice #11) Read online

  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

  all the trees!”

  “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
r />   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.

  “