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

His friends began to giggle, too. Suddenly,

  I knew

  exactly

  what we needed to do:

  We had to make all the aliens

  laugh

  ! So

  Thea and I started

  dancing

  and

  jumping

  ,

  and Trap began his favorite activity:

  telling

  jokes

  !

  “

  How do you know when the moon

  has had enough to eat?

  ” my cousin asked.

  Negativix shook his head. “Um, I don’t

  know!” he replied.

  “

  When it’s full!

  ” Trap cried.

  The aliens all burst out laughing.

  “

  H

  A

  H

  A

  HA

  H

  AH

  A

  A

  AA

  A

  A

  A

  A

  A

  !

  ”

  As they laughed, their tails began to

  glow

  , their fur changed

  colors,

  and their faces grew happier. It was clear

  the nebulos were changing: They weren’t

  scary

  or

  dangerous

  anymore!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  HA!

  HA!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  HA!

  HA!

  HA!

  HA!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  HA!

  HA!

  HA!

  H

  A!

  HA!

  H

  A!

  H

  A!

  HA!

  HA!

  Friends!

  Tee-hee!

  Hee,

  hee,

  hee!

  Friends?

  That’s

  so

  funny!

  Good!

  Hooray!

  How

  funny!

  neW

  FRiends

  Thank

  you!

  After a few minutes, the

  nebulos

  finally

  stopped laughing. Then a

  blue

  -and-

  purple

  Negativix gave me an enormouse

  hug.

  “Thank you for saving us!” he said,

  tearing up as he spoke. “Before we met the

  spacemice, we were so

  unhappy

  .”

  “Oh, you’re welcome,” I replied,

  turning as red as a cheese rind with

  embarrassment

  . “It was no big

  deal.”

  “That’s not true!” Negativix said. “With

  your help, we nebulos realized that being

  good

  and

  generous

  is better than being

  bad

  and

  envious

  ! Now we’re all colorful,

  happy, and full of

  joy

  ! And we can’t wait

  to apologize to the elfix.”

  Then he led us to the

  toy

  lab

  , where

  a festive crowd of happy elfix greeted us.

  While we spacemice had been busy making

  the nebulos laugh, Rubix had run ahead to

  free

  his friends!

  “We are so sorry for taking you prisoner!”

  Negativix told the elfix. “We wanted your

  presents because no one had ever given

  us

  gifts

  before. But now we understand

  that the

  best

  presents are spontaneous,

  heartfelt, and given with joy! Please

  forgive

  us.”

  “We forgive you!” Rubix replied. “And

  we’re sorry we never saw your planet.

  From now on we will bring many presents

  to

  Nebula

  . Your joy, happiness,

  and friendship will keep your planet

  colorful

  and clearly visible to the

  rest of the universe!”

  Aren’t friendship and

  forgiveness

  wonderful things? I was touched by the

  elfix’s generosity and compassion. Suddenly,

  I had a

  fabumouse

  idea!

  “Tomorrow is the

  Night

  of

  the

  daNciNg

  stars

  ,” I announced. “We’re

  planning a huge party on our spaceship,

  MouseStar 1

  . The

  elfix

  will be our

  guests, but we would like to invite the

  nebulos to come, too! Actually, you will be

  Nebula the way

  it was before . . .

  Nebula after its

  transformation!

  the

  guests of honor

  !”

  “Thank you!” Negativix replied with a big

  smile. “We would be

  happy

  to come to

  your party, friends! But first we want to help

  the elfix make their

  presents

  . We feel

  bad about the way we treated them, and we

  want to make it up to them!”

  Holey space cheese!

  What a great idea!

  The elfix accepted the offer, and the

  nebulos got right to work. Soon the toy

  laboratory was a

  busy

  ,

  happy

  place

  again as the nebulos and the elfix worked

  together,

  side by side

  .

  How

  beautiful!

  Well

  done!

  Thank

  you!

  Let’s

  wrap!

  Cut!

  No

  problem!

  Ready

  foR

  the

  PaRty?

  What

  beautiful

  flowers!

  Look

  at

  the

  purple

  frillies!

  We left the

  elfix

  and the

  nebulos

  at

  work, and Rubix offered to escort us

  back to our space pod.

  When we stepped outside the laboratory,

  we were all

  squeakless

  : The fog had

  lifted, and Twinklix was colorful and shiny

  again! There were bright colors everywhere,

  and my eyes were drawn to a field of amazing

  purple flowers.

  “They’re called purple frillies,” Rubix

  explained. Then he picked a large bunch.

  “The
y are

  special

  flowers: As soon as

  you pick one, another one blooms

  in its place! And they bloom

  for a long time. If you

  receive one as a gift,

  it’s a sign of long-

  lasting friendship and

  sincere affection. Here,

  take these! They’re the

  perfect

  gift for a special

  someone.”

  “Thank you!” I said, smiling at my new

  friend. Maybe I had finally found a gift for

  Sally!

  “Good-bye,” Rubix said. “Have a good

  trip, my friends. And see you soon

  .

  .

  .

  The

  Night

  of

  the

  DaNciNg

  StarS

  is

  almost here!”

  We waved good-bye and boarded our ship,

  eager to head home. As we flew, I glanced

  back at Twinklix. It was

  shining again,

  just as it should be.

  When we arrived at the MouseStar 1, the

  other spacemice happily welcomed us back.

  Even Grandfather William seemed

  nicer

  than usual.

  “

  Well

  done,

  Grandson,

  ” he squeaked.

  “You behaved like a

  true

  captain. Now, is

  everything ready for the party?”

  Stellar

  Swiss!

  I had to run back to my

  cabin to finish writing my speech!

  the

  dancing

  StaRS

  The next evening, it was finally the

  Night

  of

  the

  DaNciNg

  StarS

  . The spaceship

  was decorated, the atmosphere was festive,

  and the

  Space Yum Café

  was full of delicious

  dishes and every kind of

  dessert

  .

  I had finished writing my speech and

  was just going over it when I heard the

  joyous

  screams

  from the other

  spacemice announcing the arrival of the

  elfix’s

  star

  sled

  .

  Galactic Gorgonzola! I had to

  hurry

  to

  welcome our friends!

  Rubix led his fellow elfix off their star

  sled together with the nebulos. They all

  ran toward us, smiling and laughing. The

  nebulos carried enormouse

  golden

  Hooray!

  Hooray!

  Best

  wishes!

  Here

  are

  the

  presents!

  bags

  full of gifts into the decorated hall

  of the Space Yum Café. They were the

  best

  kind of presents because they came

  from their hearts!

  Before I knew it, it was time for my speech.

  I cleared my throat

  nervously

  . I may be

  the captain, but I still hate

  squeaking

  in front of large groups!

  “Welcome, elfix and nebulos!” I began.

  “On this special night, I would like to

  thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

  Thank you

  , elfix, for the thoughtful and

  beautiful presents you bring every year.

  We would

  especially

  like to thank

  you for reminding us that

  love

  and

  generosity

  are the most important

  gifts.

  Thank you

  also, nebulos, for joining us

  tonight and for reminding us that joy comes

  from kindness and selflessness.”

  The nebulos beamed back at me. I

  concluded:

  “Giving a gift is a way to tell someone

  you are thinking of him or her!

  It doesn’t matter if the gift is precious

  or expensive — what matters

  is that it comes from the heart!”

  A warm round of applause broke out.

  Shooting stars!

  I was

  moved by the

  love

  and

  support

  of my

  friends.

  Then it was time to open the gifts! The

  elfix had given me a new

  bookshelf

  for my many books. How thoughtful!

  “Geronimo,

  we

  have a gift for you, too!”

  Negativix said. “I made it myself!”

  “

  Thank you,

  ” I squeaked,

  not sure what to say. I was

  moved by the gesture, but I

  had

  no

  idea

  what it was!

  “It’s a

  nebulos

  ornament!” Negativix

  explained.

  I smiled warmly at

  my friend and then gave

  him a hug.

  “Thank you so much!” I told him. “I really

  like it.”

  Then I heard a loud voice behind me.

  “Grandson, I have a gift

  for you, too!”

  Grandfather William said, handing me an

  elegant

  bow tie printed with a pattern of

  small planets.

  “Me too, G!” Thea said, giving me a

  space tennis racket and a membership to

  MouseStar 1’s

  Technogym

  . I’m really not a

  sportsmouse, but my sister is always trying

  to get me to improve my health!

  Mousey

  Meteorites!

  I had received so

  many thoughtful presents from my friends

  and family. I felt like the

  luckiest

  mouse in the universe!

  On that note, I presented Sally with a bunch

  of sweet-smelling purple frillies. “Thanks,

  Captain!” she said, smiling

  brightly

  at me.

  I wanted to tell her how I felt about her,

  but at that moment, the stars began dancing

  joyfully

  in the clear night sky. Everyone

  rushed to the spaceship windows to watch.

  What a fabumouse show!

  Holey craters, I was so happy! Even

  though I hadn’t told Sally about my feelings,

  my friends and family were all around me on

  the most

  beautiful

  night in the galaxy.

  And this, my dear readers, is the best gift of

  all: sharing special moments with the ones

  you

  love

  !

  What an

  amazing show!

  Look

  at

  the

  dancing

  stars!

  Oooh!

  Wow!

  How

  magical!

  Don’t miss any adventures

  of the Spacemice!

  Be sure to

  read all my

  fabumouse

  adventures!

  Meet

  Geronimo Stiltonord

  He is a mouseking—the Geronimo Stilton

  of the ancient far north! H
e lives with his

  brawny and brave clan in the village of

  Mouseborg. From sailing frozen waters

  to facing fiery dragons, every day is an

  adventure for the micekings!

  Don't miss

  any of these

  exciting

  Thea Sisters

  adventures!

  Meet

  GERONIMO STILTONOOT

  He is a cavemouse

  —

  Geronimo Stilton’s

  ancient ancestor! He runs the stone

  newspaper in the prehistoric village

  of Old Mouse City. From dealing with

  dinosaurs to dodging meteorites,

  his life in the Stone Age is full

  of adventure!

  Don’t miss

  any of my

  adventures in

  the Kingdom of

  Fantasy!

  MouseStar 1

  The spaceship, home, and refuge of the spacemice!

  MouseStar 1

  (exterior view)

  1.

  Control room

  2.

  Gigantic telescope

  3.

  Greenhouse to grow plants and flowers

  4.

  Library and reading room

  5.

  Astral Park, an amousement park

  6.

  Space Yum Café

  7.

  Kitchen

  8.

  Liftrix, the special elevator that moves between

  all floors of the spaceship

  9.

  Computer room

  10.

  Crew cabins

  11.

  Theater for space shows

  12.

  Warp-speed engines

  13.

  Tennis court and swimming pool

  14.

  Multipurpose technogym

  15.

  Space pods for exploration

  16.

  Cargo hold for food supply

  17.

  Natural biosphere

  Dear mouse friends,

  thanks for reading,

  and good-bye until the next book.

  See you in outer space!

  APPEALS TO

  SCHOLASTIC

  READING LEVEL

  2

  ND

  -4

  TH

  GRADERS

  GRADE 4

  More leveling information for this book:

  www.scholastic.com/readinglevel

  www.scholastic.com/geronimostilton

  www.geronimostilton.com

  Each year on the Night of Dancing Stars, the elfix

  aliens distribute gifts to all the creatures

  of the galaxy. But this year,

  the holiday is fast approaching,

  and the spacemice discover that

  the elfix have all disappeared! Can

  Geronimo Stiltonix and his crew find

  them before their special night?

  He is a spacemouse — the Geronimo