HOUR

THE
MAGIC
OF

THE EIGHTH ADVENTURE

IN THE
KINGDOM OF FANTASY

Scholastic Inc.
Copyright © 2012 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

copyright, 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 trademark

of the Stilton Cheese Makers’ Association. For more information, go to
www.stiltoncheese.com.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright

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This book is a work of ction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are
either the product of the author’s imagination or are used ctitiously, and
any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments,
events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

e-ISBN 978-0-545-82618-1

Text by Geronimo Stilton

Original title Ottavo Viaggio nel Regno della Fantasia
Cover by Danilo Barozzi
Illustrations by Danilo Barozzi, Silvia Bigolin, Carla De Bernardi, and
Piemme’s Archives. Color by Christian Aliprandi.
Graphics by Chiara Cebraro and Yuko Egusa

Special thanks to Kathryn Cristaldi

Translated by Andrea Schaffer
Interior design by Kay Petronio

First edition, June 2016

The Band of Time Seekers

Geronimo Stilton
I am the publisher of The Rodent’s

Gazette , the most famouse newspaper

on Mouse Island. This is my eighth

trip to the Kingdom of Fantasy!

Scribblehopper
I was Sir Geronimo of Stilton’s rst

guide in the Kingdom of Fantasy. I

am a literary frog with tons of ideas.

Someday I will write a book!

Little Princess Buzzy

I am the niece of the queen of the

bees, the third of the noble Buzzers.

Some say I am high maintenance; I

say so what! I am royalty, after all!

 Queenie
I am Scribblehopper’s cousin. I am part

of the noble dynasty of the Greenbloods.

I usually don’t hang around commoners.

Ribbit!

Solitaire
I am a knight who leads Geronimo

through the Land of Time. I wear a

mask over my face to keep my identity a

secret. Shhh . . . I’ve got my reasons.

Dragon of Time
I’m an emerald-green dragon who is

loyal and true. I am Geronimo’s ride

from the Land of Time.

Hee Haw
I am the court jester in the Land of

Time. I love to ruf e Geronimo’s fur!

Hee haw!
 SNIFF! SNIFF!

That morning, when I stuck my snout out

the window of my of ce, I noticed that the air had

a special smell . It smelled like it was about to

snow ! Oh, how I love snowy winters in New

Mouse City, my home sweet home!

Oops, I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself.

My name is Stilton, Geronimo Stilton. I have

 brown fur and glasses, and I am the publisher

of The Rodent’s Gazette, the most famouse

newspaper on Mouse Island.

Anyway, as I was saying, that day in New Mouse

City, I could tell snow was on the way. I was so

excited! Don’t get me wrong: I’m not a big fan

of FREEZING weather or heavy-duty shoveling,

but have you ever seen the city under a blanket

of snow? Let me tell you — there is nothing

more beautiful! Plus, when it snows, I love to go

sledding with my dear nephew Benjamin and

warm my paws with a cup

hot cheese
of by the re.

I was still dreaming

about hot cheese when the

phone rang. Riiinnng!

It was my grandfather
GRANDFATHER William Shortpaws, who
WILLIAM SHORTPAWS,
boomed, “Grandson, have
founder of

The Rodent’s Gazette

you nished writing the book?” When I didn’t

respond immediately, Grandfather screeched,

“Have you forgotten?! You need to write the

new Kingdom of Fantasy book! It’s due

next week!”

I hit my forehead with my paw. Rats! How

had I forgotten?! Of course, I couldn’t tell my

RAGINGgrandfather this, so I said, “Don’t

worry, Grandfather. I already have the whole

book in my head — sort of — and lots

of good ideas . . .”

What my grandfather doesn’t understand

is that in order to write about the Kingdom of

Fantasy, I have to GO there. On a recent trip,

Queen Blossom gave me a magical sapphire

ring that would let me visit whenever I wanted.

Unfortunately, I had misplaced it! The only other

way to get there is by dreaming .

“Remember that this is the most important

book of the year, and readers are waiting
impatiently. Do you understand, Grandson?”

Grandfather William went on.

Then, before I could hang up, he added, “Oh,

and by the way, we’re all coming to your house

tonight to celebrate Aunt Sweetfur’s

birthday, understand?”

I hurried to squeak. “Of course! Certainly!”

Worried (not about the birthday but about the

book I had forgotten to write), I left my of ce and

headed home. I hoped that taking a walk would

ll me with ideas , but my mind was blank.

As I walked, I noticed the most delicious

aromas. First I passed by Squeakini’s, my favorite

bakery in the city, and warm

smelled their

cheese donuts. Yum!

I bought a box to serve that

evening for Aunt Sweetfur’s

birthday. Naturally, I had to

taste a donut to make sure they were fresh.

(Okay, okay, I confess I have no willpower when

it comes to cheese donuts!)

Next, at Tables for Tails, a popular café, I

smelled a tangy blue cheese

quiche . I bought a gigantic

piece to serve for Aunt Sweetfur’s

birthday dinner.

Finally, in Singing Stone Square,

I bought a beautiful owering

pink plant from Geraldine

Greenwhiskers, the orist. Aunt

Sweetfur loves owers. It was the

perfect gift!

Now, if only I could come up

with the perfect idea for

my book . . .
 I’LL HELP YOU,
GERONIMO!

I got home just in time to greet my guests. The

rst to arrive was Grandfather William. He is a

STICKLER for being on time. Then

my sister, Thea, ROARED up on

her motorcycle. Thea and I are

opposites. She is a daredevil, and

I am a scaredy-mouse ! Next

came my cousin Trap, who loves to tease

me, followed by my dear nephew Benjamin.

While we waited for Aunt Sweetfur,

we began to decorate the house

with balloons and streamers.

Benjamin had made a purple

banner (Aunt Sweetfur’s favorite

color) that read:

 I grabbed a ladder so I could hang it over the

replace. But as I climbed, the ladder began to

wobble .

“I’ll help you, Germeister!” my cousin

volunteered, GRIPPING the ladder.

I gulped. The last time Trap volunteered to help

me, I ended up in the emergency room with a

cheese graterstuck in my fur! But that’s

another story . . .

“Are you s-s-sure?” I stammered nervously.

“Don’t you trust me?” Trap retorted.

Before I could answer, he began to sneeze . . .

“Ah-ah-ah . . . choo!”
As he leaned on the ladder, it fell, and I
TUMBLED to the ground, landing on my

tail. Ouch!
Oh, when would I learn to trust my instincts
and not my cousin?

“Are you okay, Uncle?” my nephew squeaked,

running over.

I checked for broken bones. “I’m ne,” I

assured Benjamin, standing up.

. . .
Steady

Don’t
worry!

. . .
Ah-ah-ah
 It was then, though, that I realized I had

broken something . . . my watch!

Rats! I loved myWATCH ! It was a gift from

my grandfather when I took over The Rodent’s

Gazette.

Help!

. . choo!
.
 Tears sprang to my eyes, but Grandfather
put a paw on my back and said, “Get a grip,
Grandson. It’s not the end of the world! I

know how you can x that watch. Bring it to

my famouse watchmaker friend, Minute Mouse.
You’ll nd him at his shop, Time Flies! He
repairs and sells clocks. I think you’ll nd the
place very unusual . . .”

a grip!
Get

Sigh!
 I was just about to ask him what he meant

by unusual when the doorbell rang. Aunt

Sweetfur had arrived!

“Happy birthday, Aunt Sweetfur!” we shouted.

The party was a big success! Aunt Sweetfur

gave us all big hugs in appreciation. We had

a fabumouse dinner (my quiche was a hit!) and

delicious strawberry cheesecakefor

dessert. Yum!
 TIME FLIES!

As soon as I left work the next day, I decided to go

nd Time Flies!, the clock shop Grandfather

William had told me about.

I took the subway and got off in the western end

of the city. From what Grandfather had told me,

ALLEY OF LOST
the shop was located on the
TIME
, in the oldest part of town.

I couldn’t nd the street listed on my map, so

I hailed a taxi. But the TAXI didn’t know the

street, either. Eventually, I had him drop me off in

Remembrance Square. I wandered along Memories

Road, which led into Useless Regrets Avenue . . .

until I realized I was completely lost !

I went into a deli to ask for directions, but the

mouse behind the counter just blinked. “A clock

shop on the Alley of Lost Time? Umm . . . it’s this

I’m
lost!
 . . .
that way
Maybe

way, or MAYBE that

way . . .” he mumbled.

I continued on, asking

everyone I
Never
of it! passed for directions —
heard

mice on skateboards,

construction mice,
business mice — but

everyone said the same

thing:“Never heard
of it!”
I was about to give up

when I spotted an elderly

yes!
Oh lady. “
Time Flies!?”
she asked incredulously.

“The clock shop on the

Alley of Lost Time? Who

gave you this address,

young mouse?”
 “My grandfather gave it to me,” I explained.

“Your grandfather, eh? Now I understand.

Once upon a time that shop was famouse, but

almost no one remembers it anymore . . .” she

said with a FARAWAY expression on her face.

“No one remembers the corner cheese store where

you could buy cheddar bread for a PENNY,

or the candy store with the most delicious blue

cheese f u d g e for a nickel . . .” She rambled

on and on.

When she nally pointed me in the direction

of the CLOCK SHOP, I thanked her for

her help and continued on my way. After a few

minutes, I saw the alley in front of me — but then

a bus roared by, and when I looked up, the alley

had DISAPPEARED ! Huh? Were my eyes

playing tricks on me? Was the cheese falling off

my cracker?

I shook my head, and the alley reappeared.

How strange!
I walked steadily ahead and soon found myself

at the front door of the clock store. A huge antique

WOODEN
sign with a clock face on it hung over

the doorway. It Time Flies! Clock

read:

and Repair
Shop.
Underneath, in smaller writing, it read: Time

waits for no mouse, so use your time wisely!

I went in, and it was then, right then, that this

whole adventure truly began . . .

 it!
I found
 I’LL FIX IT!

As soon as I entered the dimly lit shop, I heard

the steady rhythmic

TICKTOCK of all

the clocks surrounding me. There were big clocks,

small clocks, and clocks in all different colors.

There ornate
were gold-plated clocks and

wooden cuckooclocks. There were chandelier

clocks and clocks to sit on mantelpieces.

An instant later, I smelled the intense scent of

roses . I followed the scent to a corner of the

shop, where I discovered a huge blue pot lled

with climbing roses. And when I say climbing,

I mean, climbing ! The flowered branches

twisted together and went up, up, up , all the

way through a skylight in the roof.

That extraordinary plant grew half on the inside

of the store and half on the outside.

 I walked over to it and bent

down to sniff the beautiful

star -shaped owers. Ah, there

is nothing sweeter than the

scent of fresh roses!

Suddenly, I felt a paw on

my shoulder. “It’s an amazing

specimen, isn’t it?” a voice

squeaked in my ear. “This plant

is called a Starry Rose. It

holds aMAGICAL SECRET

and comes from very, very far

away . . .”
Sniff !
Sniff !
 I turned and saw a kindly-looking mouse about

my grandfather’s age. He had white hair and a

bushy mustache, and he wore a pair of old-

fashioned glasses. Right away, I knew this had to

be MINUTE MOUSE , my grandfather’s friend.

“Oh, hello. My grandfather, William Shortpaws,

sent me. I have a watch in need of repair . . .” I

began.

The old mouse brightened. “William? Of

course, you must be his grandson Geronimo! I

know all about you! William is so PROUD

of you! He said that you are doing a great job

running The Rodent’s Gazette and that your

books are fabumouse!”

“R-r-really?” I stammered.

I didn’t say it aloud, but I was shocked ! I

mean, usually my grandfather likes to say things

like, “Grandson, you need to work harder!” and

“Grandson, you need to write FASTER !”

and “Grandson, the paper was so much better

when I was publisher!”

I was still thinking about my grandfather when

Minute Mouse yelled over his shoulder, “Eloise ,

look who came to visit us! William’s grandson!”

From the back, an elderly rodent appeared.

She had white hair and wore a dress

EMBROIDERED with roses. “Oh, you really

are the grandson of our dear friend William! I

recognize you from the photo!” she exclaimed

happily.

She showed me a

photo of Grandfather

and me in a SILVER
frame. “Your grandfather

gave me this,” she

explained. “He is so

proud of you! He told

us you were interviewed

on MouseTV and that you won the distinguished

Squeakiest prize!”

Journalist
Again, I was surprised. When my interview

on MouseTV aired, Grandfather complained

that it was on at the same time as MONDAY

NIGHT MOUSEBALL. And when I won

the Squeakiest Journalist prize, my grandfather

snorted and said, “They’re giving the prize to

you ?!”

Ah, well. Maybe one of these days I’d gure out

Grandfather William. But for now I kissed the

to elderly lady’s paw

Pleased
you! Oh!
meet and said politely,

“Pleased to meet

you, ma’am!”
 She smiled. “What a gentlemouse , just like

your grandfather! Now, please, make yourself

comfortable!” she squeaked, leading me to a cozy

room in the back of the store.

In addition to dozens of clocks on the walls, the

room had a clock-faced rug and two pawchairs.

Eloise motioned for me to sit in one of the chairs.

It was BLUE with a starry pattern.

yellow

There were two enormouse dragons carved

into the armrests, and a golden dragon head with

GLITTERING eyes peered down from the

backrest. I felt like I was sitting on some kind of

throne! How strange!

I was about to ask Eloise what was with all the

dragons, but right then Minute appeared. I showed

him my broken watch, and he exclaimed, “Ah, I

recognize this piece! I sold it to your grandfather

many years ago. Don’t worry,I’ll fix it.”

 THERE’S NO TIME
LIKE THE PRESENT!

Minute Mouse disappeared into his workshop ,

and I sank into the blue pawchair. Ah! It

was so comfortable!

A moment later, Eloise returned with a cup of

tea and a plate of warm cheesy cookies.

The teapot and sugar bowl were engraved with

tiny clock designs, and the silver sugar spoon

was shaped like a clock hand. The cookies were

shaped like numbers from ONE to TWELVE —

just like (you guessed it!) the numbers on a clock.

How coordinated!

I also noticed that even the napkins Eloise

offered me had little sayings on them that were

all about time. One read: There’s no time like

the present!Another read:Always make time

for yourself!

Eloise sat in the pawchair across from me,

working on a piece of embroidery (a clock

design , of course!) and squeaking away.

“As you can see, we really like clocks. In fact,

we hardly ever leave our shop, since our life

revolves around everything within these

walls,” the elderly mouse revealed, looking around

with a satis ed air.

“Every one of our clocks has a story,” she

continued. “For example, that one is an ancient

SUNDIAL that tells the time of day by

the position of the sun. The sun hits the pointer,

which casts a shadow on the stone tablet, marking

the time. That one is a strange water clock,

with a complicated system of gears and weights.

And this is a RARE clock with detailed

gures of a cat chasing a mouse.”

I shivered. Who would want a clock with a cat

chasing a mouse?

“This beautiful g o l d pocket watch belonged

to the founder of New Mouse City, GRANT

SUNDIAL
WATER CLOCK
 GENTLEMOUSE . It sings the Mouse Island

anthem every hour on the hour,” Eloise went on.

“But the piece that has the most value for Min

is the watch that he made the very first day

he began working with his grandfather, the great

George Pawsley Clockers. It is the most valuable to

him because it holds wonderful memories .”

“That’s nice,” I mumbled, feeling a w av e

of sleepiness coming over me. I couldn’t help

it. That dragon pawchair was more comfortable

than my super-deluxe, super-plush Sleepyrat

POCKET
CAT AND MOUSE CLOCK
WATCH
mattress! Before I could stop myself, I let out

a loud yawn. Oh, how embarrassing!

“Excuse me,” I apologized, turning RED .

“Don’t worry, dear,” Eloise said, with a kind

smile. “That pawchair makes everyone sleepy.

Min takes a nap there every day after lunch.”

Then she continued on with her story. “All these

clocks were collected by the GRANDFATHER of the

GRANDFATHER
of the GRANDFATHER of my husband,

and every one has a story. The most interesting

story is about an ancient MAGICAL instrument

kept in this store that is able to stop time and then

make it go backward. It’s called the Tick Tock

Timepiece . . .”

I wanted to ask Eloise more about the Tick

Tock Timepiece, but I felt another yawn coming

on and decided I’d better keep my mouth shut.

Still, I couldn’t stop my eyelids from drooping.

There was something about that pawchair and the

So
sleepy!
TICKTOCKING of the clocks that relaxed

me. Before I knew it, I fell fast asleep and began

to dream . . .
and dream . . .
and dream . . .
 KNIGHT! KNIIIGHT!
KNIIIIIIGHT!

I woke up because I thought I heard a VOICE

calling.

“Iiight! Iiight!” the voice seemed to be saying.

HUH?
I stood up and looked around. I was still in the

clock shop, but it was NIGHTTIME .

“Um, Mr. Minute Mouse, sir?” I called out

tentatively. “Ms. Eloise?” But no one answered.

Just then the voice called out again. This time I

realized what it was saying. “Kniiiight!

Kniiiight!”
How very, verySTRANGE . Even stranger, the

voice was coming from the Starry Rose plant!

I ran to the plant and looked up at the skylight.

The plant burst through the opening into a dark

 sky sparkling with stars.

It was then that I remembered

how Minute Mouse had mentioned

that the Starry Rose was a

magicalplant. Hmmm . . . Was

the Starry Rose like the beanstalk

in Rat and the Beanstalk, the old

fairy tale I’d read when I was a young

mouseling ?

I was hoping Minute Mouse

would appear to clear things

up, but the voice began shrieking

louder: “Kniiiight! Hello down

there ! What’s taking you
so long?!”

Of course, I had no idea what

the voice was talking about, so I

yelled back, “My name is Stilton ,

Geronimo Stilton. Who are you,
and why are you HOLLERING

up there?”

But the voice didn’t answer

my questions. In fact, it was

sounding more and more

exasperated by the minute.

“Come on! I don’t have all day,

you know! Climb up! Climb

up! Climb up!Let’s get this show

on the road!” it demanded.

I tried to ask another question,

but theWIND took my voice

away. Rats! If I wanted to know

who was calling me, I had no

choice. I had to climb up the plant.

PEP TALK
So I gave myself a and

began climbing. Holey cheese, it

was steep! Oh, why did I have to be

afraid of heights?
 there?
up
is
Who
 I slipped and slid on the leaves, which were

wet with dew, and the scent of the roses was so

intense that it made my head spin . I love the

sweet scent of owers as much as the next mouse,

but have you ever stuck your head in a rosebush

for more than ten minutes? Let me tell you, it

is pretty overpowering! In fact, it’s almost

suffocating! I was afraid that I would faint and go

TUMBLINGhead over paws to the ground!

Headlines ashed before my eyes: Sweet

Scent Suffocates Stilton! Publisher Plunges from

Monster Bush . . . Recovery Not So Rosy!

As I climbed, I did my best not to look down.

But you know how that goes . . . whenever

someone tells you not to do something, you only

want to do it more! Eventually, I snuck a peek .

I was soHIGH up, I could see the entire city!

I climbed and climbed until I reached a sea of

clouds as soft as my great-grandmother Fancyfur’s

wall-to-wall cat furcarpet. Come to think of

it, everything in Great-Grandma Fancyfur’s house

was carpeted. Even her toilet seat!

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, next I spotted

a pink shimmering sky. It was then that I

realized what was magical about the Starry Rose

plant.

It led to the Kingdom of Fantasy!

 In the
Kingdom
of
Fantasy
 !
Castle
l
Crysta
Queen Blossom’s
Crystal Castle
 THE KNIGHT OF THE

SILVER WATER LILY

Closing my eyes, I jumped off the Starry Rose

plant and landed safely in the white blanket of

clouds. Whew!

p o l i s h e d my glasses to see better,

I

squinted my eyes, and far, far, far into the

horizon, I recognized the shining roof of Crystal

Castle, the home of Blossom . Ah, Blossom, the

Queen of the Fairies, Her Majestic Majesty, the

Lady of Peace and Happiness, She Who Brings

World Harmony, the Most Beautiful of Beauties.

Dear, sweetBlossom had summoned me to her

castle many times in the past few years. And now

my adventures in the Kingdom of Fantasy

were practically famouse!

I had met elves, ridden UNICORNS ,

 Blossom of the Flowers
NAME: Blossom of the Flowers; also called the White

Queen, Lady of Peace and Happiness, She Who Brings

World Harmony, Her Majestic Majesty, and the Most

Beautiful of Beauties

WHO SHE IS: Queen of the fairies and the entire

Kingdom of Fantasy

ORIGIN: She comes from the ancient and noble

descendants of the Winged Ones.

RESIDENCE: Lives in the Kingdom of the

Fairies, at Crystal Castle, a fantastic

and magical castle made entirely of

shiny, transparent crystal

SPECIAL ACCESSORIES : The

blue rose is the symbol of Blossom

of the Flowers. The queen always

wears a blue rose ring, a blue

rose necklace, and a crown

of blue roses.
helped gnomes, fought giants , defeated trolls,

destroyed witches, and saved princesses in the

Kingdom of Fantasy. And every time was more

EXCITING than the last!

I was still thinking about all my adventures

when I heard the little voice again.

“Kniiiiiiight!”
small creature
I turned and saw in front of me a

dressed in a full suit of shiny silver

armor, complete with a helmet, metal gloves, and

leggings. In his hand he held a sword with a hilt

in the shape of a water lily.

small creature
“Um, hello, ,” I said. “What’s your

name?”

“Small creature?! It’s me, Knight! Why are you

small creature
calling me ? I mean, I am a small

creature — but still, after all we’ve been through,

how could you not recognizeyour old pal?”

The small being huffed, clearly insulted.

 I scratched my head. The voice did sound

familiar , but why couldn’t I place the face?

Oh, right, it was completely covered by a helmet!

“Okay, Knight, I’ll give you a hint,” the small

creature offered. “I am now a knight just

Knight of the
like you. I am the

Silver Water Lily.”

I thought hard. What kind of creature

would like WATER LILIES?

Well, frogs, of course. Suddenly, I

knew exactly who was behind that

mask! It was my dear old frog

friend Scribblehopper! He had

been my guide on my rst trip to the Kingdom

of Fantasy and helped me on many of my other

adventures to the kingdom after that.

“Scribblehopper, it’s you!” I squeaked. I tried

to give him a hug , but it was a little tricky with

all that armor on.

 “Check out my sword, Sir Geronimo!”

Scribblehopper croaked. He waved it in the

air, practically SLICINGmy whiskers off.

“Oops!” he muttered. “The only problem with

this armor is that it’s so HEAVY . I can hardly

take a step in it. By the way, can you please lift the

visor of my helmet?”

I raised the visor , and theNOSE of my

familiar friend appeared.

Here
we go . . .
Thanks!
 “Ah, nally, I can breathe!” the frog announced.

Then he jumped out of the rest of the armor with

leap
a freeing . “Whew! It was like a sauna in

there! I think I lost ten p o u n d s!”

he croaked.

Then his voiced brightened. “Well, now

that I’m out, let’s go see the queen!”

And just like that, we were off to nd Queen

Blossom!

Ahhh!

Whoa!
 The Kingdom of Fantasy

The Kingdom of Fantasy is endless because

the imagination is endless! Anyone who
can dream can explore it and discover
Mysterious Abyss
even more new kingdoms within it.

Castle of
Dreams Kingdom of

the Pixies

Kingdom of the
Land of
Fire Dragons Kingdom of
Nightmares
the Fairies

Kingdom of
City of
the Elves
Land of the Blue
Trolls Unicorns

Kingdom of
the Witches

Land of
Kingdom of
Toys
the Diggerts

Land of
Land of
the Ogres
Sweets
 Kingdom of

the Sea

Desert of Eyes

and Ears
Kingdom of the
Gnomes

Rainbow Valley

Realm of the
Talking Towering
Forest Peaks

Kingdom of

the Silver
Dragons
Kingdom of the
Northern Giants

Land of Time

Kingdom of the N
Southern Giants

W E
S
 KNEEL BEFORE THE

QUEEN! BUUZZZZ!

We walked along the whiteCLOUDY

trail for hours until we ended up in a green

meadow lled with tons ofcolorful owers.

The moon and the stars were disappearing, and

soon the sun would come up, illuminating the

Kingdom of the Fairies with rosy light. Oh,

how I loved the Kingdom of the Fairies and its

queen, Blossom .

However, right then I began to hear a strange

sound . . .

And before I knew what was happening,

Scribblehopper announced in a solemn tone,

“Here you are . . . the queen!”

 I looked around, but I didn’t see CRYSTAL
CASTLE , where Blossom lived. Instead I saw

an enormouse tree with a gigantic golden

beehive in it.

So that’s where thebuzzing was coming from!

A swarm of bees ew toward me, then formed

an arrow that pointed at the beehive. “Hey,

you! Buzz! Follow us, and no funny stuff,

understand? The queen — buuzzzz — awaits

you!” ordered the head of the swarm.

I blinked, then stammered, “Uh, the qu-qu-

queen? What queen?”

I approached

the beehive and

saw a large

bee standing
on a minuscule

balcony adorned

with pink owers.

 queen!
The

Huh?
 “Kneel before the queen! Buzz!” the head of

the swarm commanded.

Then the head of the STUNG

swarm

me, just for good measure. Owww! I gave

a yelp , and hurried to kneel. I didn’t want any

more stings! Meanwhile, the queen looked down

her nose at me and announced in a pompous tone,

“ Buuzzzz! Knight, I know all about you. And

now —buuzzzz princess
— my regal niece, the ,

is ready to leave. Buuuuzzzzzzzz!”

“Huh? Your niece ? Leave for where?” I asked.

Scribblehopper hurried over, saying, “Don’t

worry, Your Majesty. The mouse — I mean, the

knight — is a little slow on the uptake. But I’ll

handle him! So where is the little princess?”

Then heelbowed me and muttered, “Shhhh! We

are already late, and I’ll explain everything later,

but here’s the quick version: We need to save the

Kingdom of Fantasy, and the little princess,

niece of the queen of the bees, is coming with us!”

The head of the swarm proclaimed, Little

“

Princess Buzzy, niece of our beloved

queen of the bees, the third of her name, of the

noble Buzzers, is leaving the beehive on a grand

ADVENTURE with Sir Geronimo of

Stilton and with the Knight of the Silver Water

Lily! All hail, Princess Buzzy!”

All the bees bowed in midair, buzzing, “Hail to

Princess Buzz!
Buzzy! Buzz!”
Buzzzzzz!
LITTLE
PRINCESS BUZZY
WHO SHE IS: Niece of the queen of the bees

ORIGIN: The noble Buzzers family

RESIDENCE: The Magic Golden Hive

SPECIAL ACCESSORY: The golden

tiara she wears on her head

 A second later, a little bee itted toward us with

her nose in the air, just like the queen. She was

sprinkled with golden powder, and her wings

shone with all the colors of the RAINBOW.

She was followed by a group of other little

bees. Scribblehopper described each one to me in

a low voice. “That’s thehairdresser for the little

princess . . . themassage therapistfor the little

princess . . . theMAKEUP ARTIST for the little

princess . . . the wing polisher for the

little princess . . . the SEAMSTRESS for the

little princess . . . thepersonal trainer for the

ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR
little princess . . . the for
public relations consultant
the little princess . . . the

for the little princess . . .

RUBSY, CLIPSY, HEMSY,

THE MASSAGE THERAPIST THE HAIRDRESSER THE SEAMSTRESS
 My jaw dropped. “Do we have to bring all of

them with us?” I whispered to Scribblehopper.

Unfortunately, the little princess heard me and

began to HUFF . “Buuzzzz! How dare you! I

am of royal blood! Do I have to sting

you in the snout so you don’t forget?!”

She launched herself toward me, but her life

skills coach stopped her. “Think before you

sting , Little Princess! Will stinging solve your

problem?” she cautioned.

“Will stinging solve your problem?” the

little princess muttered under her breath in a

singsongy voice. One thing was clear about

Princess Buzzy: She didn’t like being told what

to do!

After the princess put away her stinger,

Scribblehopper announced, “We’re off to see the

QUEEN !”
Finally! I couldn’t wait to see Queen Blossom!

Scribblehopper led the way, with the bees

squeaking
following close behind. I went last, ,

“Wait for me!”

Follow
me!
 I AM QUEEN OF THE
GREENBLOODS!

This time, Scribblehopper led us into a forest.

We followed GRAVEL a trail that wound

through raspberry and blueberry bushes

until it stopped in front of a pond where pink

WATER LILIES oated. The pond was near

a waterfall, and next to it was a rock in the

shape of a heart. A well-dressed toad perched on

the rock.

Strangely, the toad looked like Scribblehopper.

“There she is!” croaked my frog friend, waving

his WEBBED hand.

“Wait a minute,” I interrupted. “I thought we

were going to see the queen!”

“She is a queen — and she’s my toad cousin.

Queenie, over here!” Scribblehopper called.

 HOW MANY WATER
LILY FLOWERS ARE
IN THE POND?

Hey!
Queenie
!
 It seemed Queenie was the sister of the niece

of the aunt of the grandmother of the great-

grandmother Scribblehopper’s mother.

of

Queenie looked at me with a snooty

expression. “And who might you be, Mouse? Do

you have a title? Are you at least a count or a

prince or something?” she croaked haughtily.

“Ahem, no, I am only ak n i g h t,” I admitted.

“But that’s enough for me, to tell you the truth.”

QUEENIE
WHO SHE IS: Cousin of Scribblehopper and

queen of the Greenbloods

ORIGIN: Part of the noble dynasty of the

Greenbloods

RESIDENCE: Pond of the Pink Water Lilies

SPECIAL ACCESSORIES: The long blue

feather that she wears in her hat and her

precious silk fan

 Queenie sniffed as if she smelled something

unpleasant. “Well, I am of royal blood. I am part

of the noble dynasty of the Greenbloods,” she

informed me with a wave of her silk fan.

Scribblehopper hurried to introduce me.

“Queenie, this is Sir Geronimo of Stilton. He

doesn’t look like much and he’s kind of a klutz,

but we’re all going to see the queen together.”

Thankfully, this time we headed off in the

direction of Blossom’s CRYSTAL CASTLE.

 NOT LOOKING GOOD

At last we arrived at Blossom’s castle, crossing

through the pure crystal entrance and down

the l o n g corridor lled with tall shiny

columns. When we reached the

glittering
Throne Room where the Queen of the Fairies

receives her guests, I looked around.

STRANGE . . . there was no one sitting on

the throne.

And in the distance, I saw a group of fairies

with sad expressions.

The fairies surrounded a very elderly fairy who

leaned on a crystal cane with a DIAMOND

knob.

Maybe the old fairy knows where to nd Queen

Blossom, I thought. Isn’t there some saying about

our elders being a treasure trove of hidden

knowledge? I strode up to the old fairy and said,

“Excuse me, could you tell me where I might nd

the very beautiful and beloved Queen of the

Fairies, Blossom?”

The ancient one lifted her veil, revealing white

hair, deep wrinkles, and a tired expression.

Behind me Scribblehopper croaked, “Oh no!”

The little princess buzzed, Holey

“

honeycombs! ”

And Queenie muttered, “Not

looking good.”

I had no idea what they were

talking about until the old

fairy said in a weak voice,

“Knight, I recognize you, but

alas, you don’t recognize me. I

am Blossom, Queen of the

Fairies .”

Only then did I realize that the

 no!
Oh
I
don’t
unde
rstan
d
. . .
fairy wore a blue rosering
on her nger, just like Blossom!

And around her neck she wore

a blue rose medallion, and

on her head was a blue rose

crown!

But above all, I noticed the fairy’s

eyes, as blue as the spring sky.

“Forgive me, Majesty. I did not

recognize you,” I said.

“It’s all right, Knight,” Blossom

answered kindly. “I hardly recognizemyself!”

 CHEESY PIES AND

FLY SOUFFLÉ

“How can we help?” I wailed, starting to sob

uncontrollably. Then Scribblehopper began

crying , followed by Princess Buzzy. Finally,

even snooty Queenie BROKE DOWN .

Yep, it was a regular cry-fest. In fact, we cried so

much, our tears formed a lake on the crystal

oor. I made a mental note to watch my step.

Tears on a crystal surface could make things

pretty slippery .

Blossom waved her hand to get our attention

and said, “Friends, remember that for every

problem, there is asolution ! It’s just waiting

to be found.”

She smiled and continued, “Now let’s forget

about this sadness for a while. I’m sure you are

all hungry after your long journey. So I suggest

we sit down together and share a wonderful meal.”

She clapped her hands. “Fairy of the Kitchen, can

you prepare our dinner?”

A smiling fairy ew toward us, wearing a white

apron, a cap, and little round glasses. “Of

course, Your Highness,” sang the fairy, whose

name was Simmereen. She pointed us toward a

L O N G banquet table.

The table had a blue silk tablecloth and was set

with the nest china. The glasses were made of

PURE CRYSTAL and were engraved with

roses. Whenever they were touched, they made a

sweet sound.

Yes, that table was certainly set for a very

fancy feast. There was only one thing missing:

the meal!

Right then my stomach began to gurgle. Oh,

how embarrassing!

“Um, Simmereen,” Scribblehopper asked.

“Do you have any food to go along with those

plates?”

The fairy bent over, laughing.

“Never fear, Frog,” she said. “Food is on its

way.”

Then she began tosing.

 “Cheesy pies and y souf é,
nectar rolls made fresh today!
Lots of treats for all to eat;
take a plate, then have a seat!
With my wand i stir the air,
and make a meal beyond compare!”

Like magic , a delicious-looking meal

appeared before our very eyes.

 For every guest, the fairy had conjured up an

appropriate dish. There was a giant green leaf

BRIMMING with all kinds of owers
for Little Princess Buzzy, candied larva bites

for Scribblehopper, and a y pie with a side of

gnat sauce for Queenie. For me, there

was enough c h e e s e to make a grown

mouse cry tears of joy!

go!
you
Here
appétit!
Bon
 We all attacked our meals like we were
starving prisoners. And when we were

nished, Scribblehopper let out a loud burp!

So much for table manners. . .

Fresh flowers

for Princess

Buzzy Candied larva

bites for

Scribblehopper

Fly pie with

gnat sauce for

Queenie Mixed

cheeses for

Sir Geronimo
 THIS IS SOLITAIRE

After we ate, we gathered in front of Queen

Blossom .

She led us to a wall of the Throne Room where

there was an engraved CRYSTAL plaque. Its

message was written in the Fantasian alphabet.*

Can you translate it?

* You can nd the Fantasian alphabet on page 310.

 THE SECRET LAWS
OF THE KINGDOM
OF FANTASY

1. The Kingdom of Fantasy is

protected by the Queen of the

Fairies, Blossom of the Flowers.

2. The Kingdom of Fantasy is

as in nite as Queen Blossom’s

capacity to dream.

3. If the life of the queen comes to

an end, the entire kingdom perishes

with her.

4. The life of Queen Blossom is

measured by the enchanted clock

that is found in the Land of Time.

 It said: THE SECRET LAWS OF THE KINGDOM OF

FANTASY . We read through them.

“I’m sure you are wondering why I look so

old ,” Blossom
TIME , for me, has
began. “

begun passing more quickly than the north

wind. And, unfortunately, time is also passing at

an increased rate for everyoneI protect. If we

do not x time, I will perish — and so will the

entire Kingdom of Fantasy!”

Blossom looked into her silver and

ruby mirror. She said, “According

to the kingdom’s secret laws, the

enchanted clock held in the Land

of Time is broken — that is why I am

getting older every second! If I die, the entire

Kingdom of Fantasy will no longer exist !”

Her eyes lled with tears.

“I implore you, Knight, to travel to the

mysterious Land of Time, nd TICK TOCK,

the Wizard of Time, and ask him to repair the

enchanted clock. For centuries, we’ve kept

perfect time. I am worried that something

has happened to Tick Tock!”

I CHEWED my whiskers. What if something

had happened to Tick Tock? Something bad ?

Oh, why were these adventures always so scary?!

Why couldn’t they take place in a relaxing

seaside resort or in the quiet, peaceful

countryside? But the queen needed my help,

so before I could change my mind, I squeaked,

“ I’ll do it!”
After I agreed, the queen

ordered her maids to bring me my

ARMOR and a special bag for

the trip.

I slipped into the armor. Then

I checked myself out in the mirror.

I’m not one to brag, but I thought I

looked pretty FIERCE for a

scaredy-mouse!

The fairies also brought me a

beautiful RED velvet satchel.

“Knight, this is a magical bag,” Blossom

explained. “It will shrink or expand in size when

you require it. Inside, you will nd

everything you need for your journey,

including a feather penso you can write

about your adventures.”

Not long after that, a fantastic carriage pulled

up in front of the castle. It was shaped like a shell

and drawn by a thousand pink butter ies!

“With this magic carriage, you will travel to

the mysterious Land of Time,” said the queen.

Everything was ready for our departure, but

right then Scribblehopper cleared his throat and

croaked , “Ahem, Your Majesty, how do

we reach the mysterious Land of Time?

It’s so mysterious that even I, one of the most

expert guides, don’t know how to get there.”

“Never fear, dear frog — I’ve thought of that,”

Blossom replied, clapping her hands. “Meet your

guide to the Land of Time!”

mysterious tall and

slender
A warrior arrived.

He wore silver armor and carried a sword.

I was dying to know who was clanking around

inside that suit of armor, but with the face mask

down, I couldn’t SEE a thing.

“This is Solitaire , the Lone Knight,”

Blossom announced, waving the knight forward.

“You may call him by name, but please be advised

that he will not respond to you, because he has

made a vow of silence .”

Then she turned to the knight. “Dear Knight,

from now on you will be part of this BAND

OF TIME SEEKERS. Please take them to the

mysterious Land of Time.”

 is Solitaire!
This
 Solitaire bowed to the queen, then turned

and stared at us. Well, I guessed he was staring at

us, but I couldn’t be sure, because of the mask.

There was a LONG pause, and I thought the

knight was about to say something. I was wrong.

He just pointed to the door and motioned

for us to follow him.

To be honest, the whole not-talking thing was

kind of creepy , but who am I to question a

member of the queen’s staff ? Maybe it would be

a nice change from Scribblehopper’s chatter!

Outside, the knight C L I M B E D into the

golden shell carriage, and we clambered

in next to him.

A moment later, the butter ies apped their

wings, lifting us up , up , up into the air and

off on another extraordinary adventure in

the Kingdom of Fantasy. . .
 luck!
Good
 FORGET IT,
FROG BREATH!

We traveled for about

seventy million
mysterious Land
billion hours toward the

of Time. (Okay, it wasn’t really seventy

million billion hours, but it sure felt like it!)

Princess Buzzy and Queenie were

arguing the whole time.

“I must be the rst to enter the Land of Time,”

insisted Queenie. “It’s only right, since I am the

only QUEEN on this trip. I am queen of the

noble dynasty of the Greenbloods!”

“Forget it, Frog Breath!” Little Princess Buzzy

countered. “I am the only royal one here. I am

Princess Buzzy of the bees! Green blood?

Yuck! Don’t make me sick!”

The morning turned into afternoon, which

 off !
Buzz
Frog
Breath!

turned into night. But those two just wouldn’t

stop bickering .

I tried everything to block them out.

First I put on PADDED

earmuffs , but they were

so tight my ears turned red. Ow!

 Then I tried to cover my

ears with myknight’s helmet.

But I could still hear.

Finally, I tried wrapping

my ears in a pair of

clean UNDERPANTS from

the bag Blossom had given

me. But that didn’t work,

either. Rats!

For a minute I thought

Scribblehopper had managed to distract them

by telling stories about the Land of Time.

“It’s not like any other land. It guards the greatest

treasure . . .” he began.

Unfortunately, as soon as the two heard the

word t r e a s u r e, they both began to

 scream even louder.

“A treasure? What kind of treasure? Gold?

Pearls? Precious jewels? Oh, if there are

EMERALDS , I must have them!” Queenie

shrieked. “Emeralds are green , of course, just

like the color of my aristocratic

blood. I’m not sure if I mentioned it yet, but I am

of the highest royalty, you know — a descendant

of the dynasty of the Greenbloods.”

Princess Buzzy rolled her eyes. “If I hear

the word Greenbloods one more time I

will scream! Who cares about your ridiculous

dynasty? Do you have any idea how noble we

Buzzing Beesare? If there is a treasure, the

most precious jewels belong to me!”

At this, Queenie ew into a rage. “How dare

you attack my forefroggers!” she croaked. Then

she reached over to SWAT the little princess

like, well, like a bug. I didn’t want the bee to get

squashed, so I jumped in front of her and got

swatted instead. Ouch!

Scribblehopper sighed. “Do you see, Knight?”

he muttered sadly. “This is what always happens

when you speak of the Land of Time and its

LEGENDARY TREASURE. It triggers

the curiosity and GREED of many . . .”

And so, with the queen and the little princess

still squabbling, and with Scribblehopper

chattering away in my ear, we continued on our

way. Eventually, we reached the mysterious Trail

of the Seven Steps, where we would nd the

mysterious Door of Courage, which would

bring us to the even more mysterious Land

of Time!
 YOU MUST WALK
BACKWARD!

At dawn , the shell carriage landed softly in a

grassy eld. The butter ies were exhausted.

They sucked up a little
NECTARfrom some

owers and instantly fell asleep. We crept away on

tiptoe, following Solitaire to a LARGE rock in

the shape of a pyramid. A MYSTERIOUS

message was carved on the rock in the Fantasian

alphabet.* Can you read it?

* You can nd the Fantasian alphabet on page 310.

 Ohhhh!

What
is it?

. . .
Umm
 1. ONLY
TWO
TRA VELERS A DAY
MAY PASS!
2. WAIT UNTIL THE
SUN RISES IN THE
MORNING.
RSELF.
BLINDFOLD YOU
3.
4. BACKWARD.
WALK
STEPS.
5. COUNT SEVEN
OUGH THE DOOR
6. PASS THR
..AND YOU
OF COURAGE.
LAND OF TIME!
WILL REACH THE

OF
TRAIL
STEPS
SEVEN
 It said: Door of Courage. And just above

it, a long list of instructions for entering the Land

of Time was engraved :

1. ONLY TWO TRAVELERS A DAY MAY PASS!

2. WAIT UNTIL THE SUN RISES IN THE

MORNING.

3. BLINDFOLD YOURSELF.

4. WALK BACKWARD.

5. COUNT SEVEN STEPS.

6. PASS THROUGH THE DOOR OF COURAGE . . .

AND YOU WILL REACH THELAND OF TIME!

This was it. I shivered. The path to take was

right there — theTrail of Seven Steps . . .

Scribblehopper coughed, trembling. “Ahem, I

think you need c-c-courage to pass through the

Door of Courage. And it looks like only two

of us can pass through. Who do you think should

go?” he said.

Believe me, I didn’t want to go, but what could I

do? I had told Blossom I would help. So I made

a quick decision. “Scribblehopper, you, Princess

Buzzy, and Queenie will return to Blossom with

the magic carriage . Solitaire

and I will continue on to the Land of Time,” I

squeaked, trying not to notice Scribblehopper

doing a little
happy dance. knows
Everyone
“What’s so scary about this
about
the
door!

place, anyway?” I asked the frog.

“Oh, Knight, you are so naïve,”

Scribblehopper replied. “Everyone

knows about the Door of

Courage . Many have passed

through, but no one has ever

returned!”

I twisted my tail. Oh, why do

these adventures have to start in such terrifying

ways? Just once it would be nice if someone

met us at the door to a new land with a smile, a

HUG , and maybe a platter of chocolate

Cheesy C h e w s.
“Actually, the one who knows the most about

this land is Blossom’s brother, Prince Lucky,”

the frog explained. “Too bad no one knows where

he is. According to the mysterious PROPHECY

OF A THOUSAND HEARTS , one day Prince

Lucky, along with a mysterious creature with

one pen, four eyes, one hundred brains, and

one thousandhearts will save Blossom.”

“A creature with a pen, four eyes, one hundred

brains, and a thousand hearts? But who could

that be?” I muttered.

“Who knows?” said Scribblehopper. “That’s

why it’s called a MYSTERIOUS prophecy.

Do I have to explain everything?”

 I blinked. By now, my fur was STANDING

on end. I de nitely could have done without the

part about no one ever returning from the Door

of Courage, but I couldn’t let Blossom down.

The sun had fully risen, and Scribblehopper

gave Solitaire two BLINDFOLDS . The

knight handed one to me and covered his eyes.

Before I could even squeak , Solitaire started

walking backward . . . and DISAPPEARED .

. . I’m
Um .
. . .
coming
 “Um. . .I’m coming. . .” I said. Withtrembling

paws, I covered my eyes with the blindfold and

proceeded to walk backward, which wasn’t easy.

Did I mention I’m not the most COORDINATED

mouse? I have trouble drinking my tall nonfat

cheesy latte (hold the whipped cream)

and reading the paper at the same time!

As I walked, I started counting my steps out

loud. “
ONE . . . TWO . . . THREE . . . FOUR . . . FIVE . . . SIX . . . ”

When I reached six steps, my body froze .

Only one more step, and I’d pass through the Door

of Courage. Unfortunately, whatever courage I

had mustered had vanished !

“I c-c-can’t do this. . .” I
stammered, reaching for my blindfold.

Just then I heard Scribblehopper

croaking, “Look, Knight! There’s

a giant piece of FLYING

CHEESE right behind you!”
 cheese?
Flying

“Flying cheese?!” This I had to

see. I was just about to take off

my blindfold as I tookone more

step backward. Ack! To my

horror, I had stepped straight off

the edge of a cliff! I fell down ,

down , down . . .

While I fell, I heard

Scribblehopper’s croak echoing:

“ S S O O O O O O R RY, Ahhhh!

Knight! . . . It seeeemed like

yooou . . . neeeeeded a little

heeeeeelp . . . reaching the

Door of Courage!”
 IF YOUR HEART
IS PURE . . .

As I fell toward the Door of Courage, I found

myself surrounded by ne GOLDEN

SAND. How strange! The sandDRAGGED me

down like the powerful current of a river. But

where was it taking me?

Suddenly, I heard a song:

“If your heart is lled with love,

and is kind, gentle, and pure,

you may reach the Land of Time;

of this you can be sure!

But if your heart is lled with greed,

and is uncaring and cold,

you will remain here forever,

growing bitter, gray, and old!”

 Only then did I understand that the Door
of Courage was in the shape of an immense

golden hourglass! The sand was dragging

me toward the center of the hourglass. I started

to see other shapes around me. I soon gured out

that the shapes were travelers who had tried to

pass through the Door of Courage to

go to the Land of Time . . . but who were

trapped in the hourglass forever because

their hearts were lled with greed! Rancid

rat hairs! Would I remain

trapped An HOURGLASS is an
there forever, too?
instrument that measures the
Right then I reached passage of time. It is formed

the narrowest point of the by two transparent bulbs united

hourglass. and

by a
connected

small hole.
to

It
each

can
other

contain

I tried to concentrate. water, sand, or other similar

There was only one substances. When an hourglass

is turned over, the substance

reason why I wanted to
inside drains from one bulb into

go to the Land of Time. the other, always taking the

same amount of time to empty

completely.
 !kcuts
er’eW
I
t’nac
pots
ps
!gninni
!hgU
!gnivom
ton
m’I
!pleee
eeeH
I wasn’t looking for money or jewels. I just wanted

to s av e Queen Blossom.

Concentrating on that thought of pure love,

I tumbled through the center of

the hourglass and slipped out the other side. I

made it! I fell down , down , down until I

hit the bottom of the glass.

Next thing I knew, the hourglass magically

disappeared , and I found myself in

the Land of Time . . .

THE LAND

OF TIME
 1

1. Desert of Memories
2. Plains of Punctuality — shaped like a clock
3. Castle of Time — resembles an antique alarm clock
4. Hill of the Dawn Alarm — has a tree in
the shape of a rooster
5. River of Latecomers — where the water
ows in reverse
6. Mount Minute — has a rock in the shape
of an hourglass
 The Land of Time

5
4
 IN THE DESERT
OF MEMORIES

The rst thing I noticed was that I had landed

in a SANDYdesert. The next thing I noticed

was that there was a terri c WIND and I

was getting pelted by a million grains of pure

g o l d powder. It stung my eyes and coated my

fur, making it hard to walk. Oh, where was a nice

outdoor when you needed one?

shower
Fortunately, at that moment, a strong hand

grabbed me by the paw and pulled me behind

a BIG ROCK. It was Solitaire! I was

so glad to see him I started squeaking

happily. He just nodded and wrote these words

in the sand: Let’s go. Blossom cannot

wait.
My happiness quickly faded as I thought
about Blossom getting older so quickly.

Solitaire set out with decisive steps, nodding for

me to follow.

He seemed to know the path well. H O W

STRANGE!
We marched in that golden desert for hours and

hours. I got more and more tired, and blisters

formed on my paws. I thought about stopping to

see if Blossom had packed any bandagesin

the magic bag, but I didn’t want to seem like a

wimp, so I kept going.

As we crunched along, Solitaire wrote another

message in the sand. It read:This is the Desert

of Memories .
Huh. I wondered how he knew that. I was

too tired to nd out. The only thing I would

remember about this desert was that I never

wanted to come back to it!

Finally, we saw the silhouette of a castle on the

horizon. It glittered in the sunlight because it

was made entirely of gold!

We approached it in silence. Well, Solitaire was

silent because of his silent-vow thing, but

I was so blown away by the sight of the sparkling

castle I couldn’t speak. What a magni cent

shimmering construction!

Above the door, there was an enormouse clock.

On each side of the door, there was a statue —

one of a prince holding a SWORD and one of

a queen holding rose

a . Was it my imagination,

or did the queen look just like Queen Blossom?

The face of the clock showed the moon

and the S U N, and the hours were marked by

precious stones.

But the strangest thing was that the hands of

the clock were turning very quickly!

Near the clock there was a golden plaque. I

read it aloud.
Whoa!
 In the Kingdom of Fantasy, I am the heart.

I signal the hours, the stop, and the start.

I signal the life of Blossom the queen,

our wonderful ruler, so kind and serene.

But if I am crossed, then the hours will y,

and Blossom will grow old, wither, and die.

The Wizard of Time can fix me, it’s true,

for he is the genius who made me brand-new.

Under the plaque, words weree n g r a v e d in

the Fantasian alphabet.* Can you translate them?

* You can nd the Fantasian alphabet on page 310.

 The Fantasian writing saidTick Tock Timepiece.

This was it!

Then I noticed that on the clock face there was

a signature:

Constructed by Tick Tock, the Wizard of Time,

King of Mechanisms,

Prince of the Gears,

Emperor of Contraptions

I also noticed that the hands were being

pushed s w e e p i n g through the

by the wind

D E S E RT O F M E M O R I E S.
Suddenly, someone tapped my back. I nearly

J U M P E D out of my fur! Was it a witch,

a wizard , or a terrifying playfulkitten?

Lucky for me, it was only Solitaire. He was so

quiet I forgot he was there!

The knight motioned for me to climb onto

his shoulders so I could reach the clock face. We

 lp!
Heee
had to try to x the clock! I tried to stop the

hands, or at least to slow them down, but they

were moving too fast.

Next, Solitaire passed me his sword to

see if I could cut the hands off the clock. But the

metal was too hard to sever, and instead I nearly

C H O P P E D my tail in two! Rats!

There wasn’t anything we could do. That

sinister wind was too strong to stop.

 THE LABYRINTH
OF ILLUSIONS

Solitaire helped me down from the clock. Thank

goodmouse! I was getting dizzy up there!

At that point, there was only one way to stop

the TICK TOCK TIMEPIECE. We had

to enter the castle and nd the Wizard of

Time. Since he invented the clock, he would

certainly know how to repair it, right?

Too bad the castle was built like a SAFE !

I tried pushing open the front door and hurt

my shoulder. Then I tried knocking and

nearly broke every bone in my paw! YOUCH !

Meanwhile, Solitaire appeared to be waiting for

something to happen. Strange!

Soon the hands of the clock whirled around
and hit twelve o’clock. Suddenly, the two statues
next to the clock came

to life! The prince statue

STRUCK the gong

with his sword, and a

deep sound rang out.

GONNNNG!
GONNNNG!
The queen statue held out her ower, and sweet

music lled the air all around us.

Then the giant doors of the Castle of Time

slowly opened for us!

Deep inside the CASTLE we glimpsed

a sparkling light . . .

I ran toward the light, but I hit a wall and

bounced off it like a rubber ball.

BOING!
Only then did I understand that I had bumped
 G!
NN
ON
G

!
Ohhh
into an enormouse crystal hourglass. I went past

it and found myself in front of thousands of small

and LARGE gears that formed a twisting

maze.

Cheese and crackers !

How would I nd the right path to make it

through the maze?

 HELP GERONIMO
FIND THE RIGHT PATH

TO GET OUT OF

THE MAZE!

E
ANC
TR
EN
TIXE
 EENY, MEENY,
MINEY, MO. . .

I stared at the paths, bewildered . Which

one should I choose? There was only one way to

decide. I pointed to each path while squeaking,

“ Eeny, meeny, miney, mo . . . ” Before I could

continue, though, Solitaire cleared his throat. I

gasped. Was the knight going speak?!

to No such

luck. Instead, Solitaire gestured for me to follow

him. Then he con dently,

began walking

turning to theleft, to the right , to the left

, to

the left, to the right , to the left. . .

I was glad Solitaire seemed to know where he

was going, because I was completely lost!

Finally, after one last turn, we ended up in a

golden hall. Its high ceilings were painted

with glittering stars.

 In the center of the room, I saw an old man

with snow-white hair, and a full beard

and mustache. He wore a blue robe embroidered

with stars and planets. On his head he had a

pointy hat, and on his feet he wore slippers

with curled toes.

He was sitting on a gold throne decorated

with a sun and a moon.

This had to be Tick Tock, the Wizard of

Time!
He gazed at us with a penetrating stare.

It made me nervous.

“H-hello, my name is Stilton, Geronimo

Stilton, and this is, um, silence — I

mean, Soundless — I-I mean, Solitaire,” I

mumbled.

The wizard didn’t blink. I wondered if he ever

lost a staring contest . I was about to

ask him when I heard a noise. It sounded like

 d!
wizar
the
I t ’s
someone clearing their throat.

The throat clearing was followed by a

COUGH, then a snort, some cracking of

knuckles, and a little whistling. Finally, a DEEP

voice next to me announced, “Hello, Father. It’s

me.”

I turned in SHOCK . Solitaire, the silent

knight, was speaking!

Solitaire slowly lifted his helmet, and I saw

Solitaire the Knight,

also known as Prince
Lucky
Lucky is the son of the Wizard of Time and brother

of Blossom, Queen of the Fairies. He is one of the

very noble descendants of the Winged Dynasty. A

long time ago, when he left the Land of Time, he

made a pledge of silence and promised to only speak

again when he saw his father.

that his eyes were the same deep blue as the eyes

of the Wizard of Time. Strangely, they also were

the same color as Queen Blossom’s eyes!

Now I was completely confused. WHO was

Solitaire? Why did he call the wizard Father? And

what was the deal with the BLUE EYES?

Solitaire set the record straight. “I amPrince

Lucky, son of the Wizard of Time and

Blossom’s brother. This is the Room of Secrets,

where the Secret of Time is held. It has been

SAFEGUARDED for centuries by my beloved

father. He is the inventor of the enchanted clock,”

he explained.
 PEACLOCK
THE
PEACOCK

Solitaire, or rather Prince Lucky, approached

the wizard and said in a grave tone, “Father, we

need your help. Blossom — your daughter,

my sister — is in trouble. Now that the Tick

Tock Timepiece is broken, she’s

getting older faster than ever. You’ve got to x

that clock, or the Kingdom of Fantasy will DIE

with her!”

But the wizard just stared at him with an odd

look on his face, and said, “Young Knight, I have

no idea who you are. And I have no idea what you

are JABBERING about.”

The prince turned PALE. Clearly this wasn’t

the heartwarming father–son reunion he had

always dreamed about!

 Just then an enormouse peacock ew into the

room. It had a shiny g o l d e n body and

incredible sapphire-blue feathers. The bird

landed silently near the wizard’s throne and

proudly opened its long tail. Amazing! At

the ends of the peacock’s feathers were tiny little

golden clocks!

The peacock bowed to Prince Lucky, and said,

“Oh, my dear Prince Lucky, my name is Peaclock .

I am the trusted
advisorto the Wizard of Time,

and I’m afraid I have some terribly sad news

for you. Your father has lost

his memory and doesn’t

recognize anything or

anyone!”

Prince Lucky looked

crushed but urged the

bird to continue. And so

he did. “It all began here,

in theDesert of Memories. An evil wind began to

blow — the Wind of the West that comes from

the KINGDOM OF THE WITCHES. Every day, it

gets a little stronger.”

As he spoke, we heard the wind howl. He

continued. “You see, theTick Tock Timepiece,

which controls the life of Blossom and the entire
duration of the Kingdom of Fantasy, is not broken .
It works perfectly well, just like when your father

rst made it. The truth is that the strong and evil

WINDS OF THE WEST are pushing the hands

of the clock faster and faster!”

Peaclock stopped to wipe atear from his eye

with one long feather. Then he added bitterly, “I

know who started that wind. It was the wicked

witch Eclipse, the same evil creature who

sometimes provokes the salty Rain of Sadness.”

As soon as the bird mentioned the Rain o f

S a d n e s s, a sudden rainstorm erupted.
 Peaclock rolled his eyes and muttered, “See?

She heard me speak of her wickedness

and wanted to prove it. What a show-off.” He
LOWERED his voice and continued, “Still,

you should know that the witch’s powers are

becoming increasingly powerful. She has strong

alliances with many CREATURES OF

THE DARK SIDE, including the Orcs of

Bad Teeth, the Thieving Owls, the Red Scorpions,

the Bottom Biters, the Lunar Werewolves, and

others!”

I shivered. Oh, why couldn’t the witch become

friends with some creatures of the bright side?

Couldn’t she nd some Cheery Chimpanzees

or Kindly King sh or something?

I was still thinking about the witch’s friends

when Prince Lucky said, “Knight, you must go to

the Kingdom of the Witches and bring to an end

the Wind of the West!”

 “ M-m-me? ”

I gulped. “But what

about you? Couldn’t

you come with me?

Or maybe you could

even go without me.

I’m feeling a little

sick,” I squeaked, pretending to cough.

Lucky explained that he needed to stay and

take care of his father.

MOLDY MOZZARELLA! My heart

hammered as I chewed my pawnails like they

were my last meal.

“You can do it, Knight,” the prince said.

“Remember the mysterious PROPHECY OF a

THOUSAND HEARTS, which says that Prince Lucky

may save the Kingdom of Fantasy thanks to a

creature with one pen, four eyes, one hundred

brains, and one thousand hearts?”

 “Yeeesss . . .” I said. But what was his point?

“Don’t you understand, Knight? The prophecy

is about you! You have a PEN because you are

a writer! You have FOUR EYES because

you wear glasses! You haveONE HUNDRED
BRAINS because you are smart! And most

important, you have one thousand hearts

because you are generous and kind! This is why

Blossom chose YOU to help save the Kingdom

of Fantasy!” explained the prince.

I couldn’t believe it. The prophecy was about

me! I wasn’t sure about thehundred

brains or thethousand heartsbits, but it

was clear that Blossom needed me. I couldn’t let

her down.
 TA-DA!

Prince Lucky assured me that I would not be

ALONE on my journey to the Kingdom of the

Witches . “You will have a trusty guide and detailed

directions to get you to the Tower of Fear, where

Eclipse lives,” he said. “But before you leave,

we must have a going-away party!” he announced.

He took me to the balcony to see the large

crowd gathered below.

Millisecond Minute Gnomes

Sprites
 I saw Millisecond Sprites, small and jumpy.

Then there were Minute Gnomes, who specialized

in alarm clocks . Their leader, Sixty Seconds,

offered me a shiny gold alarm clock.

“A TRAVELER without an alarm clock is

like a . . . like a . . . well, a traveler without an

alarm clock!” he declared. Sixty might not have

been lled with words of WISDOM, but I

could tell he meant well.

Next I saw dancing Hour Fairies and bearded

Century Elves. There was also a giant namedEon ,

Hour Fairies
Century
Elves
the oldest inhabitant in all of the Land of Time.

Eon was the only one in the entire kingdom who

wasold enough to remember every ancient

legendever written. Now, that’s pretty old!

A loud cheer erupted from the crowd. “Hooray

for the knight! Hooray for Sir Geronimo of

Stilton! Best wishes to the knight who is about

to go to the terrifying and dangerous

Kingdom of the Witches to ght the wicked

witch Eclipse ! Good luck to the knight, who

may never return, or if he does — which is highly

unlikely — may not return in one piece! At the

very least he will lose his tail!”

I gulped. The crowd stared up at me expectantly.

I knew I should give an inspiring speech, but all

I could stammer was, “Th-thanks. I’ll t-t-try my

b-b-best.”

After that I was served aDELICIOUS meal

in the banquet hall.

Here is the menu:

Appetizers

Assorted cheese plate

Grilled vegetables with grated Parmesan

Salad and Soup

Cream cheese bisque

Mixed baby greens with blue cheese crumbles

Main Course

Mixed cheese pie

Cheddar quiche

Dessert

Chocolate cheesecake

Mozzarella mousse
 While I was nishing my meal, the door to the

room crashed open, and a funny-looking sprite

c a r t w h e e l e d in. He was round and

potbellied and had an intricate design of

a clock face sewn onto his vest. He was wearing

a pair of puffy pants with white-and-red stripes,

and his skinny legs were covered bygreen tights.

 On his head he wore a green jester’s hat

with three points that held three jingling

golden bells. On his feet he wore ouncy gold

slippers with bells that jingled as he walked.

“ TA - DA !” he sang in a squeaky voice as he

cartwheeled up to me.
 THE EYES OF THE
DRAGON OF TIME

“I am the court jester,” the strange round

sprite announced. “I will be your entertainment

for the night! Thank you! Thank you very much!”

Then he pointed at me, laughing, “Hey, there’s

a MOUSE in the house! Thank you! Thank you

very much!”

He ran toward me, pirouetting and

shrieking, “Hey, Mousey, what’s squeaking?!”

When I tried to run off, he yanked me by the tail.

“Come back! I’m just getting warmed up!”

Come go!
Let
back! Eek!
 I turned to Prince Lucky. “Who is this sprite?”

I asked.

“His name isHEE HAW. His job is to make

everyone laugh,” he explained.

Hee Haw whirledaround, making hilarious

jumps. I had to admit — he was funny to watch.

But just then Hee Haw declared, “I need a

volunteer!”

Before I could squeak, “Not me!” he ran toward

me shrieking, “Think fast!” Then he tossed a

cream pie in my face!

Oh, how that Hee Haw got on my nerves!

hee! Splat!
h e e,
H e e,
 ho!
ho,
Ho,

Oof !

Everyone laughed. I didn’t want to be aBAD

S P O RT, so I mumbled, “Heh, heh, good one.”

“How about this one?” he snickered .

Then he tripped me. I fell at on my face!

Oh, how that Hee Haw got on my nerves!

Next he pointed to the ground. I looked down.

When I looked up, he poked me in the snout!

Oh, how that Hee Haw got on my nerves!

While everyone was laughing, Hee Haw spun

around the faster and faster. In

room fact,

he was spinning so fast, just watching him

Ouch!

ha, ha!
Ha,
made me dizzy. I decided I needed a little fresh
air, so Itiptoed over to the window and stared out.

I saw blue sky,puffy clouds, a full moon, and . . .

two enormouse g r e e n eyes!

“Help! There is a monster at the window!

Somebody do something!” I squeaked.

Everyone looked at me, astonished.

The sprites whispered, “Why is the knight so

terri ed?”

The gnomes whispered, “I thought he was

brave.”

The fairies whispered, “I thought he was

courageous.”
Peaclock ew over to the window and

announced, “Those are the eyes of the DRAGON

OF TIME
, Knight.”

Outside the castle window, suspended in

midair, was an enormouse DRAGON . He had a

clock hanging on a chain with 365 rings around

his neck. His scales were emerald green, and

there were twenty-four gems along his back to

symbolize the hours of the day.

On his head he wore a crown that was covered

with precious stones.

By now everyone, including the d r a g o n ,

was staring at me. Of course they were wondering

why a knight would make such a FUSS over a

dragon. How embarrassing!

I didn’t want to look like a fool, so I mumbled,

“Well, of course, I knew those EYES belonged

to a dragon. Knights and dragons go together like

mice and cheese . I was just, um, making a joke.”

The crowd continued to stare at me. Luckily,

the prince came to my rescue. “Very funny,

Knight. The Dragon of Time will be

your guide to the Kingdom of

the Witches! In this CHEST you

will nd directions to the Tower

of Fear and everything that you will need for the

trip.”

I climbed onto the saddle of the dragon,

grabbing the reins with two paws. Even

though I was scared out of my fur, I forced myself

to sit up straight and yelled, “Ahem, I am off to

save the Kingdom of Fan —”

But before I could nish the word fantasy ,

the Dragon of Time leaped into space.

“ Heeeeeeeelp!” I squeaked.

And so I ew away from the Land of Time,

leaving behind me a crowd full of doubts about

why I was so famouse. . .

While the Dragon of Time ew between the

stars, I promised myself that from that moment

on, I would do my best to be brave.

After all, was I or was I not Sir Geronimo

of Stilton, the fearless knight?

The only positive side to my leaving was that

I will
s av e
Blosso
m!
I wouldn’t have to deal with that annoying court

jester.

Oh, how that Hee Haw got on my nerves!

As we soared HIGHER and HIGHER into

the night sky, I tried to calm my jittery nerves by

using some tips I had learned in a positive-thinking

class. Relax , I told myself. Take some nice deep

breaths . So you are ying toward theKingdom of

the Witches. So it is a terrifying and highly

DANGEROUS place from which few return .

So the witches might tear out all your fur and leave

you squeakless . So you may never see your family

and friends again. That’s no reason to worry . . .

After three days and three nights of ying, I had

talked myself into a complete and total panic

attack ! At last, on the fourth day, with the heat

of the sun B U R N I N G my fur (I knew I

should have put on more sunscreen!), we reached

the Kingdom of the Witches.

 The

Kingdom

of the

Witches
The Kingdom of the Witches
1

2
7
4

5
6

1. Petrified Peak

2. Wicked Witch Woods

3. Pale Ghost Peak

8
4. Lake of Tears

5. Greenhouse of
Carnivorous Plants

6. River of Regret 9
7. Black Swamp

8. Restless Ghost Cemetery

9. Fanged Fish Farm

10. Moldy Mountain

11. Silent Sphinx Desert

12. Nightmare Forest 10

13. Fortress of Fear

14. Tower of Bones

15. Doom Door

15

14

13

11 12
 ROTTED TEETH AND
A FAKE N O S E !

We circled over the Kingdom of the Witches,

passing through waves of dense fog. Below us,

gnarled trees and thorny brambles blanketed the

ground. Near the center of the kingdom stood

the TOWER OFBONES, constructed by

Eclipse. It was made of many, many bones and

skulls. It had thirteen oors and POINTY

windows that shone like unsettled eyes. On the

top of the tower, there was a large burning re.

Squeak!
The dragon landed behind a thicket ofbrambles .

Lucky had told me that I would nd everything

necessary for them i s s i o n in the chest, so I got

off the dragon and ipped it open. To my shock,

out jumpedHee Haw , the pesky court jester!

 k!
Squea
Surprise hhh!
! Ahhh

“ Surprise! ” he shouted. “Happy to see

me, Knight? I’m here to help!”

Needless to say, I was not happy at all. “I don’t

need your help. I’m on a very important mission

here. I don’t have time for your silly jokes,” I

argued.

But Hee Haw just pulled my whiskers and

grinned. “Oh, come on, Knight. I know you’re

just a big old scaredy- !” he insisted.

Then he mouse
pulled a scroll out of the chest. It had

a note from Lucky on it.

Hee Haw read the letter, then said in a singsong

Dear Knight,

As soon as you see the Tower of Bones (I am sure

that you will recognize it immediately), hide the

dragon behind the Burning Thicket. (Be careful

of the thorns. If they prick you ... oh, how

you’ll burn!) Then disguise yourself as a witch to

get inside unnoticed. In the chest, you will nd

everything you need. Good luck!

HERE ARE INSTRUCTIONS TO SEEM

LIKE A REAL WITCH:

1. EAT WITH YOUR MOUTH OPEN. (Ew!)

2. PICK YOUR NOSE WITH YOUR FINGER. (Ew, ew!)

3. BURP A LOT. (Ew, ew, ew !)

4. TELL LIES. (The bigger they are the b e t t e r !)

5. DANCE WITH THE OTHER WITCHES.

(Even if you

don’t have a sense of rhythm!)

6. CAST SPELLS. (Or at least pretend!)

7. ABOVE ALL, BE UNKIND, VILLAINOUS, AND RUDE.

(This is the most important thing!)

voice, “If you don’t want to end up stuck in a

ditch, just pretend that you’re a mean old

nasty witch !”

I was not too happy about having to dress up

like a gross witch, but what could I do? I wanted

to make it out of the kingdom alive !

With a deep sigh, I started getting dressed. First,

I put on a worn black dress that went down

to my feet. It was so dirty! Then, I put on black

slippers that curled at the toes. I rubbed soot

on my fur and put on a fake nose and bushy

eyebrows. Then, I put a black wig on my head and

added some eas (yes, real ones!) that I found in

a cage.

Finally, I put in fake yellowdentures with

rotted teeth and chewed some garlic to make my

breath stink . I plunked a black witch hat on

my head and pinned a moon brooch to my dress.

And last but not least, I grabbed abook of spells

and a broom from the bottom of the chest.

Hee Haw snickered at my transformation. Then

he poured a small vial of clear liquid over my head.

Blech! Now I really stunk! I picked up the vial and

read the label: Witch Wonderful, For That

Everyday Stink !I was immediately encircled

by a cloud of f l i e s!
The court jester looked at me and announced,

“Wow, we did it without a hitch! You are the

ugliest scary old witch!”

I sighed. Oh yes, I looked disgusting . . .

But I was worried about one thing.

Would I be able to be RUDE? For me, that

would be the most dif cult part. After all, I am a

gentlemouse!
 From a fearless knight . . .

HELMET

SHOULDER

GUARDS

ARMBANDS

TAIL
ARMOR
SAVERS

SHIN

GUARDS

REINFORCED BOOTS
 . . . to a dirty, stinky witch!
FLEAS

BUS HY EYEBROWS
HAT

BROOM
WIG

GARLIC WITCH
BREATH DENTURES

FAKE

NOSE

MAGIC

BROOCH
BOOK OF

MAGIC
DIRTY
SPELLS
BLACK

DRESS

SLIPPERS
OH NO, I WON’T GO!

By the time I nished disguising myself, night had

already fallen in that sad GLOOMY

and

place. Suddenly, I heard cackling laughs. I

peeked out from behind the bramble bush and

saw a long line of sneering witches carrying

chopped wood. They were headed for the tower.

Besides the cackling, the witches belched

and farted into the night. Their disgusting sounds

trees!
the trunks!
down the
cut cut
We’ll We’ll
were ampli ed by the erce WIND OF THE
WEST . Witches these days! Hadn’t they ever

heard of a little thing called manners?

Unfortunately, the only way to enter the tower

was to join the P RO C E S S I O N of

witches. I thought Hee Haw would be coming

with me, but he said, “Oh no, I won’t go!”

Then he added, “Oh, and by the way, try to

make it out alive ! Otherwise, I’ll have to go

back alone!”
!
t all down
no regrets! Let’s c
ut i
We have
 The Dragon of Time, who was resting

after the long and dif cult ight, opened one eye.

“Some kind of help you are. Shame on you for not

supporting the knight!” he scolded.

Then he turned to me. “Sorry I cannot

accompany you, Knight, but everyone would

notice me with theseGREEN scales and

l o n g tail and GIANT wings and

DRAGON head and . . . in other words, I’d

stick out. Just know that I believe in you and I

will be here for you — if you make it out! — and

ready to y away.”

Then the dragon wrapped me in a bone-

crushing hug with his humongous wing. “I

know that you will make us proud! Good luck!”

he said.

believe
I
you!
in
 I tried to squeak my thanks, but I was too busy

gasping for air. I STUMBLED off into the

night with my heart HAMMERING

under my fur.

Not long after, I found myself on the path

that led to theTower of Fear. With each

pawstep, I heard a loud
crunch! Crunch!
Crunch! That’s when
I realized the path I was

headed down was not

made of pebbles . . . it was

made of
bones ! Yikes!

And what a stink there was in the air! Of course,

ahem, I didn’t smell so great myself!

Inside, I was shaking like a leaf, but on the

outside, I tried to look calm.

Soon I was surrounded byWITCHES of all

types.

They greeted me cordially. “Hey you, old slipper,

what’s your name? We haven’t seen you around

here!”

I responded with the rst name that came

to mind, “Ahem, my name is Geronimosa

Germy.”
Witchysnout, but you can call me, um,

One of them patted me on the back. “I like your

Germy!”
hat,

Another sniffed me delightedly. “Wow, you

Germy
reek, ! It smells like trash gone rancid! And

look how many ies are ying around you!”

Another pulled a lock of my hair . “So

greasy! I bet that you never wash it! Am I

right, Germy? Am I right?”

Then they all began to sing and dance, and I

was forced to imitate them . . .

! ta h r u oy ek i l I
!keer
uoY
 QUEEN OF GLOOM
AND DOOM

Under the full moon, the witches sang:

“Chop, chop the trees and plants!

We need wood for the re!

The re heats a boiling pot

lled with evil desire!

No, it’s not a rotten soup;

it’s evil wind we’re making!

The wind grows stronger every day

and leaves the tower shaking!

Then one day soon we’ll celebrate

with a stinky, slimy stew

because we will eliminate

revolting you-know-who!”
 I turned to the witch next to me and asked,

“Um, if you don’t mind my asking, who is yo u -

know-who ?”
The witch, whose name was Mudsplatters ,

sneered. “Seriously, Germy? Did you just crawl

out from under a cauldron? You-know-who is, of

course, you know who, that foolish Blossom

of the Flowers. Ugh! Just thinking about

witches!
som! Go,
Blos Makes
me
with want
n to
Dow puke!
her sweet owery scent makes me want to

puke!”

All the witches echoed, “It makes me want to

puke!”

Another witch,Uglymug , pulled me aside and

explained Eclipse’s evil plan. “You see this very

tall tower? Up there, with a magic trap, Eclipse

seizes the winds of the Kingdom of Fantasy

and mixes them in a large pot put over a gigantic

re. In the pot, a very evil Wind of the West is

created, then with her magic wand, she launches

it at the Tick Tock Timepiece, making the hands

turn more quickly.”

Spiderleg , a witch who held a tarantula

on a leash, cackled. “That’s how we’ll ‘eliminate

revolting you-know-who’!”

Thinking about Blossom made me want to

BU R S T into tears, but I couldn’t give away

my cover. Luckily, none of the witches seemed to

notice my distress. I grabbed a load of wood and

trudged along with the witches until we reached

the TOWER OF BONES .

The procession of witches went down a corridor

as dark as the belly of a hungry CAT and ended

in a round room at the base of the tower. In the

center, sitting on a throne of sterling

s i l v e r, was a young witch with disturbing
beauty. I say disturbing because she wasn’t just

beautiful — she was absolutely perfect. In fact,

she was so perfect, she looked like a mannequin!

There wasn’t one wrinkle or crease on her

face. Her eyes were magnetic, like those of a cat,

and her mouth looked like it had been painted

by an artist. Her hair was purple and shiny

with thick wavy curls that reached the oor.

On her head was a silver crown adorned with a

giant white pearl in the shape of a skull.

She wore a black velvet dress, and around her

 ECLIPSE THE WITCH
NAME: Eclipse, the Witch of Darkness; also called

Queen of Gloom and Doom; Ruler of Bad Choices, Evil

Things, and All-Around Badness

RESIDENCE: Lives in the Tower of Bones, an evil building

made of many skulls and bones. It has thirteen floors and

pointy windows.

SPECIAL AC C E S S O RY : She always wears a

large, shiny pendant in the shape of a full moon

and a silver crown adorned with an enormous

pearl in the shape of a skull.

SECRET DREAM: She would like to steal

the beauty of Blossom, the Queen of

the Fairies, and rule the Kingdom of

Fantasy in her own terrifying way!

FAVORITE M O T T O“Don’t
: worry,

be gloomy!”
neck hung a silver MEDALLION in the shape

of a full moon.

In her right hand, she gripped a silver magic

wand that was connected to her wrist with a

silver chain. Even her shoes seemed to be made of

sterling s i l v e r. How strange. Who could

walk in metal shoes?

While the witches danced and sang around

her, her face remained expressionless. Then,

suddenly, she raised an arm and shrieked,

“ Sileeence! I, Eclipse, the Witch of

Darkness; Queen of Gloom and Doom; Ruler

of Bad Choices, Evil Things, and All-Around

Badness, have something to say!”

My eyes bulged in surprise — while Eclipse

looked young, her voice was raspy and

deep, like that of someone much older!

 TWO
of the
witches Are twins.
CAN
you spot
them?

Hee,
hee,
hee!
 to
like
We
jokes!
play

tricks!
And

Ha,
ha!

like
We
pranks! traps!
And
 NOT ME!

Eclipse leaned forward in her chair and demanded,

“Whoever knows how to READ and WRITE,

step forward immediately!”

All the witches looked at one another, puzzled.

One by one they shrugged and said, “ Not me!”

One witch named Ditzy spoke up. “Your

Evilness, why would we want to read and write?

How boring.”

Eclipse threw one of her s t e rl i n g s i l ve r

slippers at Ditzy and yelled, “Quiet,

you! Did I ask for your opinion?”

Just then a short, chubby witch

named Greenmuck (who smelled

like swamp mud and had a dress made of braided

algae) pushed me from behind.

“Hey, how about the new witch, Germy?! She

 must know how to read — she’s got abook under

her arm!”

I STUMBLED in my curly slippers as

she pushed me and landed right on my snout on

the black marble oor!

S M AC K !
All the witches began rolling on the oor

with laughter. “Ha, ha, ha! Germy can read, and

the
about
How
witch?
new

Oof !
she’s a clown! Ha, ha, ha! What astrange witch!”

The only one who didn’t laugh was Eclipse.

She walked toward me, STARING at me

intensely. “You! Do you really know how to read

and write? Come forward, and don’t waste my

time!” she instructed.

I hurried to curtsy, answering in a high-pitched

voice, “Yes, Your Wickedness, I am

at your service!”

She passed me a scroll and ordered, “If you can

read, then tell me what is written here.”

I polished my glasses, cleared my throat, and

read aloud:
“Spell Number Thirteen:
How to become young and beautiful again.
If an old and ugly witch wants —”

But before I could continue, she SWIPED

the scroll from my paws, shouting, “Enough!

What’s wrong with you — reading my private

documents in front of everyone?”

I wanted to point out that she was the one who

had asked me to read ALOUD in the rst place,

but that didn’t seem like a good idea, so I kept

silent.

At that moment, she grabbed me by the

neck and declared, “You will become the new

librarian of the Tower of Bones! You

will put all the books in the witch library in

ALPHABETICAL ORDER, which should

take a century at least. The rest of you, get back

to work. I need more wood for the re!”

All the witches poured back outside, singing:

“Chop, chop, chop the wood.

Spreading evil is all good!

There is still much work to do

to steal the life from you-know-who!”

 The witch library was

at the verytop of the

Puff . tower. By the time I had

. . pa
wait fo nt. .
.
r me
. . . followed Eclipse up

the 313 steps that led

there, I was huffing

and PUFFING like

the Rodent’s Express

Train!
 POT OF THE
WICKED WINDS

After I stopped panting , I looked around. I

expected to see a stuffy old witch library, but what

I saw made . . .

In addition to the library, the top oor of the

tower was also Eclipse’s laboratory! And I thought

just seeing all those spookywitch books would

make my heart hammer!

The room was enormouse and circular. The oor

was made of gray stone slabs inlaid with silver

stars. The ceiling was made completely out of

crystal, and you could see the dark,eerie sky above.
 In the center of the room, there was a crackling

re. On the re sat an enormouse silver pot that

was as large as the heated

SWIMMING pool
in my uncle Richrat’s
Pot of the
Wicked
backyard. There was
Winds

writing engraved on

the pot. It said: Pot of

the Wicked Winds . The pot was so tall that

whoever was stirring it would have to climb up

the silver staircase perched next to it!

From the pot came a
swirling
strong

that made my whiskers

wind
whirl. It was the terrible

Wind of the West! Next to the pot

rested a long copper spoon with

a SUN on its handle and a

large fork with amoon on its

handle.

I guess Eclipse must have had a

thing for stargazing, because

a super-size telescope
pointed up at the ominous

sky.

Only then did I notice all

the astronomy books.

That witch had an

incredible library!

Eclipse went to a window,

leaned out, and pulled up a net made of

sparkling silver thread. She emptied the net

into the pot, and a mass of mixed winds came out.

Then she blew on the pot with her stinky breath.

Pee-yew!
As the witch stirred, she muttered to herself,

“Boiled bugs breath! If I stop stirring for one

minute, these winds get allcrusted and tangled!”

Then she called to me. “You, Germy, come here

and stir ! And be careful not to let clumps of

Eclipse’s Evil Witch Laboratory

It will blow you away!

!
so windy
I t ’s
 ha!
ha,
Ha,
wind form on the bottom, understand? Or I will

transform you into a tadpole ! I just decided

that in addition to working as a librarian, you will

also be my wind mixer.”

I swallowed hard and hurried to obey. “I will

stir with all my strength, Your Evilness!”

I climbed up and looked into the pot. All the

winds mixed together, forming a violent and

smelly current of air.

The witch, meanwhile, kicked off her silver

shoes, sending them clattering to the oor.

Then she snorted. “Ugh, those metal shoes

are killing me! They’re worse than my four-inch

P L AT F O R M batwing boots!”

Eclipse went over to theDARKEST corner

of the laboratory and collapsed on a chair that

looked like a throne. She lit a candelabra, opened

a golden chest locked with a key, and began to

study a series of s c r o l l s. “Hmm . . . spy

mirror . . . hmm . . . magic sauté . . .” she mumbled.

Perched on her left shoulder was an owl with

yellow eyes named Blinkers , and above her

head, suspended from the chair, was a purple bat

named SCREECH . On the arm of the chair

stood a blue spider.

How strange! I had never

seen a blue spider before.

Even stranger , this

spider wore a little

crown on his head and a

little chain attached to . . .

Hmm

one of his legs.

But I had no time to

think about that spider.

I had work to do in

the library. The

place was

a colossal
mess! I began to put all the books inalphabetical

order.

There were thousands of books! Eclipse wasn’t

kidding — this job would take me centuries to

complete!

While I was shelving the books, I kept thinking

about Blossom. I had to gure out a way to

counteract Eclipse’s spell that was producing the

Windof the West .

How did she even capture the wicked
winds in the large pot? Maybe the answer was

in the scrolls she was studying . . .

Quiet as a mouse, I approached the scrolls to

take a little peek.

But Eclipse saw me and swiped at me with

her broom, shrieking, “Get lost, spy! If I catch

you touching my secret scrolls again, I’ll cut off

your paw!”

The owl pecked me, hooting, “Shove off, witch!”

 The bat apped in my face, screeching, Shoo,
“

Stinky!”
Only the blue spider said nothing.

Get witch!
lost, off,
spy! Shove
 SPELL NUMBER 1 4

After a while, Eclipse dozed off on the chair and

began to snore loudly. Zzzz .

“ . . zzzz . . .

zzzz . . . zzzz !” What a racket!

A few minutes later, the blue spider crawled

up to me and whispered in my ear, “You must be

CAREFUL , witch! Do you know how many

librarians Eclipse has already

turned into tadpoles?”

He pointed to a

shbowl lled with

tadpoles swimming

around dejectedly.

Cheese niblets!

Then the spider

reassured me with a

kind tone. “But don’t

worry, I will help you. My name is Webster. I

am the king of the Blue Spiders.”

I shook his little foot and squeaked, “Pleased to

meet you. My name is Stil — I mean, Geronimosa

Witchysnout. But, please, call me Germy .”

The spider smiled. He told me that Eclipse was

the most evil of her seven sisters.

“She has sisters?” I asked.

Nice
to
meet
you!

,
am Webster
I of th
e
ing
the k r s !
Spide
Blue
 Webster looked at me curiously. “How

come you don’t know this, Germy? Even the

youngest witch knows about the sisters,”

he pointed out. “I mean, if you weren’t hideously

ugly and your breath wasn’t disgustingly

stinky and you weren’t dressed in black with a

pointy hat, I’d say you’re not a witch!”

I hurried to respond. “Ahem, of course I am a

REAL witch! I even have a broom.”

The spider pointed at a frame on the wall

with paintings of the seven witch sisters! Of the

witches, I immediately recognized Cackle ,

whom I had already met on several previous trips

to the Kingdom of Fantasy.

Cackle and Eclipse are sisters! Yikes!

I didn’t want Webster to know, but those

witches terri ed me! “So, listen, what are all those

moldy scrolls Eclipse is studying?” I asked the

spider, trying to forget about Cackle.

 CACKLE

the most ambitious

FRIGID

the most coldhearted

ECLIPSE

the smartest

VENDETTA

the most vindictive

SHADOW

the most
STENCH EERIE
mysterious
the stinkiest the darkest
 Webster sighed. “They

are the B e w i t c h i n g

Scrolls . Don’t ever

touch them if you value

your life and don’t

want to turn into a bag of

bones, or a squashed
lump with whiskers, or a sad starving skeleton

in a witch dress, or . . .”

He was about to go on, but I held up my paw.

“I get the idea,” I whispered, horri ed.

Webster showed me the silver chain

attached to his little leg. “See this?” he said.

“Eclipse is keeping me hostage. She has enslaved

the entireBlue Spider population!”

I was shocked. “What does she make you do?”

The spider lowered his voice. “She makes us

weave an invisible n e t , which she

uses to snare all the wicked winds in the Kingdom

of the Witches. She uses spell Number Fourteen
from the Bewitching Scrolls!”
My eyes opened wide. Finally, the mystery was

beginning to unravel. Eclipse used spell Number

14 to create the wicked Wind of the West!

At last I knew what I had to do. I had to get my

paws on those Bewitching Scrolls without being

turned into a bag of bones!

 SPYING MIRROR, TELL
ME THE LATEST !

As I spent more time with the witches, I realized

that there was only one moment of each day when

Eclipse was BUSY and no one else would

bother me in the laboratory. It was early in the

morning. Eclipse would disappear behind a silver

door labeled SECRET ROOM , locking it with

a loud CLICK . Meanwhile, her owl was still

out hunting prey, and the bat was still in a deep

sleep, hanging on his golden perch.

That was when I could examine theBewitching

Scrolls !
So one morning I waited, pretending to put the

witch’s books in order.

As soon as she went into the SECRET

ROOM , I put my eye up to the keyhole. What I
 . .
.
Mirror
Spying
saw made my blood run cold!

The witch held a silver mirror decorated with

precious RUBIES .
Blistering blue cheese! It was identical to the

one that I had seen in Blossom’s hands before I

left! The witch ordered, “Spying Mirror, tell me

the latest news!”
The mirror laughed, then began to speak. “Well,

let’s see . . . this morning Blossom got up at six,

had a sip of dew for breakfast, washed her hair

with a HONEYSUCKLE and rose petal rinse,

then practiced some peaceful meditation . . .”

The witch interrupted, “You foolish piece of

glass! Those details don’t interest me — tell me if

she has become older and uglier !”

The mirror hurried to show her an image of

Blossom, even more wrinkled and tired.

The witch cackled, satis ed. “Excellent! My plan

is working! The Wind of the West continues to

make the Timepiece’s hands turn, and littleMiss
Goody Two-shoes ages by the minute!”

Then Eclipse began to sing:

“I want your youth.

I want your looks.
I’ll get it all
with my spell books!
It’s my turn now
to rule it all;
The kingdom is mine
after you fall!”

Thinking of Blossom made me want to C RY.

I had to save her!
1. I approached
the scrolls . . .

2. Then I began to go
through them, keeping
an eye on the door . . .

3. But I was too

nervous ! How
stressful!
 Suddenly, the door to the SECRET ROOM

burst open, and Eclipse ran out, heading for the

stairs.

“I’m going to my room to rest. I don’t want

to be disturbed, understand?” she yelled before

disappearing .
This was it! I ran to examine the Bewitching

Scrolls .

Lea ng through them, I grew more and more

anxious. What if someone discovered me?! With

one EYE, I tried to read, and with the other

EYE, I tried to see if the witch was coming.
With my left ear , I tried to listen for the owl,

and with my right ear , I tried to hear if the bat

had woken up . . .

It was so stressful! I couldn’t handle

the pressure!
 YOU’RE A WITCH,
NOT A FAIRY!

My whole body was trembling. Get a grip,

Stilton! I told myself. Think calm thoughts.

Imagine you’re in a peaceful place like a beautiful

beach or a lush green forest. The beach is warm

and sunny, and the forest doesn’t have any

unfriendly creatures like terrifying trolls or wicked

witches or giant mouse-eating boa constrictors . . .

Okay, maybe thinking wasn’t such a good idea.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, eventually I came

upon a scroll labeled Spell Number 13. After I

read it, I was scared out of my fur!

Spell numbers 14, 15, 16, 45, and 87 were no

picnic , either. Oh, what a nightmare!

 Spell
Number 13

If an old and ugly witch wishes to become young

and beautiful, there is only one solution: Steal youth

and beauty from another creature, possibly a fairy!

Note: The most fascinating fairy is Blossom of the

Flowers, but in her case, the only way to steal her

gifts would be to accelerate the hands of the Tick

Tock Timepiece, the clock that measures her life and

that of all of the Kingdom of Fantasy. Every witch

has always dreamed of doing it, but no one has ever

succeeded.

P.S. If a witch ever succeeds, let us know so we can

update the spells!

 Spell
Number 14

How to Create the

Wind of the West
To generate this wind, which has the strength of

a hurricane, one needs to make the Magic Sauté

in a large pot (see ingredients in Spell Number

15). Then add all the winds that you can capture,

one at a time. Capturing the wicked winds is

dif cult but not impossible (see explanation in

Spell Number 16). After exactly thirteen hours of

cooking, the magic mixture will produce the Wind

of the West.

Pot of the
Wicked
Winds
 Spell
Number 15

How to Cook
the Magic Sauté
Fry the following ingredients in a large pot, one by one
and in this order. (Otherwise the recipe won’t work, got it?)

Dragon teeth

Snake scales (viper, if possible)

Newt feet

Toad eyes

Slices of mushroom
(poisonous, if possible)

Lizard tail

Mummy dust

Mandrake root

Snail drool

Bat snot

Scorpion venom

Volcano lava
 Spell
Number 16

How to Capture the Wicked Winds

of the Kingdom of the Witches
The rst thing you must do is persuade the population

of Blue Spiders to weave a spiderweb with spider tears,

well soaked with their pain and sadness. This spiderweb

is the only one that can trap the wind! In order for this

spell to work, the web must be full of excruciating pain.

While the spiders weave, they must cry — the sadder

they are, the better it is! One way to obtain this result

would be to kidnap their king and keep him hostage.

 Spell
Number 45

How to Spy on Your Nemesis

without Her Realizing It
Simple: You need two Spying Mirrors made of sterling

silver and decorated with very precious rubies.

Send one of the Spying Mirrors to your nemesis and

keep the other. Yours will re ect everything that happens

to your nemesis. (If she gets a zit on her nose, you

will be the rst to know it!) In fact, the mirror has the

capacity to see and listen, telling you everything, even if

at a great distance!
 Spell
Number 87

How to Transform the

Librarian into a
Tadpole
(If She Doesn’t Work Hard Enough!)
This is very simple. Hit her on the head with your

magic wand and say, “Ugly Witch, you’re way too

slow, into the gold sh bowl you go!” Suddenly, she

will transform into a tadpole, and you can plop her

into a bowl of stinky water.

Now I was horri ed . This evil magic

practically made this witch invincible! There was

only one way to ght her. I had to nd an even

MORE POWERFUL spell!

But that seemed so impossible, I began to sob.
Without thinking, I wailed, “Now I’ll never be

able to save Queen Blossom!”

Right then Webster appeared by my side,

dragging his chain . Oops! I had forgotten about

the spider. “Blossom?” he said. “How do you know

her, Germy? You’re a witch, f a i r y !”

not a

Then he stared at me and murmured ,

“Hey, wait a second, I never noticed you had

whiskers just like a MOUSE . And a nose just

like a MOUSE . And aren’t those the ears of a

MOUSE ?”

Ah, well. I guess my witch disguise wasn’t

foolproof. Webster grinned now that he knew my

true identity. “I knew you were too nice to be a

wicked witch!” he exclaimed.

“You’re too kind,” I said, BLUSHING

modestly. What can I say? Even when I’m

dressed up as a witch, I can’t help behaving like a

gentlemouse!
 “I will tell you a secret ,” Webster said,

handing me a scroll. “This is the most powerful

spell of the Bewitching Scrolls: Number One

Thousand. With this spell, you can cancel all the

other spells executed by Eclipse!”

Quickly, I read Spell Number 1,000.

Finally, I had found a way to SAVE Blossom!

Webster!
Thanks,

Here
is
the
most
powerful
spell!
 spell
Number 1,000

1,000

How to Cancel Spells

Close your eyes, plug your nose with

your right hand, pull your left ear with

your left hand, stick out your tongue,

and say out loud:

“Witches with wands, warlocks

with bats,

poisonous spiders, rabid black cats!

Cancel the spells that are

already done;

Terminate all spells, every

last one!”
 POISONOUS SPIDERS,
RABID BLACK CATS

I raced over to thePot of the Wicked Winds.

There was no time to lose! I climbed up the silver

stairs and stared into the pot.

Inside, the stinky mixture was bubbling and

boiling as it blended together to form the evil

Wind of the West .

Holding on to my pointy hat so I didn’t get

blown away, I closed my EYES (or did I need

to keep them open?), then I plugged my nose

with the right paw (or was it supposed to be the

left?). I pulled my left ear (or was it the right?),

I STUCK out my tongue, and said aloud the

magic words:

“Witches with wands, warlocks with

bats . . .”
 with wands
Witches

Pot of the
Wicked
Winds
 And then I stopped. Rats!

I forgot how the spell went!

I ran back and reopened the

!
chest, but the wind lifted Yaaawn

the scrolls into the air. I tried to

catch them, but

Hoot!
right then Blinkers

the owl began to

beat on the window

for someone to let him in, and

Screech the bat yawned , slowly

waking up!

I also heard the footsteps of

Eclipse click-clack on the stairs

as she approached!

“Hurry,” Webster urged. Or

“
everything will be lost!”

I tried again, lled with panic.

“Um, cats and poisonous wands,

bats and rabid spells . . .”

I heard the witch behind

me yell furiously,
“Who dared to touch my

Bewitching Scrolls?”

At this point I

wanted to jump

into the boiling pot and call it a day, but I couldn’t

do that to Blossom. I had to keep trying. So I did.

And this time I got the words right!

“Witches with wands, warlocks with bats,

poisonous spiders, rabid black cats!

Cancel the spells that are already done;

Terminate all spells, every last one!”

Just like that, the Wind of the West lost power

and vanished.

I had completed my mission!

But before I could celebrate, I heard an icy

voice behind me . . .
 Full of terror , I turned and saw that a few

inches from my snout was the wrinkle-free face

of Eclipse.

She stared at me with her icy eyes that showed

no emotion and hissed, “Well, well, well, who do

we have here? So you aren’t an ugly witch ;

you’re an ugly MOUSE spy . . .”

She raised her silver wand high, threatening

me. “You were able to STOP the Wind of the

West, but I will get revenge. Now you will feel my

power. Whatever you have heard about me, I am

much, much WORSE !”

She came closer and HISSED , “Maybe I will

transform you into a warty toad! Or I will lock

you in a dark prison for a thousand millennia! Or

I will throw you into the Pot of the Wicked

Winds ! Tell me your name, so I can have it

carved on your HEADSTONE , if I even decide

to give you a headstone . . .”

 But as Eclipse continued to shriek I realized

something strange was happening. Wrinkles

were sprouting up all over her face. Her nose

shriveled , and her chin sagged. Her hair went

from shiny purple to frizzy white, and her back

became stooped.

I will
destroy
Before
you! After
Huh?!?
 OOPS. I FORGOT . . .

“It worked! Spell Number One Thousand

canceled all the spells done before! And Eclipse is

returning to her cranky , old witchy self! Well,

she was always cranky , but now she’s wrinkling

back up like a prune,” Webster yelled happily.

I was so excited! If Eclipse was getting older,

that meant Blossom was getting younger!

Yes, everything was working exactly how I had

hoped! But a minute later, disaster struck. The

MARBLE oor began to creak, the walls

began to shift, and the whole Tower of Bones

began to crumble!

“Oops,” Webster mumbled . “I forgot to

mention . . . the Tower of Bones was also

constructed with a SPELL.”

Now, that was a piece ofinformation that would
 have come in handy! I

groaned. Still, I didn’t

want to make Webster h!

Ahhhh
feel bad, so I grabbed

him, put him in my

pocket, and started

running.

As I raced down the

stairs, I counted the

oors . . .

Run,
run!
 “ Thirteenth oor, TWELFTH oor, ELEVENTH

oor, tenth oor, ninth oor . . .”

But just as we passed the eighth oor, I found

myself in front of a giant gaping hole in the

stairs. If I tried to take one more pawstep, I was a

goner, just like the crumbling Tower of Bones!

Oh, what to do, what to do, what to doooo?!

I was hoping some brilliant idea would come to

me, but nothing did. So I stuck my head out the

window and squeaked,

It was right then that I saw the most incredible

sight I could imagine . . .

The DRAGON OF TIME was hurtling through

the sky, heading straight for me!

The dragon wagged his tail to let me know

that he had seen me. But who was in the saddle,

holding the reins?

It was Hee Haw!

 He yelled triumphantly, ““Never fear, Hee Haw

is here!”

The dragon accelerated and was soon right in

front of me.

Hee Haw reached for me with his hand, and I

took it, just as the TOWER OF BONES

fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust . I sank

onto the dragon right behind Hee Haw.

“Congratulations, Knight! You have succeeded

in completing your mission!” the dragon

cheered.
 I felt like I was on TOP of the world! (Well,

technically I was on top of the dragon!)

It felt so good to have saved Blossom!

I thanked Hee Haw for his

help. Who would have thought

that pesky court jester

would play a part in

saving my life!

“Don’t thank

me, Knight!

I knew we’d

be tight!” he

snickered,

bopping me on the nose. Ah, well, some things

never change.

Webster was celebrating in my pocket, too . . .

But then I spotted Eclipse on her broomstick.

What did she want?
 ON!
E W
W
RAY!
HOO
 . .
.
-OH
UH
Huh?
 have
don’t
You
facts!
all the

NOT
SO
FAST,
MOUSE
Y!
to
more
There’s
story!
this
 NOT SO FAST,
MOUSEY!

The witch hung in the air with her broom

vibrating . She held up one gnarled hand and

cackled, “Not so fast, Mousey! I’m not done with

you yet!”

The bat yelled, “Yeah, you don’t have all the

f a c t s !”
And the owl added, “That’s right. There’s more

to the story!”
Uh-oh. What was the witch up to now?

The Dragon of Time echoed my fears. “The

witch must be planning some other way to rule

the kingdom.”

Hee Haw shook his head and sighed, bonking

me in the eye with the jingling bell on his hat. “I

was just glad, but now I’m sad!” he complained.

 The witch shrieked, “You haven’t won, because . . .

EVEN THOUGH YOU STOPPED

THE WIND OF THE WEST . . .

AND CRUSHED THE TOWER OF BONES . . .

YOU CAN’T DESTROY THE LAYER OF

DARKNESS, BECAUSE THAT IS NOT THE WORK

OF A MAGIC SPELL. IT IS THE WORK OF

THE BLUE SPIDERS! HA, HA, HAAA!”

ha!
ha,
Ha,
ha!
ha,
Ha,
Ha, ha, ha!
 I didn’t know what Eclipse was talking about,

but before I could ask, she started ying away.

“Get ready, Mouse!” she yelled over her shoulder.

“In three days, there will be an eclipse of the

moon. That is when you lose it all!”

The witch aimed her broom directly toward the

ground. Then she pointed her magic wand at a

white stone in the shape of a skull.

“Doom Door, open up . . . or else!”

The white stone slowly rose, revealing a

DARK tunnel. Eclipse ew right into the

ECLIPSES
An ECLIPSE is when one celestial body (like a planet or moon)

blocks the light to another celestial body. A SOLAR ECLIPSE

occurs when the moon comes between the sun and Earth,

blocking the sun’s light and leaving Earth brie y in darkness. A

LUNAR ECLIPSE occurs when the sun, the moon, and Earth are

aligned so that Earth’s shadow blocks the sun’s light from hitting

the moon. The termeclipse is derived from Greek and means

“to make oneself invisible.”

tunnel and disappeared !

Questions swirled around in my brain like

clothes tumbling in a dryer. “What just

happened?” I squeaked, terri ed. “Where did

the witch go? Why did she say I would lose it

all? What is the LAYER OF DARKNESS ?

What will happen in three days? Why does the

eclipse of the moon matter?”

I was so lled with questions, I felt like I was

about to explode.

Webster explained that the witch’s Doom Door

led to her underground crypt. “That’s where

Eclipse has imprisoned all the other BLUE

SPIDERS ! After they made the invisible net,

she’s now forcing them to weave the LAYER

OF DARKNESS . It can darken the sky of the

Kingdom of Fantasy forever. She’s planning on

using it in three days, when there will be a lunar

eclipse.”
 THE LONG-LEGGED

HISTORY OF THE

BLUE SPIDERS

Once upon a time, the Blue Spiders lived peacefully

in an immense underground lair in the Valley of the

Long Legs. There they lived happily, weaving their
beautiful webs.

Then, one terrible day, the evil witch Eclipse invaded

the valley and kidnapped their king, Websteronius B.
Weaver, also known as Webster. So the Blue Spiders
were imprisoned in a cave, where they became the
slaves of Eclipse!

Using Spell Number 16 from the Bewitching Scrolls,

Eclipse forced them to weave a gigantic invisible net.
The net was woven with the tears of the spiders,
soaked with their sadness. The witch used the net to
capture the Wind of the West, made up of all the winds
in the Kingdom of the Witches. Now the Blue Spiders
are being forced to weave another net called the

Layer of Darkness. With this net, the witch

plans to darken the sun forever and rule

the Kingdom of Fantasy.

 Webster waved one long leg in the air (or was

it his hand? It’s hard to tell with a spider). “We

must STOP the witch and save my subjects!”

he declared. “But rst let me tell you about the

history of the Blue Spiders . . .”

Listening to Webster’s story about the

imprisoned spiders made me feel sad and

MAD and scared all at the same time.

I was sad because I felt bad for the spiders, of

course. Who would want to live underground,

WEAVING your little legs off day in and day

out? I felt mad because I could just picture that

nasty sel sh witch ordering the poor Blue Spiders

around. And I felt scared because I knew the only

way to help the spiders would be to confront

the witch! Did I mention I’m a bit of a scaredy-

mouse? I’m deathly afraid of witches, dark places,

scorpions, and SLEEPING BAGS . I once got my

tail fur stuck in my sleeping bag zipper! Ouch!

 DOOM DOOR

Hurry!

more!
Up

Come
on!
Move
those

Fold! legs!

beat!
I’m I’m
d!
exhauste
 feel faint!
I

Don’t
slow
down!

Hurry!

Work,
nes!
Lazybo

Sigh .
. .
But that’s another story . . .

Anyway, we all agreed that we had to act

QUICKLY to stop the witch from executing her

evil plan.

“We need some sort of SPECIAL weapon,”

Webster suggested. “Something tough enough to

cut through the Layer of Darkness. But I have no

idea what. The fabric is super-resistant.”

The DRAGON OF TIME spoke up. “I know of

an object that could cut through theLAYER OF

DARKNESS . But it will be incredibly dif cult

to get.”

“We have to try,” I said. “It’s our only hope!”

Hee Haw nodded in agreement, bonking me

again with his jingling bells. BONK!

Oh, why couldn’t he switch to a nice soft knit
cap instead? Maybe he could ask Blossom for one

for his birthday . . .

The Dragon of Time interrupted my thoughts.

“In the Kingdom of Fantasy, there is

something called the Crystal Sword. It is an

enchanted sword with legendary powers.

The blade is polished with stardust, sharpened

with moonstones, and washed with fairy tears.”

“Where do we nd it?” I asked.

The dragon sighed. “That’s the problem. The

sword belongs to K I N G A Z U L, who lives

in SAPPHIRE CITY. The sword could be

THE CRYSTAL SWORD

The Crystal Sword is an enchanted sword with legendary

powers. Its blade, sharpened with moonstones and shined with

stardust, gets its power from fairy tears. It can cut through

any material: superhard, supersoft, or even

super-sticky!
dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands, so the

king keeps it guarded in a remote place known as

Shriek Peak .”

“I know Azul — I met him on my sixth trip to

the Kingdom of Fantasy!” I squeaked.

 TELL ME SOMETHING
I DON’T KNOW

We traveled all day and night on the back of

the Dragon of Time until we saw Shining Moon

Mountain. We ew up Shriek Peak and nally

arrived at SAPPHIRE CITY, the city

in the clouds, right as the warm rays of the sun

tinted the clouds gold. Here is where we would

nd AZUL , the Ancient One with Eyes of

Sapphire.

The dragon landed outside the con nes of the

city and stayed there to wait for us. After I had put

on my armor (what a relief it was to take off that

stinky witch disguise!), Hee Haw, Webster, and I

set out for the palace. There we met seven knights

dressed in the seven colors of the RAINBOW .

“We are the honorable guards of Azul!

Please, follow us. Azul is waiting for you!”

declared the knights.

That was odd. HOW did the king know we

were coming?

As we walked through that spectacular city

made of clouds, my paws sank into the soft ground.

It was like walking on m a r s h m a l l o w s !

We passed lots of f a n c y houses, but eventually

we stopped in front of a simple dwelling. This

was Azul’s house. The wise ruler knew that it’s

not the s i z e of the house that counts — it’s

are in
we
Here City!
Sapphire
those inside that matter most!

Inside, Azul was sitting on a simple wooden

chair. He wore a long white tunic, which, I

must admit, reminded me of my aunt Sweetfur’s

bathrobe . His eyes were as blue as sapphires.

Even though I had met the king before, I still

felt nervous. Azul was one impressive ruler! He

was famouse in the Kingdom of Fantasy for his

profound wisdom.
 Azul, the
Ancient One with
Eyes of Sapphire

WHO HE IS: The ancient and wise leader of Sapphire City

RESIDENCE: Sapphire City, the city in the clouds. His

house is the most modest in the whole city, and on his door

these words are engraved: ALL ARE WELCOME HERE!

FAMILY: He is the father of Blue

Rider, the knight who helped

Geronimo in his sixth trip to the

Kingdom of Fantasy.

SPECIAL AC C E S S O RY: A long,

golden scepter with a large, sparkly

sapphire at the top

FAVORITE MOTTO: Love

conquers all!
 I bowed before the king. “I’m not sure if you

remember me. I am Stilton, er, Geronimo,

um, a mouse — or, rather, a knight . . .” I mumbled.

Azul interrupted, saying kindly, “I know . ”

“Oh, well, I am here because . . .” I began again.

“I know ,” the king said once again.

I blinked, confused. Until I remembered then

that Azul had the magical ability to read

minds! He knew exactly what I was thinking! I

b l u s h e d, wondering if he caught my

thoughts about his out t.

Azul addressed me warmly. “My dear Sir

Geronimo of Stilton, how could I forget you?!

You will always have a home here. Oh,

and don’t worry about it. I know my robe

looks a little funny, but I must tell you, it is so

comfy!”
By now I was as RED as a tomato. Oh, how

embarrassing!
 Azul continued, “Please, speak freely. I will

listen.”

So I said, “The witch Eclipse . . . but maybe

you already know. She has the LAYER OF

DARKNESS . . . but maybe you already know.

We need to cut it before the eclipse of the

moon . . . but maybe you already know. And so

will listen!
I

the Layer
. . .
itch
The w . .
ness .
of Dark
we need the CRYSTAL SWORD . . .

but maybe you already know.”

Azul nodded tranquilly with his gaze xed

on mine. Then he closed his eyes, and for a minute

I wondered if he had dozed off.

Finally, his eyes slowly opened, and he said, “In

fact, I already knew.” I wasn’t surprised. “Now tell

me something I don’t know. Tell me the answer

to the RIDDLE OF THE ENCHANTED

POMEGRANATE , and the Crystal Sword is

yours!”

Then he stood up and said, “FOLLOW ME!”

 TEMPTING . . .
VERY TEMPTING . . .

We climbed aboard a CRYSTAL carriage,

pulled by three winged unicorns.

The carriage ew up Shriek Peak, the tallest

mountain in the Kingdom of Fantasy. Don’t look

down! I warned myself, clinging to the side of the

carriage for dear life.

When we landed, Azul pointed at a riddle

engraved on a plaque of ice:

RIDDLE OF THE ENCHANTED POMEGRANATE

A special sword rests on this peak:

A blade with powers so unique.

But only one can claim its hold:

A fearless knight (or so it’s told).

To nd it, you must choose a path.

One, two, or three: You do the math.

 it is!
Here
 Azul then pointed out three paths that branched

in front of us and instructed me to choose one.

I looked at the three roads. They were very

different.

At the start of the rst road, there was a shiny

gold sign. It read:

Ro a d t o R i c h e s.
It was paved with golden coins, and I could see

piles of precious, glittering gemstones along the

path. If I walked down that road, I could pick up

more money than the wealthiest mouse on Mouse

Island. I could move out of my modest mouse

hole and into a mansion! It was tempting . . .

very tempting . . .

On the second road was a shiny silver sign that

read: Bragger’s Boulevard . It was paved with

mirrors , and under every mirror was written

a little saying like, “You are better than everyone!”

and “The whole world is jealous of you!” and

“You are perfect in every way!”

Choose!

. . .
Umm
 If I chose that road I would be the most

CONFIDENT mouse on the block. It

might be nice to think so highly of myself. It was

tempting . . . very tempting . . .

The sign above the third road was made out

of old wood. It read: SIMPLE STREET . There

were no gold coins or shiny mirrors on this path.

It was made of plain dirt and stones and had

narrow unequal steps.

I stood silent, staring at the three paths.

Which one should I take?

I knew my decision could either lead me to the

CRYSTAL SWORD or to disaster. Oh, why

did these adventures always force me to make

so many decisions? I had trouble even deciding

between a cheese bagel and acheese sandwich!

I turned to Azul, hoping he could guide me, but

he refused to make eye contact. I had to make this

decision on my own.
 Once more I looked at the three roads. Then

suddenly it HIT me. I was a simple mouse. I had

to be true to myself and take the simplest path.

So without any more hesitating I took off down

Simple Street until I found myself in front of

the most wonderful sight. A giantPOMEGRANATE

made entirely of precious stones! The skin was

made of red rubies, the tree it grew on was made

of diamonds, and the leaves were shiny emeralds .

Slowly, the enchanted pomegranate opened

into four pieces. And, there, in the very center of

the fruit sat theCRYSTAL SWORD !

I took a step forward and grabbed the sword.

I did it! I had chosen the

right path!
 sword!
The
 NO MESSENGER
SERVICE REQUIRED

At last, the Crystal Sword, otherwise known as

the Sword of Truth, was in my paws! I was

so excited I felt like dancing, only I didn’t dare.

That sword was SHARP ! I didn’t want to slip

and cut off my tail!

Suddenly, I was overcome with emotion. Who

would have thought that, I, Sir Geronimo of

Stilton, could be trusted with such a powerful

object? Of course, I still had work to do. I still

had to cut the LAYER OF DARKNESS and

save Blossom.

Would I be able to deliver what was expected

of me? Would I be able to complete my mission?

Would I be able to take off my knight boots soon?

My paws were KILLING me!

 Right then Azul put his hand on my shoulder.

“Do not worry,” he said. “You will be able to

complete your mission. The sword will help keep

you on the right path. If it is used for evil

purposes, the sword will turn RED and feel

heavy in your paw. If it is used for good purposes

it will turn a sparkling blueand feel light in

your paw.”

False heart
and evil
Pure heart intentions
and sincere
intentions
 I looked down at the sword in my paw. It was

sparkling and didn’t feel h e a v y,

blue gured that
so I was a good sign. There was only

one question I still needed to ask Azul. “How will

I returnthe sword to you when I am nished

with it? I mean, will you send someone to pick it

up or do I need to bring it back myself ?”

The king shook his head, smiling. “No messenger

service is required, Knight. The CRYSTAL

SWORD , from now on, will stay with you,

and it will accompany you on all your adventures

in the Kingdom of Fantasy. It is rightfully

yours, because you have demonstrated that you

are worthy.”

I couldn’t believe it. The Crystal Sword was

mine! I had never owned anything so important,

so powerful, so magical, and, well, so

SHARP! I just hoped I didn’t poke my eye or

any other precious body part by accident!

 worthy!
are
You

Azul took the sword and touched the tip of it to

my shoulder as I KNELT before him.

“ You are worthy!” he declared.

“ You are worthy!” echoed the guards.

But as soon as I got up, Azul and his guards

disappeared in a cloud of BLUE . Only the

CRYSTAL SWORD remaining in my paw

let me know it wasn’t all a dream.

 When I returned to my friends, Hee Haw ran

up to me. “Wow! You got the Crystal Sword! Hey,

can I hold it? Can I? Can I?” begged the court

jester.

Webster climbed up along my arm until he

reached the sword. “Ooooh, shiny . . .” he

murmured, staring at it as if in a daze. “Can I

climb on it?Can I? Can I?”

Before I could respond, the DRAGON OF TIME

appeared by my side.

“Azul asked me to come get you,” he explained.

“Everybody, hop on board!”

We left immediately for the KINGDOM OF THE

WITCHES . There wasn’t much time — the eclipse

was almost here.

We traveled all night and all day long, until

nally, just before sunset, we arrived where the

TOWER OF BONES had once been.

As soon as we landed, I ran toward the

DOOM DOOR. We had to save the

spiders and destroy the Layer of Darkness!

But when I reached the entrance to the

underground prison, I saw a small spider crying

his little heart out.

Webster ran up to him and gave him a warm

hug. The spider was his nephew Itsy .

“Oh, Uncle Webster,” sobbed Bitsy

the little spider.

“The witch forced us to nish the LAYER OF

DARKNESS and then she left with her army of

Itsy
Bitsy!

Webster!
Uncle
witches! She is going to destroy the kingdom with

her evil plan!”

Webster patted the little spider tenderly. “It’s all

right,” he said. “Just tell me which direction the

witches ew in.”

With his little leg, Itsy pointed to the left.

“That way! I heard her say she was going to

Petri ed Peak! She was going to wait

for the eclipse and then launch the Layer of

Darkness into the sky!”

Without a moment to lose, we ran off toward

the peak.

As we were leaving, I heard Itsy calling after us,

“ BE CAREFUL! Eclipse and the witches are

not alone. She also brought all the creatures from

the dark side of the moon!”

 TO THE SQUEAK!

We jumped on the Dragon of Time , and

he soared off in the direction of the Petri ed

Peak. I was so worried about the witch and the

Dark Creatures, I could hardly think straight.

“To the peak!” shouted the dragon.

“To the peak!” yelled Webster.

“To the squeak! . . . I mean, the eek! . . . I

mean, the p-p-place where we’re g-g-going!”

I stammered.
Cheese niblets , I was a

nervous wreck!

Soon we reached the Black Swamp and the

sadRiver of Regret . A mountain stood out

FIERCE against the horizon . . . Petri ed Peak!

By now, night had fallen, and everything looked

extra DARK and spooky. Oh, if only I

had brought along a ashlight, a lantern, or my

battery-operated CHEESEBALL THE CLOWN lamp.

Still, I couldn’t worry about the dark now. Time

was ticking, and the witch was probably getting

ready to launch the Layer of Darkness.

“Hurry!” yelled Hee Haw. “We have to STOP

her!”

The Dragon of Time beat his wings furiously,

rising HIGHERand HIGHER to reach

the peak.

When we got a little closer, we saw that a large

crowd had gathered on the side of the mountain.

It was all the creatures from the dark side of the

moon!

A lump formed in the pit of my stomach. I

felt like I had swallowed a whole block of cheddar

in one gulp. The witch was so close to claiming

victory!
So, as the moon rose, we glided over Eclipse’s

horrid army . . .
STINK-SHOOTING WITCHES

LIGHTNING-BOLT WITCHES

STINGING-NETTLES
F O U L - WAT E R WITCHES
WITCHES
 ECLIPSE

HORNET’S-STING WITCHES

BAD-R EFLEC TION

WITCHES
NAME-CALLING
WITCHES

MOTORMOUTH WITCHES
 SHADY SERPENTS

TWO-HEADED DRAGONS

THORN
EATERS

STONE GNOMES

POISONOUS-MUSHROOM
GNOMES
CARNIVOROUS PLANTS

HAIRY BATS

WEREWOLF CHICKS

SLICING SNAKES

LITTL E GREEN
MONSTERS
ASHEN
PHOENIXES

ENERGY-EATING
MEGA -WOR MS

ABOMINABLE GIANTS

BLOCKHEAD HULKS
 SNOT SPRAYERS

STINKY
MONSTERS

HAIRY
MONSTER

FRESHWATER
MONSTERS

CROCOCREATURE

LUNAR
WEREWOLVES

TROLLS OF THE SABER -TOOT HED

SMELLY SALAMANDERS
SWAMP
 SPIDERBATS

TOADEPHANTS

HIPPOSTRICHES

SHARP-TOOTHED
OGRES

MONOCLE, THE
F L AT- T O O T H E D ONE-E YED KING

OGRES OF THE GIANTS

 SEND ME UP,
BIG GUY!

Eclipse ew on her broom to the top of the

Petri ed Peak. When she arrived, she

strutted through the throngs of her subjects as if

she were a supermodel.

Finally, she reachedMonocle , the one-eyed king

of the giants. “It’s showtime!” she cackled. “Time

to conquer the Kingdom of Fantasy! Send me up,

big guy!”

The giant stepped forward . In his

ENORMOUSE hands he held what looked

like a huge paper airplane. Attached to the plane

was a DARKfabric — it was (you guessed it!)

the LAYER OF DARKNESS!

The giant placed the plane on the ground, and

Eclipse leaped onto it.

 “Are you ready, Your Wickedness?” Monocle

asked the witch in a BOOMING voice.

“Seat belt fastened, crown straightened, broom in

the proper position?”

“Ready?” Eclipse screeched. “Of course,

I’m ready! Now, stop asking ridiculous

questions and t o s s this plane into the

air. I will unroll the Layer of Darkness in the

air and darken the Kingdom of Fantasy

forever! Ha, ha, ha, haaa!”

Just then the sky grew a shade darker. The

eclipse was starting!

“Hurry up, you fool!” the witch ordered. “What

are you waiting for, a text message from

the moon?! To s s me u p !”
“Toss her! Toss her!” the other witches and all

the creatures of the dark side of the moon chanted.

Monocle raised the little airplane with the witch

on top and threw it with all his might. As soon as

 ha,
Ha,
haaa!
ha,
 she took off, Eclipse unrolled the Layer

of Darkness. It stretched out like a dark

blanket in the sky.

At exactly the same moment we, too,

arrived at the peak of the peak — and it certainly

left me petrified! But I tried to look brave.

The DRAGON OF TIME turned his body

until we found ourselves face-

to-face with Eclipse . The

witch waved her arms in the air

Attack!
triumphantly. “Oh, I’m so glad

you could make it to try to be

a h e ro, Little Mouse and

friends. How charming ! Now

you will all get to witness

my amazing victory!”
She pointed at the Layer of Darkness.
“This is the toughest material in the entire

kingdom. Nothing can destroy it!”

I took that as my cue to pull out theC rystal
S w o r d .

“Are you sure NOTHING can destroy it?” I

squeaked, doing my best to sound con dent. Then

I waved the sword in the air, trying desperately

not to slice off my whiskers.

Immediately, Eclipse’s face turned pale. Well,

it was already PALE, but you get the idea. Her

face turned even paler. “That can’t be the Crystal

Sword! That old peace-loving coot Azul

would never part with it!” she yelled.

With a shaking paw, I lifted the sword higher

so Eclipse could get a good look. “You’re wrong!”

I squeaked. “This is the C r y s t a l S w o r d!

Azul gave it to me because he knew I would use it

to ght evil !”
 the
For
om!
Bloss
For Fantasy
!
of
m
Kingdo

it!
Cut
Noooooo
oo!
 “ Let’s goooo!” I cried to the dragon. He

launched himself forward and ew hard until we

were under the Layer of Darkness.

At this point, the sky had turned completely

BLACK. “Cut it! Cut it!” Hee Haw shouted

in my ear.

From somewhere under me I could hear the

witches’ army yelling, “Don’t cut it! Don’t cut it!”

Of course, I already knew what to do. With one

swift movement, I lifted up the Crystal Sword

and sliced at the blackness, severing the Layer of

Darkness. The dragon was right about the sword.

It sliced right through that steely fabric

like it was made of fresh cream cheese!

 YOU’LL BE SORRY
S OMEDAY !

My friends let out a cheer of victory. “Woo-hoo!

We did it!”
Underneath us, we could hear the disappointed

grumbling of Eclipse’s army and all the

creatures of the dark side of the moon.

Meanwhile, the witch herself, who was a terribly

bad sport, yelled insults in our direction.

“This isn’t the end, Rat!” she shrieked. “You’ll be

sorry someday!”
But as she was screaming, the Layer of Darkness

began to fall, tumbling down into the River of

Regret . . . and Eclipse DISAPPEARED with

it. Then the moon returned to shine brightly

in the sky. The eclipse was over, and I had

succeeded at completing my mission!

 The Kingdom of Fantasy was safe at last!
While the Dragon of Time ew back toward

the Kingdom of the Fairies, I clutched the sword

that Azul had given to me.

Who knew if Eclipse would return to

BATTLE again? Nothing was certain. But at

least I would always have my trusty CRYSTAL

SWORD !

have my
will always
I
Sword!
Crystal
 KNIGHT OF PEACE

We traveled for about twenty million days

and twenty million nights. Well, okay, maybe

it wasn’t that long, but it felt like forever. I was so

happy I had completed my mission, but I was very

tired . I couldn’t wait to get home to see my

family and to take a nice hot cheddar BUBBLE

BATH !
On and on we ew, until nally I glimpsed a

light in the distance.

I blinked my eyes slowly . . .

Underneath us were the beautiful, lush lands

of the Kingdom of the Fairies. The Dragon of

Time glided slowly toward the ground until

I saw the steeples of Blossom’s CRYSTAL

CASTLE.
We landed at Dragon Airport, while the
We’re
here!
Royal Fairy Orchestra played a welcoming

serenade in honor of our return. What an honor

it was to be honored!

At the entrance to the shimmering CRYSTAL

CASTLE, we saw the queen. Blossom’s back

was to us, and we couldn’t see her face. My heart

h a m m e r e d away under my fur so hard I

felt like I would explode! Was the queen’s face as

youthful as it used to be? Of course, I would love

her either way, w r i n k l e s or no wrinkles. But

if Blossom’s face had turned smooth and young

again, it meant that time had been put back

on track, and that the Kingdom of Fantasy was

saved!

Just when I thought I would faint from

anticipation , the queen turned around.

Cheesecake! She was back to her old self!

Her hair had returned to its rich turquoise

color, her smile was a brilliant white, and she was
 Welcom
e
back,
Knight!

Blossom
!
no longer leaning on a cane.

Blossom threw her arms around me in a warm

embrace. “So, Sir Geronimo of Stilton,

once again you have not only saved me but you

have saved the entire Kingdom of Fantasy! How

can I ever repay you?” she said, smiling kindly.

I shuf ed my feet and said modestly. “Aw,

it was nothing. I just had to CLIMB a

GINORMOUSE rosebush, walk backward

off a steep cliff, escape from a mad witch’s

lair, prove I was worthy of the magical Crystal

Sword, and stop eternal darkness during a lunar

eclipse.”
The queen reached forward and placed an

olive wreath on my head. “Dear Knight,”

she said. “Let me offer you this simple but precious

crown. I am awarding you the title Knight

o f P e a c e !”
Everyone cheered. And then I heard some
familiar voices arguing in the crowd. “Me

f i r s t !” each one insisted. It was Scribblehopper,

his cousin Queenie, and Little Princess Buzzy.

They were arguing over who got to hug me

rst! In the end, Scribblehopper reached me rst,

CRUSHING me so hard I almost fainted.

Then someone in the crowd yelled, “Hey,

when is this party going to start?”

Oof !
Knight,
I thought
were you
a goner!
 SPEECH! SPEECH!

Blossom smiled. “Now we will celebrate! My

niece, Princess Precious, the guardian

for all the Winged Creatures in the

kingdom, will provide the entertainment.”

A very small young fairy came forward. She

had her hair in two braids and wore round

glasses just like mine. Sitting on her shoulder

was the queen of the butter ies. I knew it was

the queen because she wore aGLISTENING

crown on her head made of tiny dewdrops.

When the princess gave a signal, an immense

parade of MULTICOLORED butter ies

appeared. They itted all over the crystal

ballroom in a spectacular and elaborate

dance.

Blossom took my right paw and Princess

Precious took my left, and we danced and swirled

in perfect rhythm with the butter ies around

and around the room. Well, maybe one of us

wasn’t in perfect rhythm. Can I help it if I have

two left paws? Still, I tried my best not to step

on too many toes.

As we were dancing, I noticed Prince Lucky

talking and laughing with his father, Tick Tock ,

the Wizard of Time.

 ay!
Hoor

!
dance
Let’s
Ohhh!
 I went over and asked, “Tick Tock, how are

you?”

He smiled at me. “I am very well, thanks to you,

Knight! As soon as the Wind of the West stopped

blowing, my memory returned!”

Whew! But I still had one QUESTION

last

to ask the wizard. I had been wondering about

it since the beginning of my adventure. “What is

I will
tell yo
u . .
.
What
is the
treasur
e?
the treasure in the Land of Time that so many

travelers search for?”

The wizard smiled kindly. “My dearK n i g h t ,

I do not reveal this secret to many, but you have

proven that you are more than worthy, so I will

tell you. In the Land of Time, there is a unique

treasure of inestimablevalue. No, it is not

the gold sand in the Desert of Time (though it

is pretty) or my beautiful golden palace (though

I love my home sweet home) or the precious

Tick Tock Timepiece (though I must say,

my invention is pretty incredible). It is something

you cannot buy and is more precious than

gold, pearls, and diamonds. Can you guess what

it might be?”

I thought about the wizard’s question. Suddenly,

I had the answer. What could be more precious

in the Land of Time than TIME itself ?

I told the wizard, and he nodded. “You are

right, Knight. In fact, nothing is more precious

than time. Nothing can stop it, and no one can

BUY it!”

For a moment, I imagined what it would be like

if we could BUY time. I pictured myself at the

store purchasing a block of time.

What would I use it for? Would I use ten extra

minutes before my alarm rang in the morning?

(Oh, how I hate getting up in the morning!)

Would I use fteen extra minutes to make my

breakfast? Then I might be able to whip up some

of my great-grandma One Whisker’s delicious

cheddar cheese popovers. What a way to start

the morning!

Or maybe I would spend the extra time with

my family. I could take my nephew Benjamin to

the park or go gol ng with my grandfather

William. Though I have to admit, golf isn’t exactly

my sport. The last time I played golf, I missed the

ball and accidentally swung my golf club into a

LAKE !

I was still thinking about ying golf clubs

when I realized the crowd was staring at me.

“ Speech! Speech!” they shouted.

I turned red with embarrassment. I’m not the

best at giving speeches, especially in front of a

large crowd. What if my paws shook or I started

stuttering? What if the wind blew, and a piece

of dirt got into my eye, and I started crying

and couldn’t stop, forming a puddle at my feet,

and the p u d d l e turned into a lake, and I

started to drown, and . . . well, okay, maybe that

wouldn’t really happen. And, to be honest, when I

looked out at all theSMILING faces, I started to

relax. No one would really care if my paws shook.

Everyone just wanted to hear what I had to say.

So I smiled and said, “Ahem, my dear friends,

thank you all so much for HONORING me! I

 have learned so many things on my

journey to the LAND OF TIME.

But most of all I have learned

that time is our most precious

treasure, and we

should never waste it!

Hooray for time!”

Everyone applauded .

A warm feeling came over me

as I realized I had once more helped bring peace

and happiness to the Kingdom of Fantasy.

Then I heard the sound of bells.

 It was all the bells in the entire land signaling

the hour. And what a magical HOUR it was —

an hour ofpeace and happiness !

Then something strange happened.

The chiming bells were so soothing I

fell asleep still standing. I was having a nice

peaceful snooze when suddenly the bells grew

louder and louder and louder

and louder and louder . . .
 SORRY TO WAKE YOU

I came to with a start. When I looked around, I

realized I was no longer in the Kingdom of Fantasy.

I was sitting in the BLUE pawchair in the clock

shop back in New Mouse City!

Around me, all the alarm clocks in the shop were

RINGING and buzzing and chiming and

cuckooing! What a racket!

“Wh-what happened?!” I stammered.

In front of me, I saw the smiling faces

of Minute Mouse and his wife, Eloise. “You

fell asleep,” said Eloise sweetly. “Just like your

grandfather. He falls asleep when he sits

in that pawchair, too. You two are so alike!”

Minute Mouse chuckled. “Sorry to wake you,

Geronimo. Our clocks ring every hour on the

hour!”
 g
Briiiinnnng
Ding Ding Brii

ING
BUZZ R

BRIIINNG OOO
CK O
CU KOO
C
CU
DIN
G

BEEP
BEEP
Buz
Buz zz
zz
Huh?!
 “It’s okay. I should get going anyway,” I said,

waving good-bye and S T U M B L I N G to

the door, still in a DAZE.
Minute Mouse came running after me. “Wait,

you forgot your watch!” he said, holding it out to

me.

Oops! How could I forget my watch?! It’s why

I came to theREPAIR shop in the rst place!

Hee,
It hee,
works! hee!
 I put the watch up to my ear. It ticked softly in a

steady rhythm. I thanked Minute Mouse and

tried to pay him for the job, but he refused.

“No charge for you,” he said with a smile,

clapping his paw on my shoulder. “Don’t

forget to say hello to your grandfather!”

I thanked him again and was already through

the door when I remembered something. “What

was the magical secret about the Starry Rose

plant?” I asked.

Minute Mouse laughed. “Oh, the secret is that

it doesn’t have thorns. Most rosebushes do, you

know. It’s not really magical . I just like to

tell my customers that for fun. No one really

believes me.”

I blushed . I guess I’m not the average

customer! Then I remembered something else.

“But whatever happened with the Tick Tock

Timepiece?” I asked.
 This time it was Eloise’s turn to laugh. “Oh,

Geronimo,” she said with a grin. “You didn’t

really believe that story, did you? I thought you

knew it was all just fantasy.”

By now I had turned as RED as my uncle

Cheesebelly’s SPICY tomato sauce! “Ahem,

yes, of course — well, certainly. Without a doubt,

I knew it was all just a made-up story.” I coughed.

Was I the only mouse on the block who believed

in magic ?
I waved good-bye again and headed back toward

my home sweet home. By then the sky was dark,

and moon lit

a full up the street. Ah, what a

peacefulnight!
 YES, GRANDFATHER,
I DID!

As I began walking, g l i s t e n i n g snow akes

began to fall. I stuck out my tongue so I could

catch some. There’s nothing like the taste of cold,

fresh snow akes!

With the moon lighting my way, I didn’t even

have to worry about the dark. Did I mention I’m

afraid of the dark, cramped elevators, and large

BUBBLE GUM bubbles? (A bubble once

popped on me, and it took me three hours to get

the gum out of my fur!)

As I walked home, I couldn’t stop thinking about

my adventure in the Kingdom of Fantasy.

The whole thing was so fresh in my mind, and

I couldn’t wait to write it all down and publish it

as my next book!
 It was my eighth adventure in the Kingdom

of Fantasy, and I would call it The Hour of

Magic . I had learned that time was truly

precious!

Finally, I arrived in front of my house.

 Grandfather
But before I could pull out my key,

opened the door.

“Grandson, what are YOU doing here?” he

said.

“Ahem, well, um, I live here,” I squeaked,

confused.

Did
you
up come
with
an
idea?
I did!
Yes,
 Grandfather laughed. “Just teasing you!” he

said, SMACKING me on the back so hard,

I practically fell over. “So how did it go? Did you

come up with anIDEA for the book?”

“Yes, Grandfather, I did! I’m going to write

about the adventure I had when I went to the clock

shop!” I squeaked. “I climbed up a magical

plant, and I traveled with Scribblehopper the frog

and Solitaire the knight and Princess Buzzy the

bee, and I fell into aHUMONGOUS hourglass,

and I pretended to be a witch , and . . .”

Grandfather held up his paw. “Okay, okay,

Grandson. Don’t give me the play-by-play. Just

get writing! Your deadline is almost here, and

I will not tolerate lateness!”

I grinned, remembering what Minute Mouse

and Eloise had told me about Grandfather. He

may act TOUGH, but deep down he was

proud of me.
 “I love you, Grandfather!” I squeaked.
“I love you, too, Grandson,” replied Grandfather,

hugging me.

Then I hugged the rest of my family,

too — they were all inside, waiting for me! Ah, it

felt good to be home!

Later that night, I lay in my bed, thinking again

about my ADVENTURE. I had learned a

lot on my trip to the Kingdom of Fantasy. From

now on I would really value my time spent with

family and friends. And of course, that meant

my friends from the Kingdom of Fantasy,

too. I had a feeling I would be seeing them again

someday. And when I do, I’ll make sure to

tell you all about it!

 you!
I love
FANTASIAN ALPHABET
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in New Mouse City, Mouse

Island, GERONIMO STILTON IS

Rattus Emeritus of Mousomorphic

Literature and of Neo-Ratonic

Comparative Philosophy. For the

past twenty years, he has been

running The Rodent’s Gazette, New Mouse City’s

most widely read daily newspaper.

Stilton was awarded the Ratitzer Prize for his

scoops on The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid and

The Search for Sunken Treasure. He has also

received the Andersen 2000 Prize for Personality of

the Year. One of his bestsellers won the 2002 eBook

Award for world’s best ratlings’ electronic book. His

works have been published all over the globe.

In his spare time, Mr. Stilton collects antique

cheese rinds and plays golf. But what he most

enjoys is telling stories to his nephew Benjamin.

 Don’t miss
any of my
adventures in
the Kingdom of
Fantasy!
Check out
very special
these
editions!
 Geronimo’s eighth mission in
the Kingdom of
Fantasy!
I, Geronimo Stilton, was amazed to nd
myself called back to the Kingdom of
Fantasy for another adventure. Blossom,
Queen of the Fairies, needed my help —
time itself was under threat!

Something evil was making the hands of

the magical Tick Tock Timepiece spin faster
and faster. It was causing Blossom to age
at an alarming rate . . . and if she perished,
so would the entire Kingdom of Fantasy!
Holey cheese! It was up to me to restore
time and harmony to the land. Could I do
it before the clock reached its nal hour?

www.scholastic.com/geronimostilton
www.geronimostilton.com