22-FORTY MINUTES TO PARTY TIME!

FORTY MINUTES TO PARTY TIME! After The Fish left, a plump mouse came to the door. He was dressed in a purple velvet suit. Yes, you heard me. A PURPLE velvet suit! Around his neck he wore a CHAIN with a big ugly charm. On his feet, he wore green snakeskin shoes. What an outfit, I thought. What a perfectly horrible, hideous outfit! Didn't this mouse have any friends? I wondered. How could they let him scamper out of his mouse hole dressed like that? Before I could ask, he stuck out his paw. "Hello, there, I'm Trap's friend," he began. Well, that explained the outfit, I thought.

"I'm Cheddar E. Gadget. I'm an appliance salesmouse. I'm here to dry your place out." In one paw, he held up one tiny fan. In the other, he had one tiny heater. I groaned. "One fan! One heater? That's not enough!" I squeaked. Cheddar gave me the once-over. Then he shook his head. "You must be Geronimeister," he smirked. "Trap told me you have terrible taste in clothes." My mouth dropped open. Steam poured from my ears. He had to be joking. I could be on the cover of G.Q. Mouse magazine compared to this clown!

But I ignored his insult and held my tongue. Cheddar patted the tiny fan with his paw. "I'll have you know that this is a one-of-a- kind turbo fan," he boasted, "And this is the super-duper-micro-macro-mouse heater 500," he went on. Then he looked me in the eye. "In fact, I'll bet you a ton of cheese that I can dry your whole place in ten minutes!" I snorted. Did this mouse think I was born yesterday? Before I could squeak, he switched on the HEATER. Seconds later, it was as hot as the Rattytrap Jungle in the summertime. Then he switched on the fan. Suddenly, it was like

being in the Mousehara desert. The only things missing were the sand and the camels! I was having trouble breathing. It was so hot and dry, I began to feel FAINT. I had to get out. I stumbled down the stairs. Then I plopped down on the curb outside of my building. Ah, FRESH AIR. Ten minutes later, some mouse was calling me. I looked up. Cheddar was hanging outside my window. "You can come on in now!" he called. "I told you I work fast." Back in my house, I touched the walls. Cheesecake! They were completely dry! I couldn't believe it! I turned to Cheddar. "Amazing!" I gasped. "What do I owe you?" Cheddar just grinned. "Don't worry about it, Gerry Berry," he said. "I owe Trap a

favor. But maybe you'd like to buy my turbo fan and heater." I didn't really want Cheddar's appliances. I mean, I wasn't expecting any more floods. Still, I guess anything could happen. What if a hurricane hit? What if an earthquake knocked my house into the ocean? What if a big hairy cat monster spit gobs of drool down my chimney? Hey, you never know. I decided I shouldn't take any chances. With a sigh, I grabbed my checkbook.