14-WATCH OUT FOR THE BITERS!

WATCH OUT FOR THE BITERS! The next morning, we asked the chief about the strange noise. "Noise? What noise?" he answered. "Noise? What noise?" the natives repeated. Deep in thought, I went to the river to get washed. I bumped into the chief's daughter, Monkeyfur. "Watch out for the Biters. There are a lot of them in the river," she advised. I looked into the crystal-blue water. I didn't see anything. I wondered what she was talking about. So I bent over to wash my face. Suddenly, Monkeyfur began jumping up and

down. "Biters! Watch out!" she squeaked. She pointed to a school of fish headed for me. They were so small and colorful. "Oh, those cute little fish won't hurt you. Here, fishy, fishy!" I said, sticking my paw out. I grinned at Monkeyfur. She needed to get out more. Maybe I could help her overcome her fear of fish. Even a scaredy mouse like myself had overcome my fear of the dark.

Well, sort of. I still slept with my Cheeseball the Clown night-light on. But don't tell anyone. Just then, I noticed something odd. The fish had opened their jaws. I saw two rows of teeth. Sharp teeth! Rancid rat hairs! Now I knew what Biters were. They were piranhas! I jumped out of the river in three leaps. Monkeyfur breathed a SIGH of relief. My paws were shaking like furry leaves. I decided to rest under a tree. But before I could sit down, Monkeyfur began screaming again. "WATCH OUT FOR THE CAIMAN!" she yelped.

HELPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!! I jumped up. CLICK! An enormouse CROCODILE snapped his jaws at me. I headed back to the village. "Watch out for the TAIL-TAIL-STINGS and the VINE-THAT- SUFFOCATES!" Monkeyfur called. I looked all around. I saw nothing. Nothing at all. Was Monkeyfur pulling my tail? "You are looking, but you are not seeing,"

Monkeyfur explained. She pointed to a poisonous black scorpion HIDDEN in the leaves. Then she showed me an ANACONDA SLITHERING ON A BRANCH RIGHT OVER MY HEAD!

Cheese niblets! Monkeyfur giggled. "If you want to survive in the forest, you need to use your eyes better," she advised. I nodded. "You saved my life. How can I thank you?" I asked.