02-MY EARS ARE NOT STUFFED WITH CHEESE!

MY EARS ARE NOT STUFFED WITH CHEESE! I RAN right away to Rats Authority, the best store in town for sporting goods. I picked up some stuff for our trip to the tropics. Then I RUSHED to the airport. My little nephew Benjamin gave me a mouse-sized hug. "Uncle Geronimo, I'm so glad I'm going with you!" he squeaked. I smiled. Oh, how I love that nephew of mine. Just then, my sister started yelling at me.

"Did you get everything, Gerry Berry? Well? Well?" she demanded. When I didn't answer right away, she pinched my tail. "Are your ears stuffed with cheese, Geronimoid?" she added. Did I mention my sister can be a pain in my fur? Thea popped open my suitcase. Then she began DIGGING THROUGH IT I had packed four pairs of waterproof knee-high boots, four pairs of comfy CAMOUFLAGE pants, four hats with mosquito netting, a first-aid kit, and

more. "Looks like you have everything," Thea said approvingly. But right then, a voice chimed in. "Everything? Are you kidding?" it scoffed. "If it weren't for me you would have forgotten the most important thing... food!" I turned around, but I knew already who was squeaking. It was my cousin Trap. That mouse could eat a five-hundred-pound rodent under the table. Yes, eating was not

just a hobby for Trap. It was his life! Now he WAVED a piece of Swiss cheese under my SNOUT. "Go ahead, try it, Cousinkins," he ordered. But before I could open my mouth, he swallowed it in one gulp. I was furious. "Ha-ha-ha! You always fall for it, Germeister!" Trap guffawed. Then he showed me a little silver knife he wore around his neck. "I just finished a cheese-tasting course," he explained. "I always wear this little knife around my neck. You never know when something yummy may pass your way." Suddenly, a big, BEEFY rodent in a muscle T-shirt walked by. He was munching on a cheddar sandwich. Trap took one look at

that sandwich and whipped out his knife. Before I could stop him, he'd sliced off a PIECE of it! Muscle Mouse turned around. He was infuriated. And he was glaring right at me. "Hey, you! What do you think you're doing?" he shrieked. I tried to explain, but he wouldn't listen. "If I catch you, I will tie your tail into knots!" he shouted, chasing after me. I hid in the restroom. Cheese niblets! This trip was getting off to a terrible start!