13-THE SEAL AND THE FOUNTAIN

THE SEAL AND THE FOUNTAIN Back at the office, I found Trap sitting at my desk. He had cleaned up the soup. But now he was dipping sugar cubes into a jar of honey. "Trap, how can you eat that?" I asked, horrified. "It's my after-after-breakfast snack," he replied. "Want some?" "No, thanks," I answered disdainfully. "By the way, we found out that you are much in demand in the movie business. Steven Spielmouse can't wait to get his paws on you!" Trap smirked. "Ah, yes, the Ship of Mice incident," he said. "It wasn't my fault,

really. That big ship of his got in my way. Oh, I lined up the next two clues for you. They are both at the CHEESE FACTORY. Ask to see Benny Bluewhiskers, and tell him I sent you." Thea, Benjamin, and I headed out right away. Thea took Benjamin in her sports car. As for me, I took the bus. I'm too fond of my fur to drive with that MADMOUSE! We met at the Cheese Factory. It's a big building where all of the cheese on Mouse Island is produced. Each one is inspected, measured, and SEALED before it is sold in stores. We had to find two clues at the factory. The fourth clue, the seal of Mouselius, once belonged to the legendary mouse who invented cheese. The fifth clue, the Cheddar Fountain, flowed in the courtyard.

When we entered, a plump mouse wearing a white coat came to greet us. "Welcome! I am Benny Bluewhiskers," he said. "Your cousin Trap told me you were coming. Let me show you the lab!" He led us into an enormouse room. It was stacked with piles of different cheeses. Mice wearing white overalls scurried about, MEASURING and inspecting the cheese. A mouse ran up to Benny. "Sir, we are about to send off a load of cheddar." Benny looked SERIOUS. "This needs immediate attention," he said. He led us to a table stacked with blocks of cheese. The mouse handed Benny a certificate. Benny examined it carefully. "Cheddar, eh?" he asked. Then he measured one of the cheese blocks from end to end with a brass ruler. "Excellent," he said. "Now to check the

cheese's maturity." Next Benny stuck a long wooden stick into the cheese. He sniffed it delicately. "Matured to perfection!" he announced. Then he produced a color chart. He held it up to the cheese. "Amber yellow," he said. "Just right." Finally, Benny took a pen and a seal from his pocket. He signed the certificate, then stamped it with the SEAL. Benny turned back to us. "By the way, how is Trap? He used to work here as a taster, you know. I remember he wanted to create the world's BIGGEST WHEEL of cheese!" "I'm sorry, Benny," Thea said. "But we're in

a hurry. Could we see the Seal of Mouselius and the Fountain of Cheddar now?" "Of course!" Benny said. He scurried away from the cheddar and led us to the mouseum inside the factory. There, displayed in a glass case was the Seal of Mouselius. It looked a bit like Benny's seal, only much older. The bottom of the silver seal was engraved with the letter T. Then Benny took us to the courtyard, which held a round marble fountain. In the center of the fountain was a statue of the Muse of Cheese. Melted cheddar SPURTED from her cornucopia. Thea took pictures with

her camera while Benjamin and I inspected the fountain. I didn't find any trace of a letter. But then Benjamin pointed to the decoration around the rim of the pool. "They look like lots of B's in a row," he pointed out. Benjamin is so clever! On the bus ride home, I wrote in my notebook: Tomorrow I will go to the announcement park in search of the next letter. P.S. Benny told us that he noticed a mouse at the factory wearing a pair of pants with flowers all over them. In the afternoon, another mouse wearing a red- and-white-stripe vest showed up. They were both interested in our clues....