20-THE SINGING STONE

THE SINGING STONE Singing Stone Plaza is one of the oldest places in town. No one knows why it has such an unusual name. It is paved in stone. Right in the middle stands an obelisk. The tall, thin pillar seems to touch the sky. When we arrived, the plaza was deserted. I was excited. "The Labyrinthus has to be here," I said. "I can feel it in my whiskers!" We examined the square inch by inch. There had to be some clue that would lead us to the Labyrinthus. We looked for hours, but we didn't find a thing. I started to worry. Could I be wrong? My cousin was sucking on a Swiss- cheese-flavored lollipop. He shook his head. "There's nothing here. Zilch!

Zip! Nada!" he complained. "I told you that chili punch went to your head!" "It has to be here," I protested, "Mousardo da Munchie said he hid the LABYRINTHUS in the center of town." "Give it up, Cousin," Trap grumbled. "There is no LABYRINTHUS. Maybe Mousardo da Munchie was playing some kind of joke." "I don't want to give up," I replied. "I feel like we're so close!" "I think Trap is right," Thea said. "Let's just call it a night, Gerrykins." But Benjamin did not want to give up. "If Uncle Geronimo says the Labyrinthus is here, then it must be here somewhere." Trap snorted. "Take a look around, mouselet," he said. "Do you see any labyrinthuses? I don't."

I felt like crying. We had worked so hard to find all of the clues! Trap must have seen the sad look on my snout, because he stood up. "Tell you what, Cousinkins," he said. "I'm going to check for you one more time. Maybe we just need a better view." To my amazement, Trap walked up to the obelisk and began to climb it! He shimmied up the pillar like a cat climbing a tree. "Trap, come down!" I shouted. "It's too dangerous!" But Trap kept climbing. "You should see the view from here," he called back cheerfully. Higher and higher he went. I got dizzy just looking at him. After what seemed like forever, he reached the very top.