10-THAT MOUSE IS SOMETHING ELSE!

THAT MOUSE IS SOMETHING ELSE! A female fish seller stormed up to me. "Paws off my octopus!" she shouted angrily. I pushed the tentacles off me, shuddering. "You must be Coral Cockle!" Thea said, smiling. "Don't pay any attention to my brother. He's a terrible klutz." I couldn't take it anymore. "But it was her slimy octopus that—" Thea jabbed me in the ribs. "We need her help," she whispered to me. Then she turned back to Coral. "Our cousin Trap said you could help us," Thea said. Coral's face lit up. "Why didn't you say so?

That mouse is something else! Sharper than a block of aged cheddar." "We hear he's quite good with sharks, too," I said, hoping to find out the truth behind Trap's tall tales. "Sharks? You mean anchovies, don't you?" she giggled. "Unless you don't know the difference between a shark and an anchovy." "Of course I—" I began indignantly, but Thea jabbed me in the ribs again. Coral reached into her pocket and took out a greasy picture. It showed Trap holding a trophy. "Trap is the anchovy-eating champion," she said dreamily.

"Three hundred fifty- three in one minute. Amazing!" "That's our cousin," Thea said. "He told us we should see the Pelican's Pillar on our visit. Can you take us to it?" Coral nodded. She led us through the stalls to a tall marble column near the water's edge. We could see carvings of pelicans on top of the column. Each bird held a fish in its beak. We examined the column carefully. Was there a letter hidden there somewhere? Then I saw it. One of the fish tails was different than the others. It was clearly shaped like the letter "Y." "Do you see it?" I whispered to Thea.

My sister nodded. "You know, it's strange," Coral remarked. "A little old lady came by around six o'clock this morning. She asked to see the Pelican's Pillar, too." Thea raised an eyebrow. "What did she look like?" she asked. She took out a pen and paper and began taking notes. Coral tried to remember. "She wore a red head scarf with blue dots. She carried a basketful of apples. We made a trade: an octopus for an apple," she said. She took an apple out of her pocket and bit into it.

We said good-bye to Coral. "Tell Trap to come and visit sometime," she called after us. Back at the office, Thea drew a picture of the old lady. Very strange. I thought. I was glad that we had solved the first clue of the Mona Mousa mystery. But who was this elderly mouse? Was she trying to crack the code, too?