17-ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE READY, MR. STILTON？

ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE READY, MR. STILTON? "Are you ready, Mr. Stilton?" Torturetail asked. I took a deep breath. "Yes," I said. "I'm ready." "Are you sure you're ready, Mr. Stilton?" Torturetail asked again. "Yes, thank you," I said again. "I'm ready." He: "Ready, ready, ready?" Me: "Yes, very ready." He: "Are you sure?" Me: "Yes, I'm sure!" He: "Are you very, very sure?" Me: "I said I'm sure!" He: "Can I start with the first question?"

Me: "YES!" He: "You know, you still don't look ready to me." Me: "I am ready!" He: "You're looking a little pale...." Me: "I am NOT pale!" He: "I see some sweat on your whiskers. You seem upset." I couldn't take any more of this. "Please, please, ask the question!" I begged. Torturetail seemed pleased. He had gotten me all STRESSED out— which was his plan all along, of course. "The first question is very, very easy, Mr. Stilton," he said.

"Really easy... but only if you know the answer! Heh, heh, heh." The members of the jury laughed MEANLY. I wiped the sweat off my whiskers and tried to relax. "First question," Torturetail said in a serious voice. "Can you tell us the original meaning of the word... Halloween?" The black rat began to beat the drum again. dum... dum... dum... This was an easy one for me! I had recently published a book called It's Halloween, You 'Fraidy Mouse that included a brief history of Halloween. So I cleared my throat. "Actually, yes, I can tell you. Halloween is an old Celtic word. The Celts from northern Europe

were the first to celebrate Halloween. They danced around fires, wearing masks." I paused dramatically. "Therefore, the word Halloween comes from All Hallows' Eve!" "Is that your final answer?" Torturetail asked me. His beady eyes seemed to pierce through my fur. "Yes," I said confidently. "Are you sure?" he asked again in a menacing voice. "I am quite sure," I said. Torturetail seemed disappointed. He shook his head. "The answer is correct!" The jury began to jeer. "BOOOOOOOOO!" I realized they were disappointed, too. They wanted to see blood. My blood!

Torturetail asked the second question. "What is the name of the substance used by the ANCIENT EGYPTIANS to preserve dead bodies? It also gave us the word... mummy." At first, I thought my tail was lost. I could not think of the answer. The drum boomed in the background. Dum... dum... dum... Then I remembered an adventure I had in Egypt. I wrote about it in The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid. I smiled. "I am sure the name is mum," I said. "It was a sticky mixture of bitumen, myrrh, and other substances used to preserve dead bodies." Torturetail scowled. "Correct!" he howled.

The jury jeered again. "BOOOOOOOOO!" "BOOOOOOOOO!" Offstage, Shif T. Paws shot me a big grin. Things were going well. I still had my tail. And it hadn't even been pinched yet! "Third question!" Torturetail shrieked. "What is the name of the legendary king who led the knights of the Rat Cable" This one was very easy. My aunt Sweetfur read me stories of the knights when I was just a wee mouselet. "King Ratthur!" I replied. Torturetail scowled. "Correct again!"