02-A ONE-EYED RAT

A ONE-EYED RAT I hurried to the office as fast as my paws could take me. I had to find out what was going on! On the way, I passed a bookstore. I looked in the window (as usual). There is always a copy of my latest book displayed there. But this was not a usual morning. My latest book was not in the window. I ran inside. I searched high and low, but I could not find a single book by my company, Stilton Publishing. Instead, all of the books came from a new

company— The Roaring Rat Group! Batsabout Books, the owner of the store, looked nervous to see me. Batsabout is a little snobby, but he has always been happy to sell my books. "I take it you've heard the news, Mr. Stilton," he squeaked. "I'm sorry, but I can no longer sell books from Stilton Publishing. I received a proposal from a one-eyed rat early this morning...." Batsabout showed me a check from The Roaring Rat Group. This one had so many zeroes, it made me dizzy. I turned AS PALE AS A PIECE OF MOZZARELLA. Then I left the store without a word. "This is much worse than I thought," I muttered. I hurried to 17 Swiss Cheese Center. My whiskers were TREMBLING. I rushed into my office. Then I screamed for my secretary. mousellllaaaaaaa!!!