21-DO YOU LOVE GOLD？

DO YOU LOVE GOLD? We decided to take a look. Bouncer searched everything on one side of the path. I searched the other. I tiptoed into the dense bushes. My teeth were CHATTERING. Who knew how many poisonous snakes were watching my every move, getting ready to bite me. Or strangle me. Or invite me to the family barbecue as the main dish! I was about to turn back when I noticed a PECULIAR rock. Holey cheese! It was shaped just like a cannon. It was covered with moss and vines. By the light of the moon, I could just make out words carved into the stone. It was a strange riddle.

DOES MY TREASURE MAKE YOU WANT TO SING? DO YOU LOVE GOLD MORE THAN ANYTHING? IF SO, THEN LOOK AROUND CAREFULLY. NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS, YOU SEE. TAKE A SEAT AND LOOK AROUND. WHAT'S THAT HIDING UNDERGROUND? ONCE YOU FIND IT. YOU WILL SEE MY TREASURE IS JUST LIKE A HOME TO ME.

I scratched my head. What could it mean? I sat down on a stone that looked like a seesaw to think. Suddenly, it began to A big hole opened up in the ground. Now, where did that lead? I am not a brave mouse, but my curiosity got to me. I decided to take a little peek. But as soon as I set paw in the hole, the stone closed over my head. I was stuck like a rat in a trap! "HEEEEEELP!" I screeched. Oh, how do I always get myself into these terrifying situations? I'm a good mouse. I'm considerate. I help older rodents. I'm kind to mouselings. Well, there was that one time I pulled little Billy Bratfur's tail. But he asked for it. He was picking on my dear nephew Benjamin.

Bouncer's pawsteps broke into my thoughts. "Where are you, Mousey Mouse?" he called. I jumped to my paws. "UNDER HERE!" I yelled. "Look for the TRAPDOOR!" "You lost your ear in a trapdoor?" Bouncer replied. I began to chew my whiskers. "Sit on top of the stone seesaw!" I tried. "Stone paw?" Bouncer said. "You found a paw?" I hung my head in my paws. Rancid rat hairs! We could go on like this forever. I'd be old and gray before Bouncer found that trapdoor. Just as I began to sob, the door opened. "There you are, Mousey Mouse!" Bouncer cried. "Your ear looks fine. Now, where's that paw?"