09-NOTHING CAN STOP THE STILTON FAMILY!

NOTHING CAN STOP THE STILTON FAMILY! The SUN was about to rise. I was feeling hopeful. Then I heard someone sobbing. It was Trap. "What if we're trapped here forever?" he MOANED. "I'll never go to another mouseball game again. I'll never see my friends. I'll never eat another cheddar melt at the All U Can Eat Cheese Palace." Did I mention my cousin loves to eat? And eat... and eat... Thea rolled her eyes. "Get a grip, Trap," she squeaked. "We Stiltons never give up." Benjamin smiled. "Aunt Thea's right, Cousin Trap," he nodded. "Nothing can stop the Stilton family!"

With a sigh, Trap got a grip on himself. Then we twisted our tails together and shouted, "Nothing can stop the Stilton family!" We came up with a list of chores. Trap was in charge of getting the food. Thea gathered WOOD to light the fire. Benjamin made little skirts out of palm leaves so we'd have something to wear (our clothes were soaking wet). And I built a shelter under a coconut tree. It was a hard day. The sun ROASTED my fur. The wind tangled my whiskers. My paws sprouted a thousand blisters. Well, OK, maybe not a thousand blisters. But you get the picture. It was hard work. I stared at the ocean. It looked so cool and inviting. But I was afraid. What if a shark

attacked me? What if a jellyfish stung me? What if my grass skirt floated away? Just then, something plopped onto my head. Seconds later, there were more plops. PLOP! PLOP! PLOP! The sky had filled with a swarm of birds. They looked just like seagulls. "Squawk, squawk, squawk!" the birds called. Benjamin quickly handed out little umbrellas made of leaves. He was getting pretty good with those leaves. First the skirts. Then the umbrellas. What next? Shirts? Neckties? Maybe someday Benjamin would grow up to be a designer. "Never leaf home without your Benjamin Stilton." Hmm... maybe he was onto something.