13-COCKROACHES FOR BREAKFAST

COCKROACHES FOR BREAKFAST The next morning, I woke up exhausted, with bags under my eyes. CHEESE NIBLETS! What a night! I was kept awake by a swarm of fleas in my bed. And the noisy disco hadn't shut down until five in the morning. I would have loved to sleep late, but I couldn't. At six o'clock, I practically flew out of my bed. A construction crew had begun DRILLING and HAMMERING right under my window. The noise was even worse than the disco music. I headed toward the bathroom without my glasses. I was too tired to put them on. I switched on the light, yawning.

HOW STRANGE. I COULD HAVE SWORN THE BATHROOM TILES WERE ALL WHITE, NOT BLACK, I mumbled to myself. Right then, I lay my paw on one of the small black tiles. A terrible CRUNCHING noise followed. My stomach lurched. Something told me this wasn't a GOOD SIGN. I RAN for my glasses. Did I tell you I can't see a thing without them? Back in the bathroom, I discovered a

horrifying sight. I had squashed a COCKROACH! The bathroom was full of them. Giant cockroaches everywhere, on the floor, on the walls, and even on the ceiling. At that very moment, a cockroach fell off the ceiling and landed inside the collar of my pajamas. It crawled all the way down my back. I let out a HORRIFIED SCREAM that woke the entire hotel. Ten seconds later, someone banged on the wall. "What's going on?" I heard a mouse ask. "Who screamed?" another cried. "It's that Stilton again,

Gerattimo Stilton," someone else answered. I cringed behind the door. How embarrassing. I listened to the crowd gathering in the hallway. They were all talking. Yes, talking about yours truly. "Hint again?" a rodent huffed. "Yes, it's that cheese braid who arrived yesterday," a voice grumbled. "Ah, you mean the mouse who wants to be THE CENTER OF ATTENTION?" a rodent muttered. "TOO MUCH SUN, if you ask me," someone else muttered. I had stopped screaming. But now I was purple with shame!