21-I'M SUCH A GENIUS!

I'M SUCH A GENIUS! Like James Bondrat on a secret mission, we snuck into my office. Grandfather sat behind the small plastic table. He was muttering in an angry tone. "THUNDERING CATTAILS! Just look at these expenses! Who would think toilet paper could cost so much?! My wallet BLEEDS to see such things!" He scratched his furry head. Then his eyes lit up. "I've got an Idea," he shouted. "Starting today, we'll give up toilet paper. We'll use old newspaper sheets instead. That will cut down on our costs. Perfect! I'm such a genius!" He was very pleased with himself. He really was one

special mouse — especially cheap, that is! Grandfather stared back at the books, frowning. "We still need to s-a-v-e m-o-n-e-y!" he mumbled. "Let's see, I could work out a time mechanism for the toilets. When a mouse goes to the bathroom, the door will open after thirty seconds. Either you're done or you're wasting precious time! Ha-ha-haaa! I could also hide the coffee machine so no one will waste time taking a coffee break. Hmmm. I could even turn off all the electricity. "Wait a minute," he continued, twisting his whiskers in a knot. "If I cut the electricity, then the computers wouldn't

work." He frowned again. But after a few seconds, he slammed the table with his paw. "Who cares!" he declared. "We'll just go back to using typewriters. Just like the old days! Ha-ha-haaa!" At that moment, Thea jabbed me with her elbow. "I told you," she hissed. "Grandfather's gone off the deep end. He's lost his marbles. The CHEESE has slipped off his cracker. We've got to stop him!" I nodded. We had to do something right away. We all loved Grandfather. Still, his crazy cost-cutting ideas were about to ruin his own newspaper! Just then, Shif T. Paws spoke up. "Let's go To The phone," he declared. "IT's time to put our plan into action!"