19-THE FOREST IS ON FIRE!

THE FOREST IS ON FIRE! Gentle Mouse showed us how to make a nest using a box and a towel. We found some seeds and fed them to the bird. It let out a happy chirp. Then it started SMOKING. Holey cheese! What was in those seeds? Then I realized the smoke wasn't coming from the bird. It was filling the air around us! "FIRE!" someone screamed. Gentle Mouse called for help on his cell phone. "HURRY! THE FOREST IS ON FIRE!" he cried. "Someone must have left a campfire burning. Send a plane right away!" Gentle Mouse told everyone to STAY CALM. He divided us up into two teams.

The first team dug FIRE TRENCHES. "If we cut down all of the plants, the FIRE will have nothing to burn, Gentle Mouse explained. The second team formed a long chain that ended at a nearby brook. The first mouse in line filled a pail with water. Then he passed it down the line. The last mouse in line threw the water on the flames. We worked like pack rats, but the heat was becoming unbearable. My fur was scorched. The smoke was making me choke. Suddenly, a miracle happened. We heard the sound of engines. It was a plane carrying an enormouse tank filled with water! The plane dumped the water onto the flames and then left to pick up more water from the lake. We were saved! But

before we could celebrate, Gentle Mouse began SHOUTING. "Has anyone seen Miss Angel Paws?" "I saw her running toward those bushes. I think she was trying to help a wounded fawn," Kay cried. "Don't worry, Miss Angel Paws!" Gentle Mouse yelled. "I'll save you!" He disappeared in a cloud of smoke. A few minutes later, he returned. He was carrying the teacher in his paws. "My hero," giggled Miss Angel Paws. "He saved the fawn, too!" I felt a twinge of jealousy. Why couldn't I be someone's hero? Still, I had to admit, Miss Angel Paws and Gentle Mouse were a match made in mouse heaven.

HAVE I GOT A SURPRISE FOR YOU! That night, the two love mice made an announcement. Can you guess what it was? Yes, they had decided to get married. "HOORAY!" cried the class. Everyone was so excited. But they were even more excited when they heard that Miss Angel Paws and Gentle Mouse wanted to get married immediately. They had been missing each other for years. They didn't want to wait any longer. "We can do it right here in Niagara Falls!" Miss Angel Paws squeaked.

We put our heads together to plan the ceremony. It would have to be pretty simple. There would be no wedding gown or fancy wedding cake. After all, where could we get a dress and a cake in the middle of the wilderness? I called my sister to ask for her advice. As I said, that mouse just loves a challenge. An hour later, my cell phone RANG. It was Thea. "Hey, Gerry Berry, have I got a surprise for you!" she squeaked. I GULPED. A surprise? From my sister? The last time she surprised me, she carpeted my whole apartment in PINK CAT FUR!