02-DON'T WORRY ABOUT A THING!

DON'T WORRY ABOUT A THING! I turned to run away with my tail between my legs. I was so embarrassed. Why did I have to make a fool of myself in front of such a PRETTY mouse? "Today, we'll decide where to go on our field trip," I heard Miss Angel Paws announce. Hmm. Field trip. Suddenly, I had an idea. Maybe the class could come visit me at The Rodent's Gazette. Then the teacher would see I wasn't just a clumsy, dim-witted mouse. I strode back into the classroom. "Oh, good, Mr. Stilton, you haven't left. I wanted to ask for your advice," Miss Angel Paws squeaked. "Do you think this is a good place to go on a field trip?"

She began writing something on the blackboard. I would love to tell you what it said, but I couldn't read it. No, it wasn't written in ancient Squeakeeze. I just couldn't see a thing. That's because the class bully, Punk Rat, had tripped me on my way in. I had lost my eyeglasses. The teacher tapped on the board. "What do you think, Mr. Stilton?" she repeated. I squinted desperately at the board. I felt like one of the three blind mice.

Everything looked FOGGY. Then I thought of something. Maybe Miss Angel Paws wanted to visit The Rodent's Gazette. Maybe that's what she had written on the board. Yes, that had to be it, I decided. That's why she wanted my advice. "I think that's a great idea!" I said to the teacher. "I would love to take you there!" Miss Angel Paws was amazed. "Really, Mr. Stilton?" she squeaked. "Of course," I said. "And don't call me Mr. Stilton... Call me Geronimo!" "But who will pay for it? When can we go? Don't you have to work?" asked the teacher. "Don't worry about a thing," I told her. "I can take a little time off. You will all be my guests. We can go today if you'd like." The teacher squealed with delight. She clapped her paws together. "Guess what,

class? Mr. Stilton—I mean Geronimo—has volunteered to take all of us to Niagara Falls for a whole week!" she announced. "We'll leave today!" The class CHEERED. Hooray! We're going to Niagara Falls! Thank you, Mr. Stilton!" they cried. I blinked. "Niagara Falls?" Punk Rat pulled at one of my whiskers. "Of course. Can't you read? Look at the blackboard," he smirked, handing me my glasses. I put them on. I stared at the blackboard. It read CLASS TRIP TO NIAGARA FALLS I gulped. Oh, how did I get myself into such a mess?

The teacher was already calling the travel agency. "Yes, twenty-two students, a teacher, and Geronimo Stilton. We need twenty- four round-trip tickets to Niagara Falls, she squeaked into the phone. What could I do? The class was so excited they could hardly sit still. With a sigh, I took out my credit card. It's a TOP MOUSE Diamond-Plus-Super-Deluxe-Extra-Supreme-Gold Card. It was a good thing I had it. This trip was going to cost me more than my two-year subscription to the Cheese-of-the-Month Club! After booking our trip, the teacher waved a yellow notebook in the air. "Class, this notebook will be our TRAVEL JOURNAL," she announced. "We will write in it every day. That way, we will never forget this wonderful trip."