21-DAY 6：SATURDAY

DAY 6: SATURDAY The next morning, I got up extra early. I hid behind my cabin door. I was going to trick our evil teacher at her own game. When she arrived with her bucket of icy water, I stuck out my paw. She tripped. Water flew everywhere. But not a drop landed on me. "OOPS," I said when Penelope caught me. She handed me a mop. "CLEAN UP THIS MESS! she ordered, but she was half smiling. "Not bad, Stilton," she admitted. "Not bad for a scaredy mouse." After a breakfast of fried fleas, we lined up. Penelope said she needed a volunteer. Someone who was afraid of spiders. I quickly hid behind B.B. I'm sure you

already know why. I AM AFPALD OF SPIDEPS! "I'm going to choose a name," our teacher announced. She stared up at the clouds. She pretended to be deep in thought. But she didn't fool me. I knew what was coming. Seconds later, she cried, "Stilton! Oh, why did she always have to pick on me?! I sighed and came forward. Penelope picked up a small cage. It was full of hairy spiders. Stale Swiss rolls! Just seeing all of those spindly legs gave me MOUSE BUMPS! "Just remember to stay calm," she advised. "Now close your eyes, STILION! She placed something on my snout.

"Keep very still, Stilton," our teacher whispered. "And whatever you do, don't open your eyes!" I tried. But I was curious. I just had to see what was on my snout. Slowly, I peeked open one eye. AN ENORMOUS HAIRY SPLDER STARED BACK AT Me! I was too horrified to squeak.

"Keep still for ten seconds," Penelope ordered. Then she began to count. The rest of the group joined in. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five..." MY WHISKERS TREMRLEO WITH FEAR. "You can do it!" Tubby shouted. "You're almost there!" B.B. cheered. "Hurray for Stilton!" everyone shouted when the countdown was over. I pointed to the spider with a trembling paw. "Take it off, please," I squeaked. Our teacher sneered. She took the spider and waved it under my nose. How strange. The spider's legs didn't seem to be moving at all. In fact, it looked quite stiff. I peered at it closely. "It's plastic, Stilton!" Penelope smirked. I fainted. But moments later, she woke me up with a bucketful of icy water! So

much for starting my day off on the right paw. Next, Penelope pulled a huge green snake from a sack. She twisted it up into a ball like a pro. "I'm going to teach you how to tell the difference between a poisonous snake and one that is harmless," she said. "The one I'm holding now is harmless. Catch it, Silverfur!" she shouted, throwing it to Sandy. The old mouse went pale, but she still managed to catch that snake in mid air. The reptile twisted itself around her neck. Without batting an eyelash, Sandy shouted, "Yip-peeee!" Everyone applauded.

Penelope grabbed another snake from the sack. She whirled it in the air. "Always hold a snake by its tail," she explained. "This way it can't bite." I watched carefully. It looked so easy. Without thinking, I picked up a snake that looked just like the others. I began whirling it over my head. "Look at me!" I shouted with pride. For some odd reason, Penelope didn't look happy. Maybe she liked to be the only one showing off. Oh, well, I decided, old Poisonfur would just have to get used to it. The new geronimo stilton was brave. He was tough. And he wasn't afraid to show it! Then I noticed Penelope had dropped her snake. She waved her paws in the air. What was she doing? Some kind of jungle dance? "That's the wrong snake, stilton!"