13-WHAT A BIG, BIG MISTAKE!

WHAT A BIG, BIG MISTAKE! That night, I had a terrible dream. I was onstage, singing, dressed in a skirt made of bananas. The next morning, I was so tired I slept right through my alarm. I hurried down the stairs and raced into the diner. I have my breakfast there every morning. The owner, Flip Hotpaws, seemed surprised to see me. "Back for more coffee, Mr. Stilton?" he said. I blinked. "What do you mean?" I asked, confused, But I was so late I didn't wait for an answer. Next, I raced over to the newsstand. I picked up a paper.

Bobby Babblesnout stared at me from behind the counter. "Mr. Stilton, you already bought your paper this morning," he squeaked. I shook my head. "That's impossible!" I protested. "I just got here. You must be confusing me with another mouse." Bobby frowned. "I never forget a customer," he insisted. "Besides, you've been coming here for the past twenty years. I'd recognize your snout anywhere!" I didn't have time to argue, so I put down the paper and headed toward my office. When I got there, the door was locked. I knocked. Thea stuck out her snout. When she saw me, her eyes opened wide, "How dare you show up here!" she shrieked.

"Well, you can just take your tail somewhere else! The REAL Geronimo Stilton is already inside!" She slammed the door in my snout. I knocked again. "Thea, open the door, please, it's me!" I cried. She opened the door again. "Go away, you Impostor!" Now I was really worried. Even my own sister didn't know me, "But it's me, Thea, your brother!" I insisted. "Don't you recognize me?" She gave me a closer look. For a minute, she seemed about to change her mind. I straightened my tie. I picked up my briefcase. I was ready for work. But then, through the half-open door, I saw something horrifying.

It was me, I mean, him, I mean, the fake Stilton sitting behind my desk! "Of course I know which one of you is the real Geronimo..." my sister was muttering. When they caught sight of me, my employees began whispering furiously, "That's Mr. Stilton's double," they said to one another. My secretary, Mousella, shook her head. "Cheese niblets! He doesn't look like him at all!" she squeaked. "The real Stilton is this one!" she said, pointing to the mouse sitting at my desk. With that, my sister slammed the door in my snout... again. "Buzz off, Furface!" she shouted. "And don't you dare come back!"