28-ONE LAST MYSTERY

ONE LAST MYSTERY At last, we knew the real story behind Count von Ratoff and his niece. Bats do not walk. Bats use their wings to fly. That is why the count and young countess appeared and disappeared so quickly. Bats do not sleep on mattresses. They sleep upside down. The count must have used the hook in his room to do just that. Bats do not eat cheese. They eat all kinds of bugs. That would explain the rodents' STRANGE EATING HABITS But there was still one more mystery left to solve. What was that strange NOISE coming from the highest tower of the castle? Being a newspaper mouse, I just had

to find out the real story, Luckily, I didn't have to wait long to get the scoop. The strange noise started up again at that very moment. I raced up to the tower. There, under the moonlight, stood the hunchback- He was putting on a pair of very old-fashioned flying goggles. Then he climbed into a huge black plane with wings shaped like a bat. Count von Ratoff was waiting on board, grinning. The hunchback turned around and waved his paw at me. "HOW DO YOU LIKE OUR PLANE? WE BUILT IT BECAUSE COUNT VON RATOFF SUFFERS FROM ARTHRITIS AND CANNOT FLY LONG DISTANCES ANYMORE," he shouted in the wind, Then the plane took off. No wonder the rodents down in the

village had so much garlic. The count's plane looked just like an enormous vampire bat!