23-STERN WIND!

STERN WIND! "RODENTS BE SMART, FOLLOW YOUR HEART!" we chanted as we took turns at the helm. A stern wind pushed us home. Yes, if this wind kept up we'd be sailing into Mouse Island in two shakes of a rat's tail. I was so happy! I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into a juicy cheddar cheeseburger or maybe a gooey pizza pie from The Sliced Rat. Oh, sweet Mouse Island, I missed you so! I reached for the wheel. What a great ship! A real battleship. I wondered how many fights it had

been through. Some sailors believe that ships have a soul. I bet this ship's Soul was as rotten as a sewer rat. Keeping an eye on the waves, I was soon lost in my thoughts. I wondered if anyone had taken the time to dust my aged cheese collection. Or my priceless set of the Encyclopaedia Ratannica.

I patted the notebook in my pocket. All my book needed now was an ending. I hoped it would be a happy one. "Laaaaaaaaaand hoooooo!" came Trap's shout. I snapped to attention. "Land?" asked Thea, racing across the deck.

"Land, land, laaand!" sang Benjamin, kicking up his paws. Thea twirled around in circles. "Home sweet home!" she sang. Trap played air guitar with his tail. I guess we all looked pretty silly. We were dressed in the pirate cats' clothing. My sister had used her sewing skills to make them smaller. Trap was wearing a big lacy shirt with lots of ruffles. He looked like the mouse from the high-wire act at the Big Cheese Circus. Thea had on a yellow silk vest and the pearls she had found. Benjamin's oversized red-and-white-striped shirt made him look like a jailmouse. As for me, I was wearing one of the

Black Bandit's coats. It was so long I swept the floor as I walked. I tried to untangle my knotted whiskers. It was no use. They were wound up tighter than a spring. Next, I tried to smooth out my shirt. It was still a wrinkled mess. "Don't worry about the look, Cousinkins!" squeaked Trap. He strutted around, puffing up his fur. "We're too good for any dress code! After all, it's not every mouse who can say he fought against pirates. Giant pirate cats as big as buildings!" Thea giggled. "Let's not overdo it. I was there, too, you know," she replied. "Are you calling me a liar?" Trap demanded, paws on his hips. "They WERE

humongous cats. Don't you remember their claws? They were sharp enough to slice ten mice in half!" he insisted.