11-WATER UNDER THE BOOKS

WATER UNDER THE BOOKS At eleven o'clock that evening, the phone rang. It was the paper's storemouse, PACKRAT PETE. "Mr. Stilton!" he screamed in my ear. "A bus crashed into the hydrant right in front of The Rodent's Gazette Building. Our warehouse is FLOODED. All the books are getting soaked. It's an absolute disaster!" I couldn't believe it. My luck was worse than a mouse who's been cornered by a black cat! I raced to the warehouse in a panic. The water was pouring in so fast, even a sewer rat would have trouble riding the waves.

"Quick! We have to move the books somewhere dry!" I shouted to the workmice. I put on a pair of blue overalls. Then I raced next door to TUTTI FRUTTI. It's a shop that sells cheese-flavored ice cream, owned by my good friend LICKETY SPLITZ. Lickety lives in a one-bedroom hole right above his shop. He likes to be close to his ice cream. He also likes to eat it. Lickety has a big, round belly. He says his belly is a free advertisement for his delicious ice creams. Have you ever tasted CHEESE-FLAVORED ice cream? It's one of my favorite treats. But I didn't have time to think about ice cream now. I had work to do. Lickety said it was okay to store the books in his place. We worked through the night, moving box after box. At last, we were done.

"Thank you, Lickety," I said. "You are a true friend." Lickety waved his paw. "Don't mention it," he squeaked. Then he gave me a free double-scoop ice cream cone. It was extra-sharp cheddar with a cherry on top. Yum! My favorite! Normally, I don't eat ice cream cones for breakfast. But this was a special treat. Plus, it was the first day of my vacation. Suddenly, I jumped to my paws. "My vacation!" I cried. I glanced at my watch. It was already ten o'clock. "Cheese Niblets! I've missed my plane again!" I raced to the travel agency.