From the Desk of
Geronimo Stilton

Dear Reader,

The whole city was in a panic. The rumors of a giant cat stalking the subway had citizens jumping out of their fur at every noise. Of course, the story was too fantastic to be true, but so many rodents were seeing and hearing strange things, it had to be true.

The mayor and the police chief thought they could catch the monster in a giant cat trap. I thought their chance of success was about that of a cheeseball at a Rodent Elementary School picnic (as it turned out, I was right) but I didn't argue with them. Instead, I did what any good newspapermouse would do. I decided to go down into the subway tunnels to get the real story.

Of course, I didn't go alone. Before you could say flashlight, my sister Thea started giving orders, my cousin Trap decided to butt in, and my favorite nephew Benjamin, that brave little mouse, said he was coming along, no matter how dangerous it was.

Well, it was about the scariest assignment the four of us ever took on, but we saw it through. We thought we were going to be cat food several times. And we found out there are other dangers underground besides phantom cats, including knee-deep sewage, high-voltage subway rails, and some sneaky rodents who shouldn't be down there at all.

You can find out all about it in my new book, The Phantom of the Subway . I think you'll agree it's one of the most exciting adventure stories I've ever written.

Yours truly,

© EDIZIONI PIEMME – ITALY