One Big Cheese Melt

By Dolly Fastpaws

NEW MOUSE CITY – A sudden fire at the New Mouse City Cheese Factory sent workers scurrying for the exits. Fortunately, no mice were injured beyond a few singed whiskers, but most of the cheese was too burned to be used.

“Talk about a meltdown,” said Fire Chief Joe Voles. “There was no way to save the cheese. I know some hopeful mice were imagining a kind of giant grilled cheese, but since we had to use the hoses on the fire, all the cheese was not only burned but foamy too.”

That didn’t stop some hungry mice from sampling the ruined cheese when the fire department wasn’t looking.

One mouselet who asked that his name not be used told this reporter that eating the cheese was “like having my mouth washed out with soap. Yuck!”

Firefighters also complained about having trouble scraping the melted cheese off their boots. “I can handle danger,” said firefighter Peter Paws, “but this is GROSS!”

The New Mouse City mayor told everyone that the cheese factory should be back in business in no time. “We’ll put all our efforts into fixing the factory,” he said. “After all, this city was built on cheese.”

Snack Attack Panics Movie Audience

By Rhoda Rodent

NEW MOUSE CITY – There was some unplanned excitement during opening night at the New Mouse City Drive-In. Everyone was thrilled to finally have a new drive-in theater, just in time for summer, and the double feature, The Three Mouseketeers in Cheese-O-Rama and The Great Cheese Robbery, sounded like a perfect combo for fun.

Mice loaded up with treats from the snack bar, then got settled in their cars to watch the show. All went well until a giant mouse shadow appeared on the screen, causing squeaks of fright from the audience. Cars were started, and mice were ready to speed out of the parking lot.

But the giant mouse turned out to be none other than newspaper editor Geronimo Stilton, on his way to the snack bar. He had blocked the movie projector!

“What?” Geronimo asked, when surrounded by theater security guards. “I just wanted some cheese popcorn for my nephew Benjamin.”

Geronimo’s cousin Trap told this reporter, “The only thing giant about Geronimo is his appetite.”

After the excitement died down, everyone enjoyed the movies. But theater owner Ralph Friedmouse said the false alarm gave him an idea. “I think we’ll show a monster movie next week. I’m thinking Creature from the Limburger Cheese Lagoon.”

Mouselet Doodles While Uncles Snoozes

By Tylerat Truemouse

NEW MOUSE CITY – The annual New Mouse City Mouselet Drawing Contest, sponsored by the Mouseum of Modern Art, has a winner! Young Benjamin Stilton was chosen for his portrait, My Uncle Geronimo at Rest. Let’s hear from the artist: “It’s easier to sketch mice when they’re asleep, because they don’t move as much. My uncle is a very hard worker, but I happened to find him one afternoon in his office at The Rodent’s Gazette sound asleep at his desk. He looked so happy, I decided to draw him.”

Judges included the art critic Anthony Brie III, who said of the winning entry: “This is a beautiful drawing of a very lazy mouse.”

The subject of the drawing, Geronimo Stilton, insisted, “It was just a short nap! I’m a very hard worker.” Asked if he was simply taking a catnap, Stilton huffed, “I don’t use that word!”

Despite having his snout out of joint at being called a lazybones by the art world, Geronimo Stilton said, “I’m very proud of Benjamin. I think he did a wonderful job and will one day have his own mousterpiece hanging in the mouseum.”