GERONIMO STILTON- HAPPY BIRTHDAY GERONIMO

         Geronimo Stilton ran the Rodent's Gazette. It was his birthday today but it was a terrible start. He started off with his bath the soap went into his eyes so he couldn't see the bar of soap on the floor and slipped and crashed on his tail. He made a tasty meal of cheese toast and a cup of hot chocolate. As he was already super late he guzzled the hot chocolate in one gulp and burnt his tongue. Yet he did not let his spirits down. He finally left for work. 

          He was about to cross the street when he saw a strange family climb out of an enormous van. They were very very strange. Each wore a yellow lab coat and colourful clothes underneath. The oldest rodent had grey hair gathered up in a bun. She wore three large keys around her neck and carried a big pink handbag locked with three big padlocks. She is Bettina Bamboozle. Balencio Bamboozle is the oldest brother, his dream is to become a circus acrobat. Burton is the middle brother, he loves the circus but dreams of becoming a magician. Bobo is the youngest brother, a great prankster and dreams of becoming a circus clown. They greeted him and in return he could only mumble his words because of his burnt tongue. Bettina asked if he could exchange a large bill for smaller ones. Then Balencio startled him by taking a glass bottle containing the BBB, Bamboozle Bubbly Beverage out of his pocket and pouring a spoonful of it in his mouth. The green liquid tasted worse than anything. It smelled of broccoli, cabbage, garlic, onion, rotten eggs and fermented cheese brewed in a dirty sock. Bobo bonked Geronimo on his tail with a hammer to digest the BBB. As Bobo did so, Geronimo's wallet flew out of his pocket and Burton handed it back to him. 

          Then he quickly scampered away. On his way he stopped by at the newsstand to buy paper and handed a bill to the vender, he said it was a strange bill, so he went away. The cafe manager and the pharmacist also said the same thing. As soon as he reached his office he rushed to the bathroom. He had a bad stomachache for a while, he started feeling better and needed rest, he wore three sweaters, had three cups of tea. Yet after three more hours his stomach kept grumbling. He took something for upset stomach and could finally sit up. 

         He had made plans with his family and friends at the GOLDEN CHEESE, so he headed towards the Golden Cheese. Everyone was there except his childhood friend, Hercule Poirat. He was there on every single birthday of his ever since they had met. After dinner the waiter brought a huge birthday cake. One by one all his friends left, yawning he went to the cash register to pay the bill. He gave the manager a credit card, a check and cash but they all turned out to be fake  ones. He showed the manager his ID card but it read Dr. Falsefur and instead of his photo there was a picture of cheese. Suddenly he heard a familiar loud voice behind him. He turned to see, it was Hercule Poirat, his detective friend. He said that he was busy solving the mystery of fake bills circulating everywhere. Hercule pleaded Geronimo to help him solve this very very very strange mystery. How could he say no to his best friend so he agreed. They went to all the places where the phony money turned up.

• New Mouse harbor
• Jewelry Store
• Art Gallery
• Watch Shop
• Yarn Shop
• New Mouse City Circus
• Supermarket        

           They headed towards the Sea Rodent Tavern, a hangout for sailors, and the owner, Henry Herring, said that a rodent came in and bought all the supplies in the warehouse and paid in cash and when he took the bills to the bank they said they were fake. Geronimo noticed a green stain next to the cash register and enquired about it, the owner said that the fake bills were stained with a strange sticky green substance. Then they went to the Jewelry store and met the owner, Joy Jewelrat, she said that a mouse came in and bought a very expensive gold diamond necklace and paid with phony bills. She also said that she wore pink sunglasses and carried a big pink handbag. Then they went to the Art Gallery the owner, Art Paintpaws said that  a rodent kept outbidding everyone for the painting of Vincent van Gouda. He gave the fake bills and hurried away and dropped a white glove. The next place was the Watch store, the owners, Lance and Lena Timeteller said that four rodents bought a very expensive pocket watch and paid with phony bills and added that the rodents were always quarreling to one another. Their next stop was the Yarn Shop. The rodent who ran the shop said that a rodent bought a lot of yarn and only pink, she said that she needed to knit a coat matching her handbag. Their next stop was New Mouse City Circus. At the ticket window the cashier confirmed that four rodents had bought tickets with fake bills. He also said that they enjoyed the show very much. They especially loved the acrobats, the magician's act and the clowns. Their last stop was the supermarket. The cashier told us that four rodents spent an enormous amount of fake money on a weird combination of garlic, onions, broccoli, cabbage and molasses. Geronimo was sure he knew who was making the fake money. Do you? Read the book to find out!!