THE ENCHANTED

CHARMS
THE IN
SEVENTH A DV E N T U R E

OF FA N T A S Y
THE
KINGDOM
 ENCHANTED
THE
CHARMS

SEVENT ADVENTUR
THE
IN THE
H E
KINGDOM OF FANTASY
Scholastic Inc.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,
downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced
into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by
any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter
invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For
information regarding permission, please contact Atlantyca S.p.A.,
Via Leopardi 8, 20123 Milan, Italy; e-mail foreignrights@atlantyca.it,
www.atlantyca.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

e-ISBN 978-0-545-74767-7

Copyright © 2011 by Edizioni Piemme S.p.A., Palazzo Mondadori, Via

Mondadori 1, 20090 Segrate, Italy

International Rights © Atlantyca S.p.A.

English translation © 2015 by Atlantyca S.p.A.

GERONIMO STILTON names, characters, and related indicia are

copyright, trademark, and exclusive license of Atlantyca S.p.A. All rights
reserved. The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Based on an original idea by Elisabetta Dami.

www.geronimostilton.com

Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

Stilton is the name of a famous English cheese. It is a registered trade-

mark of the Stilton Cheese Makers’ Association. For more information,
go to www.stiltoncheese.com.

Text by Geronimo Stilton

Original title Settimo Viaggio nel Regno della Fantasia
Cover by Danilo Barozzi
Illustrations by Danilo Barozzi, Silvia Bigolin, Carla De Bernardi, Federico
Brusco, and Piemme’s Archives. Color by Christian Aliprandi
Graphics by Chiara Cebraro and Yuko Egusa

Special thanks to Kathryn Cristaldi

Translated by Emily Clement
Interior design by Kevin Callahan / BNGO Books

First printing, June 2015

 The
Guardians
of the Seven

Many centuries
Charms ago, Queen Blossom entrusted
seven powerful charms to seven guardians:

Coraline
I am the headmistress of Coral

Academy, the Underwater Fairy

School. I am kind but rm. I expect

my students to swim to the top of

the class!

Tessa
I am a giant tortoise from the Desert

of Eyes and Ears. I am also called

the Wise Shelled One and She Who
Is Never in One Place. Can you

guess why?

Firebeard
I am the head gnome of the village
of the Red-nosed Gnomes. Do

you like apple juice? We make the

tastiest apple juice in the entire

Kingdom of Fantasy!
Blizzard
I am a wolf with pure white fur who
lives in the Realm of the Towering

Peaks. I am searching for one special

mouse . . .

Crystal
I am a nightingale with a body
made of shimmering crystal. I am

the guardian of the Gilded Crystal

Scale, which measures the purity of
a person’s heart.

The Maiden of the Tapestry

I am a maiden who lives inside a
magical woven tapestry with my
faithful unicorn by my side. If you

want to visit me, you have to believe

in the power of dreams!

Sid
I am a giant squid from the deepest,

darkest parts of the ocean. Some say

I have cold eyes, but believe me, it’s

nothing personal.
 I Love Summer
IN THE CITY!

It was a STUNNING summer night in New

Mouse City. The sun was setting, turning the sky
a fabumouse shade of pink. Oh, how I love
summer in the city!

I was heading home after a long day at work,

and—oops! Excuse me, I haven’t introduced

me!
That’s
myself. My name is Stilton, Geronimo Stilton,
and I run The Rodent’s Gazette, the most popular

newspaper on Mouse Island!

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, that

evening
I was walking home, feeling peaceful and happy.
I decided to treat myself to some
ice
Lucky for me, my favorite
cream.
ice-cream parlor,Tutti
Frutti, was on
my way. When I arrived I looked at the counter . . .

Holey cheese! So many

avors!
There were at least thirty-four different avors
of ice cream! The owner, Lickety Splitz,
greeted me.
“Hi, Mr. Stilton! I just read your new KINGDOM

OF FANTASY book, The Search for Treasure. I loved

it! I love books with knights and princesses and

gnomes and dragons and . . .”
I was glad Lickety liked my book, but I have
to admit I was having trouble paying attention to
him. How could I concentrate with all that ice
cream staring me in the snout?!

.
..
m so
Mm all
it’s
ious!
ic
del
 Still, Lickety didn’t seem to notice. “When will

you be writing your next fantasy book, Mr.

Stilton?” he babbled. “And, tell me, where do you

get your ideas for these books?”

That got my attention. How do I explain the

KINGDOM OF FANTASY
? “Well, the truth is that

each of these books comes from a real adventure,”

I began.

Lickety’s eyes widened . “You

mean that you’ve actually been to that place?!” he

squeaked.
I coughed. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to
explain, but I tried. “Yes, I really go there,
but in DREAMS—that is, while I’m
dreaming—um, you see, I’m sleeping, but
then I’m dreaming about the adventure, so . . .” I
mumbled.
Lickety looked at me strangely. “So then you
don’t get there by plane or train or bus or
anything. You just go to sleep,” he squeaked.
KINGDOM OF
“Hey, maybe I could go to the
FANTASY , too!”

I nodded. “Um, sure, I guess so,” I answered.

To be honest , I wasn’t really sure how I

rst ended up in the Kingdom of Fantasy. It all

started when I found a jewelry box in my attic

and then I guess I fell asleep, because I had

the
WILDEST dream. Of course, I don’t
dream about the Kingdom of Fantasy every time

I go to sleep. Sometimes it just sort of happens.

“Remember when you met the Dragon

of the Rainbow and the time you went
to that chocolate castle?” Lickety said.
I smiled, remembering.

I was still thinking about my exciting

adventures when a voice behind me grumbled,

“Hey, you, what’s taking so long? Pick a

avor and move on!”

 I turned around and realized there was a
LON LONG line of rodents behind me.

G,
Everyone huffed impatiently.

“Hurry up!”
“This isn’t
brain
“Any surgery
day now . . !”.”

Oh, how
embarrassing!
I was just about to
choose any old avor when

I felt someoneTUGGING
.
. .
ber
m ce!
me pla
Re
gical
ma
a
It’s ph
!
Hm
on my jacket. It was a SMALL mouseling holding
her mama’s paw. “Are you Mr. Geronimo Stilton?

The author of the books about the Kingdom of

Fantasy? They’re my favorite ! When are you
writing the next one?” she squeaked.
“Well, I— um . . .” I stammered.

Now everyone was really STARING at me.

An old rodent with a long handlebar mustache
tapped me on the shoulder. “Congratulations,
young mouse! I love reading your fantasy books
to my grandchildren! They’re so much fun!

?
yet
g
ovin .
m
ice cream . .
we I want
e
Ar gray
. ..
turning on!
I’m e
Com
By the way, when are you
writing the next Kingdom
of Fantasy book?”
I didn’t have time to respond before a lady mouse

shoved a piece of paper under my nose. “I’d like

your autograph, please, and write, ‘To Scamper,
from Geronimo Stilton’! My son will be so happy!

By the way, when are you

writing the next adventure? ”
A crowd began to gather around me. It seemed
everyone had forgotten about the ice cream. Now
they just wanted to know one thing: When was I
KINGDOM OF FANTASY
writing the next book?

“Um, w-well . . .” I stuttered.

Lucky for me, Lickety Splitz came to my rescue.

He handed me a hu mong ous

ice-cream cone with a zillion different avors! I
recognized F O U RT E E N of them.
“Here’s hoping that you’ll write a new,
 FABUMOUSE fantasy book really soon!” he
squeaked.
d
whippe
I thanked everyone and dug into of
Dollop
to p
on
my ice cream. cream

s
C hunk
C h eesy
te
Chocola tio n
Pawfec
a n
Parmes
rella
M ozza
Minty
Niblets
L em on

Ricotta
C hoco-
cake
Cheese
erry
Strawb C ru m b
les
r
Chedda
Walnut
M unch
M o u se
allow C h eese
M arsh m Cr e a m
Caram
el F u d ge
lm o n d
A
s C h eese
Sw is ion
Explos
J a c k
Pepper Cream
io r
Pistach C he d d a
C h eese
B lu e
ut
Hazeln
Swirl
Candy
r
Chedda
 DO YOU WANT THE
GOOD NEWS OR THE
BAD NEWS FIRST?

The next morning, when I reached my of ce at

The Rodent’s Gazette, I saw that my coworkers
and famil were all gathered there.
my

My grandfather, William Shortpaws (founder

y
of The Rodent’s Gazette), checked his watch and
thundered, “Grandson, YOU’RE LATE ! We’ve

been waiting for you!”

I gulped. Have you ever met my grandfather?

He’s super TOUGH and always threatening to
take back control of the paper.

“I
didn’t know we were having a m-m-
meeting,” I stammered.

My cousin Trap snickered. “We’re having a

meeting about you, Gerry Berry.”

Huh? What was he squeaking about?

And why was everyone staring at me? First it
happened last night at the ice-cream place, and
now at work. I was beginning to get a complex!
“Okay, so do you want to hear the good news
or the bad news rst?” Trap asked, with a sly
smile.
My grandfather grumbled impatiently, “Oh,
for rat’s sake, just tell him! Come on —before
 mold grows on my whiskers. I’ve got other
things to do today!”

My nephew Benjamin took my paw. A s i n k i n g

feeling came over me. What if the bad news was

really bad? Like maybe Grandfather William sold

the paper. Or my pet sh, Hannibal, had

gone belly up. Or they stopped making cheddar
melts at the Squeak & Chew.

in the
Characters
of Fa n t a s y
Kingdom
ngs!
S ky w i
am King
I

?
Who
? Cap
Who t a in
at
you C ol
r s dhe
ervi art,
ce!

B ils!
 Boils!
I’m
 So I said, “I’ll take the good news rst.”

“The good news is: Your book The

SEARCH FOR TREASURE is a bestseller!
Readers love it!” Benjamin squeaked.

I smiled. I love my fans!

“The bad news is: They love it so much they
want a new fantasy book — now,” Trap added.
“Grandson, you need to start WRITING

I’m
Hello!
Hello! ah!
Blahbl
I am Tende G o o se
rheart! is
nam e
My
o r! ling!
on Ster
H
am
I

opper! Vol!
i bb l e h i
 lehop Vol!
S c r i bb nam e
is
me, My
It’s
 get
Better C uz!
,
writing

!
to n
Wow! S t il
.
Mr
il,
ma
Fan

T hey
want
more!
immediately!” Grandfather William demanded.
“You mean right now?” I asked.
Oops. Wrong question. Grandfather William
began shouting so loud the windows in the
of ce began to RATTLE . “Grandson, are
your ears full of cheese? Or maybe you need a
dictionary. Of course immediately means
now! We need to get the seventh adventure in the
Kingdom of Fantasy in print
immediately!
The deadline was yesterday! You’re late!” he
thundered.
I wanted to point out that I couldn’t have missed

a deadline if I didn’t know it existed, but I

didn’t want to upset Grandfather. So instead,
I tried to explain my writing process.

“Well, you see—the thing is, I can’t write it

now, because I can write books about the
Kingdom of Fantasy only when I have a special
dream, and . . .”
 My voice trailed off. So much for

not angering Grandfather.

He looked like he was about to hit
the ceiling and shoot out
the roof!
“Special dream? Well, then start
dreaming,
Grandson!” he ordered.

Benjamin brought me a steaming cup of

chamomile tea. “Maybe this will help make you
sleepy,” he offered.

I took a sip, trying to relax. It didn’t work. I felt

jumpier than ever. Then everyone left and I lay
down on the sofa in my of ce, placing a soft
pillow under my head. I closed my eyes, hoping
I would fall asleep quickly, but . . . I couldn’t
sleep!
I tried lying on my left side, but it gave me a
leg cramp. So I tried my right side, but I got
a paw cramp.
 I turned onto my stomach, then onto my back,
then upside down.
Still, I couldn’t fall asleep!

Rancid rat hairs! I was having a nightmare,

and I wasn’t even dreaming!
I put the pillow over my ears. Then I turned on

the air conditioning. A second later I turned off

the air conditioning. I tried sipping a warm glass
of milk, nibbling on a piece of cheese, and
reading from the PHONE
Finally, I attempted to count sheep, but I kept
BOOK.
losing count and having to start all over again.

N ot hi ng worked !
 10 STRATEGIES
FOR FALLING
ASLEEP
 . . . BUT IT WAS ALL USELESS!

I WAS STILL UP!

 TIME IS WASTING!

I left the of ce more stressed out than ever! In

fact, I was such a wreck that before I even made it
out the door, I . . .
–
BUMPED into a desk, causing a pile of
books to fall on my paw. Ouch!
– collided with a rodent who was drinking a

cup of tea,
scalding my fur. Double ouch!
– tripped over a wastebasket,
What
a
day!
frazzling my whiskers.
terrible
Triple ouch!
By the time I got outside,
I was ready to scream!
I ew down the street like a

madmouse. (Well, okay, I

didn’t really
y, but you get the
picture. I was fast!)
 When I reached my home at 8 Mouseford
Lane I ran right to my bedroom and threw on my
favorite pj’s. Then I closed the curtains.

I snuggled into bed and had just managed

to drift off when the telephone RANG.
 Ring, ring,
riiiing!
I leaped out of bed and grabbed the phone so
fast I could have been a contender for the annual

New Mouse City Firemouse Rise

-a n d - S h i n e C o m p e t i t i o n !
My grandfather’s voice shrieked in my
ear, “Well, did you dream? Did you write anything?

Time is wasting!”
My whiskers trembled. “Please, Grandfather.
I cannot c o m m a n d
sleep on
dream on c o m m a n d or write
on c o m m a n d !” I moaned.

But he had already hung up.

Then I had an IDEA. I would try to write

my seventh Kingdom of Fantasy book without
dreaming. After all, I was an author —I’d just use

my imagination .
So I opened the curtains, grabbed my computer,

and started the FIRST PAGE of a new

 . . .
Hmmm

The
Seventh
Adventur
e i
the n
Kingdom
of
Fantasy
Chapter
1 Page
1

document. I typed: “The Seventh Adventure in the

Kingdom of Fantasy, Chapter 1, Page 1.”

I stared at the blank page, but nothing came

to mind . . . or at least, nothing right. No, those
stories were special , even if they just came

from my dreams. It wouldn’t be right to make it

up. I
sighed and turned off the computer.
I was still debating what to do next when I
heard the RINGTONE of my cell phone. I had
 received a text message. It was from

Benjamin.

I called him right away and told

him how I still needed to fall asleep
so I could dream.

That’s when Benjamin suggested I go to

the beach. No, not to build sand castles and
go bodysur ng. Actually, I’ve never been
bodysur ng, except for the time I got hit by a

giant wave and ended up on a pile of rocks!

“I’m going to the beach to play with my friends.

Why don’t you come? You can relax,” he suggested.

A little while later we arrived at the best beach in

New Mouse Pink

City, Seashell
While Benjamin played with his friends, I sat on
Beach.
my beach chair in the shade. The sun was
high in the sky, and the air was suffocating.

Oh, who goes to the beach to relax in the middle

of the sweltering summer? A desperate

 puff
Puff
!ti
te
G

G r e at !
mouse, that’s who! And now I was not only
desperate, I was also dripping with sweat!

Still, the minute I closed my eyes, I found

myself in a magical vortex
stars . . .
of
 CRYSTAL
PLANET

The Kingdom of Fantasy

The Kingdom of Fantasy is endless
because the imagination is endless!
Anyone who can dream can explore
it and discover even more new
kingdoms within it.
MYSTERIOUS
A BYSS

KINGDOM
CA STLE OF
OF THE PIXIES
DREAMS

KINGDOM OF THE
FIRE DRAGONS

KINGDOM OF
LAND OF THE FAIRIES
NIGHTMARES
CITY OF THE
BLUE UNICORNS

LAND OF
TROLLS

KINGDOM
OF THE
WITCHES KINGDOM
OF THE
DIGGERTS
 KINGDOM OF
THE SEA DESERT OF
EYES AND

EARS

TALKING
KINGDOM OF
FOREST RAINBOW VALLEY
THE GNOMES

KINGDOM OF
KINGDOM THE SILVER
KINGDOM OF OF THE DRAGONS
THE ELVES NORTHERN REALM OF THE

GIANTS TOWERING

PEAKS

LAND OF THE
OGRES
 COME ON,
MOVE YOUR TAIL!

Suddenly, I felt a pinch on my ear, and a voice

squealed, “Hey, you! Whoosy Whatsy, I mean, SIR
Knight , wake up!”

I opened my eyes and saw a hermit crab

peering out from beneath a large purple shell.

up!
e
Wak

s
who’
Wh-
e?!?
ther
 He looked at me with round, bulging
eyes and an impatient expression. When I
didn’t respond he quickly reached out and pinched

my other ear.

“ Ow!” I squeaked.
“Oh, good, now we’re getting somewhere,”
he said. “Come on, Your Knightliness, we have
to w h at c h a m a c a l l i t —get the
show on the road, shake a tail, get those paws
pumping!”
I sat up, shocked, and looked around. “Who are

you? And, why are you talking? Crabs don’t

talk!” I yelped.

He pinched my snout, clearly offended.

“Who are you, Professor of Crabology? Who says

we don’t talk?” he cried, S T R U T T I N G

in front of me, showing off his shell with an air of

importance.
“For your information, I’m not just any old crab!
I am the whatsitcalled for whatsherface!”
he declared.

“Huh?” I said, scratching my head.

“I mean,” he continued, “I am the MESSENGER

for Her Royal Majesty, the One Responsible for

Imperative Reporting, the Main Mouthpiece of
HE WHO KNOWS WHAT NO ONE
Messages,
Else May (except you, me, and Those Who
Defend the Mystery of the Chain of the Seven
Charms), the Crab of All Crabs, the Crustacean of

All Crustaceans. That is, I am Chatterclaws of

the Seven Seas!” Then he bowed and
KINGDOM
added, “Welcome to the
OF FANTASY— or rather,

welcome back!”

He showed me a gold
medallion with the portrait
of the BEAUTIFUL
fairy Blossom on one side.
 Do you know Blossom ? She is the
incredibly kind and caring Queen of the Fairies.
On my rst visit to the Kingdom of Fantasy I
pledged my loyalty to her.

On the other side of the medallion was a portrait

of Chatterclaws and a message in the Fantasian

Alphabet.* Can you translate it?

,
* You can nd the Fantasian Alphabet on page 310.
 Chatterclaws of
the Seven Seas
Ancestry: Chatterclaws is of
the Crustacean dynasty, descending
from the famous Blabberclaws, the
renowned Marine Messenger originally
chosen by Blossom to carry her
secret messages through the waters
of the Seven Seas of the Kingdom of
Chatterclaws
Fantasy.

Home: He inherited the Blabberhouse (which he now calls the

Chatterhouse), t h e seashell in which he lives. This magical shell
contains a complete wardrobe with every possible outfit and
even a compartment lled with secret surprises. (Shhh!)

What Makes Him Special: He’s very friendly and knows

many sh all over the sea.

Personality: Chatterclaws loves to chat and is a good

messenger but he often forgets whatchamacallits— or, er,
words.

His Secret: Chatterclaws is in love with Classyclaws

fellow hermit crab Classyclaws and is
planning on proposing to her soon. (But
don’t tell anyone!)
 The medallion read: Chatterclaws, Mythical
Marine Messenger.

I realized that the medallion was

a badge of honor given to the crab by Blossom.

Wow! For a small hermit crab, Chatterclaws sure
had a BIG job. Now if he could just lay off the
pinching . . .
Blossom of the Flowers
White Queen, Lady of Peace and Happiness, She Who

Brings World Harmony, Queen of the Fairies, and the

Heart of the Kingdom of Fantasy

Blossom lives in the Crystal Castle, an extraordinary

palace made entirely of pure crystal.

Sir Geronimo of Stilton has helped Blossom and

the Kingdom of Fantasy six times. The rst time,

he awakened the queen from an enchanted sleep; the

second time, he helped her nd the Heart of Happiness;

the third time, he freed her from the villain who had

kidnapped her; the fourth time, he

saved the last dragon egg; the fth

time, he stopped earthquakes from

destroying the Kingdom of

Fantasy; and the sixth time,

he ful lled the Ancient Gemstone

Prophecy.
 MESSAGE FROM
BLOSSOM OF THE
FLOWERS!
I was still thinking about Chatterclaws’s important

position when he pinched me on the tail. Oh, why

do crabs have such sharp claws?

“Okay, listen up, Sir Knight!” he declared,
ignoring my CRY of pain. “I am here to
deliver a very special thingamabob—I mean,
whatchamacallit —I mean, message from
the queen.”
Then he cleared his throat, coughed, GARGLED
with seawater, and proclaimed , “Message
from Blossom of the Flowers for Sir Geronimo
of Stilton, entrusted to the Mythical Marine
Messenger, Chatterclaws of the Crustaceans!”

The crab interrupted himself and pointe

d
 ag e om !
Mess B lo s s
from
with one of his claws. “That’s me!”

Then he continued. “I,

Blossom of the Flowers, welcome

you back to our kingdom. The

mission I need you to complete
this time will be dif cult, risky, and

very dangerous, for you must face the

wicked Wizard of the Black
At this, the crab stopped and shivered,
Pearl!”
adding, “If you ask me, you should say your good-

byes now. No one beats the wizard.”

Then he went on, “Through a spell, this wicked

wizard was trapped for a thousand years in a

watery prison, at the bottom of the

Mysterious Abyss. But now the wizard is free!”
I began to gnaw my whiskers. A wicked
wizard on the loose? Say my good-byes? Oh, how

did I get myself into these messes?

I was such a nervous wreck that it took

all of my willpower to concentrate on what
Chatterclaws was saying next.

Long story short, it turned out the wicke

wizard had an evil plan to use his d
power to take
over the entire Kingdom of Fantasy.

“Your mission will be to nd the seven

enchanted charms given by Blossom
to seven separate guardians. When the charms
are strung together on the g o l d e n chain and
returned to Blossom, peace will reign. Well, what

do you say, Sir Geronimo of Stilton? Do you accept

the mission?” the crab nished.

But before I could reply, Chatterclaws

DISAPPEARED into his shell!

Huh?
A minute later he reemerged,

holding a strange seashell-

shaped telephone. It was the
Chatterphone .
Chatterphone
 Wizard of the Black
Pearl
The All-Terrifying, the Swallower of Hopes, the Ruler of

Darkness, of the dynasty of Warlocks of the Night

Descendent of the Dark Wizards, he is a very powerful and

evil sorcerer. He is greedy for power and tried to control

the entire Kingdom of Fantasy a thousand years ago. He was

defeated by Blossom and her allies, and was imprisoned for

a millennium in the Mysterious Abyss. But during his long

imprisonment, he formed an alliance with the wicked Oyster

People, who gave him all the pearls produced

in the Seven Seas. Now, a thousand years

later, he is using his wealth and magical

powers to try to take control of the

kingdom once again.

 Queen Blossom was on the line. “Knight, if
you accept this mission, the rst charm and the

golden chain are guarded by Coraline. But

be careful, the Wizard of the Black Pearl has
dangerous allies and spies everywhere!”
she warned.

I was scared, but how could I say no to the

queen?
As soon as I accepted, Chatterclaws grabbed the
phone and hung up.

“Sorry, but these long-distance calls cost more

than my ve-year subscription to Crustacean
Nation!” he complained.
The crab turned to leave but then suddenly
slapped a claw against his forehead. “Jumping
jelly sh, I almost forgot. You need your
thingamajig— I mean, your sea armor !
Follow me!” he called, disappearing once again
into his shell.
 A moment later, I found myself in the most
amazing place. Chatterclaws’s seashell was actually

a luxurious apartment!
The crab opened the lid of a large wooden box
and said solemnly, “For you.”

Inside the box I found a suit of armor made

of RED coral, with a cape made of woven
seaweed. There was also a sword, a small bag, and

a GOLD ring with Blossom’s seal. A piece of

parchment read:

I , B l o s s o m of the
“
l o w e r s , n a m e yo u
F
f the
the Knight o
with
S e v e n S e a s,
and
p owe r b e l ow
ves and
ab ov e t h e w a
y to
the authorit
k i n m y n a me!”
spea
sea armor
The armor of the Knight of the Seven Seas

th e
w it h
in g
o l d r a
G m:
B lo s s o
of
seal
r
owe
blue

so m of
s
I, Blo F l owe r s,
the you
name
K night
the
h e S even
of t with
Se a s,
e r b elow
pow v e the
bo
and a d the
a n
waves ity to
r
autho my
k in
spea e !
nam
 The Chatterhouse: The legendary

13

12
14 11

15

10 7

9
5

2
3
seashell of Chatterclaws of the Crustaceans

1. Grand stairway

2. Laboratory and seashell

repair shop
3. Gym, pool, and sauna
4. Guest room
5. Kitchen
6. S e aw e e d Gallery with
family portraits
7. Living room with
replace and dining
room

8. Ballroom
9. Storage closet with
cleaning supplies

10. Chatterclaws’s
bedroom
11. Bathroom
12. Seaweed and
Sea ower Garden
6 13. Library of ancient
texts about the
Kingdom of Fantasy

14. Of ce with
Mythical Marine
Messenger diploma

15. Collection of musical

seashells

1
 GOOD-BYE AND
SEE YA!

A little later we left the Chatterhouse and the crab

gave me the list of the seven written

on a strip of seaweed. Then he pinched me on
charms
the ear again (if only I had worn e a r m u f f s ! )
and said, “Okay, Whatsyourname, good-bye and

see ya! Also, my condolences, since you

probably won’t make it back alive . . .”

As he began skittering toward the sea,

I ran after him. “Hey, WAIT! Aren’t you going to
come with me?” I cried nervously.

The crab shook his head. “I’m a message carrier,

not a BABYSITTER . No, thank goodness, my

mission is over. If you kick the bucket, it’s not my

problem,” he muttered.
 THE SEVEN ENCHANTED CHARMS

1. The Coral Heart

Guarded by Coraline at Coral Academy. It’s a symbol of love and has

the power to reveal how much love is in a person’s heart.

2. The Clasping Hands

Guarded by She Who Is Never in One Place in the Desert of Eyes and

Ears. It’s a symbol of friendship. Whoever holds it will know how to

give and receive help from friends.

3. The Medallion of the Sun and the Moon

Guarded by the leader of the Red-nosed Gnomes in Rainbow Valley. It

has the power to stretch the night and lengthen the day.

4. The Diamond Star

Guarded by Blizzard, a ferocious white wolf, in the Realm of the

Towering Peaks. It’s a symbol of courage . . . and to win it, one must

demonstrate great courage!

5. The Crystal Feather

Guarded by Crystal, the nightingale in the Realm of the Starry Sky,

on the Crystal Planet. It can be won only by one with a pure heart.

6. The Silver Unicorn

Guarded by the Maiden of the Tapestry and her unicorn in the Castle

of Dreams. Only one who knows the importance of dreams and the

power of imagination can win this charm.

7. The Golden Pearl

Guarded by Sid the Giant Squid, also known as the One with Many

Arms, in the Cave of the Deepest Darkness. It has the power to grant

wishes to whoever possesses it.

 a very
It was mission!
s
dangerou
I chewed my
Kni
ght whiskers to keep
of
Seve the
Seas
n from bursting
into tears of terror.

“To be honest,”
Chatterclaws went
on, “I’m surprised you’re still alive.

As soon as the Wizard of the Black Pearl nds out

about your mission, he’ll HUNT you down until

there’s nothing left of you but a headstone with
your name on it. But don’t worry; I’ll bring fresh

owers every day.”

Before I could faint, the Chatterphone ra ng .
Maybe it was Blossom again, saying she had made

a mistake! Maybe my mission was actually to

travel to the Kingdom of Fantasy Resort and Spa.

I pictured myself lounging by a pool, sipping a

cheese smoothie .
“Uh-huh, yep, no problem. Will do, Your
Majesty.” Chatterclaws’s voice interrupted
my thoughts. He spoke to the caller for a few
moments, then hung up and turned to me.

“Well, Knight, it’s your lucky day. Blossom is

sending me with you. The rst charm is guarded
by Coraline underwater in the Kingdom of
the Sea.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “So, how do we get
there? I don’t remember . . .”

Chatterclaws rolled his eyes, grumbling,

“Must I do everything? We call a TAXI, of
course!”

TUNA CAB: THE

FISH TAXI
He knows all the secrets of undersea traf c: whale
traf c patterns, hot and cold currents, obstacles,
drops, coral reefs, refueling stations, and —most
important— he knows how to avoid areas swarming
with sharks!
 He let out a whistle, and a moment later an

ENORMOUSE tuna arrived, fully

equipped with seats for its passengers.

Chatterclaws jumped on board and cried, “To

the Kingdom of the Sea, please!”
Then, turning, he said, “Well, what are you doing?

Waiting for algae to grow under your paws?”

wnn!
Heeee
lp! d o o ow
S l ow
 I jumped on board and fastened my seat belt.
The tuna cab took off like a shot and . . .

1. We plunged into the sea like a rocket!

2. We almost smashed into some massive

rocks!
3. We got TOSSED around in a strong
ocean current like socks in a clothes dryer!

f!
t to get offff
I wan
 Rats! Did I mention I’m afraid of boats and
I’m prone to seasickness?

Anyway, where was I? Oh, right, after about a

MILLION years, the tuna stopped, checked

his meter, and announced, “We’re here! That’ll be
thirty-four clams! And don’t forget the TIP!”
 The
Kingdom
of the
Sea

THE SEARCH FOR THE

CORAL HEART
 13

2 21
7
5

14

1. THE GREAT BARRIER 11. LOST TREASURE

REEF GROTTO
2. CORAL ACADEMY 12. OCTOPUSOPOLIS
3. MYSTERIOUS 13. WHALEOPOLIS
SHIPWRECK 14. SQUIDOPOLIS
4. SEAHORSE STADIUM 15. SHARKBURG
5. 16. ANCHOV Y VILLAGE
6.
TUNA
TORTOISE
VILLAGE
CLIFF 17. SARDINE COVE
11
7. SEA GRASS PLAIN 18. SEA STAR CENTER
8. SECRET LAIR OF THE 19. DEEP BLUE GROTTO
MORAY EELS 20. FOREST OF
9. ELECTRIFYING CLIFF SMOTHERING ALGAE

10. BLUE THRILL 21. SEA ANEMONE WOODS

AMUSEMENT PARK
 f the Sea
The kingdom o

1
0
18

12
19

16

8
3

20
17

15 1
 OF COURSE, WE’RE
THE PLUMBERS!

Chatterclaws disappeared into the Chatterhouse

and reemerged a few moments later with a pile of
seashells .
“Call if you need another pickup,” the tuna
called over his n before he zipped off.
Soon we were standing in front of the
magni cent CORAL
where
AC A D E M Y ,
Coraline* was waiting for us. “Ah, you’re
the plumbers, right? And you’re here to repair the
leaky faucet, right?” she proclaimed with a wink.

Then she whispered, “The Wizard of

the Black Pearl has spies everywhere. I
know why you’re here. Follow me.”

The crab nodded to the queen and replied in

a LOUD voice, “Yes, of course, we’re the
*Geronimo met Coraline in his book The Search for Treasure.
plumbers!” Then he produced a plumber’s
uniform from his shell. “Go on, Sir Whoosy
Whatsy,” he whispered. “Put this on over your

th e t?
r ig h
’re
You ,
b ers
p lu m

Um

H i!
armor and PRETEND to be a plumber!”
I had no idea how to pretend to be a plumber,
but what could I do? I didn’t want the wizard’s
SPIES to nd us. A minute later, dressed in
blue overalls and a matching hat, I mumbled, “Um,

don’t worry, ma’am, we plumbersknow how

to, um, plumb anything. Show us the bathroom
and we’ll start, er, plumbing!”

Coraline led us down the long, colorful hallways

of Coral Academy. As I remembered from my

previous journey, the corridors were full
of little fairies chatting and laughing as they
headed to their classrooms. Some whispered and
smiled as the headmistress oated by, but no
one seemed to notice us.
We had fooled them all into thinking we were
real plumbers!

When we reached the bathroom, Coraline

stopped and, after giving us a look, tossed a
shimmering powder into the air and
whispered a fairy spell:

“May our
continue
doubles to appear,
while we simply
disappear!”
!
g ic
ma

ir y
Fa
 A moment later, we split in two! Yep, I am
not pulling your paw! Before our very eyes were
exact copies of me, Chatterclaws, and Coraline.
Our look-alikes strode into the bathroom, while
we, the real us, became as TRANSPARENT
as thin air.

me
Follow

A ha!
 It was then that I noticed a fairy wearing a
necklace of shining pearls hiding behind a
column, spying on our doubles. When our doubles

went into the bathroom, the fairy followed.

Quickly, Coraline motioned us into the

library.
 WHAT TRAITORS,
THOSE OYSTERS!

The fairy entered the library, lit three candles in a

gold candelabra, and examined every corner

of the room.
Meanwhile, Chatterclaws and I took off our
plumber disguises and soon became
v i si bl e again. I was happy to see myself. I
admit it, I missed my own fur !

Coral Academy’s library was an amazing place.

Besides spectacular high VAULTED ceilings,

the walls were covered with books of all kinds,

COLORS , and sizes. I glanced at the titles,

such as: One, Two, Three, Poof!: The Fairies’ Guide

to Magic Potions; How Do You Spell Magic?; Easy

Spells for First-Year Fairies; Wands and Wings for
Beginners.
 3

4
2

th e
is
e
H er
6
ry!
libra

1 Amazi
ng!

THE LIBRARY OF CORAL ACADEMY

1. LANTERNS FOR READING 4. DICTIONARIES OF ALL
2. MAPS OF THE UNDERSEA FANTASY LANGUAGES
REALMS OF THE KINGDOM OF 5. READING TABLES
FANTASY 6. NAUTICAL CHARTS OF THE
3. ENCYCLOPEDIAS OF FAIRY SEVEN SEAS
MAGIC AND POTIONS 7. BEGINNER BOOKS OF FAIRY
SPELLS
 I was so busy reading the book titles, I didn’t
realize Coraline had nished searching the room
for spies until she tapped me on the shoulder.
Startled, I JUMPED a foot in the air. Oh,
how embarrassing!

“Now you understand the reason

for all
the precautions, right, Sir Knight?” she asked.
“The Wizard of the Black Pearl has s pie s
everywhere. During the thousand years he was
held prisoner in the Mysterious Abyss, he allied
himself with the Oyster People. In exchange for
power, they’ve given him all the pearls produced
in the Seven Seas of the Kingdom of Fantasy.”
Chatterclaws snorted. “What traitors, those
oysters!”
The fairy nodded, adding, “The wizard pays his

spies with pearls. Did you notice the pearl necklace

on the fairy spying on us? Evidently, she has

met the wizard.”
 Coraline sighed but then shook her head. “Okay,

enough with these sad thoughts,” she continued

brightly. “If you’ve managed to make it all the way

here, it means your MISSION has begun well!”

Then she turned to me. “Knight, I will give you

the first charm . It was entrusted to me

centuries and centuries ago by Blossom herself. Our

queen feared that one day some villain

use the enormous power of the seven charms for
could
evil purposes. So she sent each charm to a loyal
guardian in many different parts of the Kingdom

of Fantasy.”
Then she added, proudly, “I am the guardian of

the rst charm: the

Coral Heart. It is a small
heart made of red coral, and a symbol of the love

that we must have for all —friends or enemies.”

The fairy pointed to a thick RED book high

on a shelf. “Can you please retrieve that book, Sir

Knight? The Heart is inside,” she said.

 “Um, of course,” I mumbled, even though my
paws shook. No, I wasn’t afraid of the Heart. I was

afraid of climbing up the TALL ladder to reach the

book! Did I mention I’m afraid of heights?

Luckily, I managed to get the book without

breaking my tail. Whew!

The book was called Love: It Makes
the World Go Round (and Up, and
Down, and Sideways!). I opened it,
and inside, I found the s m a l l red
Coral Heart.
 THE CORAL HEART
The First
The Coral Heart is a small heart made of coral.
Charm
Many years ago, Blossom entrusted it to the
fairy Coraline to keep it in a safe place in Coral
Academy. A symbol of love, the Coral Heart
is the rst of the seven enchanted charms. It
has the power to reveal how much love is in
a person’s heart. The charm turns pale pink
if there is no love and intense red if there is
an abundance of love.
 DON’T
WORRY

“I promise to guard this heart with my life,”

I told Coraline, removing the Coral
and the golden chain from the book with a grin.
I must say, I was starting to
Heart
feel pretty good about

this mission. After all, it hadn’t been that dif cult

to nd the rst enchanted charm. And,

well, except for that scary ride in the tuna cab and

climbing up that super-high ladder, overall,

I would give myself an A+ on my accomplishments

so far.
Still, before I could get carried away and attempt

to pat myself on my own back, Coraline gave me a

warmhug and a serious warning. Rats! I

knew things were going too smoothly on this
adventure!
 “Watch out, Knight!” the fairy warned. “It won’t

be easy to nd the next six charms. You will

face grave dangers, because the Wizard of
the Black Pearl is after you. And when
you meet the next guardians, you must pass very
dif cult tests to prove you really are the Knight
of the Seven Seas. Otherwise, they may refuse
to give you the charms . . . after all, they’ve had
them for a long time. And nally, once you’ve
obtained the charms, you must make sure they are

notstole by the wizard’s spies.”

By the time Coraline was nished, I felt like
n
c r aw l i n g into a cave and
hibernating for a year! Too bad
Gulp!
mice don’t hibernate. Who
wouldn’t want a nice long rest?
Instead, I gulped.

I wanted to cry, but I

didn’t have a tissue. Plus, I
 The Ten Levels of Despair
for Sir Geronimo of Stilton

3. It’s going

good.
2. It’s going to
1. Wow, be great— I
everything’s can feel it.
going great!

4. It’s going

okay.
5. Um . . . who
knows what
6. Maybe
it’s not as will happen?

easy as I
thought . . .

7. It’s not going

to be easy . . .

10. Rats! I’ll never

be able to do it!

8. Uh-oh—it’s going
to be dif cult . . . 9. Um, this is really dif cult!
always did my best to nish every mission. I had
to keep going, even if I was scared out of my fur!
“Don’t worry,” Coraline COMFORTED me.
“Each charm will help you on your missio
because each one has a power. As I said, the
n,
Coral Heart has the power to reveal how
much love is in a person’s heart.”

Right then I realized the Heart had a message

written on it in the Fantasian Alphabet.* Can you
translate it?

* You can nd the Fantasian Alphabet on page 310.

 I translated it. “Love conquers all !”
I read out loud.
Just then Chatterclaws pinched my tail with a
claw, making me jump.
“Come on, let’s go! The whatchamacallit, I
mean, the octoballoon is waiting for us!”
Before I could ask what an octoballoon was,
something tapped me on the shoulder.

TAP, TAP!
I turned and saw an enormouse purple
octopus, with enormouse bulging eyes and long

who . . . ?
Wait,

on,
com e
go!
let’s
tentacles with enormouse suckers. And one
of those ENORMOUSE tentacles was what
had tapped me on the shoulder! Cheese niblets!
I had barely put the GOLDEN
around my neck and
CHAIN
attached the rst charm when

Chatterclaws pushed me into a wicker basket

held by the octopus. A moment later we took off,
heading for the surface of the sea .
Up, up, up!

As we climbed, the water became clearer and

clearer until we reached the surface of the ocean.
Then we burst from the water, popping up into the

sunlight with a giant splash !

Before I could ask, “How do we reach the shore?”
the octopus began to push us toward the beach.

The wicker basket hit the shore, and I

ROLLED out onto the wet sand, over

a hard mound of shells, and all the way into a tall
pointy cactus. Ouch!
 Chatterclaws stepped out of the basket and
snorted. “Seriously, Knight? Was that really
necessary? Come on, I didn’t come all the way to
the Desert of Eyes and Ears
to play games. We’re here to nd the
Claspin
Hands , the next enchanted gcharm, and it
won’t be easy. It’s held by a guardian no one’s ever

seen.”
I stared at the empty, sandy desert. What a
dreary place!

Just then the crab whispered, “Let’s go into the

Chatterhouse. I must speak with you ALONE!”

“But we are alone,” I said, confused.

Chatterclaws shook his head. “Come on, get

with the program, Sir Knight,” he whispered.
“Remember what Coraline told us: Don’t be
fooled by appearances. Well, that’s
what I’m talking about. Even here, the Wizard
of the Black Pearl has hidden spies. Who
knows who might be listening to us? Now, follow

me . . .”
And with that, he disappeared into
Chatterhouse.
the
 THE
DESERT O
EYES AND FEARS

THE SEARCH FOR THE

CLASPING HANDS
 2
1
3

1. THE STUMBLING TRAIL 6. THE ROAD TO NOWHERE

2. THE CANYON OF FIERY 7. VACANT VALLEY
WINDS 8. THE FIELD OF THORNS
3. THE PETRIFIED BONE 9. THE STONE GIANT
MOUNTAINS ARENA
4. MOUNT SKULL 10. THE PLAIN OF THE LOST
5. PARCHED PLAIN
 sert of Eyes Ears
The De
and
6
7

10
 WIPE YOUR PAWS
ON THE MAT

As soon as I stepped into the crab shell,

Chatterclaws called out, “Wipe your paws on
the mat, okay? And remember to be careful on the

stairs! They’re steep. And don’t slip, I just waxed

the oor!”
I wiped my paws on the mat, was careful on
the stairs, and didn’t slip on the oor, but my tail got

hooked on the coatrack, and it CRASHED

over.
The crab sighed, then pushed me toward
a table and chairs. “Sit there and don’t move!” he

ordered, scuttling off to the kitchen.

When he returned he handed me a glass of

yellow liquid with a straw and a little umbrella

in it.
 s!
Cheer

.
. . . thanks . .
Um
 I was worried that the drink might be some
weird sh- avored concoction, but I didn’t want
to be rude, so I took a tiny sip. “It’s LEMONADE!”

I cried, shocked.
“What did you expect, clam bile?”
Chatterclaws snorted. Then he stuck a map of the

Desert of Eyes and Ears under my nose and said,

“We need to study this thingamajig. There are tons

of s pie s around.”
“So that’s how the DESERT got its name!”
I cried.
“Hmm, maybe there’s hope for you yet,” the
crab commented drily. “Anyway,” he continued.
“I’ve got an idea. We can communicate in
secret code so no spies will
understand us. I’ll teach it to you.”

Then he PINCHED my snout, made faces, smacked

my head, and shouted meaningless phrases in my

ears. What a nightmare!

 CHATTERCLAWS’S SECRET CODE

Ow! skull
I smack your
When
claw, it means
with my

“someone’s listening”!

H u h ?!

When I pinch
your snout, it
means “exactly
what I said”!

e!
Ouchi When I make a face
at you, it m eans
opposite “the
of what I said”!

ul!
Caref
What?
shout “careful!”
When I

means “everything’s
it
!
going well”
great!
g’s
E verythin
What?

When I say “everything’s

great!” it means “danger
ahead”!
 “Now let’s practice!” he cried, smacking me
on the head with a claw.
“Um . . . someone’s listening?”

“Well done, Sir Knight!” he said.

But then the crab shouted, “Careful!” I looked

around, WORRIED, because I didn’t
remember that it actually meant “everything’s
going well.” Cheese and crackers!

“Don’t worry. We’ll be okay,” Chatterclaws

said CONFIDENTLY as we left the
Chatterhouse a few minutes later.

being
like we’re
I feel
. . .
watched

act natural!
Just
 The scorching sun greeted us outside, and the
sand burned my paws. The landscape was

harsh andROCK
Even
Y.
worse, I constantly felt as though I was
being watched. Were there really spies all
around us? Once, I even tripped on a rock that
seemed to have been suspiciously moved to make

me fall! We stumbled along the Stumbling Trail.

OW, OW, OW! Then we continued through
the Canyon of Fiery Winds. Smokin’ Swiss bits!
Oh, where was a FIRE EXTINGUISHER
when you needed one?!
Next we crossed the Petri ed Bone
Mountains. Were they the bones
of unlucky travelers? Gulp! We

scaled Mount Skull, a STEEP

mountain shaped like a
giant—you guessed
it—skull. Double
gulp! Finally, we
reached the Road
to Nowhere.

quit!
Don’t

. .
ed .
So tir
 The road led to the heart of the desert,
a place so isolated that there were no trees,
no lakes, and no living creatures. Where else
would a Road to Nowhere lead? In fact, the area
was called Vacant Valley. Seriously, I
couldn’t make this stuff up!
d e e p sleep lled
That night I fell into a

with nightmares. I woke at daw , exhausted

and worried. Take deep breaths, I told myself. But
n
BURNED the inside
the air was so hot, I nearly
of my nostrils!
WHOOO DAAARES TO
CHAAALLENGE MEEE?

We continued walking until we arrived at a vast

stretch of sand and rocks, with clusters of round,
thorny bushes.
“It looks like we’re in the Field of Thingamabobs,

I mean the FIELD OF THORNS !

running or Start
you’ll never run again!” Chatterclaws
warned me.
 Just then the wind picked up and I heard an
angry “Whooo daaares to
whisper:

c h aaa l l e n ge
My teeth began to chatter. It had to be the
m e e e ?”
guardian of the second enchanted charm! He or
she was testing me. The thorny bushes started
chasing me, and I began running as fast as I
could. Rancid rat hairs! Who would have guessed

SHRUBBERY could be so evil!

With a terri c leap, I landed on a rocky ledge
where the thorny bushes couldn’t reach me.

lp!
Heeee

you!
behind
look
Don’t
 Whew! I was safe by a w h i s k e r !
I wanted to rest, but Chatterclaws kept
moving. After hours of walking, we arrived at
an ENORMOUSE clearing as large as a
stadium, set off by high rocky walls. It was the

STONE GIANT
Right then the rocks began rolling in the middle
ARENA .
of the arena, and little by little they formed
something that resembled aM O N S T RO U S

WA R R I O R made of stone! A round boulder

placed itself at the top of the monster, forming its

head. Then the warrior turned toward me and
thundered, Whooo daaares to
“
c ha a al l e ng e ”
As if I hadn’t guessed, Chatterclaws yelled, “It’s
m e ee ?
another test, Knight! Don’t think about how big
and STRONG he is and how little and
weak you are, and don’t think about how he is a
warrior who is used to ghting and you’re just a
 ge m ee e ?
to chaaallen
daaares
Whooo

to live!
I want

h at rock is
T l!
ea d y to rol
r
 won’t
You
m e!
escape

scholar with puny muscles!”

The monster rumbled
toward me with steps
that made the ground
tremble, and I
ed, squeaking, “ I
want to
live!
Just ” then, the
crab produced a
rope from his
shell and lassoed
a C AC T U S

got it!
I’ve
sticking up on the other side of the path.

As the monster took a step forward,

Chatterclaws pulled the rope taut. The monster
TRIPPED!
For one terrifying second, the immense ston
giant loomed over me, but right at e last
the
moment, I managed to jump to one side. The
giant fell to the ground, exploding
a thousand stones.
into

!
Heeelp
 ooohW
seraaad
ot
aahc
eg n ell a
? e ee m
 aaA
! h gr a a
h o- h U
 Before I could even thank the crab, another
voice roared, “ Whooo daaares to
c ha a al l e ng e ”
Seriously? Couldn’t a mouse catch a break?
mI eraised
ee ?my snout to the sky, and the scene in
front of me made my jaw drop.
I realized that the voice was coming from a
terrifying t o r n a d o ! The sand
swirled in a spiral that grew bigger and bigger
until the VORTEX took the shape of a face
with a wide-open mouth and MENACIN
eyes.
G
Before I could move, the mouth started to close

and a swirl of sand surrounded me, blinding

me. But just then Chatterclaws threw open the
door of his shell and shouted, “Get in here if
you want to live!”
I jumped inside, and he closed the door behind
me.
 Whew! I was safe by a
Outside, the sand storm raged on, but
whisker!
inside, we were safe.
The crab swept up the grains of sand that

I’d trekked in, muttering, “You forgot to wipe your

paws . . .”

Yep, that crab was a cleaning fanatic!

t
forgo
Yo u
to wipe
paws!
your
 WATER! WATER!
WATER!

We waited a long while in the Chatterhouse

until the wind stopped HOWLING, the sand
stopped swirling, and the storm stopped
raging . Once there was silence, we peeked
outside. What a sight! The SAND from the
storm had covered everything , and we couldn’t

tell which direction was which. We started to

wander under the BURNING sun, getting even
more tired and discouraged by the minute.

When Chatterclaws nished all the water from

inside his house he burst into tears. He cried
so hard I let him drink the WATER in my
canteen.
What can I say? It’s hard to watch a sea creature

cry.
 “Thanks!” the crab said, guzzling the
precious liquid.

Finally, we decided to rest in the shade of a

rock sticking up out of the sand. Even though we
were in the shade, my fur still felt like it was on
f i re . It was soooo HOT!

is h o t!
su n
this
U gh,
 I closed my eyes and tried to pretend I was
somewhere else . . . relaxing by a BABBLING
brook, splashing in the water at Lake
Pe a c efu l P aw s But when I
opened my eyes all I saw was a hot desert. Ugh!
I was about to drink the last drop of water from

my canteen when I noticed a plant in front of me.

Just looking at it told me that it was thirstier than

I was. Its stem was drooping, its leaves were

shriveled, and the ower sprouting at the top
was wilted. Filled with pity, I poured the last
drop of water onto the plant. To my surprise, little

by little, the plant started to recover!

It was then that I heard a strange murmuring. It

sounded like aWHISPER coming from the soil! The

whisper was like a chorus of thousands
of tiny voices, murmuring together:

“CONGRATULATIONS! YOU’VE PASSED MY TEST:

THE BUSHES, THE STONE GIANT, AND ALL THE REST.

NOW I WILL HELP YOU ON YOUR WAY.

SO LISTEN CLOSELY TO WHAT I SAY . . .”

I realized that the voices were coming from all

the grains of SAND that made up the desert.
Talking sand, aggressive stone giants . . . what
was next, DANCING cacti? I pinched
myself to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating from
the heat.
Then Chatterclaws explained, “It’s the
GUARDIAN of the second charm!”
 A moment later the voices continued:

“TO FIND THE SECOND CHARM,

NO NEED TO LOOK AROUND.

THE ANSWER IS BENEATH YOU:

IT’S RIGHT HERE IN THE GROUND!”

Suddenly, the soil beneath us started to rise,

and we rose along with it. Up, up, up we climbed
into the air. When I looked down I realized we
were now standing on the head of an enormouse

green
The tortoise opened her mouth and y aw n e d
tortoise
so deeply we
!
practically crashed to the ground.
 on?
s going
W h -w h a t’
 Then she said in a GROGGY voice, “Who has

awakened the guardian of the second charm from

her hundred-year sleep?”

Wow—a hundred years! Talk about aD EEP

SLEEP ! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love
catching a few Zzz’s as much as the next rodent,
but one hundred years really takes the cheesecake!

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. I quickly showed

the tortoise the ring with Blossom’s symbol

and explained that I was searching for the seven

charms.

The tortoise stared at me. “You are an adventurer

with great courage and a great heart.

I know because you’ve passed my tests and given
your last drop of water to a dying plant. Here is the

second charm. But you must promise to defend it

from all enemies, especially the Wizard of

the Black
“Thank you,” I said, slipping the charm onto the
Pearl!”
 THE CLASPING
HANDS
The Second
Guarded in the Desert of Eyes and Ears by Tessa
Charm
the Timeless Tortoise, also known as the Wise
Shelled One and She Who Is Never in One Place,
the Clasping Hands is a symbol of friendship.
In the Kingdom of Fantasy, everyone is bound
to offer help to whoever carries this charm and
says the secret words: “We are friends!” As a
symbol of friendship, this charm is also a kind
of passport, and whoever wears it may cross
any territory.
chain with the rst one. Two down, ve to go,
I thought.

As if she were reading my thoughts, the

tortoise said, “You will nd the next charm in

Rainbow Valley.”

Knight!
travels,
Safe

Great
job,
Sir
Knight
!
The Search For The Medallion
Of The Sun and The Moon
 1

3
2

4
 7

1. THE HILLS OF SWEET DREAMS

2. THE LAKE OF SHINING REFLECTIONS
3. THE MULTICOLORED FOREST
4. THE VILLAGE OF THE RED-NOSED GNOMES
5. THE APPLE JUICE FACTORY
6. SMILE CAMP
7. THE PIXIE PAINTER HOUSE
 FLUTTERCOW, THE
BUTTERFLY-COW

We took off for Rainbow Valley . I

was feeling good. We already had two of the

seven charms, and we were going to a place called

Rainbow Valley. How bad could it be?

Still, after many hours, Chatterclaws began to
complain. “My claws are killing me! If we
have to walk much more I’m going to turn into a

real crab!”

“Maybe we can call Blossom on the Chatterphone

and she can send some kind of fairy

transportation,” I said.

The crab snorted, “There aren’t any dragons or

unicorns here!”

Then suddenly he cried, “I’ve got it! We can take

a FLYING COW !”
 ns
drago
No
or unicorns?
 “You’re joking,” I squeaked. “Cows don’t y!”

“Tell that to the one right behind you!” The crab

chuckled.

I turned around, ready to call the crab’s bluff,

and let out a shriek of surprise. Behind me

I saw the strangest sight . . . yep, that’s right, a

ying cow!
The cow was the size of an ordinary cow, with

horns, hooves, and a tail. But the rest of her was

anything but ordinary. Her coat was white and

dotted with sparkling,

colorful spots. Around
her neck was a chain of pink owers. And on her

back were giant, shimmering butter y

wings!
“She’s perfect!” Chatterclaws shouted. “Hold

on. I think I’ll catch her with my lasso!”

But as soon as the strange creature realized the

crab was planning to catch her, she made a face at

us and
uttered off.
 Then I had an

idea. I pulled out

the second charm t!

Pffff

and held it up to the

cow. I said the secret

WE ARE
words, “

FRIENDS! ”
Instantly, the cow’s

eyes widened. “Well,

moooove
on over, friends! I’m coming in

for a landing!” she sang.

Light as the
breeze , the cow
landed on the ground. back!
com e
Hey,
 Meanwhile, Chatterclaws produced

a book from his shell entitled

Crea
ture
Creatures of the Kingdom the
Kin
gdo
s o
f
Fan m o
A to ta sy f f
rom
of Fantasy from A to Z Za
nd B
eyon
d

and Beyond.
He paged through it
quickly, then read aloud, “You

must be Fluttercow, a butter y-cow.”

“That’s me!” Fluttercow mooed. “At your

service! Where are you headed?”

As Fluttercow helped us climb onto her back,

Chatterclaws consulted our map. “We need to get

the Medallion of
whatchamacallit . . . the

the Sun and the Moon, that’s found in

Rainbow —”

But before the crab could even nish his

sentence, Fluttercow took ight, heading straight

for the clouds!

Moldy mozzarella! That cow

was as fast as a jet liner!
I gripped on to a horn for dear life.

The cow continued to climb, until we were right

in the middle of a CLOUD. Then she slowed

down so we could admire the moon and the

stars that lled the sky.
Of course, I had to open my eyes rst, which

were squeezed shut in fear. But once I did, I

discovered that the night sky is a beautiful sight!
During the ight Fluttercow told us all about

how she turned from an ordinary cow into a

BUTTERFLY COW . .
.
 t if u l!
beau
How

y!
Let’s
 The Story of Fluttercow, the Butter y-Cow
It all began a long time ago, on a beautiful, sunny

day. There was a breeze waving through the grassy

elds. I had just nished munching on some clover and

was admiring the butter ies uttering around me. Oh,

how I wished I could be as nimble as them! And how

I’d love to be able to y! The butterflies were colorful,

delicate, and as light as a feather. I, on the other hoof,

was only black and white, and feeling like a big, huge—well,

cow. Just then I heard someone shouting, “Help!”

I looked around but didn’t see anyone.

I was about to lie down on the grass, but again I heard a

shout. “Who can help the Queen of the Butter ies?”

I turned and nally saw a butter y caught in the middle

of a large spiderweb.

The butter y had large, shimmering gold wings and

a crown on her head made of tiny dewdrops.

I knew right away I had to help. With the bat of

a hoof, I destroyed the web and freed the butter y.

 Once free, the butter y queen ew up to me and asked,

“What can I do for you, generous creature? You saved my

life!”
I thought for a minute, and then I said, “Well, please don’t

think I’m crazy, but my greatest wish is to be able to y.”

The queen smiled. “Your wish is my command,” she said.

Then she brushed my shoulders with her wings, causing

some of her golden shimmer to fall on me. Suddenly, from

out of my back, two gorgeous, colorful wings sprouted! My

coat became multicolored, and a chain of pink owers

appeared around my neck.

“From now on you will be called Fluttercow, the butter y-

cow!” said the queen. “You are a special cow. You can y, and

your milk will have a thousand different avors. And when

you eat the owers of this necklace, you will

gain extraordinary powers that will make you

invincible!”

Since then, I have uttered happily above the

elds of the Kingdom of Fantasy.

 GIVE UP YOUR
PASSENGERS!

We ew on through the night. Then at dawn

the cow announced, “Get ready—we’ve almost

reached the Colorful Forest!”

I was congratulating myself on managing

to relax throughout the ight when it

happened . . .

The
re
are
seven
of
us
.. .

. .
evil .
are
.. . w we
e are . . .
cru el
. . .
 Out of the clouds came seven ENORMOUSE

vultures as black as night. They had pink heads;

long, hooked beaks; and sharp talons ,

and they wore evil expressions.

“A message for you, Fluttercow, from the

Wizard of the Black Pearl,” they

squawked. “Give up your passengers, or you’ll be

sorry!”

I let out a terri ed squeak and Chatterclaws’s

th e
for rl !
k Pea
wor k
. . .
we we B la c
have and th e
hook
ed . .. of
d
beaks
W izar
. . . and . . .
sharp
t alons . . .
shell turned blue with fear. But Fluttercow just
laughed and said, HOW UDDERLY
“

RIDICULOUS! I will not give up my

passengers! Fly away, featherheads!”

Now the vultures looked even more infuriated .

What was Fluttercow doing? How could one

butter y-cow battle seven sinister vultures?

Then before I knew what was happening, she

turned and yelled, “Hold on tight!”

Fluttercow bit one of the FLOWERS from
her necklace. Suddenly, her horns started to spin

and her wings beat so fast they became invisible!

Then she began lashing out with sharp kicks that

made her hooves SPARKLE.

The vultures fought back, but Fluttercow
was like a whirling ninja cow warrior with

wings! Who would have guessed a cow could have

such amazing acrobatic moves?

When the last vulture ew away, I wanted to

 ’t
don in !
You u s! t give
e Don’
scar

!
back
t
F ig h

on
H o ld
t! !
t ig h A ck

my
I want
Caw
! my !
mom

!
H e lp

back!
K ic k
cheer. Too bad I was GREEN with motion
sickness!

Chatterclaws STUMBLED out of his

shell, his eyes crossed from fear. “Oh, why did I
choose this career? To think that I could be at the
bottom of the SEA munching seaweed right

now . . .” he muttered to no one in particular.

Then he shook himself and, clearing his throat,

announced, “In the name of Blossom, the Queen

of the Kingdom of Fantasy, I, Chatterclaws
of the Seven Seas, her whatchamacallit—er,
trusted messenger— congratulate you on this

great victory over the—um, you know— Wizard

of the Black Pearl’s spies!”

He had barely nished his sentence when

Fluttercow plunged headlong toward the ground,

MOOING, “Get ready for landing!”

By the time we landed, my head was spinning

and I was as GREEN as a pickle! Instead of

climbing off the cow like a noble knight, I slumped

to the ground, snout rst.

OH, HOW
EMBARRASSING!
Meanwhile Chatterclaws leaped off the cow and

kissed the ground. “ I’m alive! I’m alive!”

he cried. “Holy s e a s t a r s , I need a raise! This
job is getting more dangerous every day!”

o!
M oo

!
alive
I ’m
U gh!
Smack
!
Smack
!
 HOT CHOCOLATE
OR A MILKSHAKE?

I was feeling like my old self again when

Fluttercow announced, “We’ve landed just in

time for
breakfast! What do you prefer: hot
chocolate, a cappuccino, a smoothie , or a
milkshake? What avor?”
At rst I was thinking maybe the butter y-

cow might have been smacked in the head

during her battle with the vultures and wasn’t

thinking CLEARLY, but then I remembered

something. Fluttercow had the power to make all

kinds of FLAVORED milk beverages!
Once we had decided on drinks, Chatterclaws

DISAPPEARED into his shell, returning with

some cheesy Danish. What a feast!
I was enjoying my breakfast so much I completely
 hee!
Hee,

!
Yum Chocolate
milkshake

Slurp! Vanilla
milkshake

Hot chocolate Cappuccino

Strawberry
smoothie

forgot we were on a dangerous mission. When

I was done eating I sighed happily and began

thinking about what I would have for lunch. A

strawberry smoothie? A CHOCOLATE

milkshake?

The possibilities were endless !

A second later Fluttercow brought me back to

reality. “Time to get MOOOVING!” she advised,

and soon we were soaring back into the sky.
 Luckily, we were

not attacked
by evil vultures this

time. Instead, we

ew through a
GRAY
cloud and landed in a

foggy GRAY valley.

We began walking on a
GRAY
path that led to a GRAY forest with
GRAY apple trees.
Eventually, we ended up in

e
wh e r
Wh -
we?
are

,
ome
We l c
!
gers
stran
a GRAY village with bizarre
houses shaped like apples. All around us

it sounded like a thousand voices were

weeping. How s t r a n g e !
Then someone approached us. It was a

gnome who was—you guessed it!—

completely
GRAY!
The gnome wore a GRAY apple-shaped hat on
his head, GRAY pants, GRAY boots, and,
well, you get the point . . . he was

GRAY.

aa h! ff ! !
Wa Sni Sniff
 With a sad voice, he said, “Welcome, strangers,

to Rainbow Valley ! I, Firebeard,

Leader of the Red-nosed Gnomes, welcome you.”

I coughed. I mean, I didn’t want to insult the

gnome by pointing out the obvious, but what can

I say? I’m a curious rodent. So I said, “We are

honored to meet you,

Firebeard. But . . . why

is this place called Rainbow Valley

everything around
us is
if GRAY?”
Before I could even nish, the gnome began to

weep,
blowing his nose on my cape. “Ah,
travelers who have come from far away . . . if you

only knew! Sob!”

I felt awful. First, because I had made the
gnome cry. And second, because he was making a

disgusting mess of my cape! Yuck!

While
Firebeard composed himself,

Chatterclaws pulled out the book on the

Kingdom of Fantasy and read aloud the page on

 Rainbow
Rainbow Valley is located in the northeastern

region of
Valley
the Kingdom of Fantasy. The valley

has a beautiful waterfall, a crystal lake, and

thriving apple trees bearing large, red, delicious

fruit. In the middle of the valley is the Village of

the Red-nosed Gnomes, famous

for their award-winning

apple juice and cheerful

dispositions.

Rainbow Valley . Apparently the place

used to be lled with COLOR.
“Yes, our village was bright and beautiful.”
Firebeard nodded, once he had calmed down. “But

one sad day, the Wizard of the Black

Pearl ew over our land and demanded I
hand over the enchanted charm given to me by

Blossom.”

The gnome wiped away another tear as he

continued the story. “Of course I refused to give

 here!
it
Give

er!
nev
,
No
up the charm, and the wizard ew into a

rage. He proclaimed that he would punish

our entire village by taking away our

happiness.
“Before we knew what was happening,
he used the black pearl around
his neck to suck the COLOR out of
everything around us . . . the houses, the

elds, and even our clothes and skin! Since

then we’ve tried many times to make the apple
juice we’re famous for, but because the apples
are
GRAY, the juice is, well, not exactly juicy,
if you know what I mean.”

I felt a PA N G of sympathy for the gnomes.

Bad apple juice for these gnomes would be like

making bad
cheese for us rodents. What a
nightmare!

App
le
Juice

aa h!
Wa closed
 Firebeard dried his tears once again and

nished sadly, “So we have no more colors,

no more apple juice, and no more happiness

in our village. If only the PIXIE

would help us . . .” PAINTERS
I blinked. “Who are they?” I said.
 ALL FOR US, AND
NONE FOR YOU!

Firebeard let out a long sigh and pointed to a spot

in the distance where, behind the hills encircling

the valley, a beautiful rainbow

shon
“Do you see those hills? There, at the end of the
e.
rainbow, SEVEN PIXIE PAINTERS
the
live. They possess the secret of colo , which
they’ve guarded for centuries. Whenr the wizard

stole our colors, we asked the pixies for help, but

they refused.”

“How terrible!” I squeaked.

“How rude!” shouted the crab.
“How udderly unbelievable and selfish !”
declared Fluttercow.

Then I told the gnome, “I’ll convince the Pixie

Painters to share!”
 At this, Firebeard began to cry again,
blowing his nose loudly in my cape. Honk! “But

you’ll never do it! Those pixies are too stubborn!”

he wailed.
I cut him off. “It’s worth a try,” I said. I wasn’t
sure I could convince the pixies to
share, but I
was sure of one thing: I needed to get my c ap

to the cleaner’s. It was a mess!

e wort
h
It’s
a try!
It’s
hope
less
. . .

We ew through the night and reached the Pixie

Valley at dawn. Hiding behind a rock, we spied

seven pixies
DANCIN and singing :
“WeGare the Pixie Painters!
We are never sad or blue,
for we own the rainbow colors:
They’re all for us, and none for you!”
“Can you believe these guys?” Chatterclaws

whispered. “I mean, would it really kill them

to share their COLORS? I’m going to

scuttle over there and give them each a good hard

pinch!”
I had to agree with the crab. These pixies needed

to be taught a lesson in sharing. Still, something

told me PINCHING them wasn’t really

the answer, so I said, “Hold on. I think we need to
use our
BRAINS to convince them.”
The pixies had each grabbed a paintbrush and

started painting. But instead enjoyin

of

their individual colors, they argued with one

another.
g
 none
All for us .
. . . . . and
for you!
 One pixie bragged, “I am BLUE like the sea.
You wish you could be me!”

Another, the yellow pixie, snickered. “I am

yellow like the sun. Your color is no fun!”

Then the RED

pixie said to the GREEN
pixie, “That green makes me sick! You look like a

pickle! Ick!”

I
I You am
am r yell
You c o lo ow
blu r like
w is h e is
like no th e
you fu n ! su n
cou th e .
T h at ld sea.
g re en m a k es be
me si ck ! m e!
You look like a
pickle!
Ick!
 Soon enough, paint began ying all over the

place.

We watched in fascination as blobs of red

orange, YELLOW, green, BLUE ,
,

INDIGO, and violet soared through the air.

Talk about a colorful argument!

a ower. .
like b est !
is p r
etty so u r! th e rest
Violet totally is the
is o all
color n d ig
Your I tha
n
ter
Bet

hee!
hee,
Hee,
 ALLOW ME TO
INTRODUCE
MYSELF
After watching the Pixie Painters, it was pretty

clear they wouldn’t be winning any

kindne
awards. So how would we get through to a mean

pack of pixies ?
ss
Right then Chatterclaws muttered, “I’ve got an

idea.”

He scuttled into his shell and came out with

an artist’s beret on his head, a magnifying

glass in his left claw, and a painter’s palette
in his right. He strode out from behind the

rock, examining the

RAINBOW with
his magnifying glass. “Oh, good day to you,

kind pixies!” he said in a strange accent. “This

rainbow is lovely! Is it your work?”

 Hmmm . . .

Immediately, the pixies stopped arguing and

boasted, “As certainly as sunshine follows rain, it’s

our rainbow!”

The crab handed them a business card and

said, “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Master

Claws Of the Seven Colors, Rainbow Expert!

I am traveling through

the Kingdom of Fantasy MASTER

CLAWS
OF
on a mission to nd THE
SEVEN COLORS
the Most Beautiful

Rainbow Ever Known, RAINBOW EXPERT

to AWARD it with
a special certi cate signed by Queen

Blossom.”
 They were shocked . “We didn’t

know there were any R A I N B O W

E X P E R T S . . .”

“Yes, well, I am an expert, all right. As

EXPERT as they come. I know everything

about whatchamacallits, I mean, . colors

!
Youch

!
hee
ha, ha!
hee, H a,
,
H ee ho!
Ho, ho,

Pinch!
Yep, that’s me —just ask my assistant,” the crab

babbled.

Then he pinched me on the tail and I let out

a YELP, causing the pixies to double over in
laughter.
Encouraged by their laughter, Chatterclaws said,

“Actually, I was wondering, dear friends, if you

might do me a favor. You see, I seem to way!

No
c o lo r s
be a bit short on paint, and I was hoping O ur

you kind pixies could loan me

stay!

some of your colors.” He held out his

empty palette for the pixies to see.

But the seven pixies all screamed, “We

do not give our colors

away! They’re
ours alone. Right here they’ll stay!”

Thinking fast, I said, “So tell us,

talented PIXIE PAINTERS,

how do you get your colors?”

The RED pixie stepped forward and said,

 “Our colors come from our

emotions, not from fancy

magical potions.” With the

paintbrush in his hand, he

painted part of a RAINBOW.

The paint just appeared on the

brush, like magic!

Suddenly, an idea came to me.

First, I needed to tell the pixies a

very sad story. The saddest story I
could think of!

So I began, “Long ago, in a faraway

land, lived a beautiful princess with

BLACK TURQUOISE
hair,
eyes, and skin as W H I T E as ivory. She
wore a pink silk gown covered with GREEN
emeralds and RED rubies. In her palace garden,

thousands of
colorful owers grew.”
“Ohhh, how beautiful! How amazing!” the
pixies all murmured dreamily.

I continued, “One terrible day, an evil witch,

JEALOUS of the princess’s beauty, decided

to steal all her colors. She snuck into the princess’s

palace in the middle of the night and took every

single color . . .”

story has
Your
Waah!
to te a r s !
us
m ov e d
 “Oh, how horrible!” wailed the pixies,
beginning to cry.

The pixies’ tears were colorfu

as

as the rainbow. It was exactly what I was hoping

l
for! Tears of red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo, and violet spilled onto the grass. Now all

we had to do was capture the colors. But how? If

only I had thought of this little problem before the

pixies started bawling

. ..
I was about to start crying myself when the crab

jumped to his claws. He gave me

a wink, then quickly ran from

one pixie to the next, gathering

all of the COLORS on his

palette.

As soon as Chatterclaws had collected

the tears, we ran back to Fluttercow.

“Hey, where’s our award for theMost
Beautiful Rainbow Ever Known?”
the pixies shouted before we left.

That’s when Chatterclaws tossed them a

certi cate. It read, “AWARD FOR THE STINGIEST

PIXIES IN THE K I N G D O M OF FANTASY!”

FOR
AWA R D
IEST
STING
THE
IN THE
S
PIXIE
OF
DOM
KING
S Y
FA N T A
 LET’S GET
TO WORK!

When we returned to the village, the gnomes

cheered. Nothing like all the colors of the rainbow

to brighten a
GRAY day!
Still, before we painted the whole place,
we decided to do a test. Chatterclaws painted all of
the apples on one tree RED. Then Firebeard took

them to the Apple Juice Factory.

 The apples were pressed and squashed to make

juice. The resulting liquid was as golden as honey,

perfectly sweet , and smelled better than I

ever could have imagined.

I mean, I still love my mozzarella milkshakes

better than any other beverage, but this apple juice

was whisker-licking good ! Now I

understood why it was once the most famouse in

all the Kingdom of Fantasy!

We toasted to the inhabitants of Rainbow
Valley, then Chatterclaws cried, “Okay, enough

celebrating! Let’s get to work!”

We grabbed paintbrushes and began adding

COLOR to everything: red roofs, green

plants, yellow daisies, blue streams . . .
 How
rful!
wo n d e

!
Hooray

Heave
ho!

How many apples on

the trees still need
to be colored?
 A li tt le ye ll o w h er e!

for
y
Hoora
U h -o h . .. c o lo r !
 Firebeard grinned from ear to ear. It felt great
to see the gnome smiling. Plus, it felt even better

not to have him crying and BLOWING his

nose in my cape! Ugh! I shuddered, remembering.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. Firebeard was

smiling away, and then he asked us, “How can we

ever thank you, friends?”

I showed him the

RING with Blossom’s

seal and quickly explained about our mission to

collect the s e v e n enchanted charms. We
were hoping the gnome would give us the third
char m to add to the golden chain.

“Of course,” the gnome agreed. “You have

proven I can trust you.”

He rummaged in his coat and pulled out the

MEDALLION OF THE SUN AND

THE M O O N , a golden charm enameled in
bright colors, showing the sun and the moon
entwined.
 MEDALLION OF THE
SUN AND THE MOON
The Third
Charm
This precious golden medallion is decorated with

brightly colored enamel, in the shape of the sun

and the moon entwined. This charm has been
guarded for a thousand years in the Village of the

Red-nosed Gnomes, by their leader, Firebeard.

This charm has the power to lengthen the night
or the day.
 WHAT KIND OF
COFFIN WOULD
YOU LIKE?
I strung the medallion on the chain along with

the other charms. Then the gnomes gave

us a boxful of —what else? —bottles of

apple
Finally, it was time to leave, but
juice !
Fluttercow pulled me aside. “Sir Knight,

would you mind if I stayed here?” she

whispered. “This place is so mooooving!

It’s extra colorful, just like me!”
What could I say? Of course, I agreed. “We’ll

miss you,” I told the butter y-cow. “But thank you

for all your help. And don’t worry about me. I’ll

still have Chatterclaws.”

 laws?
Sandyc
Aunt

Just then the Chatterphone

rang, and the crab rushed to

pick up.

“Hello, this is Chatterclaws . . . Aunt

Sandyclaws, is that you? How are the crablings?

What? You’re in danger? Why? The
Wizard of the Black Pearl? He’s draining
Scorpion Fish Bay? But that’s where we live! Huh?

The wizard wants revenge because I’m helping

the knight? Of course . . . Don’t worry . . . I’ll
be right there, crab’s honor!”

Chatterclaws hung up looking f r a n t i c . “I’m

so sorry, Sir Knight, Aunt Whatsit —I mean, the

e!
t ro u b l
in
We ’r e
whatchamacallit—I mean, there’s not a moment

to lose!”

Have you ever tried to talk to a stressed-

out crab? Let me just say, it’s not easy.

Chatterclaws’s pincers were ying all over the

place! It was downright dangerous!

Eventually, he managed to calm down enough

to explain the situation. It seemed that the

Wizard of the Black Pearl had

built a dam and was draining the bay where

Chatterclaws’s family lived.

“I must go immediately to Aunt Sandyclaws

and her 113 crablings . I’ll rejoin you when I

can,” the crab nished.
I told Chatterclaws not to worry—family

should always come rst. And even though I was

dy i n g to ask how Aunt Sandyclaws kept track

of 113 crablings, it didn’t seem like the right
time.
 Still, I did have one question: “How do I get to

the To w e r i n g P e a k s ?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you,” Firebeard offered. “The Towering

Peaks are the mountains in

HIGHEST
the Kingdom of Fantasy. The guardian of the
fourth charm is the only one who lives
there. His name is Blizzard , and he’s a

he
D -d -d o es
li k e m ic e?

w h it e
A fe ro ci o u s
li ve s th er e!
w o lf
 FEROCIOUS white wolf, who loves fresh
meat . . .”

“You mean like m-m-mouse meat?” I stammered.

Chatterclaws interrupted. “I hate to tell you,

Knight, but he loves it! In fact, it’s said that the

wolf has been waiting centuries for one particular

mouse. Hey, maybe that’s you! Better be

careful, or you might be his breakfast, or lunch, or

dinner, or snack, or—”

“Thanks, I get it,” I choked. “Any life-
saving advice for me?”

“Tuna” “Octopus”
model model
“Oyster” model,
“Sardine - tin”
with velvet lining
model:
comfortable
and compact
 The crab sighed. “Let’s see. You’re going to

a deserted place, where the only inhabitant

is a FEROCIOUS wolf who loves mouse

meat . . . hmm, I’d say, good
Then he added, “But I have a cousin who owns
a
luck!”
funeral home, and I’ll make sure he takes care

of you if you lose your fur on the To w e r i n g

Peaks. What kind of cof n do you want?
Do you prefer the oy s t e r model, lined with

RED VELVET, or the sardine-tin model?

And for your headstone, do you want one shaped

like a tuna or like an octopus?”

By this time I was

shaking so hard I
couldn’t squeak.

“Don’t worry,”

the crab continued.

“All will go well . . .

maybe. You’ll probably

survive, and we’ll see each other soon. . . well,

who knows. In any case, break a leg.”

I squealed, “ Break a
After I said leg?
good-bye
” to everyone, I took off. I

thought I heard the crab shout something about

watching out for the White Spies , but
I wasn’t really listening. No, I was too busy feeling

sorry for myself.

RATS! I
was missing my new friends
already, and I had taken only a few steps!

Sigh . . .
TheDiamond
Search For
Star The
 3
1

7
 8

11

10

12
1. ETERNAL ICE PASS
2. BLUE SHIVER PATH
3. WHITE SPY SLOPE
4. CREVASSE OF THE ICY DEPTHS
5. FRIGHTENING GLACIER
6. WATERFALL OF ICE
7. STORMY PEAKS
8. STAR
9. BLIZZARD’S LAIR
10. TWISTING STREAM
11. TOWERING PEAKS
12. LAKE FROZEN WHISKERS
 WE ARE THE
WHITE SPIES!

I walked for days and days as my heart grew

heavier and heavier. I was lonesome
for my friend Chatterclaws. I admit it —I missed

his chattering, and even his pinches!

Finally, I reached the steep, icy path that led to

the base of the Towering Peaks.

The climb was very dif cult. I slipped on the

ice with each step, while the howling

pushed me around this way and that as if I
wind were a
yarn doll.

I was glad that the Red-nosed Gnomes had given

me that apple j u i c e along with some snack

bars to keep up my strength.

When I reached the middle of my climb, I heard

tiny voices shouting, “We are the White

Spies, sent by the Wizard of the Black Pearl!
How dare you climb our mountain!”

Then I heard a wicked cackle and saw

what looked like an avalanche of snow crashing

toward me! It was made of thousands of snowballs

with EVIL little eyes.

Heeeelp!”
I barely had time to yell, “

But there was

no one to help me.

He
ee
elp
!
 Within minutes I was overcome by the snow

hurtling down the mountain. I ended up

completely buried in snow. Frozen feta!
Would I ever escape from this prison of snow? I

couldn’t even tell which way was UP and which

was down !

I tried to make some space, digging

out a nook to move around in. Still, time

was running out. I needed air! I was so

scared, tears began to roll down my

forehead . . . drip! drip! drip!

Wait . . .
DOWN my forehead? It

was then that I realized that I was stuck

in the snow upside down! Now I knew which

DIRECTION I needed to dig!

I ipped over and started to dig as quickly

as possible, but it wasn’t easy. My paws were

freezing, and my teeth were chattering.

BRRRR!
 Oh, how I wished there was a way to WARM
UP!
If Chatterclaws were with me, he would have

invited me into the Chatterhouse and made me a

nice cup of
HOT CHEESE!
Or he would have had a
SHOVEL to dig
with . . .

I began to feel sleepy. Could I catch a tiny little

ratnap? “NO!” a voice inside me screamed. “If

you sleep, you’ll end up a
frozen mousicle!”
With a nal burst of energy, I dug until, at last,

I burst from the snow.

I didit ” I squeaked.
“

I wish I could say I

! celebrated
Oo
of !
with a delicious four-
cheese pizza, but
instead disaster

struck. First,

I heard
Ow
BAN
!
ww lliiin g
! faaaa
I ’m

an evil c a c k l e. Then an enormouse

piece of ice struck me on the head. Then I fell
off a cliff!
I saved myself by ha ng ing on to the edge
of the cliff by only my pawnail.

Squeeeak!

The next thing that happened was totally

UNBELIEVABLE. Somehow I managed

to pull myself up to safety! Don’t ask me how

I did it. Maybe I was so afraid of becoming a

scrambled mouse I gained HEROMOUSE

strength!

to
want
I don’t
a h!
Aaaa mouse!
d
s c r a m b le
become
 NICE WOLFY . . .

I continued my journey with trembling paws,

following the icy path that
glittered in the
moonlight.

The wind continued to slow me down and

freeze my whiskers and my tail. After one last

dif cult step, I found myself at the top of an icy
peak.

I sat down to catch my breath, when suddenly

a large, dark shape with four legs, small ears, and

two GOLDEN eyes appeared before me.

I gnawed my whiskers in fear. Something
told me it wasn’t one of Santa Paws’s reindeer

welcoming me to the neighborhood.

A minute later the shape began to growl.
 I wanted to run, but my paws were frozen to the

spot!

Then the creature took a step forward and

I saw that it was an enormouse wolf with pure

white fur.

elp!
Hee
 Suddenly, I understood. This had to be

Blizzard , the white wolf. Well, I certainly

could see where he got his name. His white fur

blended right into the snow.

I looked around to see if there was any escape,

and that’s when I spotted another horrifying
sight. Piles and piles of BONES!
Holey cheddar chunks! What if these were the

skeletons of all the adventurers who came before

me looking for the fourth enchanted charm?
I looked up to nd the wolf staring at me like

I was a juicy steak at Cinderfur’s Sizzling

Steakhouse. He gnashed his sharp teeth.
Right then I remembered the crab’s words: “He’s

been waiting centuries for a particular mouse . . .”

Was it true? Was I that mouse?

The wolf took a step forward, still growling,

ears laid back, fur standing on end, looking

ready to attack!
 rrrr!
Grrrrrr

. .
olfy .
Nice w

“Nice wolfy . . .” I squeaked.

Suddenly, I noticed something. The wolf’s right

paw was bleeding, leaving prints in the snow. It

must have been hurt, because he was placing it
gingerly on the ground. Then I saw that there was

a large thorn in it!

Forgetting that he was probably about to eat me,

I said, “Would you like me to pull that thorn

out?”
 The wolf’s eyes narrowed suspiciously,
as if trying to gure out my real intentions.

I took a step forward, paws open wide, to show

that I wasn’t armed and that I came in peace.

Then I took his paw and delicately started to take
out the thorn.

The paw was swoll e n , and it must have

hurt a lot, because the wolf growled loudly. But

with one rm tug I pulled out the thorn and

showed it to him. “See? This thorn was hurting

you, but now it’s all over,” I told him. “Your paw

will heal quickly!”

I poured WATE R from my canteen

over the wound to clean it, and spread some
medicinal HERB salve that Firebeard had given
me on it. Finally, I ripped a strip of seaweed
from my cape and carefully used it to bandage

his paw.

I must say, the wolf was an excellent

patient. And when I nished tending to him, he

thanked me with a slurpy lick!

I knew then that his FEROCIOUS teeth
gnashing was just an act!

lic k !
L ic k ,
hee!
h e e,
H e e,
 GO NOW!

Even though the wolf was now my friend, I still

had a problem. I had to nd the fourth CHARM.

I stood waiting for a sign , a signal, a text

message . . .

As if in response to my
THOUGH , the
white wolf turned to the moon and howled. I
TS
raised my snout, and in the dark sky I saw millions

of stars !
!
oo oooo
Awoo
 All of a sudden, one star shone brighter
than the others.

Then I heard a voice say, “That star is the

FOURTH CHARM. You must go and

capture it.”
I looked around, confused, because
there was no one else there—only the wolf.

The voice repeated, “Go now. Quickly!”

It was then that I realized it was the whit

wolf who was speaking! But his voice e been
had
only in my head. How can I get that star ? I

thought.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you,” I heard in my head.

I grinned. He could hear my thoughts! I

wondered if I could learn how to read minds when

I got back home. Sometimes squeaking can

be soooo overrated.

I was still thinking about reading minds when

the wolf took a deep breath and blew hard into
the freezing night air.

Like magic, his breath froze into a shining

i c e bridge, which led all the way up to the

star! The wolf bowed so that I could jump on

his back. Then he began to race along the
icy
bridge, up into the night sky.

I tried not to look at the dizzying view.

 Did I

mention
I’m afraid of

heights? And of

slipping on the ice,

SPIDERS , snakes,
elevators, and especially the

dark? On all sides of the shining

bridge was endless dark .

How terrifying!
Still, I tried to be strong. After all, I
remembered, in order to get the FOURTH
CHARM I had to prove my courage.
 After about a BILLION years racing along
the icy bridge (well, okay, it wasn’t quite that long),

we nally reached the bright shining star. The

wolf nudged me to reach for it, and so I did. The

star was small and sparkled with the light of

a thousand diamonds!

r!
sta
e
Th
 THE DIAMOND STAR
The Fourth
The
Charm
Diamond Star is a small diamond-shaped
star that shines with golden light. It has an
extraordinary power: It gives courage to those
who have lost hope! This charm is guarded by
Blizzard, the white wolf who has lived in the
Towering Peaks for a thousand years. For a
thousand years the wolf has waited to return to
his tribe and for the one mouse who is destined
to be entrusted with the fourth charm.
 The wolf wagged his tail with satisfaction.
Then I heard his voice in my head. “For a thousand

years I’ve been the guardian of the Diamon

Star, the fourth enchanted charm.d And for a
thousand years I’ve been waiting for one special
mouse. A mouse who is strong, brave, and
COURAGEOUS. Now that you have reached me,

I can pass the precious Diamond Star on to you

and nally return to my tribe, the tribe of the

WHITE
WOLVES.”
d!
f r ie n
My
 I grinned. Who would have guessed I, Geronimo

Stilton, or, er, Sir Geronimo of Stilton, could be

strong, brave, and COURAGEOUS !

I puffed up my chest and suddenly felt a new sense

of daring and con dence.

Unfortunately, the feeling didn’t last long. A

moment later the wolf explained the next part of

my mission. “You must retrieve the Crystal

Feather found on the Crystal Planet. Many
heroes have tried to reach it, but no one has ever

succeeded . . . or returned,” he said.

As my whiskers trembled in fear, my mind

lled with questions and worries. How would I get
to the CRYSTAL PLANET? How would I nd the
Crystal Feather? Why couldn’t these adventures

take place somewhere fun, like a beach resort or

cheese factory?
“Don’t worry— I will help you,” Blizzard
continued soothingly. Oops, I had forgotten he

was reading my mind! How humiliating!

The next thing I knew I was sitting on the wolf’s

back. Then he launched into a gallop across

the icy bridge, until we were right next to a comet

with a long, shining tail.
“Quickly, Sir Knight, grab hold of that comet.

You can do it!” the wolf told me.

I was about to explain to the wolf about my

fear of FLYING, but before I knew what was
happening, he threw me toward the comet! What

could I do? I grabbed on for dear life and shot

off into the darkness. Oh, how do I get myself into

these scary situations?

The comet ew at
supersonicspeeds
through the starry sky. Each time it passed a

meteorite, I let out a squeal of terror. Headlines

ashed in my mind: Stilton, Lost in Space!;

Meteorite Melts Mouse!

 !
a hhhh
A aaa
 Eventually, though, the meteorites FADED
away, and there were fewer stars. I started to

feel peaceful in the silent sky. We continued on

through the dark night until I saw a tiny planet

SHINING up ahead, getting closer and

closer . . .
The SearchFFor
crySTal The
eaTher
 1

2
4

1. CRYSTAL MOUNTAINS
2. SEA OF A THOUSAND MIRRORS
3. THE OAK OF TRUTH
4. THE WAY OF THE PURE HEART
5. THE PATH OF FORGOTTEN HEROES
6. THE COMET’S LANDING PLACE
7. THE HILLS OF TRANSPARENCY
8. THE FOUNTAIN OF SINCERITY
9. THE GREAT STAR CLOCK
6

9
 CLINK! CLINK!
CLINK!

When the comet reached the planet, I

understood why it shone so brightly. It was

made entirely of s p a r k l i n g crystal!

The comet headed at top speed toward a

locked, majestic c r y s t a gate.

“Wait! I don’t have a key!” I squeaked.
l magic, the gate opened
But then, as if by

to let us pass. It seemed to be waiting for

our arrival!

HOW
STRANGE!
 Even stranger, the comet suddenly turned into a

maiden with long golden hair. Her voice sounded

like crystal glasses c li nk in g as she started

speaking.

“Traveler from far away, heed my advice:

You must nd the scale, a truth-telling device.

If you are sincere, then the fth charm is for you.

If not, then beware—you’ll turn into a statue!”

far away . . .
from
Traveler
 I gulped. I had no idea what the golden maiden

was talking about. What was a truth-

telling device? And where was I supposed
to nd it? Plus, what did she mean about turning

into a STATUE ? Oh, why did everyone always

have to speak in riddles? It was enough to drive a

mouse up a clock!

To make matters worse, before I could even ask

the maiden one question, she transformed back

into a comet and ZIPPED off into the sky.

“Come back!” I squeaked. But it was too late.

The comet was gone, and I soon found myself all

alone, LOST and afraid, on this mysterious

planet. I was feeling so lonely I burst into sobs, but
my tears clinked when they fell to the ground.

Clink! Clink!
Clink!
Had I been transformed into a statue made

of crystal? No—when I pinched myself, I still

squeaked. Holey cheese , what a scare!
I shook myself. “There’s no time to feel sorry

for yourself!” I said aloud, trying to give myself a

pep talk. “You’ve got to get that fth

charm to add to all of the other charms you’ve
collected, so you can help Blossom.”

Okay, I know it sounds a little weird that I was

talking aloud to myself, but I had no choice. I

couldn’t exactly WHIP out my cell phone and

call a friend. (For starters, I had forgotten to bring

my phone and, even if I had, I doubt the connection

would work way up in space.)

I walked along a
CRYSTAL path through a
valley with aCRYSTAL blue stream. Next to the
stream were colorful CRYSTAL owers, and
on the horizon I spied shimmering CRYSTAL

mountains.

Then I noticed a horrifying sight. Along the path

stood crystal STATUES. There were

knights, scholars, wizards, maidens, and more.

Each wore a SURPRISED expression.

I gulped. Cheese sticks! These were the heroes

mind
’t
D -d -d o n
-me!
m-m-m
who had tried to win the Crystal Feather. They

had been transformed into CRYSTAL

STATUES!
 CONGRATULATIONS!
YOU’RE HONEST!

Just then I heard a sweet song. I looked

around and saw a large scale made of gilded
crystal, and a nightingale, who was singing:

“Stranger who hails from far away,

listen closely to what I say!

To prove your worth, you must pass this test,

so sit on the scale — please be my guest.

If your heart is sincere,

you’ll have nothing to fear.

If you tell only lies,

it will be your demise!”

I
chewed my whiskers in a panic. This time
I understood the riddle. If I didn’t pass the test, I’d
be turned into a crystal statue!

SHAKING, I sat on one side of the scale.

Then the bird pulled a crystal feather from its

tail, placed it on the other side of the scale, and

began to
sing again:

“A sincere heart is feathery light.

A heart that lies is heavy and tight.”

Anxiously, I wracked my brain trying to

remember if I had told any lies. Well, there was
that one time when I told my aunt Sweetfur that

I liked the tie she had bought me for my birthday

when I really didn’t. But I just said that because I

didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
The sides of the scale started to move back and

forth, UP and down, UP and down, UP

and
dow
I closed my eyes. Would I stay a mouse, or
n!
 goes
Here
. . .
nothing
would I be transformed into a CRYSTAL
STATUE? I didn’t even want to think about
it!

When I opened my eyes I saw the scale had

settled. It was perfectly BALANCED!

CHEESE NIBLETS! What a relief.

With a ourish, the bird presented the Crystal

Feather to me, singing, “Congratulations —you

for you!
Just

Feather!
Crystal
T he
 THE CRYSTAL
FEATHER
The Fifth
Charm
The fifth charm is a beautiful crystal feather, as
light and clear as a sincere heart. It’s as splendid

as the truth, which makes our hearts light when

we speak it, our eyes clear when we see it, and
our words beautiful when we utter it, because the

truth is always the best thing to say.

did it! You’re honest; it’s true! Now this special

feather will belong to you!”

I hurried to attach the charm to the

golden chain along with the other FOUR
CHARMS I had already acquired on my journey.

I was so relieved that I was not being turned into

a statue, I practically
sang with joy.
 OW!
IT BURNS!

I was so busy basking in my success I almost forgot

I was on a
c r y s t a l planet far off in the

galaxy. Suddenly, it occurred to me I had no way

to get off the planet!

Rat - mu n c h i n g
rattlesnakes!
Maybe I would end up lost in space after all!
Luckily, the nightingale came to my rescue. She

told me to hurry back to the L O N G path

and nd the golden maiden again. I could hitch
a ride with her when she turned back into a comet.
I raced along the path, paws f l y i n g. Just

in the nick of time I found the maiden, and we took

off into the night.

Whew!

We zipped past stars and planets until I realized

the sky was growing BRIGHTER and the
comet was growing paler. Oh, no!

I took out the Medallion of the Sun and the

Moon and wished that the night would last longer.

It worked! Soon, I saw the sea right below us.

Then I heard a voice call out, “

Yoo- ho o !
K ni gh t ”
!

H el p !

Knight!
!
Yoo-hoo
 It was Chatterclaws,

on board a strange hot-

air balloon! He waved his

claw and I waved back, but

just at that moment the star

I’m of the morning appeared.
falling!
The sky grew
bright
the comet disappeared,
,
and . . . I felllllll !
I thought I would fall

into the sea, but just then

I realized that there was a

rock below me, with a large

and mysterious castle
on it.

I was headed right for the

Blistering
roof!

blue cheese!
I was about to become
scrambled mouse casserole

(bones included)!

Instead, though, I fell

STRAIGHT down the

palace chimney.
Have you ever looked in

a chimney? They’re usually

H e e e lp !

dark and lled with

soot. This chimney was no
exception. I coughed all

the way down. Yuck!

I made a mental note to

tell the castle owners they

needed a chimney sweeper.

Right away!

The good news is: Instead

of falling onto a hard stone

oor and smashing my

poor furry body into
bits, I had fallen into the kitchen replace, right

into a POT full of vegetable soup. All the SOFT

pieces of vegetables broke my fall.

The bad news is: The soup had been on the re,

and it was BURNING hot! I jumped right out of

P L ASH !
S

It

bu r n s !
the pot, shouting, “ Ow! It burns!”
As I was shouting, I discovered that there

were hot peppers in the soup! I accidentally

swallowed one, and tears sprang from my eyes as

I cried, “ Ow! So
spicy!”

So spicy!
Ow!
 CRAB SOUP —
CLAWS INCLUDED!

A moment later, someone else hurtled down the

chimney, and, like me, fell into the pot of boiling

soup.

“
Ow! It burns!” the creature shrieked,
jumping out of the pot, just as I did.
It was Chatterclaws, who got up, muttering,

“ Sizzling s e aw e e d! I almost became

crab soup—claws included!”
 “I’m so glad you’re here!” I told the crab. “Did

you save your aunt and all the

crablings?”
“Yes!” he replied. “I called a meeting of my whole

family, and together we destroyed the dam that

was draining Scorpion Fish Bay!”
Then he grew serious and murmured, “Now

I need to tell you, Whatsyourface, you’ve fallen

straight into the right thingamajig, where you’ll

nd the next whatchamacallit . .

“I don’t understand a word you’re saying!” I
.”
protested.

He PINCHED me. “It’s not your fault,

Whatsyourname. You were probably BORN
this way. I mean, you can’t help it if you don’t
understand any thingamabobs . . .”

Finally, I squeaked, “Please stop! I need to nd

the place where the

sixth charm
is hidden!”
He shook his head. “That’s what I’ve been trying

to tell you! We’re already here!”

 My eyes widened. “Huh? Do you mean to

say that this is the whatchamacallit — I mean, the

right place?”

The crab sighed. “Must I spell everything

out for you? The answer is yes! We’re already
here!” Chatterclaws exclaimed, disappearing into

his shell.

At rst I thought he had gone inside to take a

nap. Was I that annoying? But a minute

later he returned carrying The Dictionary of the

Kingdom of Fantasy and showed me a picture of

a place called
the Castle of Dreams.
“So that’s where I’ll nd the Silver
U n i c o r n,” I said.
“Yes, it’s here,” the crab agreed, lowering his

voice. “But you’d better be careful. The Castle of

Dreams isn’t exactly dreamy. In fact, it’s full of

t rap s ! ”
TS S
HE ILVER EARCH U
FOR
NICORNTHE
 12
11

1
5

2 3
 10

7
4

1. GARDEN
2. KITCHEN

8 3. DINING ROOM
4. BALLROOM
5. LIBRARY
6. BATHROOM
7. MAZE OF MIRRORS
8. ROOM OF DISAPPOINTMENT
9. FEATHER ROOM
10. SECRET TAPESTRY ROOM
11. BEDROOM
12. WALK-IN CLOSET
 THE CASTLE
OF DREAMS

Even though I was thrilled that we had fallen

from the sky directly into the Castle of
Dreams, our next destination (what were the
chances of that?), I was worried.

For one thing, I always found castles a little scary.

On the outside, they looked MASSIVE
and SPOOKY. And on the inside, they had lots

of secret corridors and high ceilings that

made everything echo when you

squeaked. k!
Squea
I tried to ask Chatterclaws

about the TRAPS, but

. .
he just snorted. on .
Go
“What? You

think I’ve
got an instruction manual on the place?”

I sighed. I’d just have to keep my eyes open for

anything suspicious.

I grabbed a GOLDEN candelabra, and, with

the crab trailing after me, I began to explore the
rooms of that mysterious castle.
I have to say, the castle was every mouse’s

dream. I guess that’s where it got its name — the

Castle of Dreams! The entranceway was bright

CHEDDAR YELLOW, and there were bowls

of cubed cheese all around. The kitchen was huge

and had a MASSIVE refrigerator, an industrial-

size stove, and a full pantry.

The dining table was set with a FEAST

large enough to feed my family, my friends, my

friends’ friends, my neighbors, my neighbors’

friends . . . Well, you get the idea. There was a

TON of food!
There was a library with rare books; a
marble bathroom with a tub already full of

warm, cheese-scented water; and a closet with all

kinds of clothes in my size!

I must admit, I stayed for a while in the dining

room. How could I resist? The food was so tasty!

Wo w !
 I had some mac and cheese, slices of SWISS
on crackers, a pear and some Brie, and a piece of

chocolate cheesecake.

Yum
!Then, satis ed, I visited the kitchen and made
myself a nice mug of CHAMOMILE tea
help digest all that food. After waiting a few hours
to
to digest, I took a nice warm bubble bath.

How relaxing!
Then I sat in the large

BALLROOM on

a comfy velvet chair. At

the center of the room,

an invisible
orchestra was playing

sweet music.

Finally, I climbed
upstairs to the bedroom,
put on pajamas, got in bed, closed my eyes, and
started to snore.

That’s when I felt someone pinch my nose.

I woke up with a JUMP. “Ow!”

Chatterclaws was yelling in my ear,
Wake
“

up! Have you completely forgotten about the

search for the whatchamacallit—I mean, the

ENCHANTED ?”

CHARM
The crab scoffed and continued, “If you haven’t

already gured it out, all these beautiful whatsits

are just illusions, prepared by the Wizard of
the Black Pearl to distract you from your
search for the charm!”

I rubbed my eyes unhappily. Rats! I was having

such a nice dream . . .

up!
Wake

A aah!
 TURN RIGHT,
NOW STRAIGHT,
NOW LEFT . . .
I got out of bed, threw aside the pajamas, and said

good-bye to the pillows. Oh, how I wished I could

take those pillows with me. They were sooooo

comfortable. Not too plush , not too hard. It
was like sleeping on a
cloud
I started down the corridor with the crab
!
followed me, pinching my tail now and then “to
keep me awake.” Ouch!

Eventually, we found ourselves entering an

immense room. By the entrance, a sign said maze

of mirrors.
As soon as I looked around, I realized that the

sign was a good description. It was a labyrinth full

of mirrors!
 The walls were made of h u g e mirrors,
re ecting off each other so every image appeared

thousands of times! Moldy mozzarella! I was

getting dizzy just standing still!

Worried, I asked Chatterclaws, “How will we
make it through the maze without getting lost?”
Tapping a claw to his forehead, he boasted, “Don’t

worry, Sir Knight, I found a map of the MAZE

in The Dictionary of the Kingdom of Fantasy.
I’ve got it all right here in my whatchamacallit— I

mean, my BRAIN — turn by turn!”

That made me feel a little more con dent.

We entered the maze and continued along our

way with Chatterclaws shouting out directions,

right! Now straight! Now LEFT . . . now

“Turn

right . . . now straight . . . now LEFT . . .”

But after a while, disaster struck. Chatterclaws

stopped shouting directions. He had forgotten

them!
 “Oops,” he muttered.

I sat down and began to sob. How could this be

happening to me? I was a GOOD . I

never caused any trouble.

MOUSE
Well, there was that one

time when I accidentally cut in front of an old lady

mouse at the Shop and Nibble. She was so TINY , I

didn’t even see her!

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, I was wailin

away about being lost forever, never
gnding the
Silver Unicorn, never completing the mission

and blah, blah, blah, when suddenly something

STRANGE happened.
The Diamond Star that I wore around my neck

began to shine, pointing the way out of the

labyrinth!

The LIGHT led us to the center of the

maze, where I discovered. . .the
Silver
U n i c o r n! Without thinking, I grabbed the

charm.
 “ IT COULD BE A TRICK! ” Chatterclaws tried to

warn me.

But it was too late.

Suddenly, the oor opened beneath

me and I fell into a trap set by the

Wizard of the Black Pearl. And as

I fell, I realized the charm wasn’t even the real

thing. How did I know? The unicorn’s eyes weren’t

blue . They were BLACK pearls!

 a trap!
It’s
 TRY NOT
TO SNORE!

I fell into the trap with a loud thud ! Above

me, I saw the crab, shaking his head and waving a

claw. “I told you so,” he scolded.

so
!
Then, sighing, he pulled a
u
yo ladder woven from seaweed out of
ld
to
I his shell and threw it down to me.

Slowly, I climbed back up to the

top.

After showing Chatterclaws

the FAKE unicorn, we continued

the search for the real charm.

The
Diamond
showed us the way to go.
Star
Turn by turn, we left the

winding
MAZE OF MIRRORS.
We found ourselves in a large, ornate room with

gold spiraled columns and a black-and-

white marble oor. On each marble tile

there was carved a COAT

OF ARMS . It showed a
shield divided in two, with

a feather on one side and a

unicorn on the other.

I stared at the oor, thinking.

The picture of the UNICORN had to THE FAKE
CHARM
mean something . . . but what?

“Well, what do we do now?” the crab asked,

TAPPING his claw impatiently on the tile.

To tell the truth, I had no idea what to do next.
But I didn’t want Chatterclaws to get on my case,

so I said, “I’m thinking.”

I stared at the oor until the images swam

before my eyes. What did they mean?

Just then I focused on something strange. On

the wall in front of me was a STONE plaque
with the same COAT OF ARMS carved
into the stone: the feather and the UNICORN. It was

then that I realized the shape of the feather was

identical to the fth enchanted charm, the

Crystal Feather!

the sam e
It’s
 ONE TILE IS

DIFFERENT FROM
THE REST.
WHICH IS IT ?

assage!
p
et
secr
A
 I grabbed the feather and placed it against the

coat of arms. It t perfectly into the carving! It

seemed to be a key— the wall

SPRANG
open and started to rotate, revealing a secret

passage that led to a hidden room!

In the room was a huge tapestry that showed

a beautiful GREEN valley, a unicorn with a

silver horn, and a young maiden. A crystal clear

waterfall gushed in the background.

Written at the bottom of the tapestry were these

words:

If you fall asleep right here,

your dreams will turn crystal clear!
So go to sleep and dream away,
and you will have a better day!
 s!
marvelou
How
 THE POWER
OF DREAMS

Chatterclaws grinned. “It’s your lucky day,

What’syourname! You said you were sleepy, and

now you need to dream in order to nd the next

charm!”

Then he curled up inside his seashell, yawning,

“Sweet dreams. And try not to snore, okay?”

A moment later, he was the one snoring!

 Luckily, I was so tired I fell asleep despite the

snoring and began to DREAM. . .

I dreamed that I was inside the tapestry! I heard

the chirping, the leaves rustling, and

birds

the water in the brook babbl in

g
I followed a path that led to a clearing. A moment
.
later, the maiden and the unicorn appeared. “We

are the guardians of the sixth charm. Only those

who know how to dream may receive this

gift,” they said in unison. “Your dreams are full of

goodness, which is why you can understand us.”

I was amazed. Who would guess I would nd

the CHARM in a dream, or that a unicorn and

a maiden could speak so well in unison! How did

they do that?

The maiden and the unicorn led me to the

babbling brook. I couldn’t believe it: At the bottom

shimmered the S i l v e r U n i c o r n
charm!
 But when I grabbed it, I felt myself spin in a
vortex. Holey cheese! Was it another trap ?

No. A second later, I woke up with the charm in

my paw!

Now there was only one last charm left to nd.

Then my MISSION would be complete!
 The Silver Unicorn
The Sixth
The Silver Unicorn is a small silver charm shaped
like
Charm
a unicorn, with eyes made of two precious
turquoise stones. It is guarded in a secret room
inside the mysterious Castle of Dreams. This
charm represents the importance of dreams.
Only one who knows how to dream of beauty
and goodness with their eyes closed and with
their eyes open can change the world.
 YOU HAVE A
SWIMSUIT, RIGHT?

I found myself back in the room with the

tapestry, clutching the Silver Unicorn in my

paws. I slid the charm onto the chain with the

others, and we headed for the front door of the

castle.
I was thinking the worst was over, but when

we got outside, a frightening storm raged.

Waves CRASHED against the rock, and
terrifying ashes of LIGHTNING lit up the sky.

“Well, the only way back to land is to swim.

You have a swimsuit, right?” Chatterclaws said in

a strangely calm voice.

“Are you out of your shell?!” I squeaked. “There’s

no way I’m going swimming in the middle of a

raging storm!”
 Chatterclaws laughed. “Oh, don’t be such a

drama mouse, Whatsyourface!” he scoffed.

“Just think, if you get hit by a lightning bolt,
you’ll have a really interesting story to tell . . . if

you live. Plus, I have a relative who works in a

hospital, so if we need to REVIVE you, he can
help! But I can’t guarantee you’ll live.”

I grabbed on to a ROCK and

shouted, “No, I can’t do it! I’m afraid

of the ocean!”

Just then I heard a frightened

voice shout, “Help!”
!
storm
a
at
Wh
 On the rock in front of me, there was a yellow

sh with blue stripes wriggling in terror,

gasping for breath.

Forgetting about the storm, I ran to him and

tossed him back into the water.

As he swam through the waves, I heard
him cry, “Thank you, kind Knight. You saved my

life! If you ever need anything, you can count on

FINN! That’s me!”

I had just said good-bye to the fish
when I saw an enormouse hurricane

forming in the distance, leaving huge

waves in its path.

At its center were two evil eyes — searching

for us! A deep voice thundered, “I WILL GET
YOU! ”
Chatterclaws immediately burrowed into

his shell for protection. That seashell sure came

in handy. I mean, it wouldn’t help you escape a

 u !
yo
get
l
w il
I

hurricane, but

you could at least

get comfortable

before disaster
struck. Maybe
even have some

cheese slices or a few

cheddar potato chips.

I was thinking about

chips when the

hurricane lifted

us up and carried

us away, ending up

holding us over a huge

WHIRLPOOL.
A second later, the

hurricane dropped

us down

into
the deep sea, into a DARK and terrifying
cavern.

“I have b-b-bad news, Knight,” Chatterclaws

stammered, peeking out from his shell. “We’re in

the Mysterious Abyss!”

 The
Mysterious
Abyss

THE SEARCH FOR THE

GOLDEN P
EARL
 2

1. WHIRLPOOL GORGE
2. BLACK CORAL REEF
3. EMPTY SHELL DUMP
4
4. GREAT PEARL BANK
5. BOTTOMLESS ABYSS
6. PRISON OF DESPAIR
7. REFUGE OF LOST FISH
8. CAVE OF DEEPEST DARKNESS
9. CLIFF OF DREAMS OF FREEDOM
 6
7
5

8
 SQUISSSH! SWISSSH!
SQUISSSH!

“Deep breaths,” I told myself, practicing a stress-

relieving technique I had learned from my old

psychiatrist, DR.
SHRINKFUR
Unfortunately, the good doctor
.
had never

given me any tips on how to deal with a

monstrously terrifying GIANT SQUID!

us go!
L et
 Yep, you read that right! A GIANT SQUID had
appeared before us, staring with cold,
expressionless eyes.
Chatterclaws just had time to

shriek, “It’s been nice knowing you,

Knight!” before he fainted.

Then the squid grabbed us

with his long, slimy tentacle.

A a a a a h !
 The squid threw us into a small,

very dark and dreary cave.

The only light came from one tiny

window way up high.

Rancid rat hairs!

Things weren’t looking good. How

would we ever get out of this place?

I thought about trying to bargain

with the squid, but he wasn’t exactly

the talkative type. Plus, I didn’t

really have any experience with

squid. What did they do for fun

besides
crawling along the
ocean oor, capturing
terri ed mice and crabs? Did

they read books? Go

to the movies?
Sigh . . .
Before I could

think of what to
say to him, the squid swam away.

SIGH...
Now I had no one to talk to.

Chatterclaws was still passed out in

his shell, and I was beginning to feel

like a total failure. The
darkness
lled me with sadness.

Just when I was feeling like

all was lost, I spotted something

s h i ni n g in my seaweed bag.
I placed a paw in the bag and

pulled out a little stardust .

It must have fallen in there when

I was traveling on the comet!

That light cheered me
up. Now I knew what

I had to do.

First I needed to Wow!

revive Chatterclaws,
so I picked him up and

shook him.
“Wake up!” I

squeaked. “I need

your help!”
 The crab crawled out of his shell, looking

annoyed. “Smoking sardines! Did you have to

shake so hard? You broke the chandelier

in my dining room!” he complained.

After apologizing, I pointed to the little window

above us and said, “Do you have something that

could help us get out of that window?”

Chatterclaws disappeared back in his shell and

reappeared with a rope with a hook on the end.

“Great!” I squeaked, getting excited.
I managed to snag the hook on the bars of the

window, then I climbed up the rope. Pushing my

nose through the bars I yelled, “ Help !

Suddenly, I spied Finn, the sh I had rescued!
”
“ I’ll help you! Be right back!” he cried,
swimming off.
 THE WIZARD OF
THE BLACK PEARL

As I waited in the prison, I thought about the

seventh charm, the GOLDEN
Where would I nd it? PEARL.

Just then, an icy voice called out, “Did you really

think you could escape me?!”

A tentacle opened
the door to our prison and

pulled us outside.

I was so scared I could

hardly breathe. Or maybe

that was just the tentacle

squeezing the life out of me!

GULP!
When we got outside we

saw the squid holding up a

dark shell with someone sitting on it, as if on a

throne. The dark gure wore a

long purple robe
and had a
black pearl around his neck.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to gure out we

had nally come face-to-face with the infamouse

Wizard of the Black

“So, you must be Sir Geronimo of Stilton,
Pearl !
otherwise known as the Knight of the Seven Seas.

You’re looking for the GOLDEN

right?” the wizard
PEARL,
sneered.

I coughed, hoping the wizard wouldn’t notice

I was shaking like a leaf. “I am here in the name

of Queen Blossom, to ask the guardian of the

Golden Pearl to give it to me!” I squeaked.
The wizard burst out with an evil laugh and

replied, “Well, you’ve found what you’re looking

for. But I have a surprise for you: The guardian is

Sid, the giant squid, but I’ve hypnotized him,

and now he is my slave!”
 THE GOLDEN
PEARLThe Seventh
The
Charm
seventh charm is a large golden pearl, kept
at the bottom of the sea inside a gorgeous golden
seashell. Its guardian is Sid, the giant squid. This
charm has the power to grant wishes to whoever
possesses it. This is why it must never end up in
the wrong hands!
 The crab and I cried out in outrage, but the

wizard wasn’t nished. “As for the GOLDE

Pearl, I have turned that into the Black
N
Pearl around my neck! And now you, who
have dared to CHALLENGE me, will get
the end you deserve!” he continued.

The wizard turned to Chatterclaws. “You will

end up in my soup!” he cried.

Then he turned to me. “And you will give me

what is mine. The golden chain with the six
enchanted charms. The moment

for my REVENGE
against Blossom has

come! As soon as
I have all of the

charms, no one

will be able to

defeat me!” he
declared.
 The wizard held the pearl, which grew larger.
It began to show us visions. On the surface were

terrifying pictures of people forced into

slavery, and Blossom as the wizard’s prisoner!

“This will be the fate of the KINGDOM OF

FANTASY as soon as I have the power!” he said,

triumphantly.

I’d like to say I thought of something clever to

say in return, but I didn’t. Instead, I burst into

tears. How
At
humiliating!
the wizard’s command, the squid grabbed

the necklace with the six charms from my neck.

Then it STRETCHED out another

tentacle and grabbed Chatterclaws.
The wizard laughed cruelly. “I’ve won, rodent!

But before I begin to conquer the Kingdom of

Fantasy, I will celebrate .. . with a nice bowl of

CRAB
SOUP
I was thrown
!”
back into the prison until . . .
a MIRACLE happened!
Finn appeared at my window, accompanied by a

HUGE white whale.

The WHALE smacked the window with its
tail, until the bars broke . . . and I was free!

Bang!
 OH, WHAT A
WAY TO GO!

I slipped out of the PRISON and saw

that Finn was accompanied by all kinds of sea

creatures. I met a squid with big BULGING

eyes, who stuck out a tentacle and shook my paw.

“I know what you did for my friend Finn! Thank

you!”

A big scorpion sh nodded in agreement, and a

young sardine swam over and gave me a high

ve with his tail.
I opened my eyes wide in astonishment.

I had never encountered so many sea creatures in

my life! There were tunas, lobsters, oysters, squids,

SEA URCHINS , and more . . . and they were all

SINGING
!
I smiled. I never imagined I’d feel so at HOME
 SONG OF THE SEA CREATURES

We are the creatures of the sea!

We choose our friends quite carefully.
If you are kind, honest, caring,
and good,

you are so welcome in

our
Weneighborhood!
care for each other,
it’s our rule underwater.
We protect everyone — every son,
every daughter.

Our motto is simple:

If you help others shine,
it will make your life brighter,
and you’ll feel quite divine!
 under the sea! I mean, usually I prefer sitting in

my beach chair to swimming in the ocean.

But a second later I had a terrible thought.

The Wizard of the Black Pearl was about to turn

Chatterclaws into crab soup!

Oh, what a way to go!

Quickly, I told the group of sea creatures about

Of course! ly!
De nite

C an
you
h e lp
m e?

THERE ARE TWO

IDENTICAL FISH. CAN

YOU FIND THEM ?

my crab friend’s situation. “The wizard has him

IMPRISONED in his kitchen!” I cried.

A chorus of ANGRY protests rose from the
crowd. I guess the thought of a BOILING crab
would get any group of sea creatures riled up.
A message began to spread throughout the sea

like a beating drum: “EVERYONE COME TOGETHER

you!
with
We ’r e
TO FIGHT THE EVIL WIZARD OF THE BLACK PEARL!”

Immediately, many other sea creatures arrived.

I saw sharks, orcas, and ENORMOUSE

who shouted, “ Down eels with the ”
wizard!
I must say, it was pretty impressive to see all
of the creatures banding together. That day would

de nitely go down in
ocean history as the day
not a single sh ate another sh, because they

were working together to ght the evil Wizard of

the Black Pearl.

A dolphin swam up to me. “Climb aboard,

friend!” he said. “We will LEAD the way to the

wizard’s cave!

Rats! I was hoping maybe someone else would

lead the way (like a WHALE) and I could follow

behind at a safe distance (like maybe a few miles

back!).

Still, what could I do? I jumped aboard, and

we took off.
 see
to
e off
We ’r d!
w iz a r
th e

We reached the entrance to the Cave of Deepest

Darkness, the place where the Wizard of the Black

Pearl had established his KINGDOM.

As I got closer, I smelled a terrible

odo
coming from that terrifying place . . . It was the

smell of nightmares!
r
 DEEPEST DARKNESS
CAVE OF THE

ENTRANCE
TO THE
WIZARD’S
CAVE
ENTER IF
YOU DARE!
 WE’RE FREE!

The entrance to the c av e looked like an

enormouse mouth ready to devour us!

Oh, why did I have to keep
DREAMING
and ending up in these crazy adventures?! Let’s

face it, they were always horribly SCARY, lled

with evil characters. It was enough to give a mouse
a nervous breakdown!
Still, there was no time to think about it now. I

had to nd the crab. So I slid off the dolphin and

forced myself to enter the wizard’s creepy cavern.

The cavern was an immense palace in

the shape of a huge sh SKELETON . It had
a long central hallway with many other hallways

breaking away from it.

At the end of each hallway was a prison cell,

where many sh were caged.

 There were prison cells for LARGE sh,

MEDIUM sh, and LITTLE sh. The TINIEST sh,

though, were shut up in special nets. Enormouse

sea creatures, like whales, were held at the bottom

of the
sea with gigantic chains attached to their
tails. Crustaceans, meanwhile, were imprisoned in

nets made of woven seaweed, and at the back

of the cavern there were special nurseries for the

baby sh.
I rushed from room to room, searching

anxiously for the kitchen where I knew

Chatterclaws had been taken.
And each time I met an imprisoned sh, I threw

open the door of its cell.

“ WE’RE FREE! ” each one cried,
happily.

All of the sea creatures that I freed joined our

group. There were lots of tearful reunions. After

all, some of the sh that had been CAPTURED
by the wizard hadn’t seen their relatives and

friends in years.

“My goodness, look how long you’ve

grown!” one mackerel said to another.

“I hardly recognized you with those pincers!” a

star sh said to a lobster.

free!
You’re
 I was getting a little teary-eyed watching
these reunions. Now I was more determined than

ever to nd Chatterclaws.

At last, we turned down a dark corridor

that led right to ... the wizard’s kitchen! And
there, hanging over a pot of BOILING water
was Chatterclaws!

With a horri ed cry, I raced toward him and

cut the net that held him. The crab clung to me

sobbing like a baby, “I knew you’d come for me,

Whatsyourname!”

I tried not to start sobbing myself. Don’t get me

wrong, I was
HAPPY to see the crab, but his
pincers were digging into my fur.
Ouch!
At that moment, I heard a rumblinglaugh
behind me. Something told me it wasn’t another

happy sea creature reunion.

I turned and saw that the Wizard of the

Black Pearl was standing at the kitchen door,

 t,
E x c e ll e n
t!
e x c e ll e n

Gulp!
sneering with satisfaction. “Excellent! Tonight at

dinner along with the crab soup, I will also have

SCRAMBLED
MOUSE
Cheese sticks! I was about
!”
to faint from
fear when I remembered all of the sea creatures
that were there to help me.

“You don’t scare me!” I told the wizard,

taking a step toward him.
 DESTROY THEM!

The wizard laughed again and snapped his

ngers. Suddenly, the immense palace began to

disappear. It had just been an illusion!

Before I could react, the wizard
snapped
ngers again. This time, the giant squid appeared
his
and raised up the wizard’s seashell throne.
The wizard pointed to us and ordered the squid,

“DESTROY THEM! ”

The squid headed for me, but I jumped onto the

back of a WHITE whale. Just in time!

 them!
D e s t roy

No!
 back!
Fight

!
ta ck
At
 H u h ?!

The squid lashed out, but

the whale responded with a

smack of his strong tail. A

terrifying duel began.

I held on to the back of

the whale for dear life. If

only I had thought to pack

a HELMET or some
goggles or maybe a gigantic
shield . . .
A hhh!
Just when I thought things

couldn’t get any scarier, the

wizard snapped his ngers

again and transformed the

whale into a TINY PINK

STARFISH!

Suddenly, I found myself

seated on nothing, and I

sank head over tail. Aaaaah!

 I would have HURTLED into the abyss if a
stingray hadn’t caught me on her soft back.

The ray smacked the squid hard with its long

tail, knocking the wizard off his throne.
Then a strange thing happened. As the wizard
fell, his hat ew off his head and he screamed. At

rst I thought he was embarrassed because he was

having a bad HAIR day, but then I realized it

was more than that.

Attack!
 “My hat! I need my hat! I’m POWERLESS
without my hat!” the wizard shrieked.

I couldn’t believe it! So that was the wizard’s

secret. His hat had magical powers! Who

would have guessed?

We watched in amazement as the wizard and

his hat began tumbling into the abyss. Luckily,

right before he fell I yanked the
golden
with the enchanted charms from around his neck.
chain
 my hat!
I need
I
 YOU MEAN
THIS?

After the wizard disappeared, the giant

squid blinked. His eyes no longer looked

cold. He smiled warmly at me.

“Thank you, Knight, for breaking

the SPELL cast on me by the evil

Wizard of the
Pearl!
Black At last I am free!”

free!
’re
You
 I smiled at him. “No problem, Sid,” I said,

feeling happy. But when I looked down at the

golden chain with the six enchanted charms,

a wave of sadness hit me. The seventh charm, the

GOLDEN PEARL, had just fallen into the

abyss with the wizard.

“I just wish I could have completed my mission.

But the Pearl is lost forever.” I sighed.

At that point, Chatterclaws

scuttle
into his shell. When he returned, he was

carrying a large dark

d
object. “You mean this

whatchamacallit?” the crab asked. He

was holding up the wizard’s pearl!
“Pretty good, huh?” Chatterclaws chuckled.

“B-b-but how did you get it?” I stammered,

perplexed.

The crab just winked. “Let’s just say, I don’t

have these pincer claws for nothing!” he said.

Just then, the Black Pearl gave off a strong ash

of light. A moment later it transformed back into

the shimmering GOLDEN

I was so PEARL
excited I wanted
! to do a back ip,
but since I can barely manage a forward roll

I settled for a happy squeak.

OVERWHELMED, I added
the Golden Pearl to the chain with

the other charms and placed the

chain around my neck. I counted

the charms: ONE, the Coral
Heart; TWO, the Clasping Hands;
THREE , the Medallion of the
Sun and the Moon; FOUR, the
Diamond Star; FIVE, the Crystal Feather; si ,
the Silver Unicorn; seven, the Golden Pearl . . .
x
at last, the chain was complete!
Suddenly, another blaze of light enveloped
everything. In a ash, I was no longer in the
DEEP sea, but at the Crystal Castle, in Blossom’s
court!

“ We l c o m e back,
Knight of the Seven Seas!
I k n ew t h at yo u wo u l d
complete your mission!”
 Hooray!

Knight!
you,
T hank

m!
Blosso
Queen
 s av e d !
has b ee n
of Fantasy
T he Kingdom
 HOORAY FOR
THE KNIGHT!

“Huh? What? Who?” I babbled.

What a totally strange feeling. One minute,
I was under the water, hanging out with lobsters

and squids and all kinds of sh. And the next

minute, I was inside a beautiful castle in the

clouds!

I looked up to nd Blossom, all the fairies of the

court, and many other friends from the Kingdom

of Fantasy staring at me.

I coughed and patted my head, pulling a

piece of seaweed out of my ear. Oh, how
embarrassing!

At that moment everyone began cheering.

“HOORAY FOR THE

OF
KNIGHT THE SEVEN
SEAS!”
 I gave the golden chain with the seven enchanted

charms to Blossom, bowing so low that my

whiskers brushed the ground.

She placed it around her neck and it seemed to

SHINE a bit more brightly. Then she announced

to all, “I, Queen Blossom, would like to honor this

brave hero, who faced danger at the cost of his

own life, who fought the evil Wizard of the Black

Pearl, saving the entire KINGDOM OF FANTASY !

From now on, I will be the sole guardian of the

chain so that its great power will be used for peace,

not for destruction.”

After Blossom’s speech, I saw many friends who

I had met in my earlier ADVENTURES

the Kingdom of Fantasy.
in
There was
Scribblehopper, the literary
frog, who helped me ght against the evil witch

Cackle. He wanted to be an author (but he wrote

terrible poems).
 your s e r v ic e !
I’m at

“Listen to this POEM about Queen

Blossom,” he said, and began reciting, “Oh, the
queen is sweet and kind, she’s like a watermelon

rind . . .”
Luckily, he was interrupted by the CHAMELEON

Boils, who helped me on my second voyage to the

Kingdom of Fantasy. One thing you should know

about Boils: He loves CHOCOLATE!

He
tugged on my cape just then and asked,
 I am

hopper!
S c r ib b le

“Knight, you don’t happen to have some chocolate,

do you?”
I tried to explain that I didn’t have any
candy
with me, but then someone else grabbed my cape. It

was Goose Blahblah, also known as Goose

Loose Lips, Goose Chatterbox, Goose Big Mouth,

Goose . .. well, you get the idea. She LOVE

to talk!
D
“OMG! I just knew you would nd that charm!
I said, if anyone can nd that charm, it’s that
knight! Yep, the knight can do it! I mean, I’m very

good at predicting these things, and —” rambled

Goose Blahblah until I felt like my ears might fall off!

Right then I heard a cough, and someone

pinched me on the tail. I turned around and

discovered Chatterclaws.

“Excuse me, Sir Knight, but, um, I have

something IMPORTANT to ask you,” he said.

“You see, I’m planning on getting

whatdoyoucallit with Whatsherface,

and I wanted to know if you would

be my whatsit.”

He pulled out a large

sparkling diamond
ring from his shell and

held it up to me.

As usual, I had no idea

what the crab was trying to

say. “Sorry—” I started to say.

But before I could nish, someone

pinched
my fur. I turned and saw a pretty crab with a pink

shell and a wedding VEIL on her head.

Suddenly, I remembered seeing a FRAMED

photo of this same crab in the Chatterhouse.

Immediately, I understood. It was Classyclaws,

the crab Chatterclaws loved!

She smiled and said, “Chatterclaws asked me to

marry him, and I’ve accepted. He would

love it if you could be his best mouse.”

Of course I accepted. What are friends for?

C h at t e r c l aw s C l a s s y c l aw s
 Chatterclaws scuttled into the Chatterhouse and

came out wearing an elegant black top hat.

Then Blossom led us into an immense room,

CROWDED with gnomes and kings and

dragons and elves from all of the various lands in
the Kingdom of Fantasy. There was the King of

the Gnomes and his wife; Sterling, the Princess

of the Silver Dragons; the wise AZUL , the

King of Sapphire City; and even Sid, the GIANT
SQUID. In the crowd, I noticed dragons, pixies,

trolls, ogres, fairies, and sh. They had all come in

together in PEACE.

Chatterclaws stood under a large column

decorated with white roses. He presented

Classyclaws with the beautiful diamond ring.

“I LOVE you more than any other whoosy

whatsit in the world!” he proclaimed.

“I LOVE you, too!” Classyclaws replied,

taking the ring with a grin.
 wedding!
a beautiful
What

Finn!

Knight!
Hi,

Yum !
How
!
lovely
 Blossom took the hand of her husband,
George, the king of the Kingdom of Dreams,
and announced, “By the laws of the Kingdom of
Fantasy, we declare you husband and
wife !”
At that point everyone clapped and cheered,

Then Chatterclaws shouted, “And now who’s

ready to party like a crab?!”
The crowd ERUPTED in more cheers as
everyone headed off to the reception area.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. I mean, I’ve never

been to a crab wedding before! But it really was a

M AG I C A L
There were tables with food (too bad it was
sight.
seaweed!) and there was a pool
for the aquatic
guests.
 But when I spotted Finn and went over to say
hello, I slipped and fell into the water, sinking
down, down, down. . .

d!
sliiiiiippe
. . .I
O ops
 ARE YOU
AWAKE?

Just then someone shook me gently by the paw,

and I heard a familiar voice saying, “ Are you
awake ”
? Huh? What was going on? Where was Finn?
What happened to the crab wedding?

I opened my EYES and saw my nephew

Benjamin bending over me!

What was Benjamin doing in the KINGDOM

OF FANTASY?

Or maybe . . .
If Benjamin was in front of me . . .

.. . then I was no longer in the Kingdom of

Fantasy!
“Where am I?” I mumbled.

“Uncle, you’re on Pink Seashell

 Beach!” Benjamin squeaked. “Don’t you
remember?”
Of course, it was all coming back to me. I was
on the beach in NEW MOUSE CITY. Yes, this is

where my FABUMOUS adventure had

started!
E

up!
wake
Uncle,
am I?
Where
H uh?
 The ORANGE SODA in my glass was
now hot. The sand beneath my paws was no
longerburning. And the shadows had grown
l o n g , because the sun was setting . . .
To me, it had seemed like a long journey,
but I guess it had lasted only one afternoon!

For a moment, I looked around for my friend

Chatterclaws. “Did you happen to see a CRAB
wearing a top hat go by?” I asked Benjamin.

My nephew looked at me. “I think you’ve been

out in the SUN too long, Uncle,” he said with a
worried expression.

Then I remembered. It was all just a

DREAM, just like all the other times I had
visited the Kingdom of Fantasy.

“I’m okay, Benjamin,” I said. And I was.

I had slept, I had dreamed, and now I would be

able to write my book.

And I must say, this story would be pretty

amazing. How many times have you read about a

TUNA TAXI, or a cow with butterfly wings,

or a fancy crab wedding?

Of course, thinking about the crab wedding got

me thinking about Chatterclaws. I would miss my

new friend. A WAVE of sadness hit me.

“Let’s get going,” I said to Benjamin.

But then, as were packing up, I saw something

out by the rocks. I stood up. It was a familiar-
looking shell, TEETERING on a rock. The
shell was moving very slowly.
Was it . . . ? Could it be . . . ?
I know it sounds crazy. After all, my friends
from the Kingdom of Fantasy only exist in my
dreams. But I jumped up and ran toward the
shell anyway.

But when I reached the rock, the shell had

already tumbled gently into the sea.
Ah, well. I may never end up knowing the
 c law s !
C h at t e r
e,
Good-by
TRUTH about that shell. Part of me would

like to think it really was Chatterclaws waving

good-bye to me. Maybe I can ask him the next
KINGDOM OF FANTASY
time I visit the !
 I DID IT!

I took Benjamin home. Then I ran to my of ce.

Even thought it was late, everyone was still
there waiting for me. I ran inside and announced,

I did it ! I had a ”
“
Their faces all LIT up.
dream!
 “Now you can write another Kingdom of Fantasy
book!” my assistant, Mousella, cried excitedly.

I decided I would be more productive if I wrote

my book from home, so my coworkers walked

me there. Then my grandfather locked
me into my home of ce and threw the k e
into the thick bushes outside my house. “I’m doing
y
it for your own good, Grandson,” he squeaked.
“Only come out when you’re done
writing !
For once, I wasn’t worried. I rushed to my
”
computer and began to write:

I wrote and wrote and wrote without stopping.

Well, okay, I did stop to nibble on a
chocolate
Cheesy Chew or two (or three) . . .
 re!
Snooo

I continued to write for DAYS

and DAYS and DAYS,
until I had a long beard
and gray fur and
walked with a cane. All
right, it didn’t take exactly

that long, but it did seem like

I was writing fo r e v e r
The Kingdom of Fantasy is such
.
an incredible place, I wanted to make sure I
remembered every little thing about my adventure!

Finally, I nished
writing
and shut off my
computer. Then I fell asleep for a few hours and
woke droolin on my keyboard (don’t tell
up
my grandfather!).
g
And now my seventh adventure in the Kingdom

of Fantasy has been published! It’s called T h e

Enchanted Char ms.
Yes, it is the book you are reading right now.
Did you like it? I hope so!

It is dedicated to you, my dear readers, because

I know you are just as FANTASTIC as the

KINGDOM OF FANTASY!

I love you all!

Your mouse friend,

Geronimo Stilton
t ic !
fan tas
are
You
FANTASIAN ALPHABET
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in New Mouse City, Mouse
Island, GERONIMO STILTON IS

Rattus Emeritus of Mousomorphic

Literature and of Neo-Ratonic
Comparative Philosophy. For the
past twenty years, he has been
running The Rodent’s Gazette, New Mouse City’s

most widely read daily newspaper.

Stilton was awarded the Ratitzer Prize for his
scoops on The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid and The

Search for Sunken Treasure. He has also received

the Andersen 2000 Prize for Personality of the Year.

One of his bestsellers won the 2002 eBook Award

for world’s best ratlings’ electronic book. His works

have been published all over the globe.

In his spare time, Mr. Stilton collects antique

cheese rinds and plays golf. But what he most enjoys

is telling stories to his nephew Benjamin.

Don’t miss any of my other
fabumouse
adventures!
Check out t h e s e
very special
editions!
 Geronimo’s seventh quest in
the Kingdom of Fantasy!

I, Geronimo Stilton, was so excited to nd

myself in the Kingdom of Fantasy for a

seventh time. Blossom, the Queen of the
Fairies, needed me to nd the seven
enchanted charms before the Wizard of
the Black Pearl could get to them!

Seven guardians across the realm protected

each charm. When combined, the charms

would bring enormouse power — which
the evil wizard was after. Squeak! Could I
survive the dangers of new kingdoms and

mysterious creatures to nd the charms

and save the Kingdom of Fantasy? I was
up for the challenge!

www.scholastic.com/geronimostilton

www.geronimostilton.com