Thea Stilton and the Spanish Dance Mission (Thea Stilton Graphic Novels Book 16) Read online

  I’m Geronimo Stilton’s sister.

  As I’m sure you know from my brother’s

  bestselling novels, I’m a special correspondent

  for

  The Rodent’s Gazette

  , Mouse Island’s most famouse

  newspaper. Unlike my ’fraidy mouse brother, I absolutely

  adore traveling, having adventures, and meeting rodents

  from all around the world!

  The adventure I want to tell you about begins

  at Mouseford Academy, the school I went to when I was

  a

  young mouseling. I had such a great experience there

  as

  a student that I came back to teach a journalism class.

  When I returned as a grown mouse, I met five really

  special students: Colette, Nicky, Pamela, Paulina, and

  Violet. You could hardly imagine five more different

  mouselings, but they became great friends right away.

  And they liked me so much that they decided to name

  their group after me: the Thea Sisters! I was so touched

  by that, I decided to write about their adventures. So turn

  the page to read a fabumouse adventure about the

  THEA SISTERS!

  Hello, I’m Thea!

  Name:

  Nicky

  Nickname:

  Nic

  Home:

  Australia

  Secret ambition:

  Wants to be an ecologist.

  Loves:

  Open spaces and nature.

  Strengths:

  She is always in a good mood, as long as

  she’s outdoors!

  Weaknesses:

  She can’t sit still!

  Secret:

  Nicky is claustrophobic

  —

  she

  can’t stand being in small, tight places.

  Name:

  Colette

  Nickname:

  It’s Colette,

  please. (She can’t stand nicknames.)

  Home:

  France

  Colette is very particular about

  Secret ambition:

  her appearance. She wants to be a fashion writer.

  Loves: The color pink.

  Strengths:

  She’s energetic and full of great ideas.

  Weaknesses:

  She’s always late!

  Secret:

  To relax, there’s nothing

  Colette likes more than a

  manicure and pedicure.

  Name:

  Violet

  Nickname:

  Vi

  Home:

  China

  Secret ambition:

  Wants to become a great violinist.

  Loves:

  Books! She is a real intellectual, just like my

  brother, Geronimo.

  Strengths:

  She’s detail- oriented and always open to

  new things.

  Weaknesses:

  She is a bit sensitive and can’t stand

  being teased. And if she doesn’t get enough sleep,

  she can be a real grouch!

  Secret:

  She likes to unwind by listening

  to classical music and drinking green tea.

  Name:

  Paulina

  Nickname:

  Polly

  Home:

  Peru

  Secret ambition:

  Wants to be a scientist.

  Loves:

  Traveling and meeting people from all over

  the world. She is also very close to her sister, Maria.

  Strengths:

  Loves helping other rodents.

  Weaknesses:

  She’s shy and can be a bit clumsy.

  Secret:

  She is a computer genius!

  Name:

  Pamela

  Nickname:

  Pam

  Home:

  Tanzania

  Secret ambition:

  Wants to become a sports

  journalist or a car mechanic.

  Loves:

  Pizza, pizza, and more pizza! She’d eat

  pizza for breakfast if she could.

  Strengths:

  She is a peacemaker. She

  can’t stand arguments.

  Weaknesses:

  She is very impulsive.

  Secret:

  Give her a screw driver and

  any mechanical problem

  will be solved!

  Thea Stilton

  AND THE SPANISH

  DANCE MISSION

  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 [email protected], www.

  atlantyca.com.

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-55685-9

  Copyright © 2012 by Edizioni Piemme S.p.A., Corso Como 15, 20154

  Milan, Italy.

  International Rights © Atlantyca S.p.A.

  English translation © 2013 by Atlantyca S.p.A.

  GERONIMO STILTON and THEA 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 En glish cheese. It is a registered trade-

  mark of the Stilton Cheese Makers’ Association. For more information,

  go to www.stiltoncheese.com.

  Text by Thea Stilton

  Original title Missione “flamenco”

  Cover by Giuseppe Facciotto

  Illustrations by Chiara Balleello (design) and Daniele Verzini (color)

  Graphics by Chiara Cebraro

  Special thanks to Beth Dunfey

  Translated by Emily Clement

  Interior design by Kay Petronio

  First printing, September 2013

  proudly

  A MUSICAL

  SURPRISE

  I was

  scurrying

  home after interviewing

  my local theater’s artistic director. He had

  announced that they would

  be starting their season with a program of

  traditional dances from all over the world!

  I couldn’t wait to tell

  the Thea Sisters! Just

  a few months ago,

  they had taken part in

  a workshop on

  traditional dance.

  Oh, pardon me, I

  almost forgot to

  introduce myself. My

  name is Thea Stilton,

  and I am a special correspondent for The

>   Rodent’s Gazette, Mouse Island’s biggest

  newspaper. A little while back, I taught a

  class in ADVENTURE journalism at

  Mouseford Academy. Colette,

  Nicky, Pamela, Paulina, and Violet — the

  Thea Sisters — were my star students.

  As I entered my house, I noticed my friends

  had sent me a package. It contained a

  CD

  and a note:

  DEAR

  THEA,

  LISTEN

  TO

  The

  Track

  caLLeD

  “fLamenco,”

  anD

  you’LL

  feeL

  as

  if

  you’re

  shaking

  your

  TaiL

  wiTh

  us

  on

  The

  sTreeTs

  of

  seviLLe,

  spain!

  caLL

  us

  when

  you

  can

  —

  we

  have

  a

  fabumouse

  aDvenTure

  To

  TeLL

  you

  about.

  kisses,

  The

  Thea

  sisTers

  In the blink of a cat’s eye, I’d inserted the

  disc into my

  laptop.

  A moment later, the

  distinctive sound of flamenco, a style of

  music and dance that is popular in Spain,

  floated

  into my living room.

  I immediately called the Thea Sisters to

  thank them — and to get the scoop on their

  new adventure. It was sure to be

  action-packed!

  Colette whirled into Paulina’s room like a

  pink tornado. She dropped her backpack,

  which was bursting with papers and notes,

  and collapsed into an armchair. “Thank

  goodmouse I’m done at last. Professor

  Marblemouse’s final exam was harder

  than a block of aged cheddar!”

  “Congrats, sis!” exclaimed Nicky, passing

  her friend a Swiss smoothie. “I hope you’re

  ready to relax, because our two weeks of

  vacation begin now!

  All

  that’s left is

  to figure out what we

  want to do.”

  “How about a nice

  ON VACATION . . .

  AT SCHOOL!

  great

  trip to Greece?” asked Violet, looking up

  from a

  travel

  brochure. “There are so

  many amazing archeological sites there. . . .”

  “Patagonia would be great, too. Look at

  these gorgeous

  photos

  !” said Pam,

  holding up a magazine.

  Paulina’s eyes were glued to her laptop’s

  screen. “Beautiful — but I just found a

  flight to Honduras. . . .”

  “Mouselets, I barely have the energy

  to run myself a bath!” Colette moaned. “I’m

  practically falling asleep on my paws!

  I’m not sure I can even muster

  the strength to deep-

  condition my fur.”

  The mouselets all STARED

  at her in disbelief.

  “Are you really that tired?” Pam

  asked at last.

  Colette shrugged. “Well, you know I love

  to make a mountain out of a mousehill. But

  this term was super-challenging. I’m ready

  for some serious relaxation.”

  “Actually,” Nicky began, “that sounds

  pretty good to me, too. I wouldn’t mind

  putting my

  paws up

  for a while . . . maybe

  hit the beach . . .”

  “I’d love to spend every afternoon playing

  my violin,” Violet added.

  “I’ve been wanting to SET UP a blog for

  student announcements. My friend Shen and

  I have been talking about it for months, but

  we never find the time to do it!” Paulina

  put in.

  Pam nodded. “You said it, sis. . . . I’ve been

  so busy I haven’t even rotated the tires on my

  Jeep!”

  Colette got to her paws. “Listen, I have an

  busy

  idea:

  Why don’t we take a vacation

  somewhere truly out of the way?”

  “Where did you have in mind?” Paulina

  asked.

  “I’m thinking of a place that we’ll all

  REALLY like . . . someplace comfortable,

  where it’s easy to get around. Someplace we

  can relax, but also hit the gym if we feel like

  it. Someplace that’s full of friendly

  rodents . . .”

  “All right! When do we leave?” Pam asked

  enthusiastically.

  “We’re already there,” Colette said, smiling.

  “It’s MOUSEFORD ACADEMY!”

  Her friends stared at her for a moment,

  then burst out laughing.

  “You know, I think Colette is onto

  something,” Violet said once the laughter

  had subsided. “We’re always so that

  we never get to enjoy the academy and Whale

  Island!”

  “Then it’s decided: This time, we’re

  staying put,” Nicky concluded.

  At that moment, there was a knock at the

  door. “Mouselets! I have a package for

  you!”

  box

  Paulina opened the door. In front of her was

  an enormouse in the paws of Mercury

  Whale, the local mailmouse. “Where should

  I put it?” he gasped.

  “Here!” Violet and Pam replied, making

  room for the huge package.

  “There’s a letter, too,” Mercury said.

  “Now, where did I leave it?” He stuck his

  snout into his mailbag.

  After a moment, he

  pulled out a FIERY-

  RED envelope. “Here

  it is!”

  The

  mouselets

  thanked Mercury. Then

  SPAIN, HERE

  WE COME!

  Dearest Thea Sisters,

  The fabumouse World Dance Workshop flew

  by faster than a tabby doing the tango. We miss

  you!

  Fortunately, we’ve thought of an event that you

  simply can’t miss! But we don’t want to ruin the

  surprise. Open the package and you’ll see what

  we’re squeaking about. Meet us in Seville!

  With love,

  Anita and Joaquin Vega

  Pam eagerly ripped open the envelope. Inside

  was a notecard decorated with red roses

  and a message written by paw:

  BRIGHTLY

  “The Vegas!” Nicky exclaimed. “Do you

  remember how much fun we had

  together during the WORLD

  DANCE Workshop?”

  “Of course!” Violet replied. “I’ll never

  forget the day Anita taught me the first steps

  of the flamenco. . . .”

  “And Joaquin taught us our first spin!

  Those TWINS are great teachers,”

  said Pam.

  “It’s hard to believe we haven’t seen them

  since the workshop ended six months ago!”

  Colette sighed. “It was so HARD to
say

  good-bye!”

  “Something tells me we’ll see them again

  soon!” Paulina exclaimed, lifting off the top

  of the box.

  Inside there were five

  COLORED packages, one for each of

  Violet shows off her

  Japanese dance costume!

  Anita fixes Pam’s

  flamenco fur-do!

  Colette dances

  the hula!

  Oops . . . Paulina tangos

  onto Joaquin’s paw!

  All together for one

  last picture!

  dress

  the mouselets. Paulina quickly

  pawed

  them to her friends. That’s when she noticed

  a

  flyer

  at the bottom of the box.

  “What does it say?” Colette asked, clutching

  her pink package.

  “It’s an invitation for the Feria de Abril, a

  big festival in Seville!”

  “Oh yes, I’ve heard of it,” Nicky said. “It

  happens every year in spring.”

  “Absolutely fabumouse!” cried

  Colette. She had just opened her gift. It was

  a glamorous flamenco made of pink

  silk. The other mouselets hurried to open

  their parcels. Soon the room was filled with

  magnificent dresses, each one edged with

  lace and colorful trim.

  “Mouselets, this is the kind of invitation

  we just CAN’Tpass up! It’s a once-in-a-

  lifetime opportunity. Right?” Pam exclaimed.

  Feria de Abril

  Feria de Abril is the most important festival in

  Seville. This week-long celebration offers an

  explosion of flowers and music, and happens

  every spring.

  The heart of the festival occurs just outside

  Seville’s city center, in Maria Luisa Park. Here,

  the city’s families and businesses build more

  than a thousand

  casetas

  , temporary houses

  in which they dance, sing, and eat together.

  Fairgoers dress in the splendid traditional

  clothing of flamenco dancers. The streets stay

  busy throughout the night, and during the

  day, you can admire the elegant horse-drawn

  carriages that pass by. It’s a week of pure

  entertainment, and everyone is invited!

  How

  gorgeous!

  Wow!

  They’re