Flight of the Red Bandit

Dear mouse friends,
Welcome to the world of



R ’ GTHE ODENT S AZETTE

EDITORIAL STAFF

Geronimo Stilton Thea Stilton
A learned and brainy Geronimo’s sister and
special correspondent at
mouse; editor of The Rodent’s Gazette
The Rodent’s Gazette

Trap Stilton Benjamin Stilton
An awful joker;
Geronimo’s cousin and A sweet and loving
owner of the store nine-year-old mouse;
Cheap Junk for Less Geronimo’s favorite

nephew

FLIGHT OF THE
RED BANDIT

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English translation © 2014 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.

w w w.gero n imo s tilto n .co m

Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
SCHOLASTIC and associated
trademarks logos are trademarks and/or registered
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 Geronimo Stilton
Original title Dov’è sparito Falco Rosso?
Cover by Giuseppe Ferrario (design) and Giulia Zaffaroni (color)
Illustrations by Giuseppe Ferrario (design) and Christian Aliprandi
(color)
Graphics by Chiara Cebraro

Special thanks to Tracey West
Translated by Lidia Morson Tramontozzi
Interior design
by Kay Petronio

First printing, January 2014

GRANDSON!
GRAAAANDSON!

It was hotter than a S C O RC H I N G

bowl of cheese soup that July afternoon. I
was in my office at the Rodent’s Gazette,

trying to staBrtO OK . Bumt yI couldn’t new

think of ANYTHING to write about!

Usually, I like to write about my real-life

experiences. Lately, however, nothing at all

INTERESTING has happened to me.

So my mind was as BLANK as a slice of

mozzarella.

I’m sorry — I just realized that I haven’t

introduced myself! You may have already

guessed who I am. My name is Stilton,

Geronimo Stilton. I’m the editor of The

Rodent’s Gazette, thFe AMOUSEmost

newspaper on Mouse Island.

Anyway, I haven’t had an adventure in a

long time. I thought about my trip to Japan

with Wild Willie.* And the SAVtiEmDe aI

beached white whale on a faraway shore.**

Those were great adventures!

Then it hit me. Both of those adventures

took place in nature!

Suddenly, I had an I D E A : I could write

* Read all about it in my book The Way of the Samurai.
** Read all about it in my book Save the White Whale!

Wa dhvaet natnur e !

Tw e e t !

about nature! But what

kind of nature? Sandy

beaches? L E A F Y

jungles? PEACEFUL

Tw e e t ! forests?

I LOOKED outside

the window and sighed. Holed

up in my office in New Mouse City, the

only nature I could see were the sparrows

c h e e s ethat pecked at my crusts on the

windowsill. They were cute, but I didn’t

think they would make a very interesting

book.

e x c i t i n gI needed something

to write about. And to do that, I needed

adventureto go on a really good ! (But

nothing too dangerous, because I am really

a SCAREDY-MOUSE at heart!)

I was lost in my thoughts when I heard a

4

bangloud ! A mouse pushed open my

office door. Can you guess who it was?

I’ll give you some clues: He’s a tall, muscled

furmouse with thick silvery . He wears

steel-framed eyeglasses, and he always has

STERN a look on his face — a very stern

look. Now can you guess?

I FIND MY
INSPIRATION!

You guessed it! That rodent was none other

than my grandfather William Shortpaws,

also known as Cheap Mouse Willie.

“Graaaaandson!” his voice boomed

out. It looked like he was in a bad mood, as

always.

I noticed that he was

hatwearing his favorite :

Graaaandson! a vintage c o w b oy

hat. A red bandanna

was wrapped around it,

and a falcon’s f e a t h e r

was stuck in it.

My grandfather loves

hats almost as much as he

6

loves cheese. He has a big collection of hats,

cowboybut he wears his hat all the time.

Grandfather took off his hat and showed

HOLEme a in the top.

“Know why this hole is here?” he asked.

“Because I’ve been wearing this hat for

thirty years. Know something else? I need a

n e w one. Want to know one more thing?
someoneI need
to go get it for me.”

I knew that he meant me, of course, but I

didn’t have time to go hat shopping.

“ E x c u s e m e, Grandfather,”I said

POLITELY. “But I have a book to write, and

I need to find some inspiration.”

“I’ll give you some inspiration!” he

THUNDERED.

“You will?” I asked nervously.

“That’s right!” Grandfather replied. “I

bought my hat years ago in a l i t t l e s h o p

7



in Sedona, Arizona. It was called the Silver

Cactus. And this red bandanna was given to

me by my friend the RED BANDIT many

years ago. He wears one just like this.”

“Arizona?” I asked. I had never been there.

“Oh, it’s a marvelous state, and Sedona

beautifulis so !” my grandfather said.

“That’s why you will find it the perfect

setting for your next adventure! You’ll find

lots of e x c i t e m e n t there.”

exciting“What makes it so ?” I asked

cautiously.

“Why, the poisonous snakes, of course!”

Grandfather answered. “And then there are

all those spiders.”

I turned pale. are as

spiders “Yes, some of those

large as a cheese pizza,” Grandfather went

on. “And don’t forget the scorpions .

9

Those little guys are just loaded with poison.”

“S-snakes? S-spiders? S-scorpions?”

I shuddered.

Grandfather tugged on one of my whiskers.

“SNAP OUT OF IT!” he yelled. “Are

you a scaredy-mouse?”

“N-no, sir,” I said.

“We’ll see about that,” Grandfather said.

“You want to call yourself a REAL MOUSE ?

Snake s! S p id e rs!

Heeelp!

S co r p io n s!

Then prove it. See if you can go A real mouse?

to Arizona and come back in

one piece. I am sending your

cousin Trap with you to . . . or a s c a r e dy - mous e ?

EYEkeep an on you.”

“Trap!” I exclaimed. I’d

almost rather go on a trip

with a scorpion.

Grandfather ignored me.

“You will go to Sedona, Arizona, and

look for the Silver Cactus shop,” he

went on. “There you can buy me another hat

just like this one. To get the bandanna and

the feather, you’ll have to look up my good

friend the RED BANDIT.”

This trip was sounding WORSE and

WORSE . “But I don’t know anything about

Arizona!” I protested.

Grandfather shoved a guidebook into my

11

paws. “Then read this!”

Before I could argue, he pushed me out of

my office, down the stairs, and shoved me

taxiinto a .

“Take my grandson to the airport, and do

it PRONTO!” he barked at the driver.

“But I haven’t packed!” I yelled. hat onto
Grandfather jammed his
my head. “This is all you need.”

Then he shut the door with a bang that

shook my whiskers.

Re me mbe r my t i ny g i f t !

“Go find the hat!” he said. “Be sure it’s

the RIGHT size, the RIGHT style, and

the RIGHT color. And don’t forget the

bandanna and the feaaaaaather!”

As the taxi sped off, I heard his last request.

“By the way, would you take the Red

Bandit a TINY GIFT from me?” he yelled.

“Trap has it!”

I stuck my head out of the window, and

wavedmy whiskers in the breeze.

“I wiiiiiill, Grandfather!” I shouted back.

I wiiiiiill!

YOU CALL THAT A
TINY GIFT?

We got to the airport in a half hour. As

soon as I walked in, I heard someone shout,

“GERONIMO! Stop daydreaming about
cheese sandwiches and get over here!”

It was my cousin Trap! I’ve known him

ever since we were teeny, tiny mouselets.

When we were growing up, Trap loved to

play tricks on me te and ase me. And

guess what? He still does!

Hee, hee!

All done!

TRAP’S TRICKS, PRANKS, AND JOKES

Look at this Hee, hee! Argh!
flower!

Smell the perfume! Ha, ha, ha! It stinks!

Boo! Help!

Want a Hee, hee! Ouch!
cookie?

c h e e s e“Geronimo, get the out of your

ears and listen up!” Trap told me. “I need to

t h r e etell you important things! Three!”

“TTHING NUMBER ONE: Because YOU are always
ME to keep an eye on
daydreaming, Grandfather wants

you in Arizona.

THING NUMBER TWO: Grandfather wants me to

make sure that you take good care of a tiny gift for his

friend the Red Bandit .

THING NUMBER THREE: Did you know that hat you’re
wearing makes you look
ridiculous ?”

Then he turned and pointed to something

behind him.

“Here is the TINY GIFT for Grandfather’s

friend,” he said.

16

I couldn’t believe my eyes. The “tiny gift”

was an enormouse jar of c h o c o l a t e

cheese spread! It was as high as a mouse, as

wide as a barrel, and it looked as heavy as

A B A B Y E L E P H A N T.

“You call that a TINY GIFT?” I cried.

“Holey cheese! How are we going to lug this

all the way to Arizona? What if it breaks?”

Trap shrugged. “That’s your problem,

Cousin,” he said. “Grandfather told YOU
MEto bring the enormouse jar and asked

to keep an eye on you. So if the enormouse

jar breaks, it’ll be YOUR fault. You’ll have

to tell Grandfather . . . and if that happens,

furI wouldn’t want to be in your , I’ll tell

you that!”

Then Trap winked at me. “Know what

e ls e ? I ’ve got a re al YEN to know what it

tastes like.”

17

Before I could stop him,

he shimmied up the side of

the enormouse jar. Then he

p o p p e d open the

lid. The wonderful smells

of c h o c o l a t e and

cheese filled the airport.

“Trap, no!” I yelled. “Grandfather will be

really cheesed off!”

Trap ignored me. He gazed down into the

jar. “You’ve got to see this!” he called down

to me. “It looks super delicious!”

“Trap, get down!” I yelled again.

“But it’s amazing,” Trap said. “All the

different chocolaty cheesy flavors are

swirled together. No wonder it’s called
Chocolate Cheese Delight!”

“Yeah, sounds great,” I said. “Now get

down!”

But Trap wasn’t even listening to me. His

g l e a m e deyes . He hungrily licked his

lips.

“Yum yum yum!” he said. “I’ve got to

have a taste before I flip my whiskers!”

Then he stood on the edge of the jar, like he

was

19

CHOCOLATE CHEESE DELIGHT

THIRTEEN 10. Crea m cheese chocolate
FLAVORS! 11. Raisin chocolate
12. Stinky cheese chocolate
Chocolate and cheese 13. Cherry chocolate
flavors swirled together:

1. M i l k c h o c o l a t e
2. Chedda r cheese chocolate
3. Ha z elnut chocolate
4. S w i s s c h e e s e c h o c o l a t e
5. Very da rk chocolate
6. Gorg onzola cheese chocolate
7. White chocolate
8. Mozza rella cheese chocolate
9. Spicy chocolate

THREE FEARS AND
THREE SURPRISES

I grabbed Trap by theP ULLEtaDil haimnd

down just in time! I could not let Trap ruin

tiny gift the for the Red Bandit. If I

wasn’t watching carefully, he could gobble

up all of the tasty Chocolate Cheese

Delight! To be safe, I bought a LOCK for

the enormouse lid of the enormouse jar.

As we checked in our luggage (including

e n o r m o u s ethe jar), we heard an

announcement.

Arizona“The flight to is now boarding

at Gate Three.”

And so the LONGEST trip ever started.

We began by flying all the way from New

Mouse City and across the United States to

21

the city of Phoenix, Arizona. Trap snored

trainthe whole way there. It sounded like a

engine in my ear!

M e ? I stared out the window, worrying

about three things.

FEAR NUMBER ONE:

Would Arizona be dangerous?
FEAR NUMBER TWO:
Would I be able to keep the enormouse
jar from breaking before I delivered it
to the Red Bandit?

FEAR NUMBER THREE:
Would I even be able to find the Red
Bandit?

I couldn’t stop thinking about the RED
B A N D I T . He sounded like a bad guy in a

22

cowboy movie. How had he and Grandfather

friendsbecome ? I wished that I knew

more about him. All I knew was to start my

search in SEDONA, Arizona.

I read through the g u i d e b o o k .
Sedona
sounded nicelikeli ttle town. a

I especially liked the sound of the “mild

climate” the book said it had. Maybe it

HI S TORY OF S EDONA: Th e city o f S ed o n a lies in th e Ver d an t Valley

of Arizona. The valley’s early inhabitants mostly hunted and gathered
for their food. In 1876, the first nonnative settler claimed roperty
there, and others followed. One settler, Theodore Carlton Schnebly,
established a post office there in 1902 and named it — and the
town — after his wife, Sedona.

won’t be too hard to find the Red Bandit, I

thought.

Finally, the plane PHlaOndEeNdI X . in

We rented a TRUCK so we could take the

two-hour drive to Sedona. But of course,

Trap forgot to put gas in it — so we had to

stop in the middle of nowhere!

h i k e Trap and I had to the rest of the

We ran out of gas!

way. Guess who had to carry the enormouse

jar!

Whe n we got t o Se dona, I had three
surprises.

SURPRISE NUMBER ONE: Sedona wasn’t a tiny

settlement anymore. It had grown into a lively city of

more than 10,000 inhabitants! How would I ever find

the Red Bandit?

SURPRISE NUMBER TWO: In July, Sedona’s “mild

climate” felt more like an oven’s temperature!

SURPRISE NUMBER THREE: The enormouse jar

of Chocolate Cheese Delight strapped to my back was
about to boil over!

I had to find a way to keep the jar safe —
or face Grandfather’s wrath.

I tried to SHADE the enormouse jar with

a HUGE patio umbrella.

25

Wow, it’s heavy!

SEDONA: Sedona is located in the heart of Arizona, and is about 115

miles north of Phoenix. It is one of the biggest tourist attractions

in the state, thanks to its natural beauty. It has a mild climate, lots

of sunshine, and is home to sandstone formations known as red

rocks. Visitors to Sedona enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking,

biking, golf, tennis, horseback riding, and excursions in helicopters

or hot-air balloons.

Then I tried to Hmm . . .
Flap flap!
cool it down by Got t a ke e p i t c ool !

fanning it, but that

didn’t work. So I got

icelots and lots of
cubes and put them

on the lid.

It was no use! The

spread was starting

to m e l t ! Trap began

to lick his whiskers in

anticipation.

“Cuz, we should eat

this c h o c o l a t e now.

RIGHT NOW!

Want me to get some

bread to s p r e a d

it on?” Trap asked.

“No!”

“Crackers?”

“No!”

“Cookies?”

“No!”

dive“Okay,” Trap said. “So we’ll just in

then, right?”

angry“No!” I YELLED , getting now.

“ N O , N O , N O O O O O O O O ! I have

to give this spread to the Red Bandit or

whiskersGrandfather will have my !”

Luckily for me, Trap gave in. We headed

out to find the Silver Cactus shop that

Grandfather had told me about.

28

NICE HOWL, CUZ!

In the center of Sedona, there are lots of

shops selling everything from outdoor gear

to Native American art. Finally, we noticed

a curious-looking shop tucked away in

DARKa alley in the oldest part of the

city. . . .

1

Squeak!

2

Eeek!

Scorpion on the mat! + Coyote howl doorbell!

The doormat had a picture of a scorpion

that looked so real, I J U M P E D back

with a loud “Squeak!” 1 Then I rang the

bell and heard the loud howl of a coyote:

“AAAAAAOOOOOOOOO!” 2

At the counter, I heard the sound of

rattle rattlea rattlesnake. . . . . . .
. . .

rattle 3. . . I shrieked again, terrified,

4and Trap chuckled. “Nice howl, Cuz!”

Yikes! 3 Ha, ha, ha! 4

Squeak!

Rattle . . .

+ Fake rattlesnake! = Boy, did I feel silly!



:HISTORY OF THE SILVER CACTUS

This shop has been in the Ratthide family
for more than 150 years. During the gold
rush it supplied hats to the daring pioneers
who came out West to find their fortune.

GRAY rodent with a thick mustache. He

h a twore a that looked a bit like my

grandfather’s. He got up off his chair and

walked toward me.

“My name’s Tom. Tom Ratthide,” he

said, shaking my paw v i g o r o u s l y .

“Just hearing the Red Bandit’s name reminds

desertme of old times . . . riding across the

with him and my friend William Shortpaws.”

“Williams Shortpaws is my grandfather!”

I exclaimed in SURPRISE. “He sent me

all the way here to buy him a new hat.”

Tom ripped the hat off my head and

looked at the label.

“Hmm,” he said, stroking his mustache.

“I remember this style. We sold the DELUXE

Silver Cactus at least thirty years ago!”

He began to RUMMAGE through an

old trunk. “They don’t make hats like that

33

anymore,” he said. Then he grinned. “Aha!

Found it!”

He held up a hat that looked exactly the

same as my grandfather’s. It had the same

Silver Cactus charm dangling from the
RED
band. Only the falcon feather and

bandanna were missing. I hoped that the

Here it is!

34

RED BANDIT could give me those — if

I could ever find him.

Tom tucked the hat into a hatbox. I tried

to pay him, but he refused.

“Take it to your grandfather William as a

token of our old, undying FRIENDSHIP ,”

he said. “As for the Red Bandit, start your

search Cathedral Rock . That’s where at

I saw him last.”

Then he looked me UP and DOWN.

He handed me a card with the words WILD

RAT ADVENTURES on it. “Better talk to

these rodents. You’re going to need some

help out there in the d e s e r t.”

I thanked him and left the shop, EAGER

to continue. I was one step closer to the Red

Bandit. . . .

35

MR. SKILTON, YOU’RE
REALLY SILLY!

When I left the shop, I foYuAnWdN INGTrap

on a park bench.

“Cuz, while you check out that adventure

meditate place, I’ll stay here and on the

situation,” he said. “And don’t forget to take

the ENORMOUSE JAR. I wouldn’t want

anyone to take it while I’m fast aslee — I

mean, while I’m meditating!”

Wake up! Trap s p r e a d out

Zzzzz and was snoring

in three seconds flat!

shakeI tried to

him awake, but my

r a n gcell phone .

It was my sister,

Hi, Ger!

Thea. I asked her to join me

in Arizona. She’s a great

rodent to have around

when you’re in a JAM.

“Sorry, Ger,” she replied.

“You’ll have to do the best you away.”

prettycan without me. I’m working on a

s t r a n g e new story and I can’t get

“I understand,” I said with a sigh.

“Oh, I almost FORGOT,” she added.

“Grandfather Shortpaws sHaysU RRYto

up and find the Red Bandit. And don’t you

dare break that ENORMOUSE JAR!”

I glared at the A N N OY I N G jar.

“I’ll do my best.”

With another sigh, I strapped the

enormouse jar onto my back and headed to

WILD RAT ADVENTURES . When I stepped

inside the of ce, an a t h l e t i c -looking

37

mouse with a long black braid approached

me. She looked me up and down, just like

Tom Ratthide had.

I sucked in my belly — I haven’t gone

to the gym lately, but I have made many

trips to my refrigerator! I knew she had

p i t i f u lme pegged: a city mouse with

muscles, wearing the WRONG clothes

for hiking and carrying an ENORMOUSE

JAR of chocolate on my back.

She unrolled a brochure that was ten

feet long. “Poppy Spritely, at your service,”

she said. “Here at Wild Rat Adventures

G U I D E Dwe adventuresp orof vide

every type. What would you like to do?

Extreme hang gliding? Extreme
Extreme hiking?
camping?”

I clumsily tried to bow, but the enormouse

FLATjar threw me off-balance, and I fell

38

on my face in
front of her.

“Pleased to meet
you,” I said. “My
name is Stilton,
Geronimo
Stilton!”

She picked me

up, chuckling.

“I’m pleased to
meet you, too.
You look like a
giant turtle!”

Holey cheese! I

was EXTREMELY

embarrassed. But I guess

giantI did look like a

turtle with that enormouse jar on my back.
She looked me over again.“You know, I’m

not certain if you’re the type of mouse who

can handle our extreme tours. I’m sorry.”
I frowned . Poppy Spritely was probably

right, but I didn’t know how else I would get
to Cathedral Rock.

“That’s too bad,” I said. “Tom Ratthide

said you could HELP me.”

She smiled. “That c ha ng e s eve r y t hing !”

she exclaimed. “Normally, I’d send a city

mouse like you right out of here. You are

Ahem . . .

Hello! Oops!

not the type for extreme adventures,

trust me. But if you insist, I’ll see if I can

Mr.find something that’s not too extreme,
Skilton .”

“The name is Stilton. S-T-I-L-T-O-N,” I
corrected her. “And I need you to take me
to Cathedral Rock as soon as possible. I’m
in a HURRY !”

Her eyes got w i d e . “You? To Cathedral

Rock? Impossible! ”

“But I must,” I insisted.

She shook her head. “Mr. Spilton, you

Be careful!

Argh!