Mouse Noses on Toast Read Free Page B

“It’s in the shape of a question mark.”
    “Stab it with a fork.”
    The man picked up a fork and lifted the lid.

THE RESCUE
    N OTHING COULD PREPARE P AUL AND S ANDRA FOR THE terrifying experience that was to come. The world was torn from beneath them, and their brains were sent hurtling to heaven.
    What actually happened was this. Rowley Barker Hobbs had grown tired of waiting for his bone and had scampered around to the rear of the restaurant, where he had entered the backyard through a gap in the fence.
    He had expected the backyard to be like his overgrown garden at home, but filled with hundreds of bones. It would be raining bones, and bones would grow on trees. Imagine his disappointment when he found himself in a narrow concrete passage, with several trash cans at one end and not a bone in sight.
    He was pleased to see Paul Mouse standing on the lid of one of the cans, wearing sandals and a pair of sunglasses. When he looked more closely, he saw that it wasn’t Paul at all. He said hello anyway, as he was Rowley Barker Hobbs.
    The mouse lifted his sunglasses. “Who are you?”
    “Rowley Barker Hobbs,” said Rowley Barker Hobbs.
    “Larry,” the mouse said, holding out a paw.

    The paw was too small for Rowley Barker Hobbs to shake, so he lay on his back instead, to show Larry Mouse his tummy.
    “That’s a nice tummy,” Larry said. “Tell me, Mr. Hobbs. Do you live in this building, by any chance?”
    Rowley Barker Hobbs shook his head.
    “I was hoping you could show me around. I’m looking for some friends of mine. Mouses. Do you know where they might hang out?”
    Rowley Barker Hobbs did not know, but he knew how to chase his tail, so he did.
    “If you help me find them,” Larry said, hopping onto the dog’s back, “I will buy you a bone.”
    A bone? The very word made his tail wag.
    Perhaps the bone would be magic. Yes, it was a magic bone that grew bigger with each lick, bigger and bigger and bigger, until the whole world was one giant bone with Rowley Barker Hobbs sitting on top.
    The thought of a magic bone sent Rowley Barker Hobbs racing around the yard, knocking over the trash cans and saying hello. Larry Mouse had to grip the fur tight or he would have fallen off.
    The chef opened the back door to see what all the noise was. Rowley Barker Hobbs knocked him flying, and raced through the kitchen to the dining area, where he said so many hellos that several customers spilled their food and several more fell off their seats.
    Just as Paul and Sandra were quivering under the approaching fork, Rowley Barker Hobbs ran into the rich man, who stood up too quickly and flipped the table over with his knee. The silver bowl soared across the room and hit the far wall with a clang.
    Paul and Sandra tumbled out, and landed on thedessert trolley, where they bounced on a strawberry jelly and sploshed into a tasty peach-and-cherry trifle.
    “We’re alive!” Paul said as they climbed out.
    “Just about,” Sandra said, wiping trifle from her eyes. “What happened?”
    “Rowley Barker Hobbs happened,” Paul said.
    The restaurant was in chaos. None of the customers were eating now. Several had walked out. The dog was still circling the tables, the chef chasing him with a rolling pin.
    Rowley Barker Hobbs only calmed down when he saw his two friends. He skipped up to the dessert trolley and gave them each a hello lick, swallowing the trifle in one gulp.

THE SAVAGE
    P AUL AND S ANDRA WERE HELPED ONTO THE DOG’S BACK by a mouse they had never seen before, a hippy mouse in sunglasses and sandals. They might have lost their Tinby, but Rowley Barker Hobbs had found them a new mouse friend.
    Out on the sidewalk, Paul bent over so Sandra could examine his bottom. It had turned the brightest shade of electric blue.
    “Is it bad?” Paul asked anxiously. He was already upset after losing his cape and hat in the trifle.
    “No,” Sandra said, rubbing her bruised wings.
    “It looks awful from where I’m