[foghorn blowing]
This fog is like looking through pea soup.
I've never seen fog so thick. Keep your eyes peeled.
Aye, aye, captain.
[haunting voice singing]
Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?
[singing continues]
Let's follow her.
-Pull the ship out, captain! -I can't! She's not responding!
-[crew yelling] -[alarm sounding]
[yells]
♪ Who's the mouse who's fun and witty Scoops the news for New Mouse City ♪
♪ Geronimo ♪
♪ He's amazing, he's terrific Watch out, world, he's cheddarific ♪
♪ He's out of sight and in the know ♪
♪ Go ♪
♪ He's the one we call Geronimo ♪
Check out my new pet fish.
His name is James.
Isn't he cute?
Oh! Hi there, little guy.
[babbling]
Whoa!
Heh. He's quite wild.
Actually, they say he's pretty tame, for an Amazonian tiger fish.
Amazonian tiger?
Oh! Ow!
Let me handle this. I know how to talk fish.
Here, James.
[Trap gibbering]
A freighter got shipwrecked in the Santa Gouda straits.
Oh, I hope no one was hurt.
No, but according to this blog I read,
one of the crewmen said the captain was following a Mermaid Mouse.
A mermaid?
-Heh. Okay, maybe not. -Come on!
-Something caused that shipwreck. -[Trap] Back to bowl.
You're right. Mermaid or not, there could be a story here.
-[crunching noise] -[Trap screaming]
[sighs]
-We're almost at Santa Gouda. -Mermaid Mouse, here we come!
-What's all that stuff for? -Catching the mermaid, of course.
I had to give back James. Too much fish for me to handle.
But a mermaid? Heh-heh. I could handle that!
You know, mermaids are supposed to be very clever
and can cast their love spell on the most determined of suitors.
[laughs] Me? Fall in love with a fish?
I'm much too smart.
[yelling]
[all gasp]
Uncle G, Santa Gouda.
[inhales, then sighs]
Love that salt air.
-I'll bet seafood here is top-notch. -We can eat later.
First, we should ask the people here what they know.
What people? This place is like a ghost town.
I suggest we split up to cover more ground.
Good idea. Pandora and I can explore the beach and the waterfront.
We'll look in the village.
I'll explore the various snacking options.
-[groans] -[chuckles]
What? Somebody's gotta think about lunch.
Hey, there's someone.
Well, hello there! Welcome to Santa Gouda.
Nice to have some people visit our town. Mm-hm. My name's Paulette.
Here for rest and relaxation? A little R and R?
We're investigating the shipwreck that--
Oh, you mean, the Mermaid Mouse.
Ooh. Well, I've never seen her myself,
but a lot of superstitious old folks believe in her. Uh-huh.
-Interesting, but-- -Sorry. Where are my manners?
You must be hungry. Starving. Famished.
You must be a mind reader.
There's only one place to eat around here and that's the Rusty Hull. Uh-huh.
Yeah. It's just up the road. It's the best place in town. Real nice.
-Oh! [giggles] -Thank you.
Okay, thanks. We'll give it a try. Come on, Trap.
♪ Oh, a pirate's life for me A pirate's life for me ♪
♪ Don't remember the rest of the words A pirate's life for me ♪
Yeah.
That's great.
Wow.
Ah! You don't know good singing when you hear it, ungrateful sea dogs.
-[both gasp] -Well, hi again!
-I see you found the place. -Hey, you work here?
Sure do.
So, you're here about the mermaid, are you?
-I'm more interested in the shipwreck. -Which was caused by the mermaid.
Ollie Flap's the name. Sea shanty's the game.
So, Mr. Flap, what do you know about this, uh, Mermaid Mouse?
Oh, I can see you're a non-believer.
But I tell you, she's real enough.
The Mermaid Mouse sings a haunting melody that no sailor can refuse to follow.
Irresistible, that's what she is.
She's seeking a husband or just a friend to follow her down to her watery realm.
But that's a sure way to drown and a high price to pay for companionship.
They say she'll never stop until she finds that companion.
So, you know any place in town that might sell large fish tanks?
Oh, say about the size of a mermaid?
Tank? Have you lost your senses, lad?
She's no pet.
Right. Do they eat regular fish food, or do I need to get something special?
Stay away from her if you know what's good for you.
[pop music playing over speakers]
[screeching] ♪ My mamma said Girl, don't go out to sea ♪
♪ But I didn't listen And a-sailing I will be ♪
Whoa. And I thought Trap had a bad voice.
Well, thanks, Mr. Flap. We'll be leaving now.
[screeching continues]
-[scattered applause] -[patron] That's great.
Can you see anything out there? It's all a foggy blur to me.
Hmm. You're right. If we wanna see out there,
-we're gonna have to get on the water. -That's not what I meant.
[Thea] I have an idea.
It better not have to do with windsurfing.
Let's go rent some boards.
That was a great story.
Yes. But now, it's time to go after real facts.
We could go where the shipwreck happened and find clues.
My thoughts exactly, Benjamin.
Hey, this is great!
No reason why journalism can't be fun.
-You're doing well on that. -Huh?
[Thea gasps]
-Look! -[dolphin chittering]
The Mermaid Mouse.
False alarm. It's a dolphin.
[grunts]
Hmm.
There's the Meta Mouse.
Let's check with the guys and see if they found anything.
[gasps] Mermaid!
And she looks just like Thea.
[gasps, then grunting]
Trap!
Uh... Sounds like Thea, too.
It is Thea.
[grunts]
-How are you doing? You find anything? -Not yet. You?
Just this.
Don't know if it means anything. We'll keep looking.
Thea, be careful. The currents are unpredictable.
-That's interesting. -[Benjamin] We should check it out.
But someone needs to stay here.
I'll stay, in case the mermaid shows up. Heh-heh.
Careful. It's slippery in here.
[both gasp]
[haunting voice singing]
Huh? What's that?
[singing continues]
Wow.
She's-- She's--
She's beautiful.
[engine starts]
-It's just part of a loading crane. -A crane?
-What's it doing here? -I don't know.
Look at those ballast floats. This crane is designed to work underwater.
Look over there.
Crates, tire tracks. Huh. What's it all mean?
Huh. Check schedules of the major shipping lines.
What ships are due through the straits in the next day?
A ship called The Cheesecutter is coming through tonight.
And it's carrying a collection of rare fondue forks.
That collection is worth a fortune. If my hunch is correct,
The Cheesecutter is going to get a visit from the Mermaid Mouse.
So, you're saying...
I suspect our extraordinary mermaid is really a quite ordinary criminal.
What should we do?
Considering what we've found here, I think--
Look, the water is rising.
The tide is coming in. We'd better get back to the Meta Mouse.
[yells]
-Leave it, we have to get out of here. -[grunts] My hand's stuck.
[both grunting]
[both yell]
Uncle Geronimo!
[coughing]
I'm okay. But we need to get out of here, fast.
[grunting]
Hang on, Benjamin. I'm coming.
[both grunting]
Now, come on.
[both inhale]
[both gasping]
We have to contact the authorities and get them to warn The Cheesecutter.
-[grunts] Let me try. -We'll call from the Meta Mouse. Let's go.
[Benjamin] Uh...
Where is the Meta Mouse?
I'm coming, my love.
-What is he doing? -[Thea] Hey!
Oh! Thank goodness. We have to get back to the Meta Mouse.
I know. Trap is following the mermaid. He must've gotten caught in her spell.
[grunts]
[grunts, then yells]
Hang on. Grab this bar.
[grunting]
I got it.
-[yells] -[Thea gasps]
[singing continues]
If he doesn't get away from that current, he's gonna get sucked under!
Stay back. Geronimo and I will go after him.
-What about the singing? If you hear her-- -That's why I brought these.
How good are you at sailing this contraption?
-What do you have in mind? -To reach the Meta Mouse,
we have to approach from the right angle. We can use the current to take us.
But the tiniest miscalculation--
Will send us to the bottom of that whirlpool.
Leave it to me.
[grunting]
[whimpers] Don't panic. Don't panic.
[whimpering]
-Okay, panic! -[Geronimo] Trap!
Boy, am I glad to see you guys.
[grunting]
[both gasp]
[alarm sounding]
I can't change course.
-[grunts] The current's too strong. -[both whimper]
[both] Oh, no!
-Yeah! -Way to go!
[groans] Boy, I really thought I was a goner there.
-That'll teach you to follow mermaids. -Looks like the water
didn't damage my Benpad. Ha. Just a sec.
-What's this all about? -I'll tell you in a moment.
How's it coming with those tidal charts?
-[device beeping] -Hmm.
This confirms my hunch.
Our so-called Mermaid Mouse leads ships to a place where they're bound to wreck.
And the current will carry their cargo
right into the cave Benjamin and I explored.
We found a crane and some tire tracks in there.
Right! That's where the cargo is loaded onto trucks and hauled away.
I'm sure if we followed those tracks,
we'd find an exit on the other side of the hill.
The mermaid is in business with scavenger pirates?
No. That can't be true.
She'd never be involved in that.
Trap, that mermaid just tried to sink the Meta Mouse with you in it.
Uh... I'm sure it was just an accident.
Trap, you're in love with her. I thought you were too smart
-to fall in love with a fish. -Nope.
-[foghorn blows] -[all gasp]
Must be The Cheesecutter. No time to alert the authorities.
We're going to have to protect that cargo ourselves.
[singing]
Well, I'll be.
-[net launches] -[water splashes]
[grunts]
Mind if I give it a try?
[grunts]
[yelps]
Hey!
Oh, no.
[grunting]
No. I won't let you hurt her.
Trap, no!
[yells]
[grunting] Don't worry. I'll save you.
-[yells] -[all gasp]
What the--?
She transformed.
It's magic!
[yelling]
[grunting]
[foghorn blows]
[gagging]
Hmm.
This tail is made of polystyrene foam.
It's a mermaid costume.
No. No, it can't be!
I saw her grow legs!
[sobbing]
So, what do we do now?
I think it's time for a little karaoke.
How's it going? I bet you're hungry from all that mermaid hunting.
-What'll it be? -Five to ten years in jail, I'd wager.
[giggles] Excuse me?
[gasps]
Say hello to the Mermaid Mouse of Santa Gouda.
[all gasp]
How did you figure it out?
When we first met, there was something odd,
but I couldn't put my finger on it.
You were coming from the beach, like you'd been swimming.
But only the top part of your swimsuit was wet.
When we caught the mermaid and her fake tail came off,
it all came together.
The bottom half or your swimsuit had been kept dry by your mermaid tail.
Then, there was the matter of your terrible singing.
You were intentionally singing badly in order to throw us off the scent.
Then, there's this earring I found in the water.
It matches the one you're wearing.
Pretty smart. But now, I think it's time for your chowder.
Hm!
[groaning]
[sighs]
That's terrible chowder.
[all grunting]
Hey!
[whimpering]
Got you!
And so, the mysterious Mermaid Mouse of Santa Gouda turned out to be
not so mysterious after all.
Former swimming champion Paulette Flap, posing as a mermaid,
lured ships to rocky waters where they sank.
Their cargo drifting to a nearby cove
where it was salvaged by her grandfather, Ollie Flap.
They'll both be enjoying karaoke night for a long time in the state penitentiary.
Until next time, I'm Geronimo Stilton. Be well and be good.
[chuckles]
I knew there was no such thing as a--
Huh?
Mermaid?
Huh?
[grunting]
Wait for me!
I love you!
My darling!