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CHAPTER ONE
Marco Polo

Marco Polo was a mouse Christmas ornament. He was small enough to fit in a pocket and made of soft felt. His tail and arms had wire inside and could be bent to hold things or curled to dangle from a finger or a coat hook.
   He wore a little green vest and an acorn-cap hat. A loop of red ribbon was sewn to the back of his vest so he could hang on a Christmas tree.
   He had been made for a favorite librarian named Anne.
   “Oh my goodness!” Anne said when she saw him. “This little mouse looks ready for an adventure. I’ll name him Marco Polo after another brave explorer.”
   Marco Polo thought a brave explorer sounded like a good thing to be.
   At home, Anne looped Marco Polo’s ribbon around a branch of her Christmas tree. Every night he watched the tree lights blink: red, green, yellow, pink, and blue. He listened to the Christmas music and happy laughter when people came to visit.
   It was a nice life, but not an exciting one.
It’s hard to be a brave explorer when you can’t go anywhere, Marco Polo thought.
   So Marco Polo used his imagination. The Christmas tree smelled like outdoors. He imagined himself in a forest.
He’d race across the deep snow.
He’d go into the darkest middle of the woods.
Wolves and bears might chase him.
But brave explorers are never afraid!
   He was just pretending, though. Marco Polo’s ribbon kept him tied to the Christmas tree between a snowman and a Santa ornament.
   Then on New Year’s Day, Anne brought out a big box. She placed it beside the tree.
   Marco Polo was excited. What could be in the box?
   But when Anne opened it, the box was empty.
   Anne lifted the snowman ornament off the branch. She cupped her hand to hold it gently. “See you next Christmas,” she said, putting the snowman in the box.
Next Christmas? Marco Polo couldn’t believe his tiny ears. What does she mean?
   Anne lifted Marco Polo off the branch. She smiled, holding him in her hand. “You’re so cute. I hate to put you away,” she said. “If you were bigger, you could be a Book Buddy at the library. The children would love you.” Then she sighed. “But you’re too small. I’m afraid you’d get lost.”
   Anne put Marco Polo into the box with the snowman.
   Marco Polo’s heart broke. Too small? Aren’t mice supposed to be small?
   “But . . .” Anne said slowly.
   She thought for a moment. Then she got a pair of scissors.
   “Sometimes it’s good to take a chance,” Anne said. She took Marco Polo out of the box. She cut his ribbon.
   “You’re not a Christmas ornament anymore,” she said, pulling the ribbon from his vest. “You’re a Book Buddy.”
   Marco Polo stared at the curl of red ribbon on the floor. He couldn’t believe his tiny eyes.
   He was a real toy.
 
CHAPTER TWO
The Library

At the library, Marco Polo became a Book Buddy. Book Buddies were library toys and stuffed animals that children could read to and borrow. Each Book Buddy even had a journal so the child could write or draw the toy’s adventures at their house.
   All the children loved Marco Polo. At the library, they read stories to him. His favorite ones were about mice that had adventures. He especially loved stories about Geronimo Stilton,
   Stuart Little, Babymouse, and Ralph from The Mouse and the Motorcycle.
   The children played with him at the library. Sometimes he slept in the dollhouse. Other times, a child built him a mouse-size city with the blocks. The wire in his tail and arms helped him swing from fingers, coat hooks, table edges, and bookshelves.
   Being a Book Buddy seemed like a perfect job for a brave explorer, except for one very big problem.
   Marco Polo hardly ever left the library.
   Most parents never gave him a chance. “Don’t pick that one,” they’d say. “He’s too small. He might get lost.”
   Marco Polo would go back on the shelf. He’d watch the child choose Homer the owl or Dazzle the unicorn or Olive the hen and her chick, Roger.
   The other Book Buddies had journals full of adventures, but Marco Polo’s only had a few pages filled.
It’s hard to be a brave explorer when you can’t go anywhere, Marco Polo thought over and over.
   Then one day Seth came to the library with his dad and little brother. Marco Polo liked Seth because he read adventure books. Today Seth wore a blue T-shirt with a cactus on it.
 
   Marco Polo imagined himself in the desert.
He’d run across the hot sand.
He’d eat cactus flowers and sip cactus juice.
Coyotes might chase him. Rattlesnakes might snap their jaws at him.
But brave explorers are never afraid!
   “Story time will start in five minutes,” Anne called to the parents and children reading in the beanbags and playing games at the little tables. “Today I’m reading stories about chickens. Get ready to cluck! Our first book is Interrupting Chicken.”
   “Nate, you’ll love that one!” Seth told his little brother. “It’s so funny. I read it when I was little.”
   “Cluck! Cluck!” said Nate.
   Anne smiled at them. “And we can’t have a chicken story time without Olive and Roger,” she said. “They’ll be our guests of honor. Would you boys carry them for me?”
   Marco Polo saw his chance. Sometimes brave explorers must take matters into their own paws, he thought.
   Marco Polo hooked his tail into Roger’s tag.
   Seth picked the black-and-white hen off the Book Buddies shelf. He handed her to his little brother. “You can carry Olive.”
   Nate made Olive fly by flapping her wings.
   Then Seth picked up the fluffy yellow chick. “Come on, Roger.”
   Marco Polo came, too!
   But only for a few seconds.
   His tail fell out of Roger’s tag, and he tumbled to the floor at Seth’s feet.
   “Marco Polo, I promise you’ll be the guest of honor at a story time soon.” Anne set him gently back on the shelf. “Today, it’s Roger and Olive’s turn.”
   “Marco Polo is a funny name for a mouse,” Seth’s dad said.
   “I thought he looked like a brave explorer ready for an adventure,” Anne said.
   “Seth is going on an adventure this weekend!” Dad said proudly. “A birthday party sleepover!”
   “Really, Seth?” Anne asked. “That’s so exciting!
Will this be your first sleepover?”
   Seth shrugged. “Nate and I have slept at Grandma and Grandpa’s house,” he said. “But I’ve never slept over at a friend’s house.”
   “Lots of kids are coming to Ben’s birthday party,” Dad said. “But Ben could only pick one friend to sleep over. And he picked Seth!”
   “Can I borrow Marco Polo?” Seth asked. “I want to take him on my sleepover.”
  Yes! A sleepover would be a perfect adventure for a brave explorer! Marco Polo thought.
   “I don’t know,” Dad said. “He’s so small. I’m afraid he’ll get lost.” He picked up Piper the flying squirrel. “How about this one? He’s cute, too.”
   “No thank you,” Seth said.
   Dad picked up Homer the owl. “Or this one?”
   Seth shook his head. “I only want Marco Polo,” he said sadly.
   Marco Polo felt sad, too.
   He watched Seth follow Dad and Nate off to story time. What does it mean to get lost? Why is everyone afraid of it?
   He wished Seth’s dad would give him a chance. He’d prove that being small was not a bad thing.
   “Thank goodness they’re gone,” a voice said. “I’ve been holding this sneeze in all morning!”