"So... wait a minute... " said Wizzie. "What about all the other competitors in Rodent Roundup? What happened to them?"

"Oh, BBF!"

"What - Big Blue Flash and they all vanished - just like that? Without even having a go?" said Dot. It sounded really cruel!

"Yup!" said Mr Mouse. "See, Brian Mallow reckons he can tell - he can feel who's got a chance of making it and who hasn't. So, the only people in Rodent Roundup who even get to show their stuff are the ones he decides have got something to give - even if they don't do good when they try. That's where that darned humming bird comes in!"

"What's he called?" asked Wizzie.

Mr Mouse laughed. "Ya wouldn't believe it!" he said. "But Mallow calls him Flossbottom!"

"Flossbottom?" giggled Dot. "That' a bit rude!"

"Yeah, right, and it don't make him good-tempered either" said Mr Mouse. "He's kinda mean with the people he chooses... I think he picks people who he thinks will mess up, but Cousin Esure says no."

He stopped for a moment. Then he shook himself and started again.

"So we're all hanging there in our little flying saucers next to Mallow. There's me and Cousin Esure, a guinea pig called Samantha who can really sing, sounds just like Charlotte Church, the Astounding Rixman, he's a white rat who does magic tricks, Sweet Georgia Gerbil, she's into ice skating big time. No one down below us - the hall is empty after the big BBF."

Wizzie growled. Scary noise! Dot could tell he was still angry about the way Brian Mallow just deleted anyone he didn't like.

Mr Mouse spread his arms out. "Tough, Wizzie - sure, but that's showbiz! Anyways, Mallow looks around, does the big stare again. Then AT last, he actually speaks to us. He does this big grin - but it's only with his mouth, there's no friendly look in his eyes, and you can see these big yellow teeth, all those coypus have got that."

Wizzie just growled again. Mr Mouse shrugged. Then he went on:

"Mallow goes "Well ladies and gentlemen - congratulations! You have won through to the next stage of my Rodent Roundup - but now you must PROVE you are worthy of this fantastic opportunity, to appear on TV in the esure.com commercials. First though, let's clean house!"

"Clean house?" asked Dot.

"Yeah" said Mr Mouse. "And this I can show you - I recorded it! I'd noticed there was camera on the front of each of our little ol' flying saucers, and a computer terminal in the cockpit with a USB port I could put my memory stick in. Thought I'd give it a try - and it worked! " Once again, Mr Mouse hopped from key to key on Dot's laptop. A logo came up with 'Mr Mouse - Superstar Status' on it. (It's his own web page. He's so mega-pleased with himself, really!)

"And this is what happened!"

On the screen, Dot and Wiz could see the big studio where Rodent Roundup had taken place, looking down on it from Mr Mouse's flying saucer. Then - it reminded Dot of a TV show on Origami she'd seen once, where a clever girl had been showing how to do the amazing Japanese art of paper folding - the whole studio (it was as big as a cathedral, remember!) - just folded away in on itself... it got smaller and smaller, till all that was left was a little square of sparkling white on the floor of the great wide plain of Networld, stretching out for millions of megabyte miles in every direction, all under the greeny-blue sky of the Internet.

Then - pfft! - it was gone too.

Mr Mouse minimized the screen on the laptop and looked at his two friends.

"Cool or what?" he said with a grin. "That guy Mallow can do the big stuff all right, ya gotta hand it to him..."

"A-mazing!" said Dot. She'd never seen anything like that before!

"And then he says - "And now, my dears, it's time - time for THE FIVE TESTS!"