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You look at the sign on the crossroads pointing the way to "Basil's Encyclopedia" (wherever that may be), & then head off in that direction. After walking for a short distance, you find a bench at the nearest stop for the Moustro speed-train; a couple of elderly mouse ladies, identical twin sisters in matching outfits, are sitting on this bench, waiting for the next train.

"Pardon me, ladies, but do you mind if I sit down?" you ask the women as you make your way over to them.

The ladies both look up at you with warm smiles that spread across from dimpled cheek to dimpled cheek, as they simultaneously shake their heads in negation. "Not at all, dearie!" the first lady says in a cheerful Irish brogue, moving over to make way for you. "Feel free to take a seat on the bench with us!"

"Yes, yes, by all means," the second lady says in a deeper voice that sounds more British than Irish, as she takes you by the paw & helps you sit down between her & her sister. "You're more than welcome to wait for the Mousetro train with us; my sister & I would greatly enjoy your company."

"Thank you," you tell the ladies with a smile, sitting down between them as you pull your suitcase up to rest in your lap. "That's very kind of you."

"Allow me to take your suitcase, dearie," the first sister says, reaching over to try & pick up your baggage, but you shake your head in declination of her offer.

"No, that's quite all right," you tell her, "but thank you, anyway, Miss...?"

"MacIntosh," the first lady replies. "I'm Bonnie MacIntosh, & this here..."--she gestures to the other lady--"...is my younger twin sister, Connie."

"A pleasure to meet you both," you tell the MacIntosh sisters, reaching out to shake them by the paw.

"So, young mouse," Connie asks you when she finally draws her hand away from yours, "you must be new around Mouse London! Where is it that you're trying to go?"

"To some place called 'Basil's Encyclopedia' or something," you answer. "But I'm afraid I don't know where it is."

The MacIntosh sisters are suddenly shocked to hear the words that are coming out of your mouth; they turn their heads to look at one another in their utter state of bewilderment, then look back at you with the same wide-eyed expressions on their faces. "You honestly don't know where it is?" Bonnie gapes in stupefied awe. "Good heavens, child! I thought everyone in Mouse England, if not the entire rodent world, knew who lived in the house at Lower 221B Baker Street!"

"Wait a second, Miss MacIntosh: did you just say Lower 221B Baker Street?" you ask Bonnie, now beginning to understand where your destination is. "Isn't that the house where Basil & his family live?"

"Yes, indeed, it is, child!" Bonnie says, her expression quickly changing from shocked to cheerful. "So I take it you do know where you're going, after all!"

"Of course, I know where I'm going," you mumble, your pride feeling just a little bit wounded.

"Oh, don't worry about it, dearie!" Bonnie says with a chuckle, gently patting you on the head in a motherly manner. "Many of the other newcomers tend to end up in the same situation as you, not exactly knowing where everything is on first hand!"

"I think the problem was that I got confused by what I read on that sign back at the crossroads near the train station," you muse.

"If you ask me, dear sister," Connie says to Bonnie, "they really shouldn't put 'Basil's Encyclopedia' on that sign. It's far too confusing to visitors who don't know where his house may be."

"Indeed, sister, indeed," Bonnie replies, nodding her head in agreement. "Why don't they just say 'the house of the Baker Street Family', or something?"

"Absolutely!" Connie says with a firm nod of her own head.

While the MacIntosh sisters carry on with their conversations, you look to your left & see a Mousetro train coming up to park in front of the stopping area; on the little electric signs above the train doors, you can see that the Mousetro is headed for your destination at Baker Street.

You turn to look back at the MacIntosh sisters, but when you see that they're still talking with one another, you decide not to interrupt them. Quickly, quietly, you take up your suitcase, rise from the bench, & make your way into one of the Mousetro cars. You sit down in the plush-padded seat beneath the nearest window, & after the car doors slam shut, the train begins speeding down the tiny electric tracks as it sets off on its journey.

It only takes about 15 minutes or so for the Mousetro train to reach Baker Street, scenically located in the West End of Mouse London, & once the Mousetro pulls up to a stopping place on the street, you get off your ride & step onto the sidewalk. After watching the train continue on its way, you take up your suitcase & start walking down the pavement; in the distance, at the intersection of Baker Street & another road, you can see the house of Sherlock Holmes come into view, getting closer & closer with each step you take.

When you finally make it to the front yard of the house (after much walking!), you take a right turn to stroll down the cement pathway leading to the entry ramp of the Baker Street Family's carport / front porch, built in a hollow cave that serves as the main entrance to their home. The family's large red van takes up quite a bit of space in the carport, so you have to be careful as you make your way around it & go over to the front door. Clutching your suitcase in one paw, you bring the other paw up to knock on the door a few times. Almost immediately, the door is opened by a plump, middle-aged mouse woman with a tiny pair of spectacles perched upon her nose; she is dressed in a housekeeper's outfit, complete with a pale-blue frilled bonnet & a matching-colored apron that she wears over her long-sleeved, long-hemmed dark-turquoise dress.

"Good day," you greet the mouse woman, giving a polite bow in her direction. "Aren't you Mrs. Emily Judson?"

"Aye, the mousekeeper, maid, cook, & landlady at Lower 221B Baker Street," Mrs. Judson replies in her cheerful Scottish brogue, her dimple-cheeked face flashing a sweet smile at you. "Are you looking to stay for a visit? If so, by all means, do come in!" With that, Mrs. Judson takes you by the paw & leads you into the living room of the house of the Baker Street Family.

As you sit down in a comfortable azure loveseat, you take a look around at the living room, filled with a warm, cozy glow emanating from the fire blazing in the hearth. The living room looks even nicer than it does in the pictures you've seen of it; the lush green carpet blends well with the chartreuse-&-ruby-striped wallpaper, & all sorts of beautiful pictures, paintings, & portraits adorn the walls. The room is filled with lovely furniture & decorations, as well as a big-screen TV, a large oval looking-glass, & a dresser-table with a telephone & answering machine on it. And just above the fireplace, you can see the mantle-shelf proudly displaying Basil's various newspaper clippings, case souvenirs, awards & trophies, fursonal knick-knacks, & the (in)famous framed portrait of Mouses Fiennes.

After making sure that you've gotten settled in, Mrs. Judson retreats into the kitchen, then comes back out into the living room, smiling at you as she displays a silver tray full of delicious treats--cheesemallow delights, cheese tarts, cheese muffins, a cup of Swiss-cheese ice cream, a bowl of cheese soup, slices of cheese pie & cheese-cake...&, of course, a cup of herbal tea, along with her famous cheddar-cheese crumpets.

"Tuck in, dearie!" Mrs. Judson says brightly as she hands you your food. "Try to eat as much of it as you can; I can tell you're quite hungry."

"Sure thing, Mrs. Judson," you reply, licking your chops & eagerly--but politely--digging into your meal. When you've finished everything on your tray, down to the last cheddar-cheese crumpet, you dab at your mouth with a napkin, then hand the empty tray back to Mrs. Judson. "Thank you so much," you tell Mrs. Judson with a big grin. "The food was delicious!"

"You're welcome, young mouse," Mrs. Judson says with a flattered expression as she takes the tray into her hands & begins cleaning it off with a rag. "Glad you enjoyed it!"

You nod at Mrs. Judson in acknowledgement, then relax into your seat comfortably, stretching your arms & legs a little. Then, after thinking about it for a while, you decide to remark, "Gee, it's awfully quiet here today...Are we the only ones here?"

"Well," Mrs. Judson replies as she finishes cleaning the tray, "all the kids have gone off to play with their friends, & the other grownups are taking care of some business elsewhere. Basil's the only furson in the house with us."

"Where's Basil?" you ask, wondering if you might be able to pay him a visit.

"Oh, he's upstairs, in his study room on the second floor," Mrs. Judson answers.

"Is it all right if I go see him?" you inquire. "I'd really love to pay him a visit."

Mrs. Judson thinks for a moment, then nods her head in approval. "Go on up, dearie," she says. "Just be sure to knock before entering the study room; Basil likes to be given notice when he receives visitors."

"OK, I will," you reply, getting up from the loveseat & walking over to the staircase that leads to the second floor of the house.

After climbing up the stairs, you enter a hallway & approach the first door that you see in front of you: the door to Basil Of Baker Street's study room. Remembering Mrs. Judson's instructions, you knock on the door, then wait for a response. A few seconds pass, before the door opens to reveal The Great Mouse Detective himself standing in the threshold; he is all dressed-up in his crime-fighting outfit, sans deerstalker cap, & when he sees you in front of him, he smiles genially at you. "Hello, & welcome to my & my family's humble abode," Basil says in a warm, amiable tone, extending a paw to shake your hand. "I trust you know who I am, right?"

"You're Basil Of Baker Street, of course," you reply with a knowing smile. "Who else would you be?"

"Quite right," Basil says, before leading you into the study room. It's a slightly-small, cluttered chamber with brown walls & planked floors, which are bare of anything but a burgundy rug in the center of the room. On the "south" wall, accompanied by a comfortable lavender easy-chair, is a large writing desk with a laptop, a jar of pens & pencils (& other writing tools), an electric sharpener, & plenty of papers & documents in little cubby-holes & drawers (a calendar hangs on the section of wall above). On the "north" wall, resting on two larger desks that have been put together side by side, are a humongous, complicated chemistry set, all sorts of crime-fighting gadgets, & countless scientific instruments.

Ahead of you, a desk on the "west" wall of the room supports an ash-testing machine & a footprint-making device. In the "northwest" corner of the room stands a wastepaper basket, filled with all sorts of maps, charts, & diagrams. Next to the door, on the "east" wall, is a large bookcase full of numerous different encyclopedias, tomes, books, atlases, periodicals, & dictionaries (a big blue-&-green globe rests next to the bookcase, in the "southeast" corner of the study).

"So, let me guess," Basil says as he goes to shut the door behind you. "You're not from Mouse London, & you've never been here before, but you've arrived here by train this morning, & you are currently taking a vacation to the city..." He turns to face you with a wry smile. "Am I right?"

You're gaping in open-mouthed awe. You always knew Basil's deduction skills were supposed to be marvelous, but now that you've witnessed their power for yourself, you think they're absolutely miraculous!

"Ah, I see that my powers of deduction have rendered you speechless," Basil says with a big grin. You giggle in reaction to his words, then say, "I suppose you can tell those things about me, because of the suitcase I'm carrying, the train ticket-stub in my pocket, my leisurely style of attire, & my comfortable walking shoes?"

"All those things...& the obvious fact that I've not written about you in my Encyclopedia Of The Residents Of Mouse London," Basil replies.

You raise an eyebrow in quizzical confusion, not quite sure what Basil's talking about. "What is the Encyclopedia Of The Residents Of Mouse London, exactly?" you ask the detective.

Basil responds, "Why, it's my entire library of periodicals about everyone who's ever lived in Mouse London &/or met me & my family...with a few special entries on residents of other realms, too."

"Well, you've certainly caught my interest," you tell Basil. "Where do you keep these...encyclopedias of yours?"

"They're over there, on the shelves of that large bookcase by the door," answers Basil, pointing to the bookcase in question. You walk over to it, & begin browsing through the titles on the shelves, pondering which one you're going to read first...

 


 

THE BAKER STREET FAMILY

The crime-fighting clan who became the heroes of Mouse London

 

FRIENDS & "NEIGHBORHOODIES"

The local residents of Mouse London

 

THE SCHOOL STAFF

The teachers & faculty members of the Basil Of Baker Street School District

 

THE RAT TRAP CREW

The staff & stage performers at the Rat Trap Family Restaurant

 

THE MOUSE GYPSY CARAVAN

The inhabitants of the Mouse Gypsy caravan at Trafalgar Square

 

THE MOUSE DETECTIVE AGENCY

The employees of Mouse London's greatest law-enforcement office

 

THE LONDON MOUSE UNDERWORLD

The scoundrels & the scum of Mouse London's streets

 

THE MOUSE LONDON ELITE

The rich & famous denizens of Mouse London

 

THE ROYAL FAMILY

The ruling family of the United Mouse Kingdom, as well as their staff & relatives

 

THE 66TH REGIMENT

The members of the 66th Regiment of the British Rodential Army

 

THE HOLMESTEADIANS

The friendly (& not-so-friendly) citizens of a cozy Western town

 

THE DEARLY DEPARTED

The rodents who have ceased to be, & are no longer with us

 

THE BAKER STREET FAMILY, VERSION 3

The future descendants of the Baker Street Family

 

OTHER CHARACTERS

The characters who inhabit realms outside of the GMD Fanfic World

 


 

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