^fi

Wonderful'
World of "£>Ts^ PIXAR -^~ji
Readiling

RATATOUILLE
v (rat>a»too»ee)

^SCHOLASTIC
H
 V

I.

any means, electronic, mechanical, photdt

written permission of the copyright holder

gos are trademarks and/or registered

marks of Scholastic Inc.

>n regarding permission, write to:

Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011.

978-439-02415-0
,9-02415-3

the U.S.A.
May 2007
 RATATOUILLE
(rat>a«too«ee)

SCHOLASTIC INC.
New York Toronto London Av kland Sydney
Mexico City New Delhi Hong K< ng Buenos Aires
 'V

m
Deep in the French countryside, a colony
of nits sifted through a compost heap for
food. It was a dirty job, but Remy had to sniff

all the scraps of bread, vegetables, and who

knows what else to make sure they were safe to

eat. His brother, Emile, was always impressed

by Remy s sense of taste and smell.
Secretly, Remy had a bigger dream
than rummaging through trash. He
wanted to be a great chef, like his idol

Auguste Gusteau. Remy had even read

Gusteaus book Anyone Can Cook!

/"N
 ;h the cookbook and the compost heap belonged to

.m old woman named Mabel. Mabel's attic was home to

the whole rat colony, although Mabel had no idea the rats

lived upstairs.
 One day, as Remy sneaked into her kitchen to look for a

spice, he heard Gusteau's name. Remy learned that the great

chef had died from a broken heart after his restaurant lost its

five-star rating.

')
1HB i-

^^L«

K^l

r
 Remy was so shocked by the news about
Gusteau that he didn't notice Mabel waking up.
He and Emile scrambled to escape as Mabel
chased them. In the chaos, the ceiling cracked
and the entire rat colony fell to the floor.

"Sound the alarm! Evacuate!" cried out

Remy's father, Django.

As the other rats headed out the door, Remy
went back into the kitchen for the cookbook.

He couldn't leave it behind!

_
 rtunately, Remy was left behind! All the other rats
•

i,» the evacuation boats that were floating in the creek,

d from his family, the little rat tried to use the

raft, but was swept away, taking a wild ride

down into the sewer pipes. When he finally came to a stop, he

ill alone, hungry, and sad.
 Soon after, Remy began to dry out his precious cookbook
pages. Magically, Gusteau seemed to conic to life on the page
Or was it Remy's imagination? "If you arc hungry, go up and
look around," said Gusteau. "If you focus on what youve Left

behind, you will never be able to sec what lies ahead."

 raris.' Kemy said breatmessiy. /\ii

this time IVe been underneath Paris? Wow!

It's beautiful!"

Remy looked to his left. His jaw dropped

He saw the sign for Gusteau's restaurant.
"Your restaurant?" Remy said to Gusteau.

"You've led me to your restaurant!"

For Remy, this was a dream come true.

 I Ren iv perched atop the restaurants
skylight, looking down into the kitchen.

I moment an awkward-looking
At that

J^ young man named Linguini arrived with

a letter for Skinner, the ill-tempered chef in
charge of the kitchen. Linguini s mother had
been a good friend of Gusteau's. She wanted
her son to have a job at the restaurant.
Skinner had no choice. He hired
Linguini as the garbage boy.
 _

\ little while later, Linguini accidentally spilled a pot

of soup. Remy watched in horror as Linguini secretly added

water and ingredients to the pot in an attempt to fix the soup.

10
 *

Just then, Remy fell down from the skylight and landed in

the busy kitchen crowded with chefs! I le scrambled to escape

through an open window.

3
 ... fc * i t m..

Remy ran by the big pot of soup

then stopped short. It smelled horrible!
Encouraged by Gusteau, Remy thought this

was his chance. Remy knew he could fix

the soup! He jumped onto the stovetop and

started tossing carefully picked ingredients

into the pot.

ac
 As Remy worked he suddenly realized that a huge face

was staring at him. It was Linguini. But Skinner was right

behind him! Linguini quickly hid Remy under a colander.

Skinner shouted at Linguini. "How dare you cook in my
kitchen!" He fired Linguini on the spot.
 knew the questionable bowl of soup was
Before anyone it,

on its way to the dining room where an important restaurant

critic sal waiting to eat.

Everyone in the kitchen was nervous as to what the critic

Word came back: the soup was

thought about the soup.
delicious! The critic loved it!

53
 Skinner couldn't believe it, so he tasted the soup himself.

It tasted incredible!

"Urn . . . am I still fired?" asked Linguini.

Reluctantly, Skinner gave Linguini a second chance. He

assigned Colette, one of the cooks, to teach Linguini.
 In the commotion, Remy darted towards the window.
Bui Skinner spotted Remy.
•

ordering Linguini to catch the rat in a jar,

ner demanded, "Take it away from here, far away.

I )ispose oi it. ( ro!

U
 Linguini didn't have the heart to throw Remy in the

river. Instead, the young man started talking to the little rat.

When Remy nodded, Linguini realized that Remy understood

him. Linguini made a deal with his new rat friend: I ,inguini

would let Remy out of the jar if the rat promised to help

Linguini cook.

25
 is soon as Linguini opened the jar, Remy ran for his

life, Then he stopped. Remy felt guilty, and turned back. He

felt bad for Linguini, but he also realized that this could be
his big chance to cook in a gourmet kitchen!
 Back inside the restaurant, Linguini hid Remy in his shirt

asRemy tried to help the young chef with his cooking. But
Remy kept tickling and biting Linguini to guide him along.
Ouch! It didn't work very well.

tym
 rat under his chefs hat.
In the
Finally Linguini hid the
bustling kitchen, the pair
was about to collide with the waiter,
Linguini's hair. Linguini jerked
backwards
Remy tugged
like a r u 1T ct, just
ducking under the waiters tray. The young
„,,,„ was amazed. Could
this be their new system?

V
Sm
w
#
L

Linguini and Remy went

home to practise cooking. Remy
guided Linguini by tugging his hair.

Before long, Linguini was chopping,

mixing, and pouring — all the while
blindfolded!

aa
 I ,inguini returned to Gusteau's and re-created the soup
easily, with Remy's help. Before long, Linguini was doing
very well as the new cook. In the meantime, Skinner finally

read the letter from Linguini's mother. In it, she said that

Auguste ( rusteau was Linguini's father. Nobody knew,

not even Linguini — or Gusteau!

Skinner was horrified. He had thought the

restaurant would be his.

X
 )

•## „**ifc% 1

^ 4
-1"\

*M»d f] I

Skinner's lawyer reminded the chef what was in ( rusteaus

will. The will said Skinner would inherit the restaurant but

only if Gusteau had no heirs. Now Linguini was the rightful

owner. Skinner had to do something to make sure Linguini

never found out.

 One night, as Remy was relaxing in the alley behind the
restaurant, enjoying a cooking success, Emile appeared!
Emile led his long-lost brother to the rat colony's new
home. Overjoyed, they held a party in honor of Remy s
homecoming. Music and dance filled the sewer.

$9
 Soon Remy had to leave. He said that he had a job and a

place to live —with humans. Remy's father scowled and tried

to convince his son that humans were dangerous. He took

Remy to an exterminator's shop that specialized in getting
rid of rats. Against his father's wishes, Remy headed back to

the restaurant.
i liii *
 Meanwhile at Gusteau's, Remy realized
that Linguini was so smitten with Colette
that the young man couldn't keep a secret.

Just as Linguini was about to take off his

chefs hat to reveal that Remy was the chef

behind the cooking, Remy gasped.
"No, no!" whispered Remy, as he yanked
hard on Linguini's hair. Linguini jerked
forwards and kissed Colette. It was quite
a surprise to all of them, but Remy's secret
was safe — for now.
/ -- *..-..-rrr=
 Not long afterwards, Remy found Gusteau's will
and the letter proving that Linguini was the rightful
owner of the restaurant. But Skinner spotted the rat.

Remy grabbed the papers and ran. Skinner didn't

want those papers to get into the wrong hands
He chased Remy to a boat, but the chef ended up
in the river.

By the time a soaking-wet Skinner returned to

Gusteau's, Linguini knew the truth. Now it was his

turn to fire Skinner on the spot.

 ( )ver the next few weeks, the restaurant became extremely
1 popular. But Linguini became arrogant and didn't think he

needed Remy's help any longer.

—
One night, the famous critic Anton Ego the same
person who had ruined Gusteaus five-star rating —
arrived

and warned: "I will return tomorrow night with high

expectations."
 After Ego's announcement, Colette angrily
dragged Linguini back into the kitchen, trying to get him
to concentrate. Remy was also furious at Linguini's careless

behavior and pulled his hair hard.

Linguini snapped. He took Remy out to the alley and
yelled, "You take a break, Little Chef. I'm not your puppet!

V)
 so angry that he brought the entire rat colony to
Remy was
and told his friends to take what they
the walk in refrigerator
wanted.
That's when Linguini returned to apologize.
"You're stealing from me?" Linguini angrily
asked Remy.

thought you were my friend. Get out and don't come

back!"
"I

kemv left the kitchen.

K
 n

The next day Remy went back because he felt horrible and
knew Linguini needed his help.
"Rat!" shrieked all the chefs when Remy walked through
the door.
"Don't touch him!" shouted Linguini. "The truth is, I

have no talent at all. But —

this rat he's the real cook."

41
 All the cooks walked out — even Colette. Only
Remy and Linguini were left to cook for Ego.
Django stepped out from the shadows. "I was
wrong about you. About him," Django told Remy,
referring to how Linguini stood up for the little rat.

"I'm proud of you."

Django whistled, and the rats filled the kitchen.

"Were not cooks, but you tell us what to do,

and we'll get it done." All the while, the health

inspector watched through the door.
 lust then, Colette returned and agreed to. help cook the

dish Remy had chosen: ratatouille. After sampling the meal,

asked to meet the chef. Linguini introduced Remy.
Without a word, Ego walked out to pen his review.

k^
 ;Y

i
V /'V

^O^T

The next morning, Ego gave the restaurant

a glowing critique! Unfortunately, the health

inspector also closed Gusteau's — due to rats.

But soon, a new little bistro opened: I ,a

Ratatouille, which became famous for its delicious

food. Ego was an investor, Linguini was the

waiter, and Colette cooked — along with Remy.
The little rat's dream had come true. I [e was a

chef at last.
 eye snf
h v/otering jo"'" 6*

MM
Wonderful
World of
Reading

o M3i o?ms

SCHOLASTIC INC.
This edition
9"78(K39»024 150 is available for distribution
only through the direct-to-home market.