the case of the creature with toenails

名称：the case of the creature with toenails
内容简介：
Dear Arizona,
　 I love mysteries—reading them, watching them, and even writing them! Do you think it’s crazy that I want to be a detective?
　 —Sherlock in Sherman Oaks

Dear Sherlock,
　 You would have loved last week at my school! A bunch of us were hanging out, eating lunch, and talking about nothing, when my friend Max jumped up like there was a fire or something.

“Whoa, Max!” said Carlos. “What’s going on?”

“Something’s under there!”

“What are you talking about?” asked Mareya.

“It was climbing up my leg!” said Max.

“It was probably just a bug,” said Carlos.

“No way,” said Max. “This thing had toenails.”

Carlos, Mareya, and I looked under the lunch table.

“Hey, I see it!” said Carlos. “It’s red and white and square and has letters on it—M, I, L, and K.”

“So funny I forgot to laugh,” said Max. “I’m not afraid of a little milk carton. Whatever touched my leg was definitely alive.”

“We believe you,” I told him.

“We do?” asked Mareya.

“I believe you,” said Carlos. “That is, I believe you have a seriously overactive imagination.”

“I’ll find that thing,” Max said, “and prove I’m not making it up!”

But the bell rang, and we had to go back to class.

“All right, settle down,” said our teacher, Mr. Moony. “The first word on our spelling test is exaggerate. The boy exaggerated when he said he was so hungry he could eat a horse.”

While I was writing the word, I heard a snicker coming from Carlos. I knew he was thinking that Max had been exaggerating at lunch.

“The next word,” said Mr. Moony, “is doubtful. People were doubtful that the boy was telling the truth.”

I heard another snicker—this time coming from Mareya.

“The next spelling word,” said Mr. Moony, “is persist. The hikers persist until they make it to the top of the mountain.”

As hard as I tried, I couldn’t keep my mind on my spelling test. All I could think about was how, if Max and I persisted, we could solve the mystery.

The bad thing is that I was so distracted, I ended up getting my worst spelling-test score ever. The good thing is that later on at recess, when we told Mr. Moony what had happened at lunch, he said, “Oh, there’s nothing like a good mystery!” And he let us go do some detective work.

Max and I inspected every square inch of the lunchroom for clues. We looked under, over, and around the tables and chairs, along the windowsills, and behind the doors.

Then I noticed something strange—teeny-tiny bite marks in a lettuce leaf on the floor by the garbage can. “Check this out!” I said, pointing at my find.

“We found a clue!” cried Max. He looked over at the garbage. “Hmm . . .”

“Hmm what?” I asked him suspiciously.

“If we’re serious about finding the culprit, we should go through the garbage, right?”

“Eww!” I gagged. “You know, let’s remember that some cases are never cracked. Maybe it’s time we gave up.”

Right then, Miss Becker, the second-grade teacher, came into the lunchroom.

“You two haven’t seen Juniper by any chance, have you?” she asked. “He’s our classroom gerbil, and we can’t find him anywhere!”

“Um, that depends,” said Max. “Does Juniper happen to have very scratchy toenails and enjoy climbing up the legs of unsuspecting strangers?”

“What Max is trying to say,” I explained, “is yes! Well, not exactly, but almost. I mean, he didn’t see Juniper, but he definitely felt him!”

“Right here at lunch!” said Max.

“Really?” Miss Becker said. “Do you think he’s still in this room?”

“I don’t think so,” I told her. “We’ve looked everywhere.”

“You mean almost everywhere!” Max pointed at the garbage can.

And it was so weird! At that very moment, an overturned salad bowl shuff led out from behind the garbage can. And who should poke his cute little nose out from beneath the bowl?

“Juniper!” cried Miss Becker. “There you are!”

“Um, Arizona,” said Max. “What was that you were saying about giving up?”

You should have seen the expressions on Carlos’s and Mareya’s faces when Miss Becker stopped by our class to say, “I just want to thank Max and Arizona for solving the mystery of our missing gerbil!”

So, to answer your question, dear Sherlock, I think detective work rocks! Asking the tough questions, searching for clues, and getting answers—what’s not to love? Just keep your eyes open. There may be mysteries to solve in your very own lunchroom.

Ciao for now,

Arizona