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Charlie’s Cherry Mystery
By: Denice Ryan Martin
Every day after school, Charlie ate a hot fudge sundae with a big, red cherry on top.
One day, Charlie had a big surprise. The cherry wasn’t there!
“Who took my cherry?” Charlie cried.
“Not me,” Mom said. “I was washing the dishes.”
“Then I have a mystery to solve!” Charlie said.
“Good luck,” Mom said.
Petey the parakeet chirped in his cage.
“Petey says ‘good luck,’ too,” Charlie said.
Charlie started looking for clues. A red drop of cherry juice. Or a sticky fingerprint. Anything would do.
Charlie looked under the table. He looked under the chairs. He looked in the dog dish. He even smelled the dog’s breath!
“Your ice cream is melting,” warned his Mom. “You better hurry and solve your case!”
Petey chirped goodbye as Charlie left the kitchen. He had to find a clue and soon!
Charlie’s first stop was Grandpa’s workbench. He looked at Grandpa’s lips. Aha! They were red! Charlie had his first clue.
“Grandpa, did you eat my cherry?” Charlie asked.
“No, Charlie,” Grandpa said. “I just finished a cherry lollipop.”
Charlie spied the lollipop stick in the garbage pail.
Charlie went to find his little sister. She was having a tea party with her teddy bear. He spotted a red dot on the dishes. “Aha,” Charlie said. “You took the cherry for your teddy bear’s dessert!”
“I did not,” his sister said. “We had strawberry jam on toast.”
Charlie sniffed the teddy bear’s plate. It was strawberry after all.
Charlie kept searching for clues. Then Charlie stopped and sniffed the air. He smelled cherries! And the smell came from his Dad.
“Aha, I caught you,” Charlie said.
Dad nearly fell out of his chair. “How did you guess?” he asked.
“I had help from my nose,” Charlie said.
“I’m sorry I took some of your cherry bubble gum,” Dad said. “I should have asked.” Then he blew a big bubble that popped on his face.
Charlie shook his head. Maybe he would not solve the missing cherry mystery after all. Charlie went back to the kitchen.
“Any luck?” Charlie’s mom asked.
“No,” Charlie said with a sigh. “Eat your ice cream,” his mom said. “You’ll feel better.”
But Charlie did not feel like eating ice cream. He wanted his cherry mystery solved!
Petey chirped. Charlie looked at the bird in his cage. Aha! What was that? Charlie ran to Petey’s cage. Petey’s claws were red. A bright, cherry red. Petey’s beak was red. A bright, cherry red.
There in the bird’s dish was the last, tiny bit of Charlie’s cherry.
“Petey did it!” Charlie exclaimed.
“Petey!” Mom cried. “But how?”
Charlie checked the door to Petey’s cage. It was locked. How did Petey get out of his cage?
“It looks like I have another mystery to solve,” Charlie told his Mom.
“After I eat my ice cream.”
~The End~ Illustration Copyright © 2008 Lisa Griffin
Copyright © 2008 by Denice Ryan Martin |
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