BACK MINI5 5' Mini-mysteries for the mouse detective Michaela Mouse lived in a hole under the roots of a large tree. One day she heard a knock at the door. When she opened it, she saw a beautiful blue and white butterfly. "You have to help me, please!" exclaimed the butterfly, "Three of my sisters have disappeared! And something horrible has happened to them, I just know it!" "Where did you last see them?" asked Michaela Mouse. "I'm so upset I can't remember." replied the butterfly, "Let me think. My oldest sister I last saw down by the creek. We were sipping nectar from the tiger lilies. My younger sister... let's see, down by the creek. Come to think of it, that's where I last saw them all!" "Then that's where we'll start looking." said Michaela as she closed the door behind her. As she walked, the butterfly flitted overhead. As they approached the creek Michaela pointed at a bush and said, "That's funny." "What's do you mean?" asked the butterfly. "Ever since I can remember there's been a spider web in that bush near the creek." observed Michaela. "Yes, I know," replied the butterfly, "That's the first thing our mother warned us about when we were just caterpillars. She said, 'Don't fly near that spider web or you'll end up as the spider's dinner.'" There were dozens of tiger lilies growing near the edge of the creek, so Michaela asked, "Do you remember which tiger lilies your sisters were sipping from?" The butterfly pointed her wing tip and replied, "The blossoms on the end." Michaela asked, "You mean, the blossoms closest to where the spider web used to be?" "Yes." replied the butterfly, "Do you think the spider got them?" "Well, it certainly is suspicious!" said Michaela, "Let me do some more investigation. You go about your sipping of nectar, but stay away from the blossoms on the end." Michaela noticed that the tiger lilies on the end were in the shade of a large oak tree. So she climbed the tree and went out onto the branch hanging over the suspicious blossoms. But she didn't see anything. So, she waited and watched for a long time. After a while a honey bee flitting from blossom to blossom landed on the second to last tiger lily. Suddenly, it disappeared inside of the big blossom. Michaela climbed down the tree and climbed up the stem of the tiger lilly and looked down into the cone-shaped blossom. At the bottom, a spider was wrapping the bee in spider silk. "Hey, spider!" exclaimed Michaela, "You're not playing fair! Spinning spiders are supposed to catch their food using spider webs! You can only eat what flies into your spider web." "Mind your own business, mouse!" replied the spider. "I'll catch my food any way I like!" "Why are you doing this?" asked Michaela, "Spider webs catch plenty of insects." The spider replied, "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm not so good at building spider webs. All the insects can see my web and avoid it. The only insects that fly into my web don't see so good. So, I thought I would try something new." Michaela said, "Well, it's against the rules for spinning spiders to do that. You have to go back to spinning spider webs or you have to leave the park." "Go away! Don't bother me!" exclaimed the spider. "I'm giving you one last warning." said Michaela Mouse, "Stop what you're doing and go back to spinning webs or leave the park." "Get lost!" exclaimed the spider. So, Michaela climbed down the stem of the tiger lilly and went to visit her friend Mr Mole. An hour later, the tiger lily mysteriously fell over and landed in the creek. The spider tried to swim away, but two minutes later he was out of the park, just as Michaela promised. It made such a ruckus that all the bees and butterflies swarmed around the downed tiger lilly. The butterfly pointed with her wing tip and exclaimed, "Oh, look! All the roots of that tiger lilly have been chewed off. I wonder how that happened?" (Do you know how it happened?) Mr Mole's food is the roots of plants. Michaela Mouse suggested that Mr Mole might enjoyed the roots of this particular tiger lily. And when all the roots had been eaten, the tiger lily could no longer hold itself up. Good bye spider! And all the other insects cheered. Michaela climbed up the stem of the tiger lily on the end and found the three butterfly sisters tied up with web silk. Using her sharp mouse teeth, Michaela chewed away the web silk and let them go. And Michaela Mouse, the world's greatest mouse detective, solved another mystery!. ©2008 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: This story is free. Pay no fees or royalties. Do not sell this story or rewrite it. You may reproduce and distribute this story freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.bobsnook.org/kid email: bob@bobsnook.org BACK |