"Oh," said Dr. Boo one morning as she stretched lazily in
the bright sunshine on the back porch, "I do love the sun. It makes
me feel warm and sleepy."
"Humph," declared Sherlock Kitty. "I rather feel like
solving a mystery today. Too much sun isn't good for you, you know."
And he stood up and walked over to Dr. Boo and nudged her black fur rather
ungently. "You could use some exercise, Dr. Boo. You're far too comfortable
and, may I say, a mouse-hunt would do you a world of good."
Dr. Boo yawned a very big yawn, shook herself awake, and said, "I
suppose you're right."
"Of course, I'm right," agreed Sherlock Kitty. "And
it's been some time since we checked the mousetrap which the Human put
in his garage. For all we know, the cheese in the trap is long gone."
"Do you really think so?" inquired Dr. Boo. "I thought
you said that..."
"...yes, yes, I know. I said that no mouse in his right mind would
want to risk taking cheese from a trap but mice today are rather clever,
you know." Sherlock Kitty licked his paw and then looked at his colleague.
"Mice today are very different than they were when you and I were
little kittens. They have all sorts of ways of getting cheese out of traps.
Come with me and let's investigate."
So Sherlock Kitty and Dr. Boo left the sunny back porch and walked
through the grass toward the garage. They stopped at the birdbath and looked
up to see if any of the bluejays or sparrows were taking a quick plunge
but all was quiet. A few minutes later, the two detectives were standing
in the wide-open doorway of the garage.
"Look!" said Sherlock Kitty. "The cheese is gone! Exactly
as I predicted!"
"Good heavens!" Dr. Boo declared. "You're absolutely
right!"
"A very, very clever mouse must have done this! Dr. Boo, be careful
not to put your paws anywhere near the trap!"
Dr. Boo nodded. "That is very good advice indeed. Let's not get
too close to it."
At that moment, sounds exactly like rustling paper made the ears of
both detectives stand up straight.
"Be on your guard!" ordered Sherlock Kitty and he spread
himself low to the ground, trying to be as small as possible. Beside him,
Dr. Boo did her very best to do the same. "Don't make a sound,"
whispered Sherlock Kitty.
As they waited, the sound of rustling paper became louder and louder
and then, from behind a stack of old newspapers, appeared a rather large
mouse. It was very surprising to see that this mouse wore a bright red
waistcoat and a pair of glasses. And in one paw, it was carrying a large
piece of newspaper, while in the other, this amazing mouse was pulling
a mouse-sized lawn chair.
"La-di-da, la-di-do," the mouse was singing to itself and,
as Sherlock Kitty and Dr. Boo watched in amazement, the mouse stopped beside
the mousetrap where it unfolded the lawn chair and sat down to read the
newspaper.
"Good morning to you," said the mouse suddenly, peering through
the lenses of his glasses at his visitors.
"...um...um...good morning to you," replied Dr. Boo who was
always polite and who didn't know what else to say.
"Do you think it might rain today?" the mouse asked. "I
was planning on hanging my washing out to dry but my big toe is tingling
and that always means rain is on the way."
Sherlock Kitty nodded. "My big toe tingles just before it rains
too." He opened his eyes a little wider and looked at the mouse. "If
you'll pardon my saying so, it is rather unusual to see a mouse reading
a newspaper sitting in a lawn chair in our garage."
"Well," replied the mouse, "I have seen stranger
sights myself but I will grant you that it might be unusual for cats...seeing
as we don't always get along too well with each other." The mouse
removed his glasses and popped them into the pocket of his waistcoat. "Allow
me to introduce myself...Arthur Andermouse is my name, although my best
friends call me 'Artie' and sometimes 'Andy'."
"Nice to meet you," replied Dr. Boo. "I am Dr. Boo and
my companion here is the well-known cat detective, Sherlock Kitty."
"Ah!" Arthur Andermouse said, "even I have heard of
the famous Sherlock Kitty and Dr. Boo. Indeed, I have read of your amazing
adventures right here in the newspaper."
Sherlock Kitty purred, "We do our best to solve mysteries which
baffle all others, it is true. In fact, we are here because of an investigation
at the moment."
"Really?" replied Arthur Andermouse. "What may I ask
are you investigating?"
"That," said Dr. Boo, pointing her paw at the empty mousetrap.
"Oh, I wouldn't touch that if I were you," said Arthur Andermouse.
"Mousetraps are very dangerous and unpredictable, even for cats. You
need a lot of experience and luck to handle mousetraps, I can tell you.
Lost three whiskers to one once when I was younger." Arthur stroked
his whiskers with one paw. "Mousetraps should be banned, I think."
Dr. Boo purred her agreement for she did not like traps of any kind.
"Actually," Sherlock Kitty said, "we're wondering where
the piece of cheese that was in trap has gone. As you know, mousetraps
are designed to spring shut and capture any mouse who attempts to take
the cheese."
"So you say," agreed Arthur Andermouse. "And cheese
is certainly something which is of interest to a mouse. I like a daily
portion of cheese myself when I can get it." He smiled at the cats
and twitched his nose. "Cats, I take it, do not like cheese?"
"Can't stand it," agreed Dr. Boo. "Too smelly!"
"You are correct, Arthur," replied Sherlock Kitty, "but
how do you suppose the cheese in this mousetrap has gone missing?"
"Ah," Arthur Andermouse smiled, "probably because I
ate it."
"Indeed?" asked Dr. Boo, quite amazed.
"Indeed," confirmed Arthur. "I ate the entire piece
and lovely to chew it was. A medium-aged cheddar with a most lovely smell.
Not too hard, not too soft. Just right."
"Well then," declared Dr. Boo and she couldn't prevent a
rather large yawn. "it looks like the mystery of the missing cheese
has been solved."
Arthur Andermouse smiled. "So sorry you've travelled all this
way."
"Just a moment!" Sherlock Kitty stood and walked closer to
the mousetrap. "Exactly how did you manage to get the cheese without
springing the trap shut? As you can see, it has not yet been sprung."
Arthur Andermouse put on his glasses again and peered at the trap.
"You are quite correct. The trap has not been sprung."
"And I believe I know how you accomplished such an amazing feat,"
declared Sherlock Kitty.
"Do tell," urged Dr. Boo.
"Indeed, do tell," echoed Arthur Andermouse.
Sherlock Kitty sat back and scratched several times behind his left
ear, something he always did when he was thinking hard. After a few moments,
he spoke. "You, Arthur Andermouse, used your lawn chair to prevent
the trap from springing. I detect small scratches on the aluminum edges
of the chair where you placed it inside the trap."
"Good heavens, you are quite remarkable!" said Arthur. "Indeed,
that's what I did!"
"And once you prevented the trap from springing, it was an easy
matter for you to take the cheese. Indeed, I detected the smell of cheese
on that very newspaper you are reading."
"Amazing!" said Arthur. "I used this very newspaper
to wrap the cheese so it wouldn't go stale and hard." He turned to
Dr. Boo. "I like soft cheese, you see," he explained.
"Of course," Dr. Boo replied. "It makes perfect sense."
"There you have it," declared Sherlock Kitty. "I pronounce
this mystery solved."
"Thank goodness for that," said Dr. Boo. "Can we go
back to the porch and get some sleep now?"
"I believe we can," agreed Sherlock Kitty. "I am rather
hungry. Solving mysteries does make me quite peckish."
"Ahem!" said Arthur Andermouse, looking slightly nervous.
"You weren't thinking of a mouse for lunch, were you?"
Sherlock Kitty looked at Dr. Boo and then they both began to laugh.
"Good heavens, no!" they chorused. "Mice are far too boney
and tough to chew."
"And there's all that chasing just trying to get them," said
Dr. Boo. "Too tiring."
Arthur Andermouse smiled. "Then I bid you a good day. It has been
my pleasure to meet you."
"Au revoir," said Dr. Boo, who loved the French language
and used it when she could.
"Come on, Dr. Boo," said Sherlock Kitty, heading out of the
garage and along the path to the back porch, "I want to write down
the particulars of this mystery while they are fresh in my mind."
"I have just the title you need," declared Dr. Boo, hurrying
after him. "Why don't you call it 'The Mystery of the Missing Cheese'?"
"Really, Dr. Boo," sniffed Sherlock Kitty. "Surely there's
a better title than that!"
THE END
Written by:
David Boyd
