By Lisa Timpf
Wan December sunlight shone down on Fairyland, softening the edges of nearby buildings. The clear blue sky boded well for the first day of business at Frank’s Detective Agency.
My detective agency.
I turned toward my desk, clapping my fore-hooves in anticipation. Perhaps my first case would be a big one, like those portrayed on the Fairyland Network’s Fetlock, a show about crime-solving unicorns.
The bell above the door jangled. A client!
I swung around as Mama Cat wiped her feet on the welcome mat. “Frank Pig,” she said. “I haven’t talked to you since—”
“Grade school,” I said, grinning. “What brings you here?”
“The Three Little Kittens. Something’s happened.”
“Catnapped?” My voice squeaked. I didn’t want to sound excited, so I tried for a more subdued tone. “I mean, that would be terrible, but—”
“No. It’s—” Mama Cat wrung her paws. “They’ve lost their mittens. It took me so long to make them—”
“Wait. You came to me about lost mittens?”
“Yes. The kittens won’t tell me what happened. I’m afraid maybe they’ve been bullied, or…” Mama Cat’s gaze drifted to the front window.
I tilted my head. This wasn’t the breakthrough case I’d hoped for. Still, I’d vowed to repay my brother Bob for his generosity. He’d given me a place to live and work after the Big Bad Wolf blew down my house.
I couldn’t afford to be picky.
“I’ll look into it.” I frowned. Perhaps the kittens had been careless, or worse—like a certain pig I knew.
Mama Cat nodded. “Thank you.” After describing the missing items, she departed.
I watched her leave, arms crossed. Didn’t she understand young animals? I’d deliberately “lost” the neon green scarf my mother had made, because I’d been teased about it.
Before I could go too far down memory lane, Bob popped in.
“Construction business slow?” My tone was curt, with good reason. Just this morning, he’d berated me again about my poor choice of building materials. The criticism, though justified, still stung.
“Winter is my slow season.” Bob grinned. “I saw Mama Cat leaving. Did she bring you a case?”
I nodded.
“Can I tag along?”
“Suit yourself.” I briefed Bob, then donned my winter jacket and hat.
“The kittens cut through the park on their way to school. We’ll pick up their trail there.”
***
“Snowball fight, from the looks of it.” Bob studied the maze of tracks.
“With Goldilocks and the youngest Bear, I think. I’ll bet their mittens got wet, and they set them down. Let’s look around.”
After a methodical check of every possible place the mittens might have been dropped, I admitted defeat.
Bob turned to me, his eyes glinting. “You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?”
Yes, actually. Instead of voicing that thought, I searched for clues. There. Tracks, leading toward the school. I pointed. “Let’s follow the evidence.”
***
Shaggy the spider intercepted us at Fairyland Public School’s front door. He still served his dual role of custodian and janitor, just like he had in my day. Standing on two legs, he held the door open with a third.
The spider scowled and lowered his eyebrows, one over each of his eight golden orb eyes. “No visitors during school hours without the principal’s say-so.”
His gravelly voice had deepened an octave over the years, and I stepped back. “We’re just looking for information.”
Shaggy waggled his eyebrows. “I see things. Whaddaya want to know?”
“You know the Three Little Kittens?”
“Who doesn’t?”
“Did they leave their mittens on the radiator, to dry out? Might you have them in the Lost and Found?”
“Last I saw, they were wearin’ them when they left for home yesterday.”
My shoulders sagged. “You sure?”
“Are flies tasty? Sure I’m sure. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I got work to do.”
Shaggy retreated into the school. The door clanged shut behind him.
I sat on the steps, head in my hooves.
“Hey, don’t give up, little bro. We know where the mittens aren’t.”
Bob was right. If I couldn’t solve this case, what use would I be as a detective? I sighed. “Let’s trace their route home.”
“That’s the spirit.”
***
The kittens’ homeward trail led through the town square. I stopped at the window of Fairyland Toy Emporium and gawked at the scarlet train racing around its circular track, suddenly thrust back to when I’d been a young pig, standing in that very spot beside Bob and our other brother Will.
We’d been so close, back then.
I turned to look at Bob, who was gazing into space. I glanced past him at the Giving Tree in the middle of the parkette. The spruce tree’s boughs sagged under the weight of Christmas presents left for those whose couldn’t afford to buy them.
Dangling from the lowest branches were three pairs of mittens matching the description Mama Cat had provided.
I squealed in delight. “There they are!”
“You just solved the case!” Bob clapped me on the back. “Go tell Mama Cat. I’ll meet you at home.”
***
Mama Cat offered to pay up right away, but instead of taking money, I asked her if she’d knit me a scarf.
“Only if you promise to take good care of it,” she said.
“I will.”
As I trotted toward home, I pondered Mama Cat’s reaction to my news about where the mittens had ended up. Instead of being angry, she’d said, “Their intentions were good.”
I’d wasted so many hours stewing about the Big Bad Wolf affair and Bob’s smugness. Just like the Three Little Kittens, he’d meant well. He only wanted to protect me from harm.
It was time I cut my brother some slack. Maybe we could spend the afternoon window shopping, just like old times . . .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
love this story!
I loved the inclusion of those other fairytale characters! Great story!
“Are flies tasty?” had me laughing. Nice story.
Fun story!