A Pet Mystery for Kids

The Pet Mystery

Suspects:
The new neighbor
The mysterious woman
The paperboy
The taxi driver

It was Nelson's thirteenth birthday and he was on his way to the back porch with a bowl of dog food for Tank, their German Shepard. "Here Tank!" he called out. Where are you, boy?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he put the food on the porch and went back inside, pausing in the living room, staring out the windows at their neighbor's lawn. "Dad!" he called out, running up the stairs. "Dad!"

"I'm right here," he said, standing in the bathroom with shaving foam on his face.

"The new neighbor across the street has a yard full of pets! Tank's over there with them!"

Meg, Nelson's twin sister, came out of her room, followed by their mother. "What's all the hollering about?" Moments later, the four of them were standing at the front window, looking out at the dogs and cats, lying in their neighbor's front yard.

"See," Nelson said, pointing out the window. "There's tank."

"That's the Higgins' golden retriever he's lying next to," Meg said. "Look! That's Jingles lying with those other cats. What are our cat and dog doing over there?"

"The question is," the father said, "why are any of them over there? I recognize the Jackson's Irish Setter, the two calico's from next-door, there's the spaniel that belongs to that woman down the street. Why have they gathered over there?"

"Who's that?" Nelson asked, pointing to the pet infested lawn, where a woman appeared from around the back corner of the house, carrying a cat.

"This is quite a little mystery," the mother said on her way to the front door. "Lets go see."

The four of them left the house and crossed the street to the neighbor's lawn. The animals began to move around. Some of the cats ran away while others simply strolled off. Tank got to his feet with a friendly wag of his tail as Jingles wandered slothfully back across the street to their front porch.

"Hello," the father said to the woman. "Do you live here?"

"No, I live in the house behind this one. I'm just here to get my cat."

"Do you know who lives here?"

"I haven't a clue," she said a bit peevishly, walking away.