Milo stepped onto Maple Street, his fedora pulled low and his magnifying glass already in paw. He spotted Mrs. Hen's garden gate swung wide open.
On the wooden step rested a single yellow feather. "A mystery!" Milo announced, adjusting his hat and crouching down to examine it.
Milo followed the feather trail across three garden beds, around a sleeping dog, and past a row of tomato plants.
At the end of the path, he found the feather connected to a torn piece of chicken wire. Someone's been sneaking in.
He pushed his hat up, tapped his chin, and followed small paw prints leading away from the garden.
The paw prints led to Mr. Fox's garden, where they vanished at the door. Milo spotted a red scarf draped over the fence and followed a trail of carrot tops.
Milo parted the leaves and found a tiny mouse family huddled inside, each holding a carrot — Mr. Fox's missing dinner.
Milo helped the mice carry carrots back to Mr. Fox's door. The fox's face fell when he saw his dinner missing — and his red scarf gone.
Then Milo noticed wet footprints leading away — straight to the town square. A child's blue balloon was stuck high in the old clock tower.
Milo climbed the tower and spotted the tangled string through his magnifying glass. He stepped carefully across the laundry maze — over a stripey sheet, under a towel, around a flag.
He reached the window and freed the balloon. Below, a little girl gasped and clapped, her face lighting up with joy.
Milo returned home, hung his fedora on the hook, and placed his magnifying glass on the shelf. He looked at his solved cases and purred loudly.