Interesting7 to 13 years old300 to 500 wordsEnglish
Story Content
Barnaby Buttercup, a young boy with a nose for trouble and a penchant for mischief, adored his school, Sunny Meadows Elementary.
More specifically, he adored Sunny, the school's mascot - a bright yellow sunflower with an eternally cheerful grin.
One Monday morning, disaster struck! Sunny was gone!
A frantic search ensued.
Mrs. Periwinkle, the principal, wrung her hands.
Mr. Grumbles, the grumpy janitor, grumbled louder than usual.
Barnaby, however, smelled a rat...or rather, something much stinky.
The only clue was a faint, lingering odor of rotten cabbage near the trophy case where Sunny usually stood.
"Hmmm," Barnaby mused, scratching his chin. "That smells awfully suspicious."
Barnaby's best friend, Penelope Pip, joined the investigation.
Penelope, armed with a magnifying glass and a notebook, was the brains of the operation.
They followed the stinky trail, which led them to the school kitchen.
Chef Pierre, usually a jolly man, looked pale and flustered.
"Chef Pierre, have you noticed anything unusual this morning?" Penelope asked politely.
Chef Pierre wrung his apron. "Non, non! Just...a slight fart...excuse me, *gas* leak near the vegetable steamer."
Barnaby exchanged a knowing look with Penelope. The fart excuse was not fooling him. That stink was definitely cabbage-related!
Suddenly, Barnaby remembered a trick he'd learned from his grandpa, a retired circus clown: cabbage smells become *intense* under pressure.
He examined the vegetable steamer closely.
Attached to the steamer's vent was a tube that suspiciously snaked its way out a nearby window – a window leading directly to...Mr. Grumbles' storage shed!
Following the tube, Barnaby and Penelope peeked into the shed.
There, tied and gagged (with a dish towel, of course!), sat Sunny the Sunflower!
And next to Sunny, looking incredibly sheepish, was Mr. Grumbles, holding a large bag of fertilizer...and emitting the occasional nervous fart.
It turned out Mr. Grumbles hated Sunny’s cheerfulness, calling him "a menace to misery."
He planned to replace Sunny with a gloomy raincloud mascot that he had constructed himself!
Barnaby and Penelope freed Sunny, who immediately bestowed a sunny smile upon them.
Mr. Grumbles apologized (and continued to fart apologetically) promising to embrace cheerfulness and ditch the raincloud.
Sunny Meadows Elementary was saved, all thanks to a missing mascot, a peculiar stinky odor, and Barnaby's sensitive nose.
From that day forward, the faint smell of cabbage and the sound of Mr. Grumbles politely excusing his occasional accidental farted became fond memories of their incredible adventure.