Amazing Mystery Show by Gertrude Chandler Warner Read Free Book Online Page A

paper. As she read the riddle aloud, the other Aldens leaned closer to catch every word above the noisy traffic.
“A kind of ship
    that never sails—
    it bites and spits
    and has a tail.
    What is it?”
    “I’ve never heard of a ship with a tail,” said Henry. “Or a ship that never sails,” added Jessie. The Aldens thought long and hard about the strange riddle. Benny was the first to break the silence.
    “I bet Fiona bites and spits,” he said with a frown.
    “Oh, Benny!” cried Violet. “I know she’s not very friendly, but I don’t think she bites and spits.”
    “She sure wasn’t friendly to Hilary yesterday,” Jessie recalled.
    “Fiona’s hard to figure out,” put in Henry. “She doesn’t even want the Best kids to make friends with us.”
    “I guess she doesn’t place any value on friendship,” Violet said with a shrug.
    Benny’s big eyes got even bigger. “That’s it!”
    The other Aldens looked over at him, puzzled. “What’s it, Benny?”
    “The answer to the riddle!” Benny almost shouted. “It’s friendship .”
    Jessie thought about this. “That’s a good guess,” she said. “But—”
    “It doesn’t bite and spit,” Benny finished with a sigh.
    “It doesn’t have a tail, either,” Henry pointed out.
    Benny’s face suddenly brightened. “A dragon has a tail,” he said. “And it bites and spits fire, too!”
    “That’s true,” said Violet, smiling a little. “But a dragon isn’t a kind of ship.”
    That didn’t stop Benny. “How about a ship filled with so many dragons that it can’t even float?”
    The others burst out laughing. “Keep trying, Benny,” said Henry. He gave his little brother a pat on the back.
    Andy suddenly spoke up. “How about we change location,” he suggested. “That fountain in Franklin Square would make a better background. How does that sound?”
    The Aldens thought it sounded just fine. Andy stopped filming as they headed for the park.
    “It’ll seem strange to go back to normal,” said Violet. “Without a camera following us around, I mean.”
    “I know,” Henry was quick to agree. “I can’t believe this is our last day on the show.”
    Hearing this, Andy said, “Actually, it’s my last day on the show, too.”
    The children stared at the cameraman in surprise.
    “What happened?” Violet asked in alarm. “Was the show cancelled?”
    “No, nothing like that,” Andy told her. “I accepted a job with another station.”
    The Aldens all looked at each other, stunned.
    “You’re leaving ‘The Amazing Mystery Show?’” Jessie could hardly believe her ears. “But … why?”
    “I thought you liked working for the show,” Benny said, looking confused.
    “It’s a great place to work,” Andy was quick to say. “But there’s one catch.”
    As if on cue, the Aldens asked, “What’s the catch?”
    “The show frowns on its employees dating each other.”
    “You’re talking about you and Hilary, right?” guessed Violet.
    Andy didn’t deny it. “We had to keep it a secret or we’d lose our jobs,” he confessed. “But I can’t do that anymore,” he added. “You see, I’m planning to ask Hilary to marry me.”
    “Oh, how sweet!” Violet said, a dreamy lookin her eyes.
    “I know how much Hilary loves working on the show,” Andy explained. “So … I decided to make the switch.”
    Henry nodded his head in understanding. That’s what Andy had meant on the phone. He wasn’t talking about switching the landmarks on the map. He was talking about changing jobs.
    Andy looked over at the children sheepishly. “I’m sorry for not being honest with you before,” he said. “You must’ve wondered when you saw the photo of us together, Violet.”
    “I’m glad you told us,” Violet said, as they drew near the fountain. “It explains a lot.”
    The Aldens looked at one another. They were each thinking the same thing. They could cross Andy off their list of suspects.
    The four children turned their