Sly the Sleuth and the Food Mysteries by Donna Jo Napoli Read Free Book Online

walk around the side of her house to look at the rear?”
    â€œI don’t want anyone in her house to see me.”
    â€œThat sounds suspicious,” said the man.
    â€œI’m a sleuth,” I said. “I run a detective agency. So the things I do sound suspicious. But they’re not really.”
    The man pursed his lips. “What’s your name?”
    â€œSly.”
    Now he pulled on his earlobe. “What’s your real name?”
    â€œSylvia.”
    â€œI had a cat named Sylvia once. Okay.” He shut the door.
    Okay? Did he mean it was okay for me to go in his yard?

    My father laughs at the funny things kids say. But adults say funny things too.
    I ran around to the back of his yard. I peeked into Princess’s yard.
    There were no footprints in Princess’s backyard.

Misting
    I went home. Jack and Brian and Melody were playing dominoes in the porch.
    â€œDid you find out who the thief is already?” asked Jack.
    â€œNo. Come with me.”
    â€œCan I come too?” asked Brian.
    â€œThere might be sleuthing to do. Stay with Melody.”
    Melody looked crushed. I knew she wanted to come. But then she perked up. “We can go ice-skating.”
    â€œI love ice-skating,” said Brian.
    Melody and Brian left through the porch door.
    Jack and I went out the front door.
    â€œWhere are we going?” asked Jack.
    â€œTo Princess’s. You went there yesterday, right?”
    â€œI told you. After school Noah and I kicked around the soccer ball a while. Then we split and I went to talk to Mr. Monti.”
    â€œWas it snowing when you left Princess’s house?” I asked.
    â€œNo. It had already stopped.
    â€œGood,” I said.
    â€œGood? Sometimes you don’t make sense, Sly.” Jack kicked his soccer ball into a mound of snow. Then into another. Then into another.
    I led the way up Princess’s front walk. Jack stashed his ball beside the door. I rang the bell.
    Princess’s father answered. He was tall. And he had a long mustache. And a lot of spiky hair. He looked sort of like an upside-down broom.
    â€œHello, Mr. Monti,” I said. “Is Princess home?”
    â€œCome in, come in.” Mr. Monti smiled big. He stepped aside so we could pass.
    â€œHello.” Princess came running to the door. She held a bucket. “Oh, it’s you. I thought it was Noah.” She handed me the bucket. “It’s my job to do the trees. You’re just in time to help.”

    She got another bucket for Jack. And she took one too. She led us to her front yard. “Fill your buckets with snow.”
    We filled our buckets with snow.
    I had no idea what was going on. But this was fun.
    We followed Princess back inside.
    She dumped the snow into a pot. She heated it on the stove. The snow melted.
    Cooking snow was batty. But it was still fun.
    Next she filled plastic bottles with the melted snow. The bottles had little hoses on them. And a squirter at the end.
    We went into the sunroom armed with our squirter bottles. Princess squirted an orange tree up near the top.
    Jack walked over to a pot. He put his finger in the dirt. He squirted the dirt.
    â€œStop,” said Princess.
    â€œBut it’s dry. And, hey, you don’t know so much, Princess. Plants drink through their roots. Not their leaves.”
    Princess laughed. “We’re not watering. We’re misting. In winter we water once a week. But we mist every day. Like this.” She squirted high in a tree. “Try to get the whole tree.Top to bottom.”
    â€œWhat good does misting do?” asked Jack.
    â€œThey need humidity,” said Princess.
    â€œWhy use melted snow?” asked Jack.
    â€œThere’s salt in tap water. It’s bad for the trees.”
    â€œWhat happens when there’s no snow?” asked Jack.
    He sure was full of questions.
    â€œWe use distilled water. But after we finish misting today, we can fill lots of