The Mind Reading Chook by Hazel Edwards Read Free Book Online Page A

swishes around his magic wand.
    It snaps!
    â€˜Oh no,’ wails Merlin. ‘See? Everything is breaking down or getting lost. Last night I forgot which carpark I left my car in, so I caught the train home.’
    I looked into Merlin’s mind for clues. His memory is a bit murky. I see toothpaste, breakfast muffins and a dark hole. This must be where he forgets things.
    Merlin tries to superglue his broken wand. His fingers are stuck to the wand now.
    At least he won’t be able to lose that!
    â€˜Go and find the car first, ‘orders Flopsy.’ I don’t want to walk to work.’
    I wonder if Flopsy has anything to do with Merlin’s missing sense of humour?

    I try all my contacts. I peck around a bit. I find Merlin’s car. It’s a bit hard to miss a van with MERLIN THE MARVELLOUS written on the side. Especially when it’s the only vehicle left in the carpark.
    I hit the buttons on my mobile. Merlin is still stuck at home.
    â€˜Thanks for finding the car,’ says Merlin grumpily. ‘But I don’t feel like laughing.’
    â€˜Don’t worry. I’ll find your sense of humour next.’ I say.
    Merlin used to smile. He used to laugh. And he played jokes. Where did he laugh for the last time? On the train last night? Is that where he might have lost it?
    I visit the railway Lost Property Office. Umbrellas, shoes and sports gear fill the room. But no clues to a lost sense of humour.
    So then I check the henhouse. It’s the gossip centre of the yard. The hens know everything.
    â€˜Have you heard anything funny?’ I ask the hens.
    â€˜We might have. Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!’
    â€˜Merlin’s lost his sense of humour,’ I explain. ‘He needs it for his show this afternoon. I must find it before three o’clock.’
    â€˜So you’re the hard-boiled detective?’ says Rooster loudly.
    He makes the same joke every time we meet. It isn’t funny.
    â€˜Rooster fell off the henhouse roof yesterday morning. Merlin was here and he laughed. So he still had it then,’ says Inspector Clues, the French chick. ‘Would you like some help with this case?’
    I shake my beak. ‘Not yet, thanks.’ Unless it’s a French mystery, where you have to speak French, I think I’m better at the job.
    Yesterday’s laugh was a clue. But that was yesterday, not today.
    Rooster thinks he’s top of the pecking order. His job is to look after his hens.
    â€˜Heard any laughs around here?’ I ask him very politely. ‘Any giggles? Or even some smiles?’
    â€˜Why? Is laughing a crime?’ Rooster says. Then he laughs at his own joke. But he doesn’t look where he is going. He trips and falls into the water bowl, beak first.
    I try not to laugh. The hens giggle. Then they laugh aloud. Rooster shakes himself and stalks away. Drops of water fall on the ground from his dripping beak. In his mind, I can picture fireworks. He is very angry.
    I sigh. What happened to Merlin’s sense of humour? Where could it be?

Chapter 3
Eggs-actly Right
    In between jobs, I stay in the bird yard. It’s a great place! All kinds of birds rent a space. Ducks. Geese. Even a swan who teaches ballet.
    The bird yard is beside the community gardens in the park. I have my own loft where I keep my gear. There’s a space for my bike and the sidecar. And I can scratch around in the garden too.
    When I get home, I turn on my tablet. I tap my keyboard. Not everybody talks Chook. So a tablet screen is useful for a hi-tech chook like me.
    I try Chooks Anonymous. You can leave a question. Other people read it, and they leave answers if they’ve got any.
    I write: ‘Lost sense of humour belonging to Merlin. Please contact Astrid the Mind-reading Chook’ I type in my link. I hope someone leaves me a clue before three o clock.
    I peck in a few messages. You’ve heard of e-mail. Well, I use c(hook) mail.
    Then I play a few