Read Online Sly the Sleuth and the Pet Mysteries by Donna Jo Napoli - Free Book Online Page A

cat.”
    â€œThe vet said that too,” said Kate. “But see for yourself.” Kate went to the window and called, “Clarissa, breakfast!”
    The next thing I knew, a very large fuzzy gray head came through the middle of the rubber cat door. Clarissa looked around. “Meow,” she said. Then her two front legs came through. “Meow!” she said louder. She was huge. And she was stuck.

    Kate grabbed Clarissa’s front legs and gently pulled her inside.
    Clarissa was the fattest cat I’d ever seen. And she didn’t have a collar. People who love their cats put collars on them. “Why don’t you have a collar on your cat?”
    â€œIt pops off,” said Kate.
    â€œHow can a collar pop off?”
    Kate opened a drawer and took out a collar.
    Clarissa was eating away happily.
    Kate put the collar on Clarissa. Clarissa’s neck was so big, the collar barely made it around.
    As soon as it was on, Clarissa stopped eating. She worked her front paw under the collar. The clasp gave and the collar popped off. Clarissa went back to eating.

Easy Answers
    Clarissa ate every morsel in her dish. She licked the plate. Then she sat and cleaned her paws and face.
    Kate petted Clarissa tenderly.
    â€œClarissa is even fatter now than she was when she came in,” I said.“How will she get out her cat door?”
    Kate opened the people door and Clarissa waddled outside. “Can you help me figure out what’s making Clarissa so fat?”
    â€œMaybe she’s going to have kittens,” I said.
    â€œThe vet said she can’t,” said Kate.
    Oh, well. So much for easy answers.
    We stood side by side and watched Clarissa lie down in the sun.
    A couple of sparrows hopped about in a bush.
    I got an idea. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try. “Do you have stale bread?” I asked.
    â€œWhat?” said Kate.
    â€œYou know, bread to feed birds. Got any?”
    â€œSure.” Kate opened a bag on the counter. She handed me a piece of old bread.
    I crushed it in my hand and threw the bread crumbs on the ground near Clarissa.
    Clarissa looked, but she didn’t move.
    The sparrows flew down and ate the crumbs.
    Clarissa watched them. Then she rolled onto her back.
    â€œWell, your cat didn’t get fat eating birds,” I said. “I bet she’d be too slow to catch them even if she tried.”
    â€œPoor Clarissa,” said Kate.

The Search for Clues
    Clarissa slept.
    While she slept, I went around the yard looking for clues.
    Kate followed me. “What are you doing?”
    â€œLooking for clues.”
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    â€œWhat good is it to keep looking, then?”
    This was not an encouraging question to hear on my first case. I held my head high.“That’s what sleuths do,” I said.

    â€œThat seems dumb to me,” said Kate.
    â€œDo you want Clarissa to lose weight or not?” I asked, which was not a fair question for two reasons. First, I knew the answer. Second, I wasn’t sure I could help make Clarissa lose weight.
    â€œI do,” said Kate.
    â€œAre you hiring me or not?”
    â€œI am,” said Kate.
    â€œThen go away.”
    Kate went into her house.
    I looked harder for clues. I found none.
    Clarissa woke up. She walked slowly to the bushes and disappeared under them.
    I followed her.

Another Fat Cat
    Clarissa was not under the bushes.
    I crawled through and watched Clarissa cross the backyard of Kate’s neighbor.
    Maybe Clarissa was a friendly cat who visited the neighbors for fun.
    But Clarissa kept on going. She came to a hole in the fence and struggled through to the second neighbor.
    The hole was large enough that I could get through just by holding my breath. I could see why Kate was worried. Clarissa sure was a fat cat.
    By the time I got out on the other side, Clarissa was nowhere in sight.
    I walked around the fence, looking for