Children's Story

Penelope Jones - On the Case

  The Mystery of the Little Blue Room

Penelope Ann Jones was not your typical five-year-old.  She was a brilliant detective with two heroic sidekicks, Thunder and Lightning.  Thunder was a fluffy grey cat with the attitude of a moody teenager and the smarts of a grownup.  Lightning was a turtle.

For as long as Penelope Jones could remember, her father had read her stories about a clever detective who could solve any mystery, with a trench coat, hat, and magnifying glass to help him.  With each story, Penelope learned more and more about solving mysteries and even started to read on her own.  Now, at the wise age of five, she was about to solve one of her own mysteries.

About three months after Penelope’s fifth birthday, something strange began to happen around the house.  People would come and go, bringing her parents gifts and words of advice.  The gifts were always placed into the little blue room at the end of the hall that was always locked.  And what was this room for? Penelope did not know, but she was going to find out.

“Thunder, Lightning!  It’s time to investigate!”  Penelope threw on her best detective outfit, her blue raincoat, hat and boots.  She would have asked her parents what the room was for, but they were out and only her babysitter, Claire was here, watching something simple on T.V.  So she would have to solve this one on her own.

She grabbed her magnifying glass and notebook and dashed for her bedroom door, ready to solve the mystery of the little blue room. “We need to start with a clue!” Penelope thought aloud, “I know!  Everyone who has visited mom and dad left a note.  Let’s find one and maybe it will lead us to another clue!” 

So Penelope and her trusty sidekicks hurried to the counter to find a note.  Well, Penelope and Thunder hurried, Lightning, being the turtle that he was, took a little longer. And sadly, all of the notes were gone!  Thunder licked her paw with a frown, clearly very disappointed.  “I’ve got an idea!” Penelope exclaimed and ran from the counter.

And there, just where she guessed it would be, was a crumpled up note on the top of the trashcan.  “A clue!” Penelope shouted to Thunder and Lightning.  They looked at her and blinked to show their excitement.  “Let’s read it!” 

She began to read the note out loud, “Dear Henry and Lucy Jones, We have left you this new blanket and some cookies and wish you the best of luck! Love, Julie and John Peterson.”  Penelope wrinkled her brow, feeling very confused.  “A blanket and cookies! But why? And good luck with what?”  Penelope felt very lost, but she had one more idea.

“Maybe the cookies will give us a clue!”  She rushed to the cookie jar, but it was just out of her reach!  “Thunder, Lightning! This is your moment! I need your help.”  She lifted up her fluffy cat, who greeted her with a growl.  She placed the cat on the counter and then the turtle with a thump.  “Lightning! Push the jar towards me, and Thunder knock off the lid when it’s close enough to the edge and I’ll catch it.”

The cat sprang into action while the turtle went as fast as he could, which was not very fast.  Twenty minutes later, Lightning had the jar at the edge of the counter and Thunder knocked off the lid with a swish of her tail and a flick of her paw. The lid flew into the air, tumbling right towards Penelope!

She caught it just before it reached the ground.  “Good job!” She helped Lightning off the counter while Thunder jumped down.  Once her sidekicks were safely back on the floor, she reached her hand up to the jar and pulled out a cookie.

“It’s blue!”  She gasped, “The room is blue too!  What could it mean?” She placed the lid back on the jar and went to push it back into place, but just before she did, something next to the jar sparkled in the sunlight.  “What’s that?” said Penelope and she reached for the shiny mystery object.

She pulled it off the counter and it was cold in her hand.  She looked down at it and jumped with excitement, “A key!”  In her hand sat a little golden key and Penelope had a wonderful feeling that this key could unlock the answer to the mystery.  “Let’s see if it opens the door to the little blue room!”

But as she dashed towards the room, her babysitter stepped into the hall, blocking her path.  “And just what do you think you’re doing Little Penelope?”  Claire looked down at her with a smug face and Penelope knew her plan was ruined.

“I was just going to investigate.  You see, I found this golden key on the counter and I think I know what it opens.”  Penelope said timidly, holding the key out for Claire to see.  “Oh, you do? Well that’s just great Little Penelope, but children should not have such small objects.  I’ll take that.” 

She swiped the key out of Penelope’s hand with a grin. “Now, why don’t you stop all of this silly investigating and go and play with some dolls.”  Claire whirled around and walked back into the living room to continue watching her show. 

“Play with some dolls?!” Penelope exclaimed to Thunder and Lightning, “What does she think I am? Four?” Penelope was very annoyed, but even more determined to solve the mystery.

Thunder let out a frustrated sigh and threw herself onto the floor. Lightning stared at the wall.  “I know, this does make things harder for us,” Penelope began, “but just because I’m a kid and you’re my pets doesn’t mean we can’t solve mysteries! Let’s go! I have another idea.” 

Penelope led her trusty sidekicks to her parent’s room.  They searched and searched through drawers and closets, trying to find something from one of the gifts to give them a clue. 

“Oh boy Thunder and Lightning, this room is a mess!” and Penelope was right, there were piles of clothes on the floor and drawers open all over the room. “We didn’t even find a clue!”  And just as Penelope said those words, Claire walked in. 

“I thought I told you to play with your dolls!” She bellowed, anger spilling off of her like milk spilling off of a counter, “Look what you’ve done! Clean all of this up and go to your room and don’t come back out until dinner!”  Claire slammed the door behind her, leaving Penelope and the pets to clean up the mess.

“Gee, teenagers sure are mean.  Give me a hand cleaning this up and then we’ll figure out a new plan in my room.”  Thunder hit things under the bed with her paws, Lightning used his teeth to put clothes back into drawers and Penelope picked up everything she could and shoved it into the closet.

Once they were back in her room, Penelope had a new idea.  “My dresser is right under my window.  Lightning, give me a boost and I’ll get on top of it and climb out, follow me!” So she stepped up on Lightning’s sturdy shell and climbed out her window and into the backyard, her sidekicks not far behind.

They walked along the yard, careful not to be in the view of any windows so Claire would not see them.  They stopped at a little window. “Now, give me a boost again Lightning, and I’ll look into the window of the little blue room and see once and for all what is inside.” 

She stepped on the turtle’s back once more and Thunder jumped onto the windowsill.  Penelope gasped with joy at what she saw!

“A crib!  Thunder! Lightning! Don’t you know what this means?!”  Thunder flicked her tail, waiting for an answer.  Lightning chewed on some grass.  “I solved the case! We’re getting a new baby boy!  And I know just what to do!”

They snuck back into her room and spread out papers and plates of paint and worked on a wonderful surprise for their new baby.  Thunder walked through the paint, leaving little rainbow paw prints on every piece of paper.  Lightning chewed on a blue piece and Penelope painted the letters.

“It’s done!  Let’s hang it up by the door! But we have to be quiet or Claire will be furious!”  They snuck into the hall and started to hang up their surprise banner.  Penelope heard footsteps in the hall! But it was too late to sneak back to her room!

“Little Penelope! What are you doing now?!” Claire looked down at Penelope with a scowl and she looked taller and more evil than anyone Penelope had ever seen. 

But just before she could tell Penelope to go back to her room, a key rustled in the lock of the front door.  The door flew open and Penelope beamed with glee.

Her parents and an adorable baby boy stood in the doorway.  They looked at her surprise and smiled, but quickly looked down at her with confused expressions. The sign she made said, “Welcome home baby boy” but they hadn’t told her about the baby. “Penelope!” said her father, “How did you know? We wanted to surprise you.”

Penelope winked at Thunder and Lightning.  Thunder brushed her head with her paw, giving Penelope a salute.  Lightning blinked.  “Penelope Jones, on the Case,” said Penelope triumphantly. 

And not only had she solved her very first mystery, she had gotten a baby brother to share the fun with.  “What do you say, Jack.  Want to be my assistant?”
     Jack gurgled in agreement.  Now she had sidekicks, an assistant, and two very proud parents.  And Penelope knew her detective career was just getting started.