by Poppy Green
“That is strange,” Sophie said. “Well, I’m glad everything’s back to normal!” she told Ms. Reeve.
She and Hattie said good-bye and then turned to go.
But something was on Sophie’s mind. The missing apples. The fact that the only thing taken from the library was the leftover cake. The paw prints. Was there a connection?
Sophie thought she knew the answer.
Thief with a Sweet Tooth
Sophie’s mind was racing a mile a minute.
“Hattie,” she said. “I have an idea.”
Hattie’s brow furrowed. Sophie had quite the imagination, so Hattie could never be sure what her next idea would be.
“It seems like someone in town is hungry,” Sophie continued. “Hungry enough to look for food in a library. And hungry enough to take Apple Math apples.”
“Maybe someone who is getting ready to hibernate?” Hattie said, catching Sophie’s drift.
“Exactly,” said Sophie.
The whole way home, Sophie and Hattie talked it over. They couldn’t be sure, but all the pieces seemed to fit: the library mess, the stolen apples.
And Sophie remembered the rustling Winston had heard in the woods. “I told him he was imagining it,” said Sophie. “But maybe he wasn’t.”
They had reached Sophie’s house.
“But if bears are nice,” said Hattie, “wouldn’t this one just ask for food? Why would he be stealing?”
Sophie shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Just then they heard footsteps coming through the woods. Mrs. Mouse was walking quickly up the path. Sophie thought she looked upset.
“Oh, Sophie,” Mrs. Mouse called out. “Do me a favor? Please get your dad and Winston. And could you all come to the bakery?” She sighed a heavy sigh. “I’m going to need help—lots of help.”
“Mom?” Sophie said. “What happened?”
“I don’t really know,” Mrs. Mouse replied. “I left to get milk at the general store. And when I got back—” Mrs. Mouse threw up her hands. “Let’s just say the bakery is a mess. And all of my baked goods are gone!”
Sophie and Hattie stared at each other. Could it be . . . ?
Before they could say a word, Mrs. Mouse turned and went back the way she’d come.
“I’ll find my dad,” Sophie said.
“I’m coming too!” said Hattie.
As soon as they heard the news, Mr. Mouse and Winston headed off to the bakery.
Hattie thought she should let her parents know where she was going, so Sophie went with Hattie to her house.
But Mr. and Mrs. Frog weren’t home. Hattie left a note.
Then the two of them hurried off.
“Shouldn’t we tell your mom and dad about the bear tracks?” Hattie said as they walked.
Sophie nodded. “I’ll tell them as soon as we get there.”
They were halfway to town. Something at the edge of the path caught Sophie’s eye. She almost missed it, they were walking so fast. But she stopped to get a closer look.
It was a bear print!
No, wait! Sophie started laughing.
It was way too tiny to be a bear paw print. It was a bear claw—one of her mom’s pastries.
“Well, well, well,” said Sophie. “Maybe we have a new trail to follow.”
The Nose Knows
Sophie and Hattie searched the area. They were looking for more pastries.
Sophie took a few steps off the path and into the trees.
Sure enough, ten paces in, Sophie found something else. She sniffed it. “Cinnamon doughnut,” Sophie said.
“Wow, Sophie!” Hattie exclaimed. “How did you find that?”
Sophie thought about it for a moment. “I smelled it!” she realized. “My nose led me to it.”
After all, mice did have an amazing sense of smell.
Sophie sniffed around some more, letting her nose lead her. Hattie followed. They ducked under branches and pushed through underbrush.
Suddenly she stopped, bent down, and moved some dry leaves aside. Underneath was a tart!
“Cranberry,” said Sophie. “I’m sure of it.”
Further on, she sniffed out a pumpkin spice scone.
They came out of the trees onto a footpath. “This is the way to the schoolhouse,” Hattie said, pointing down the path.
But Sophie dove back into the woods on the other side.
She found an apple fritter.
Further on, she found a puzzling one: “Either a Boston creme doughnut or an eclair,” she decided. “Hard to tell which.”
Then Sophie found lots of crumbs all around the base of a tree. But that’s where the trail went cold. She walked in a circle, hoping to catch another scent.
Sophie stopped and leaned on the tree trunk. “I guess we’ve hit a dead end,” she said to Hattie.
Just then something fell out of the tree onto Sophie’s head. “Oof!” she cried, startled. She reached up to see what had landed on her.
Holding it out for Hattie to see, Sophie whispered, “Blueberry muffin!”
They heard a rustle in the tree above them. They looked up. As they did, something else fell down. It bounced off Sophie’s nose and fell to the ground.
Sophie picked it up. “A piece of a gingersnap!” she whispered.
The rustling up above continued.
“It’s in the tree!” Hattie whispered.
Sophie nodded. “It sure is,” she whispered back. “And I’m going up there.” Without another word, she scurried up the bark to the first branch.
“Sophie, wait!” Hattie whispered.
But Sophie’s curiosity was stronger than her fear. She kept climbing. She cleared the second and third branches. The rustling was getting louder. She was getting closer!
The higher Sophie got, the more autumn leaves there were still on the branches. She passed the fourth and fifth branches. But she still couldn’t see the source of the rustling.
As Sophie cleared the sixth branch, she couldn’t see through all the leaves to the other side. Sophie paused for a moment, listening. It was silent.
Slowly, Sophie poked her head through the leaves.
She froze.
A large, wet, black nose was inches away from her own. She was face-to-face with a bear.
Sophie opened her mouth to call down to Hattie.
“HEEEEEEEEEELLLP!”
But the voice she heard wasn’t her own.
It was the bear’s.
Wooly Bear
The tree branch was shaking. The bear was quivering with fright!
“Oh, please,” he whimpered to Sophie. “Oh, please, don’t hurt me.”
He was trying to inch away from Sophie. But he was already squished up against the tree trunk.
Sophie could see now that he was just a bear cub. He was still enormous compared to Sophie. But he looked young—and so scared! Sophie’s heart warmed to him right away.
“Don’t worry,” Sophie said gently. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
The bear was still shaking. He eyed Sophie warily.
“I promise,” Sophie said. “My name is Sophie. What’s yours?”
The bear didn’t answer right away. Sophie noticed that he was holding a doughnut. She was struck by how small it looked in his large paws. He popped the whole thing in his mouth like it was nothing.
“My name is Wooly,” he answered after he had finished chewing. “Wooly Bear.”
“Hi, Wooly!” Sophie replied. “Aren’t those doughnuts good? My mom makes the best ones. She owns the bakery in town.”
Wooly stared at Sophie. His bottom lip started to tremble. Then all of a sudden, he began to cry. The noise startled Sophie, who almost fell out of the tree.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Wooly wailed. “I took them without asking. I was just so hungry. And scared. I don’t know how to get home, and it’s almost time to hibernate. And I didn’t know what to do!” Wooly stopped crying long enough to eat another doughnut he had stashed away. �
�And did I mention: I’m just soooo hungry!”
Sophie nodded. “I know. I have a hedgehog friend named Pippa. She hibernates, too. And she’s really hungry right now, just like you.” She smiled at Wooly. “So I understand.”
“You do?” Wooly said.
“Yep,” said Sophie. “And you know what else? I think my friends and I can help you get home.”
Wooly jumped up. This time, he almost fell out of the tree. “Really?” he exclaimed. “But how? How do you know where I live?”
Sophie motioned for Wooly to climb down with her. “Come on,” she said. “Come meet my friends. We’ll tell you all about it.”
Wooly Comes Clean
Wooly wiped his eyes. “Oh—okay,” he said. “Do you want a ride down?” he asked Sophie.
“Sure!” she exclaimed. She climbed on top of his head and clung to his fur.
When they were down on the ground, Hattie was there, nervously waiting.
Hattie jumped back. “Uh . . . , Sophie?” she said.
“It’s okay, Hattie! This is Wooly,” Sophie reassured her friend.
Wooly greeted Hattie with a shy wave.
Then Sophie explained to Wooly about the first paw print they’d seen—way over near Hickory Hill.
“Then we saw more tracks,” she continued. “They went from Forget-Me-Not Lake to the edge of town.”
Hattie chimed in. “I bet your house is somewhere between the lake and Hickory Hill,” she suggested.
“I do live near a lake!” Wooly exclaimed. “Could you take me there? I bet I’ll be able to find my home!”
“Sure!” Sophie said. “We can go right now!”
Sophie and Hattie started walking. But Wooly hesitated.
“Before I go,” he said, looking at Sophie, “um . . .” He trailed off.
“What is it, Wooly?” Sophie asked.
“I was wondering if I could say sorry to your mom. And . . . some other animals too.”
Sophie nodded. “It’s okay. We know. About the library? And the apples?”
Wooly nodded bashfully.
Hattie smiled. “Some of the apples were ours,” she said. “We already forgive you.”
Sophie led Wooly toward the bakery. Meanwhile, Hattie ran off to get Owen. She knew he would want to meet Wooly too!
In town, lots of the animals stared or did a double take when they saw Wooly.
Sophie could tell it was making Wooly uncomfortable. But she assured him that it was okay. People just weren’t used to seeing bears around here!
When they got to the bakery, Sophie told Wooly to wait outside.
“Mom? Dad? Winston?” Sophie called. “I have someone for you to meet!” Sophie led her family outside.
Winston let out a high-pitched squeal and ran behind his parents.
“Winston, it’s okay!” Sophie said. “Guys, this is Wooly.” Sophie then explained what had happened and why Wooly was so hungry.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Mouse,” Wooly said sincerely. “I shouldn’t have taken your pastries without asking.”
“It’s okay, Wooly,” Mrs. Mouse said. “None of the animals in Pine Needle Grove need to hibernate in winter, so we’re not quite used to it. But I did just bake some rosemary sugar cookies. Would you like to be my taste-tester?”
Wooly beamed. “I’d love to!”
At the library, Ms. Reeve was also understanding. “Actually, it’s a relief to have the mystery solved!” she said. “You’re forgiven, Wooly.”
Then, with a deep sigh of relief, Wooly turned to Sophie. “Okay. I’m ready to go home now. Will you take me?”
Just then, Hattie and Owen came running up. “Can we come, too?” Hattie called.
Sophie and Hattie introduced Wooly to Owen, and Wooly thanked them all for helping him get home.
The three friends led the way out of town. Wooly followed. But with just a few steps, he was already ahead of them.
Wooly’s strides were so large! For every one of his, Sophie had to take about a dozen.
Wooly stopped and waited for the smaller animals to catch up. “You know what?” he said to the other animals. “I think I know a faster way to get there. Climb on!” He bent down so the friends could climb onto his back.
They hadn’t gone too far when Wooly recognized where they were. “I know how to get home from here!” he exclaimed happily. He thanked Sophie, Hattie, and Owen for helping him as they climbed back down.
“Come and visit us!” Sophie called as the trio turned to go home. Now she had another friend to look forward to seeing in the springtime!
Here’s a peek at the next Adventures of Sophie Mouse book!
Sophie Mouse ran to the window. She looked up at the sky. The clouds looked darker than the last time she’d checked. Sophie stretched her hand outside. No rain drops.
“It’s not raining yet!” Sophie cried, running back into the kitchen. Her whiskers were tingling. She could tell the rain was coming. But maybe there was just enough time for their picnic.
In the Mouse family’s house at the base of the oak tree, Mrs. Mouse had made her famous vanilla-bean scones. The sweet scent of the vanilla filled the kitchen.
“Okay! Let’s go!” Sophie exclaimed.
She picked up the picnic basket. Winston grabbed the blanket. And the Mouse family stepped outside.
Plip! Plop! Plip!
Sophie felt three big raindrops—one on her ear, one on her shoulder, and one on the tip of her nose.
Poppy Green can talk to animals! Unfortunately, they never talk back to her. So she started writing in order to imagine what they might say and do when humans aren’t watching. Poppy lives on the edge of the woods in Connecticut, where her backyard is often a playground for all kinds of wildlife: birds, rabbits, squirrels, voles, skunks, deer, and the occasional wild turkey.
Jennifer A. Bell is an illustrator whose work can be found on greeting cards, in magazines, and in more than a dozen children’s books. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband, son, and cranky cat.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
LITTLE SIMON
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division • 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 • www.SimonandSchuster.com • First Little Simon hardcover edition November 2016 • Copyright © 2016 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. LITTLE SIMON is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and associated colophon is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected]. The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com. Series designed by Laura Roode. Book designed by Hannah Frece. Illustrations by Jennifer A. Bell. The text of this book was set in Usherwood.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this title from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4814-7149-7 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-7148-0 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-7150-3 (eBook)