The Great Goat Gaffe

by Carolyn Keene

  “Remember, everybody!” a woman selling ducks called out. “The money raised will be used to build benches around the River Heights Park duck pond!”

  “How many ducks do you think they’ve sold so far?” Bess asked.

  Nancy was about to guess when a voice behind them said, “As of five minutes ago—two hundred eighty ducks.”

  The girls turned to see Kinsley Armbruster from one of the other third grade classes at school. She wore a bright yellow cap with an orange duck bill and dangly ducky earrings.

  “Two hundred eighty ducks, huh?” George said, scrunching her face thoughtfully. “At five dollars apiece… that equals one thousand four hundred dollars.”

  “George won the math bee last week,” Nancy said proudly.

  “Wow,” Kinsley said, clearly impressed. “And I thought the Clue Crew just solved mysteries!”

  Nancy, Bess, and George did love solving mysteries—so much so that they called themselves the Clue Crew. They even had a clue book where they wrote down all their clues and suspects.

  “Don’t you collect rubber duckies, Kinsley?” Nancy asked.

  “Yes,” Kinsley said, gazing at the table. “But I only have a hundred rubber duckies. I wish I had more.”

  “More?” George asked. “Aren’t a hundred rubber duckies enough?”

  “Not if I want to break the record.” Kinsley replied.

  “What record?” Bess asked.

  “The Kids’ World Book of Records,” Kinsley said. “I just need a couple hundred more ducks to break the rubber ducky collection record. Then they’d post my name on their website and I’d be famous!”

  “There’s still time to collect more,” Nancy said.

  “Not really,” Kinsley sighed. “A judge from the Kids’ World Book of Records is coming to my house this afternoon to count my ducks.”

  Bess glanced at her watch. “It’s already one thirty. Shouldn’t you be home getting ready for the judge’s visit?”

  Kinsley’s duck earrings wiggled as she shook her head. “I want to stay here until three o’clock. They’re giving out free T-shirts at the end of the celebration!”

  Kinsley gave the girls a little wave, then headed toward the stage to watch the dancers.

  “Kinsley loves collecting duck stuff,” Bess said. “Maybe I should start collecting something too.”

  “You already have a huge collection, Bess,” George said.

  “Of what?” Bess asked.

  George looked Bess up and down and said, “Clothes! The judge of the Kids’ World Book of Records should check out your closet!”

  Bess rolled her eyes. She and George were cousins, but they were totally different. Bess had long blond hair and the latest fashion-forward clothes and accessories. Dark-haired George loved clothes too, as long as they were comfy enough to do cartwheels in. She was also an electronics geek—and proud of it!

  “There’s Mayor Strong,” Nancy said with a smile. “Let’s ask him about helping out at the ducky derby!”

  Mayor Strong turned when he heard Nancy, Bess, and George call his name, beaming as he recognized the city’s best young sleuths. “What can I do for you girls?” he asked.

  Just as Nancy opened her mouth to reply, a woman stepped between her and the mayor. The girls recognized her at once. It was Dorothy Danner, River Heights’s busiest party planner. The Clue Crew knew Dorothy from a missing butterfly case they once worked on. They also knew she could be a drama queen!

  “Excuse me, Mayor Strong,” Dorothy said briskly. “I need to talk to you at once.”

  “I was just speaking with the girls, Dorothy,” Mayor Strong said. “Can it wait a minute?”

  “Not even a second!” Dorothy declared. “This is an emergency!”

  Nancy, Bess, and George traded glances. Everything with Dorothy was an emergency.

  “I’m planning a baby shower tomorrow morning for Eileen MacDuff,” Dorothy explained. “The theme is rubber duckies.”

  “Mrs. MacDuff?” Nancy asked grinning. “She’s our school librarian.”

  “Mrs. MacDuff picks out the best books for us to read!” Bess said.

  “And she doesn’t make us whisper in her library,” George added.

  Dorothy raised an eyebrow at the girls. “How nice,” she said, not smiling, then turned back to the mayor. “Mayor Strong, I’m going to need about a hundred rubber ducks to decorate the table.”

  “So what’s the problem?” Mayor Strong asked.

  “My order went to the wrong address,” Dorothy wailed. “It’s too late to have them redelivered!” She shook her head. “Every store in River Heights donated their ducks to this silly ducky derby!”

  Nancy, Bess, and George stared at Dorothy. How could she call the ducky derby silly?

  “How can I help, Dorothy?” Mayor Strong asked.

  Dorothy pointed to the table just as one of the volunteers dropped another duck into the box. “Let me buy those rubber duckies for the baby shower.”

  Mayor Strong shook his head. “Sorry, Dorothy. Those ducks have already been sold. They’re racing in the derby on Sunday.”

  “All of them?” Dorothy cried.

  The mayor nodded and said, “I’m afraid you’ll have to cook up something else.”

  Dorothy stared at the mayor for a moment, and then her expression shifted. “Cook up something, huh?” she murmured. “Now, there’s an idea.”

  A suddenly excited Dorothy brushed past the girls. She didn’t notice bumping George’s shoulder as she rushed off.

  “Sounds like Dorothy’s planning something,” Nancy said.

  George crossed her arms. “She is a party planner, just like my mom, remember?”

  “How could we forget?” Bess asked, licking her lips. “Aunt Louise saves us the yummiest leftovers from her parties!”

  Mayor Strong glanced toward the stage. “Can your question wait, girls? I have to start up the duck joke contest.”

  “Sure, Mayor Strong,” Nancy said.

  George’s eyes flashed as the mayor walked away. “Duck joke contest? I know the most awesome duck joke!”

  “Tell us, George!” Nancy pleaded.

  Bess giggled. “Yes, George! Quack us up!”

  “Okay,” George said with a grin. “What do you get when you fill a box with ducks?”

  Before Nancy and Bess could guess, George blurted out, “A box of quackers! Get it?”

  “I got it!” an angry voice snapped. “And I want to get it back!”

  Continue Reading…

  Duck Derby Debacle

  Carolyn Keene

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR

  CAROLYN KEENE is the author of the ever-popular Nancy Drew series of books.

  PETER FRANCIS lives and works in the United Kingdom. When he’s not helping the Clue Crew solve mysteries, he can be found sketching frantically in his studio, investigating hidden landscapes, or growing his own vegetables.

  Aladdin

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Carolyn-Keene

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Peter-Francis

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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.


  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  First Aladdin hardcover edition March 2021

  Text copyright © 2021 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Illustrations copyright © 2021 by Peter Francis

  Also available in an Aladdin paperback edition.

  NANCY DREW, NANCY DREW CLUE BOOK, and colophons are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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  Series designed by Karina Granda

  Book designed by Heather Palisi

  The illustrations for this book were rendered digitally.

  Jacket illustration copyright © 2021 by Peter Francis

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Keene, Carolyn, author. | Francis, Peter, illustrator.

  Title: The great goat gaffe / by Carolyn Keene ; illustrated by Peter Francis.

  Description: First Aladdin hardcover/paperback edition. | New York: Aladdin Books, 2021. |

  Series: Nancy Drew clue book ; [#15] | Audience: Ages 6 to 9. | Audience: Grades 2–3. | Summary: When a badly-behaved goat that is gaining Internet fame ruins a “Kids with Kids” yoga class, eight-year-old Nancy Drew and her friends investigate how it got to Sweet Creams Farm.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2019027420 (print) | LCCN 2019027421 (eBook) |

  ISBN 9781534450271 (paperback) | ISBN 9781534450288 (hardcover) |

  ISBN 9781534450295 (eBook)

  Subjects: CYAC: Goats—Fiction. | Farm life—Fiction. | Yoga—Fiction. | Mystery and detective stories.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.K23 Gre 2021 (print) | LCC PZ7.K23 (eBook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019027420

  LC eBook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019027421