Pony Problems (2 page)

Nancy grinned widely as a question popped into her head. “How do you know the pony's name?”

Stacy reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a picture. She handed it to Nancy. “See?” she said, pointing at herself
in the photograph. “That's me standing next to Buttons.” In the picture, Nancy saw Stacy wearing a T-shirt that said “Horse Crazy.” She had her hair pulled back and tied with a floppy bow. Her arm was wrapped around a small pony. The pony was a little shorter than Stacy.

Nancy handed the picture to Bess as Stacy went on, “Ponies are amazing animals. I know all about them. But Shetland ponies are the best kind. When I heard there was one at the new petting zoo just outside town, I begged my mom to take me there. Shetland ponies are small. Even when they're grown up, they stay little. I
love
Shetland ponies.”

Bess gave the photo to George so she could look at the pony. It had a flowing mane and a bushy tail. Stacy was holding an apple in the picture and smiling like she'd never been so happy in her life.

“All week I've been working as a volunteer at Johnson's Petting Zoo,” Stacy shared. “Mr. Johnson lets me come after school. I brush Buttons's mane and feed him apples.”

“Like in the picture?” George asked, handing the photo back to Stacy.

Stacy took the photo and said, “Yeah. Buttons always acts like he's hungry. Mr. Johnson only lets me give him one apple a day, but I bet he'd
eat more. If Buttons was my pony, I'd give him all the apples he ever wanted.” Sighing, Stacy put the photo back in her pocket.

“Buttons keeps escaping from the petting zoo. I think he's looking for food.” She went on to explain, “There's an apple tree in my front yard, but Buttons hasn't found it yet. He's too busy eating other people's bushes and gardens. But someday soon, Buttons will discover my tree. When he does, I won't call Mr. Johnson to pick him up. I'll just keep Buttons. He's a great pony. I wish he was mine!” Then, without waiting for Nancy or the other girls to ask her any more questions, Stacy got up and walked away.

“Well, that was kind of strange,” Bess said as Stacy left the cafeteria.

“Maybe—,” George began, scrunching up her face as she thought.

“I know what you're thinking,” Nancy interrupted, pointing her finger at George. “You think that the Clue Crew should investigate how Buttons is getting out of the petting zoo. And
find out if Stacy has anything to do with it.”

“You're such a good detective,” George said with a laugh. “What was your first clue?”

“I didn't need any clues, because I was thinking the same thing.” Nancy raised her eyebrows and smiled.

“Do you think we should ask Mr. Johnson if he wants us to investigate?” Bess questioned.

“We can start gathering clues and make a list of suspects,” George suggested. “Once he hears the Clue Crew is on the case, he'll definitely want our help!”

“Let's get started.” A faraway look clouded Nancy's eyes. “I suppose we should go to the petting zoo, but we're going to need a ride.” She jumped up from the bench so suddenly she banged her knees on the bottom of the table. “I know!” Nancy cheered as she bent down to rub her sore knees. “Instead of flying kites in the park, I'll ask my dad to take us to Johnson's Petting Zoo tomorrow.”

“That's a great idea,” Bess said as she carefully
took the scraps of her turkey sandwich and tucked them back into her lunch bag.

“Aren't you going to throw away your trash?” George asked her cousin.

Bess grinned. “I was thinking that if Buttons is always hungry, maybe he'll like turkey with ketchup. I'm going to leave the rest of my sandwich outside tonight and see if Buttons comes to my house.”

“You're goofy.” George giggled. “But if there's a pony on your lawn in the morning, you'd better call me right away.”

“Hmm,” Nancy said thoughtfully, “I wonder where Buttons will pop up tomorrow.”

Saturday morning after breakfast, Nancy was getting dressed when she heard a strange sound outside her window. Looking out, she saw the cutest, shaggiest little pony standing on her front lawn! “It's Buttons!” she cried as she pulled her light blue T-shirt over her head and rushed down the stairs.

“Dad! Dad!” Nancy shouted from the front hall. “Come quick!” Her voice echoed down the long hallway.

Mr. Drew appeared from the kitchen, holding a cup of coffee in his hand. “What's the emergency, Nancy?” he asked, looking concerned.

Nancy's housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, peeked her head out from behind Mr. Drew. Hannah had lived with the Drew family since Nancy was only three years old. She cared for Nancy like she was her own daughter. “Are you bleeding?” Hannah held up a box of Band-Aids. “I was worried when I heard you scream.”

Everyone knew that Nancy was a little clumsy. She had a bad habit of bumping into stuff and getting scratches and bruises.

“I'm fine,” Nancy told Hannah. “And it's not exactly an emergency.” She looked at her dad. “But it is exciting news!” Nancy opened the front door of their house so that the adults could see outside.

Buttons was on the grass, having a little snack from the flowerbed.

“My garden!” Hannah exclaimed. “That horse is eating my petunias!”

Nancy laughed. “He's not a horse, Hannah. Buttons is a Shetland pony.”

“Well, then,” Hannah complained, “that Shetland pony is eating my petunias.”

Nancy filled her dad and Hannah in on who owned Buttons and the pony's adventures around town.

Before Mr. Drew went inside to call Mr. Johnson, he warned Nancy not to touch the pony. “Just keep an eye on Buttons in case he walks away,” Mr. Drew said. “Even though he seems like a nice pony, I don't want you to approach him. Let's let Mr. Johnson take care of Buttons.”

“What about my flowers?” Hannah asked. “Buttons will eat them all!”

“Nancy will help you plant some new petunias next week,” Mr. Drew said. “Let's get Buttons home safely first and worry about the flowers later.”

Nancy was sitting on her front porch watching Buttons eat a pink flower when Bess and George came up the sidewalk.

“Oh!” Nancy rushed over to keep the girls
from crossing on the grass. “With all the excitement, I forgot to call you,” she apologized. “Buttons must not like ketchup. He chose Hannah's flowers over your sandwich,” she told Bess. Nancy pointed to where Buttons was standing. The girls were careful to keep their distance as Mr. Drew had asked. They went up to the house and sat together on the porch.

“I bet Buttons would love ketchup if he tried it,” Bess said with a shrug. “Maybe if we get a little, we can put some on that purple petunia and see—,” she began, but George interrupted, saying, “Look, here comes Mr. Johnson now.”

A white truck pulled up in front of the house. The truck was pulling a small pony trailer. Painted on the side of the trailer, in big, bold, yellow letters, were the words:
JOHNSON'S PETTING ZOO.
And beneath that in smaller green letters:
COME PET OUR ANIMALS AND RIDE OUR PONY.

“DAD!” Nancy hollered at the top of her lungs. “Mr. Johnson's here!”

“You don't have to shout,” Mr. Drew said as he came out of the house to greet Mr. Johnson. The
owner of the petting zoo was a bear of a man. He looked about the same age as Mr. Drew, but Mr. Drew was tall and thin, with plenty of brown hair on his head. Mr. Johnson was round and balding. He wore a white shirt with blue jeans held up by bright blue suspenders. There was a red bandanna tied around his neck, and he wore a straw cowboy hat on his head.

The girls followed Mr. Drew out to the truck, curious to hear what Mr. Johnson would say.

“Thanks for calling me.” Mr. Johnson shook hands with Mr. Drew. “That woman yesterday, when she found Buttons in her garden, she didn't call. She just chased him down the street in her nightgown while she banged two pans together. I finally found Buttons a few blocks away, near the pizza parlor, eating berries off a mulberry bush.”

“Good thing the pizza parlor wasn't open yet,” George remarked, remembering how Stacy had said that Buttons was always hungry.

“Crazy pony,” Mr. Johnson muttered. Opening the trailer, he grabbed a long piece of lead rope out of a box. “Why won't you just stay in the zoo?” he asked the pony as he slipped the rope around Buttons's neck and tied a knot.

Buttons neighed in reply.

Mr. Johnson sighed. “All righty there,” he said as he pulled Buttons away from the flowers. “That's enough snacking for today. You're supposed to eat healthy hay like the rest of the animals!” Mr. Johnson lowered a ramp on the trailer and pushed Buttons inside, closing the door behind the pony. He double-checked the lock on the trailer door, saying, “We can't have you escaping while I'm driving you home.”

Once Buttons was ready to go, Mr. Johnson
came over to talk to Mr. Drew and the girls. “Sorry for the trouble this morning,” he said, lowering his eyes. “I'll gladly pay for the damaged flowers if you'd like.”

“Don't worry about the flowers,” Mr. Drew said. “We're just glad that Buttons is going back to the petting zoo where he belongs.”

“I wish I could keep him there,” Mr. Johnson said. “No matter how many times I check the lock on the pen, he still escapes every night.” Rubbing his forehead with his fingers, he added, “It's a mystery to me how that pony is getting out of the zoo.”

George leaned over and whispered in Bess's ear. Then Bess whispered the same message in Nancy's. Nancy nodded.

“The Clue Crew would love to help you solve this mystery,” Nancy told Mr. Johnson. “We can come to the petting zoo right now. Can't we, Dad?”

“I thought you girls wanted to spend the day at Bluff View Park,” Mr. Drew said. Then he noticed
that Bess and George weren't carrying anything in their hands. “I see.” He nodded slightly. “You already knew about Buttons's escape act. You girls were thinking about solving this one, eh? I bet you were going to ask me to take you to the petting zoo today, weren't you?”