Mystery at the Crooked House by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Author:Gertrude Chandler Warner [Warner, Gertrude Chandler]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4532-2136-5
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Published: 2011-10-26T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

Look Out!

The Aldens had searched through all the books of riddles but found absolutely nothing that would help them. So the next morning, they decided to take a break for a while. After a breakfast of hot oatmeal and blueberry muffins, they bundled up in their warmest clothes and went outside to build a snowman.

As Henry lifted the head onto the snowman’s body, Jessie said, “Oh, dear! Our snowman is leaning over to one side!”

Henry stood back to take a look. “He sure is! Just like the chimney.”

“We made a crooked man to go with the Crooked House!” Benny cried out with delight.

The idea made them all laugh. “He does seem to fit right in!” said Henry.

“Hmmm,” said Violet thoughtfully. “I think our crooked snowman still needs a little something.”

Henry looked around until he found a broken branch on the ground. A few minutes later, Benny came running out of the house with a funny-shaped carrot. Soon their snowman had a crooked walking stick and a crooked nose!

Nick and Clarissa were walking out to their car. They came over to see what all the excitement was about.

“Oh, look!” cried Clarissa. “A crooked snowman!”

Nick threw his head back and laughed. “Now all you need is a crooked cat!”

Benny nodded. “I remember that nursery rhyme! The crooked man bought a crooked cat who caught a crooked mouse.”

“And they all lived together in a little crooked house!” everybody sang out at the same time.

“Our snowman leans to the right,” Benny told Mrs. McGregor over a lunch of chicken noodle soup and toasted tomato sandwiches. “That means he’s a very friendly snowman, doesn’t it, Jessie?”

Jessie reached over and ruffled her younger brother’s hair. “That’s just for handwriting, Benny!”

“Oh, are you children interested in handwriting?” Madeline’s eyebrows shot up. “Nick’s been studying it for years. Did you know that he can look at someone’s handwriting and tell you exactly what sort of person they are? It’s really quite amazing.”

“Is Nick an expert in handwriting analysis?” Nola sounded surprised.

Jessie and Henry exchanged glances. Why was Nola suddenly so interested in their conversation?

“It’s just a hobby of his,” said Madeline. “But he’s really quite good at it.”

“Jessie’s good at it, too,” Benny put in. “She could tell that Henry was a hard worker and that Violet was helpful just by looking at their handwriting. And Jessie was right! It was Violet’s idea to decorate a tree with food for the birds. That was very helpful.”

Madeline nodded approvingly. “If you’d like to help the birds of Riddle Lake, feel free to use whatever you can find in the kitchen.”

“Thank you,” said Violet shyly. “We’ll make some decorations when we get back from tobogganing.”

As they made their way up the snowy slope, Henry said, “Just one more ride down, then we’d better start back.”

They had been tobogganing all afternoon. Clarissa had come along, too, and the sun was just starting to set as they piled on for one last ride. Benny was in front, with Clarissa, Violet, and Jessie behind him.

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