“For sure!” Nancy said. “We still have to find out how George got Henderson’s cow.”
“And the card that was meant for him, not me,” George added.
Nancy remembered Henderson’s cow at Barnyard Buddies. Then she remembered something else.
“George, didn’t you and Henderson both make baseball cows?” Nancy asked. “And weren’t they exactly the same?”
“That’s it!” George said with a smile. “The cows were probably switched!”
But then George’s smile turned into a frown.
“What’s the matter?” Bess asked.
“If Henderson has my cow,” George said, “then he probably has my prize ticket too!”
“You got a prize ticket?” Bess asked.
“We’ll explain everything later, Bess,” Nancy said. “First we have to find Henderson!”
“Okay,” Bess said. “Let me just say good-bye to everybody. Then I’m on it!”
“You mean it?” George asked excitedly.
“Totally!” Bess said. “This is a job for the Clue Crew—times three!”
“High-five!” George cheered.
Bess and George high-fived. But when they turned to high-five Nancy she was still holding the pan of lasagna.
“Um … can we give this to your mother, please?” Nancy sighed. “It is kind of heavy.”
After saying good-bye to her guests and getting permission from her mom, Bess joined the girls in Mrs. Fayne’s van.
“Where to now?” Mrs. Fayne sighed.
“The Murphy house, please,” Nancy said.
“I know where that is,” Mrs. Fayne said as she started the engine. “I once catered Henderson’s birthday party.”
“You mean Henderson has friends?” Bess cried.
“Too weird,” George said.
When they reached the Murphy house, the girls raced to the front door. After they’d rung the doorbell a few times, Mr. Murphy opened the door. The coffee cup in his hand had a picture of a whale on it. And the words “Whale of a Dad!”
“Hello,” Nancy said. “Is Henderson home?”
“Sorry, girls,” Mr. Murphy said. “He just went over to Barnyard Buddies.”
“Why?” George asked.
“Because he’s one lucky guy!” Mr. Murphy boomed. “He went to pick up his prize!”
“I was afraid of that!” George groaned.
“Let’s go there right now!” Nancy said.
The girls turned away from Mr. Murphy and began running toward the van. Nancy looked over her shoulder and called, “Thank you, Mr. Murphy!”
“Don’t mention it,” Mr. Murphy called back. “I didn’t know Henderson was so popular with the girls!”
“Ew!” Bess cried.
“Come on,” Nancy said. “We can’t let Henderson get George’s prize!”
The girls hopped into Mrs. Fayne’s van.
“Where to now?” Mrs. Fayne sighed.
“To Farmer Fran’s Barnyard Buddies,” George said. “And step on it … I mean … please.”
River Street was only five minutes away. But to Nancy, Bess, and George it felt like hours!
The minute Mrs. Fayne parked the van the girls hopped out and charged into Barnyard Buddies.
“Do you see him?” Bess asked as they made their way through the store.
Nancy heard a loud POP! She turned and saw Henderson, his face covered with blue bubblegum. Under his arm was a stuffed baseball cow.
“That’s my cow, Henderson!” George said. “You switched our stuffed animals on Valentine’s Day!”
Henderson scraped the gum off his face and stuck it back in his mouth. “I didn’t switch any cows.” He nodded at the cow under his arm. “This one’s mine, fair and square.”
He snapped his gum and added, “Now if you ladies will excuse me, I have to collect my most-excellent prize!”
Nancy’s eyes burned with anger as she watched Henderson walk to the back of the store.
“Great,” Nancy said. “How are we going to prove that his cow is really George’s?”
Bess tapped her chin thoughtfully. Then she grinned and said, “Watch this.”
Nancy and George followed Bess over to Henderson.
“Now what?” Henderson said.
“George’s cow had a missing button on his uniform,” Bess said.
Henderson glanced down and gulped. One of the buttons on his cow’s jersey was missing!
“See?” George said. “That is my cow!”
“Why did you switch them, Henderson?” Nancy demanded.
Henderson groaned under his breath, then said, “I got bubblegum on my cow and couldn’t get it off. George’s cow was exactly the same, so when you guys left the table I made the switcheroo.”
“So if the cow is mine,” George said, “the winning ticket in his pocket is mine too.”
“Nuh-uh!” Henderson said, shaking his head. “Finders keepers losers weepers!”
“That’s what you think!” George said. She reached for the cow, but Henderson held it high in the air. George swatted the cow out of his hand. It flew a few feet through the air before landing on the floor. The girls were about to run for it when—
“Here it is!” a cheery voice said.
Everyone whirled around. Farmer Fran was standing behind them with another stuffed cow in her hands. This one was wearing a glittery tiara and a long ruffled dress!
“What is that?” Henderson asked.
“Her name is Moo-lissa!” Farmer Fran said. “And she’s your prize!”
Henderson froze as Farmer Fran handed him the cow. “This is for a girl!” he complained.
“The prize ticket in your cow’s pocket was pink,” Farmer Fran said. “And we usually give pink tickets to the girls.”
Farmer Fran tilted her head as she studied Henderson. “But you’re not a girl, are you, son?” she said.
“No way!” Henderson said. “It’s a mistake!”
Nancy stepped forward. She was about to tell Farmer Fran that it wasn’t a mistake when Tanya walked over.
“The prize ticket was for a girl, Fran,” Tanya said. She pointed to George. “That girl over there.”
George folded her arms. She stuck her chin out at Henderson.
“You can have it,” Henderson snapped. “I hate princesses.”
Henderson tossed Moo-lissa into George’s arms. Then he pushed his way out of the store.
“Hoo-wee,” Farmer Fran muttered. “That boy is crankier than a heifer with a hotfoot.”
She waved her hand at Tanya. “Come on, Tanya,” she said. “Let’s unpack those boxes of stuffed chickens. It’s about time we got some chickens at Barnyard Buddies.”
As Tanya followed Fran, she looked over her shoulder. “Congratulations,” she said to George.
“Thanks!” George said. Then she held the princess cow out to Bess. “This is for you. I’m not into princesses either.”
Bess shook her head. She picked up the baseball cow, still lying on the floor. “I’d rather have this cow,” she said. “The one you made for me on Valentine’s Day!”
“Then who’s going to get Moo-lissa?” George asked.
Nancy gazed at the beautiful princess cow in George’s hands. Suddenly an idea flashed inside her head.
“You guys!” Nancy said. “I think I know who would love Moo-lissa more than anything!”
In a flash the girls were back in Mrs. Fayne’s van. Their next stop—Colette Crawford’s house!
“This is my last stop, girls,” Mrs. Fayne warned as she parked the van next to the cow-shaped mailbox.
“Thanks, Mom!” George said. “I promise I’ll clean my room every day this week—I mean—every week this month!”
Nancy, Bess, and George climbed out of the van and ran to the Crawfords’ front door.
Bess giggled when she rang the doorbell. “It really does moo!” she said.
The door opened a crack and Colette peeked out.
“Hi, Colette,” Nancy
said.
“You didn’t bring that nutty dog with you again, did you?” Colette asked.
“Nope,” George said. “But we did bring this!”
“Show her, Nancy!” Bess said.
Colette gasped as Nancy pulled the princess cow out from behind her back. She threw the door open and smiled.
“For me?” Colette gasped.
Nancy nodded as she handed the princess cow to Colette. “Everybody knows you love cows,” she said. “And I still feel bad about your chewed-up slipper.”
“Wow! Thanks so much!” Colette said with a smile. “Why don’t you guys come inside so we can all play with Moo-lissa?”
“I have a better idea!” Bess said. “Why don’t you and Moo-lissa come to my house? I have some yummy veggie lasagna we can all share.”
“I love veggie lasagna!” Colette said. “Let me ask my mom. Then wait for me while I change into my cow-print sweater.”
Colette shut the door. Nancy could hear her running through the house and calling her mom.
“Another case solved!” Nancy declared.
“As the Clue Crew times three!” Bess said.
“We couldn’t have done it without you, Bess,” George said. “You’re the one who thought of that missing button!”
“A lucky guess,” Bess said. “Do you still want the fairy horse I made you on Valentine’s Day?”
“Sure!” George said. “It’ll be the best Valentine present I ever got.”
Nancy suddenly felt all warm and fuzzy—even though snowflakes had begun to fall.
“Does this mean we’re all best friends again?” Nancy asked.
George stopped at the cow-shaped mailbox. “Are you kidding?” she said. “We’ll be best friends—’til the cows come home!”
Nancy giggled. She still didn’t know what that meant. But it sure sounded like forever!
Charming Valentine Pencil!
Looking for just the write gift for your BFF? A pencil with dangling beads and ribbon is fun to make and to give!
You will need:
12 inches of skinny ribbon
Pencil (think pink or red for V-Day!)
4 heart-shaped beads with holes for stringing
Scissors
Red or pink construction paper
Glue
Pen
You have the tools, here are the rules:
Tie the ribbon around the pencil top, making a double knot. Make sure both ends of the ribbon are the same length.
String the beads on one end of the ribbon. Tie a knot at the bottom of the ribbon.
Using the construction paper cut out two same-size hearts.
Glue the two hearts together with the other part of the ribbon between them. Make sure to leave enough ribbon sticking out so you can tie a knot at the end.
Write a special Valentine’s message on the heart!
Give the pencil to your BFF on V-Day. She’ll be charmed for sure!
Read all the books in the
Blast to the Past
series!
#1 Lincoln’s Legacy
#2 Disney’s Dream
#3 Bell’s Breakthrough
#4 King’s Courage
#5 Sacagawea’s Strength
#6 Ben Franklin’s Fame
#7 Washington’s War
#8 Betsy’s Star
Carolyn Keene, Valentine's Day Secret
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