Isabelle’s Surprise

“Those pigs were acting strange, ” George said. “All three of them.”

When George held up three fingers Nancy saw her carnival tattoo. It hadn’t washed off completely.

That’s when it clicked. Jason, David, and Mike had had carnival tattoos on their hands. Maybe they had been at the carnival.

“Let’s check out that pie booth, ” Nancy said. “There might be more in there than just yummy pies.”

The girls ran back to the booth. While Simon served a customer, Nancy stood on the side of the counter and peeked in.

In the back of the booth was a pretty display of what Simon used to make his pies. On a table covered with a red tablecloth were a bowl of fruit, bottles of molasses, and a basket of white eggs.

“Eggs and molasses! ” Nancy gasped.

Then Nancy noticed something else. The sign with the pie flavors was written with a black marker — the same kind of marker that had messed up Isabelle’s cutout!

“Bess, George, ” Nancy said. “I think I know who’s inside those costumes, and it’s not the Three Little Pigs.”

“Then who? ” Bess asked.

“It’s the Three Little Pests, ” Nancy said. “Jason, David, and Mike! ”

Nancy, Bess, and George raced through the carnival. They found the Three Little Pigs on line at the slushy stand.

Very quietly the girls sneaked up behind the Three Little Pigs. They each grabbed a hood and yanked it off.

“Gotcha! ” George shouted.

Jason, David, and Mike spun around. Their mouths dropped open.

“I thought you weren’t going to the carnival this week, ” Nancy said. “And what are you doing dressed as the Three Little Pigs? ”

“Don’t bite our heads off! ” Jason exclaimed.

“When Shirley wouldn’t let us sing, Simon felt sorry for us, ” Mike said. “So he asked us to be the Three Little Pigs.”

“And you showed your thanks by making trouble? ” Nancy demanded.

“It wasn’t us! ” David insisted.

“No way! ” Jason agreed.

Nancy decided to try to trick the boys into admitting what they’d done.

“Then what was Henrietta’s lucky star doing behind the counter? ” Nancy asked. She hadn’t really seen the star there, though.

David turned to Mike. “I thought you put it in your backpack, dork! ”

“I did! ” Mike insisted. Then he turned red. “I mean …whoops.”

“Busted.” Jason sighed.

Nancy glared at the boys until they explained everything.

“We did most of the sneaky stuff before the carnival opened, ” Jason said. “Me and Mike put the eggs in the potato sacks while David helped Nina with the finish line.”

“And Jason kept Trish busy while Mike and I slopped molasses on the squirt handles, ” David said.

“I was the one who snatched Henrietta’s star, ” Mike said. “While Lou was eating a blueberry pie in his tent.”

“It was easy sneaking around in these costumes, ” Jason said. “Everyone thought we were Nicky, Vicky, and Ricky. And who would suspect the Three Little Pigs? ”

Nancy and her friends were practically speechless. How dare the boys spoil the carnival?

“Are you going to squeal on us? ” Mike asked the girls.

“You’ll be in less trouble if you apologize yourselves, ” Nancy said. “But if you don’t tell, we will.”

The boys grumbled as they grabbed their masks. Then they walked away.

“They’re worried, ” Nancy said.

“How do you know? ” Bess asked.

“They didn’t buy slushies, ” Nancy pointed out happily.

“And you solved the case, ” George told Nancy. “Now Brenda won’t write that article and give it to Isabelle tomorrow.”

“And Isabelle will sing at the carnival! ” Bess said, jumping up and down.

“Yippee! ” Nancy cheered. “I’m going to call Brenda and tell her right now.”

Nancy ran to a pay phone on the side of the school. There was a telephone book on a small shelf underneath.

Flipping through, Nancy found the Carltons’ number. She dropped some coins into the telephone and pushed the numbers.

“Hello? ” a woman’s voice answered.

“Mrs. Carlton? ” Nancy said. “This is Nancy Drew. Is Brenda home? ”

“No, dear, ” Mrs. Carlton said. “Brenda went to deliver her paper.”

Nancy gulped. “The Carlton News? ”

“Yes, ” Mrs. Carlton said. “She said she was going to Isabelle Santoro’s house. Somewhere on Chestnut Street, I believe.”

Nancy stammered a quick goodbye and hung up. “Brenda wrote her article, and she’s on her way to Isabelle’s! ” she cried. “We have to stop her! ”

“Wait! ” George said. She looked around. “Where’s Bess? ”

Nancy saw Bess running over. In her arms was a big stuffed panda.

“Look what I just won at the Big Squirt, ” Bess said. “For Isabelle! ”

“Way to go! ” Nancy said. She told Bess about Brenda as they ran out of the carnival. They jumped on their bikes and rode the five blocks to Chestnut Street.

“There’s Brenda! ” Nancy cried. “She’s about to ring Isabelle’s doorbell! ”

The girls jumped off their bikes. Bess grabbed the panda from her basket.

“Brenda — stop! ” Nancy called as they raced up the Santoros’ path. “You said you’d deliver the paper tomorrow! ”

Brenda looked at the paper in her hand and shrugged. “Early edition.”

“That’s not fair! ” George shouted. “We just solved the case and —”

The door swung open.

“Hi, ” a voice said.

The girls whirled around. Nancy gasped. It was Isabelle Santoro!

“Oooh! ” Isabelle said, smiling. “Is that for me? ”

Brenda held out her paper. “Yes! ”

“Not that, ” Isabelle said. “The panda. I love pandas! ”

“We know, ” Bess said. She handed Isabelle the panda.

“Thanks! ” Isabelle said. Then her dark eyes lit up. “Wait a minute. Are you all going to be at the carnival tomorrow? ”

Nancy nodded.

“Because I could use girls like you for my act, ” Isabelle said.

“Your act? ” Brenda cried. “You mean — like onstage? Really? Truly? ”

“I thought you said she sings like a parrot, ” Bess whispered in Brenda’s ear. “With crackers —”

Brenda gave Bess a hard nudge.

“Ouch! ” Bess complained.

“When I sing ‘It’s My Secret, ’” Isabelle said, “all you have to do is pretend you’re whispering in one another’s ears. It’s a cinch! ”

“We’ll do it! ” Brenda said. She shoved her newspaper behind her back.

“Cool! ” Isabelle said. “Be at the carnival at one o’clock sharp. Shirley Vega will show you where to go.”

Then Isabelle gave a little wave and went back into her house.

The girls stared at the door. Then they jumped up and down.

“Isabelle Santoro rocks! ” Brenda cried.

“What happened to your article, Brenda? ” George teased. “Aren’t you going to deliver it to Isabelle? ”

Nancy watched as Brenda tore her paper in half. “From now on, this will be my secret, ” she said.

“Good, ” Nancy said. “But don’t forget. You still have to write about something nice at the carnival.”

“I will, ” Brenda said. “How about this? ‘Four third-graders become world-famous singing sensations! ’”

Nancy, Bess, and George watched Brenda walk away. They turned to one an- other and gave high-fives.

Nancy felt on top of the world. Not only had she solved another case — she and her friends were going to be onstage with Isabelle Santoro!

• • •

The next day Shirley whisked Nancy, Bess, George, and Brenda to a stage set up on the soccer field. Nancy wore her flowered pants and a yellow T-shirt. Bess was dressed in a pink polka-dotted sundress. Even George wore new blue pants and a crisp white T-shirt.

Brenda wore white pants and a gold shirt that read SUPERSTAR.

While Isabelle sang her song, the girls pretended to tell secrets.

“Everyone’s here! ” Bess whispered into Nancy’s ear.

“I know! ” Nancy whispered back.

Nancy glanced down from the stage. In the audience she saw her friends Rebecca, Katie, Molly, and Amara. Even Orson was there, waving Frogzilla and wearing a brand-new blue ribbon.

Not present were Jason, David, and Mike. After they confessed to Shirley they weren’t allowed to return to the carnival.

“Isa-belle! Isa-belle! Isa-belle! ” everyone shouted after the song.

When Isabelle climbed down from the stage Bess and George ran for her autograph. But Nancy had some of her own writing to do in her detective notebook.

Daddy was right again. There are always surprises at carnivals. And you never know what you’ll find!

One thing I did find out — it doesn’t pay to get even. In the end, nobody wins.

But maybe if I practice hard enough, next year I’ll win the potato sack race. And maybe a brand-new panda!

Case closed.

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