Pony Problems Read online

  A pony on the front lawn? Impossible!

  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!”

  Join the CLUE CREW & solve these other cases!

  #1 Sleepover Sleuths

  #2 Scream for Ice Cream

  #3 Pony Problems

  #4 The Cinderella Ballet Mystery

  #5 Case of the Sneaky Snowman

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ALADDIN PAPERBACKS

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Text copyright © 2006 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Illustrations copyright © 2006 by Macky Pamintuan

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  ALADDIN PAPERBACKS, NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW, and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  NANCY DREW is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Designed by Lisa Vega

  The text of this book was set in ITC Stone Informal.

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  First Aladdin Paperbacks edition August 2006

  10 9 8 7 6

  Library of Congress Control Number 2005938146

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-1815-8

  ISBN-10: 1-4169-1815-9

  eISBN: 978-1-439-10341-8

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE: PETTING PONIES

  CHAPTER TWO: PONY’S PETUNIAS

  CHAPTER THREE: NANCY’S NOTEBOOK

  CHAPTER FOUR: COLLECTING CLUES

  CHAPTER FIVE: PAINTED PONY

  CHAPTER SIX: SO MANY SUSPECTS

  CHAPTER SEVEN: NEW NEWS

  CHAPTER EIGHT: COOKES AND CLUES

  CHAPTER NINE: THINKING THOUGHTS

  CHAPTER TEN: CASE CLOSED

  “I can’t believe you’re having a turkey sandwich again today.” Eight-year-old Nancy Drew shook her head at her best friend Bess. The two girls were sitting together at a long white table in the River Heights Elementary School cafeteria.

  “I like turkey,” Bess Marvin replied, slowly opening her brown bag and peeking in. “Hey!” Her blond hair swung into her face as she suddenly turned back to Nancy. “How’d you know I was having a turkey sandwich? My lunch bag was closed.” Bess pushed her hair out of her eyes.

  Just then, Nancy’s other best friend, Georgia Fayne, showed up. George was also Bess’s cousin. Even though they were all in the same class, George had stopped to turn in an extra credit math assignment before coming to lunch.

  George plopped down on the bench across from Nancy and Bess. She dropped her lunch box on the table. “Nancy probably just guessed,” George said, pinning one brown eye on Bess. “I mean, you’ve had a turkey sandwich every day this week. Since it’s Friday, it’s easy to guess that you’d have it again today.”

  “Nancy never guesses,” Bess reminded George. “She uses clues to figure stuff out.” The girls turned to look at Nancy, who simply smiled.

  “It doesn’t take a detective to solve this mystery,” Nancy remarked. “Bess is the only one I know who likes ketchup on her turkey sandwich.” Pointing at the bottom of Bess’s lunch bag, Nancy showed Bess the light red stain on the brown paper. “Your mom must have gotten a little ketchup on the bag when she was making your lunch.”

  Bess turned the bag to look. “I love ketchup so much. Maybe when I finish the sandwich, I’ll eat the bag.” The girls laughed.

  Nancy winked. “The case of Bess’s lunch is now closed,” she said with a shrug.

  “Not much of a mystery,” George commented. “Wouldn’t it be great if we had a real case to solve?”

  Nancy Drew and her friends loved to solve mysteries. They called themselves the Clue Crew and had a detective headquarters in Nancy’s bedroom. Working together, the girls had already solved a couple of good cases and were ready to jump into a new investigation. If only something interesting would happen …

  “It would be fun to solve another mystery,” Nancy agreed. She opened her own lunch box and took out some peanut butter crackers. “But it seems like it’s going to be a quiet weekend. Do you both want to come over tomorrow morning?” she asked her friends. “My dad said he’d take us to fly kites in the park, if you want.”

  “Sounds good,” George said, before eating a spoonful of her yogurt. “Maybe I’ll do an Internet search to check out which way the wind will be blowing in River Heights tomorrow.” George liked computers and was always sharing interesting facts with her friends.

  Bess rolled her eyes. “I bet I can find the same information on my new wireless radio. I built it from old parts I found in that junk shop on East Town Road. My mom took me there last week.” Bess loved gadgets. Her hobby was building new stuff out of old pieces.

  “It really doesn’t matter which way the wind is blowing,” Nancy cut in before the cousins began to argue over which was a better weather checker—the Internet or the radio. “Just bring your kites and be there at nine o’clock.”

  While they were having dessert, Bess asked, “Did you hear about the brown and white speckled pony Ms. Waters found in her garden yesterday?”

  George’s short brown hair bobbed up and down when she laughed. “My mom said she saw Ms. Waters running down the street in her nightgown, waving her arms and shouting about how the pony was eating her flowers.”

  “The whole idea cracks me up!” Bess exclaimed. “I mean, she’s the librarian. She’s always saying ‘shhh’ and telling us to be quiet. It’s hard to imagine her running down the street screaming. My ribs hurt from laughing every time I think about it.”

  “Ms. Waters sure does love her garden.” Nancy giggled. She tucked a strand of her shoulder-length reddish hair behind her ear. “I heard that the day before yesterday, Mr. Geffington found the same pony standing outside the post office. It was eating a bush,” Nancy added. She took a sip of milk. “And before that, on Tuesday, the pony was discovered at the movies.”

  “Was it eating popcorn?” George snickered at the thought of the pony having a snack.

  “Nah,” Bess put in. “It was munching leaves off that big sycamore tree in front of the theater.”

  “That’s one hungry pony,” George commented. “Does anyone know who it belongs to?” George’s eyes lit up as she considered that there might be a mystery to solve.

  “Buttons is Mr. Johnson’s Shetland pony,” a voice said from behind Nancy. The girls turned to see Stacy Quinn headed their way. Stacy was in Mrs. Bailey’s third-grade class at River Heights Elementary. Stacy’s long brown hair swung as she walked. “I couldn’t help but overhear,” Stacy continued as she sat down with the three friends at the lunch table. “You guys are talking pretty loudly.”

  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.

  “Cr
azy 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?”

  Nancy was surprised. “How’d you guess?” she asked.

  “I might be only a lawyer, but I’m also the father of River Heights’s greatest detective.” Mr. Drew smiled. “I know a clue when I see one, and you girls don’t have your kites with you.”