The Stolen Unicorn Read online

  Mrs. Reynolds jumped up from where she had been sitting in the back of the room, and rushed to the front. “Calm down, class. Mike, collect those balls and give them to me.”

  “But—” Mike began.

  “No buts, Mike,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “We’ll talk about your getting them back after school.”

  Mike did what he was told.

  Soon the class had quieted down. In a tired voice, Mrs. Reynolds called on the next student. “Alison Wegman.”

  Nancy sat at attention. Alison had promised to show something really special. Nancy couldn’t wait to see what it was. When Alison took out her Flower Fairy perfume, Nancy was disappointed.

  “Not that,” Mike complained. “We’ve all seen it.”

  “And smelled it,” Jason added.

  Alison held her chin up. “I was going to bring in something else,” she said. “But somebody stole my idea.”

  What’s that supposed to mean? Nancy wondered.

  Alison cleared her throat. “This is my Flower Fairy perfume. As you can see, the crystal bottle is in the shape of a fairy. The commercials say, ’With one spray, you will smell like a spring bouquet.’ It’s special because my mother bought it for me and no one else I know has it.” Alison seemed to have run out of things to say. “Can I pass it around?” she asked Mrs. Reynolds.

  “You may,” Mrs. Reynolds said.

  Alison handed the perfume to Julia Santos. Julia looked at the bottle and then passed the perfume to Brenda. Brenda smiled at her.

  While Brenda was looking at the bottle, Mike leaned over from his seat.

  “Psst! Hurry up, Meathead,” he said.

  Brenda tightened her lips. She pointed the bottle at Mike and sprayed him!

  “Oops,” she said with a smile. “Sorry. It was an accident.”

  Mike jumped to his feet. A look of horror was on his face. “Arrrgh, I smell like flowers!”

  “You mean a ‘spring bouquet.’ ” Brenda giggled and the whole class laughed.

  Mike began to sneeze. That made the class laugh even harder.

  Mrs. Reynolds strode to the front of the room and took the perfume from Brenda’s hand. “That’s enough.” She gave the bottle back to Alison. “Please sit down,” she told her. “I need to speak with the class.”

  Alison quickly took her seat.

  Mrs. Reynolds leaned against her desk and faced the students. She studied their faces for a few moments. Then she spoke.

  “Boys and girls,” she said, “I meant what I said earlier. But I don’t want to punish the entire class for something one student did.”

  Or maybe two kids, Nancy thought, looking over at Mike and Jason.

  Mrs. Reynolds continued. “I hope the person who borrowed Mari’s unicorn—for whatever reason—is finished using it. That person has two more days to return it: tomorrow and Friday.”

  Mrs. Reynolds pointed to her desk. “The unicorn may be left right here. I don’t need to know who did it. It just needs to be returned to Mari safe and sound. No questions will be asked.”

  Mrs. Reynolds smiled. “I have always thought of you as a great class that got along well. I hope I’m right. Class dismissed.”

  The class was silent as they packed up to leave.

  Nancy watched Jason and Mike go to their cubbies and collect their things. This is my chance to question them, she thought.

  Nancy dashed out of the classroom and walked up behind them. She was about to talk to them but stopped when she heard what they were saying.

  “So when do you think we should do it?” Jason asked Mike. “Tomorrow or Friday?”

  “Tomorrow,” Mike replied. “The sooner the better. How about at recess?”

  “Mari will sure be surprised,” Mike said.

  Nancy stayed where she was and let the boys walk away. She didn’t want them to know she had heard everything.

  Nancy went to her cubby. The boys are bringing the unicorn back tomorrow, she thought as she grabbed her things. And I know just how to catch them in the act!

  7

  Real Detectives

  Did you just say you want to have a stakeout?” George asked Nancy.

  “That’s right,” Nancy said.

  “What do we have to do?” Bess asked.

  “We have to wait for the bad guys. Just like real detectives,” Nancy said.

  Bess and George were staying at Nancy’s house for dinner. They were in her room, sitting on her bed. Nancy had just told them what she’d heard Mike and Jason say earlier at school.

  Nancy’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “We can sneak into the classroom and hide before the boys get there. That way we can catch them when they bring back the unicorn.”

  “Catch them?” Bess asked. She hugged one of Nancy’s pillows. “You mean grab them or something?”

  “No,” Nancy said. “I mean see them with our own eyes. That way we’ll really know they took the unicorn. My father says a good detective must always be sure.”

  “Then what?” George asked. “Mrs. Reynolds said she didn’t care who took Silvermane—she just wanted it back.”

  “We’ll tell Mari,” Nancy said. “She has the right to know who did it, don’t you think?”

  “I guess if it was my unicorn, I’d want to know who stole it,” Bess said.

  Nancy opened her notebook to the page where she had written down her suspects and clues for the missing unicorn mystery. On a new line she wrote, “The Plan.”

  Then she thought for a moment. “I think we should hide in the supply closet,” she said. “It’s pretty big, and we can all fit if we squeeze in together. We can leave the door open a little and peek out. That way we can see what happens, but no one will see us.”

  George pointed to Nancy’s notebook. “Write that down, Nancy,” George said. “But how do we get into the classroom in the first place? No one is allowed up there at lunchtime.”

  “We’ll have to run back up when no one’s looking,” Nancy said.

  She wrote, “Sneak into classroom.”

  “What about lunch?” Bess asked. “I don’t want to miss that, even for a stakeout. Maybe we should bring lunch from home and eat it very fast before going upstairs.”

  “Good idea, Bess,” Nancy said. She quickly wrote down, “Lunch from home.”

  “Dinner is served!” Hannah called out, knocking on the door.

  “It smells delicious, Hannah,” Nancy said. “We’ll be right down.” Nancy turned back to her friends. “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow we’ll have our stakeout.”

  • • •

  The next afternoon at lunchtime, Nancy, Bess, and George were all crammed into the supply closet of their classroom.

  “There just isn’t . . . enough . . . room in here,” Bess said between grunts.

  “Stop complaining,” George whispered. “It’s easier if you stay still.”

  “Shhh!” Nancy hissed. “Don’t talk. You could ruin everything.”

  It was dark and dusty in Mrs. Reynolds’s supply closet.

  “Uh-oh,” Bess said.

  “What is it?” George asked.

  “I have a tickle in my throat,” Bess said.

  “Don’t cough now!” George cried.

  “Shhh!” Nancy said again. She was bent over and had opened the closet door just a crack. She had a clear view of Mrs. Reynolds’s desk. She’d be able to see everything.

  Bess and George were quiet for a few minutes. Then Bess shouted, “Ow!”

  Nancy spun around. “What’s the matter?”

  “George stepped on my foot!” Bess said.

  George frowned. “It was an accident!”

  Nancy quickly peeked at Mrs. Reynolds’s desk again. The top was still clear. “Phew, I didn’t miss it,” she said. Then she looked back at Bess and George. “Now, don’t move.”

  The girls were very still for a long time.

  “Nancy,” Bess whispered.

  “What?” Nancy asked.

  “I still have a tickle in my throat
,” Bess said.

  Nancy turned to look at Bess. “Well, can you cough quietly?”

  “I’ll try.” Bess cleared her throat. “Maybe if I get behind George it won’t sound so loud.” She pushed George aside. “Excuse me.”

  “Ouch! Now you’re on my foot!” George pushed Bess back.

  “Whoa!” Bess cried. She lost her balance and bumped into Nancy.

  With a yelp, Nancy fell against the door of the closet and tumbled out—straight into Brenda Carlton!

  8

  The Return of Silvermane

  Brenda!” Nancy shrieked.

  “Nancy!” Brenda shouted back as they crashed to the floor.

  They sat there, staring at each other, their legs tangled together.

  “Don’t just sit there,” Brenda said. “Get off me!”

  Nancy untangled herself from Brenda.

  “What were you doing in there?” Brenda demanded, dusting off her jeans.

  “What were you doing out here?” Nancy asked Brenda.

  “I was looking for you,” Brenda said. “I knew you were up to something, so I followed you. What’s your story?”

  Before Nancy could reply, Bess tugged on Nancy’s sleeve.

  “Nancy—look!” She pointed to Mrs. Reynolds’s desk.

  The unicorn was lying on top of it.

  Nancy’s mouth dropped open.

  George turned to Brenda. “You did take Silvermane! And you blamed Julia! Of all the dirty, rotten—”

  “I didn’t!” Brenda insisted. “I don’t know how that unicorn got there!”

  George squinted. “Sure.”

  Nancy led the way to Mrs. Reynolds’s desk. As the girls gathered around her, she picked up the unicorn and touched its tail. Then she turned it over, looking very closely for clues. “I think Brenda’s telling the truth,” she said.

  “She can’t be,” Bess said. “Who else could have done it?”

  Nancy took a deep breath and said, “Alison.”

  “You’re crazy,” Brenda said. “My best friend is not a thief.”

  Nancy headed out of the classroom. “Let’s go ask her.”

  The girls found Alison in the schoolyard, playing hopscotch with Mari.

  Mari looked up first. “I was just wondering where all of you w—” She caught sight of the unicorn in Nancy’s hands and gasped. “Is that my Silvermane?” she asked.

  “Yes.” Nancy handed it to her.

  Mari kissed the unicorn on the nose. “Where did you find it?”

  Nancy faced Alison. “Why don’t you you tell her what happened, Alison?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?” Alison asked.

  Brenda stepped next to her friend. “Nancy thinks you’re the one who took it,” she said. “Can you believe that?”

  Alison laughed. “That’s funny.”

  “I don’t think it’s funny that Silvermane smells just like Flower Fairy perfume,” Nancy said.

  “What?” Brenda asked.

  Alison stopped laughing.

  Mari sniffed her toy. “Nancy’s right,” she said.

  “Let me smell that,” Brenda demanded. She grabbed the unicorn and sniffed its tail. “It’s true,” she said in a small voice. She looked over at her best friend. “Alison?”

  “Why would I have to steal Mari’s unicorn,” Alison said, “when I have a—” She stopped.

  “Silvermane of your own?” Nancy finished for her.

  “How did you know?” Alison asked.

  “I figured out your hint,” Nancy said. “You were planning to show your Silvermane for your show-and-tell surprise.”

  “That’s right,” George said to Alison. “You said your show-and-tell was going to be silver and white.”

  “But my surprise was ruined when Mari showed up with Silvermane first.” Alison turned to the new girl. “So I got mad. You copied me, Mari.”

  Mari didn’t say anything.

  “I was so angry, I took your Silvermane,” Alison said. “I figured since you stole my idea, I would steal your unicorn. I’m sorry, Mari.”

  “But Mari didn’t steal your idea,” Bess said.

  Mari looked down at the ground.

  “I wanted to give her back to you,” Alison insisted. “But Mrs. Reynolds was so upset, and Brenda and Julia got into that fight. And then I spilled my perfume all over Silvermane’s tail. I didn’t know what to do.”

  Mari slowly looked up at Alison. “I’m sorry, too,” she said.

  “What for?” Alison asked.

  “Because I did steal your idea,” Mari said. “I knew you were bringing in Silvermane for show-and-tell.”

  “How did you know?” Alison asked.

  “Remember the first time we met—in the toy store?” Mari asked Alison.

  “Yes,” Alison said.

  I heard you tell your mom about show-and-tell. I even saw you buy Silvermane,” Mari said. “After you left, I asked my mom for Silvermane, too. I thought if I brought Silvermane to school that maybe the kids would like me.”

  “I liked you even before you brought in Silvermane,” Nancy told Mari.

  “So did I,” Alison and Bess said together.

  George looked sideways at Brenda. “Most of us did,” George said. “You don’t have to show off to make friends, Mari.”

  “Do you still want to be my friend?” Mari asked Alison.

  Alison stuck out her hand. “If you still want to be mine.”

  The two girls shook hands.

  “Hello, girls,” a voice broke in.

  The girls turned to see Mike and Jason.

  Wait a minute, Nancy thought. If they didn’t take Silvermane, then what were they talking about yesterday?

  Mike held out his hand to Brenda, and Jason held out his hand to Mari.

  “I just want to say I’m sorry for calling you Meathead,” Mike said.

  “And I want to welcome you to our school,” Jason told Mari.

  “Okay,” Mari said.

  Brenda and Mari shook the boys’ hands. Then they screamed. Mike and Jason’s hands had broken off!

  “They’re fake!” Jason said between laughs.

  “We had something up our sleeves. Get it?” Mike said. He was laughing so hard, tears came to his eyes.

  “Very funny!” Brenda said. She picked up one of the fake hands and chased after Mike. “I’ll get you!”

  The girls all laughed.

  • • •

  When Nancy got home from school that day, she opened her notebook to The Missing Unicorn Mystery and wrote:

  Today I learned that stealing an idea is just as bad as stealing a toy. Either way you can really hurt somebody’s feelings.

  Mari and Alison are giving each other a second chance to become friends. Mari told Mrs. Reynolds that she got her unicorn back. And Mrs. Reynolds said we could have show-and-tell again. She didn’t even ask how Silvermane was returned. She was just glad that Mari was happy. And I’m glad the mystery was solved.

  Case closed.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  A MINSTREL PAPERBACK Original

  A Minstrel Book published by

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Copyright © 1997 by Simon & Schuster Inc.

  Produced by Mega-Books, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book of portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  First Minstrel Books printing May 1997

  NANCY DREW, THE NANCY DREW NOTEBOOKS, A MINSTREL BOOK and colophon are registered trademarks of

  Simon & Schuster Inc.

  Cover art by Joanie Schwarz


  ISBN 978-1-4424-6791-0 (ebook)