The Mind Reading Chook

Sleuth Astrid, the Mind-Reading Chook

Written by Hazel Edwards.

www.hazeldedwards.com

Illustrated and designed by Jane Connory.

ww.janeconnory.com

Sleuth Astrid is a hi-tech chook, who rides a Harley , plays e-games and finds lost things.The Magician has lost his sense of humour. Astrid must find that before the 3pm show. Luckily, Astrid is also a mind-reading chook.

Hidden in each chapter is a clue that will help solve Astrid's mystery. Snoop around each illustration to find a hidden letter, unscramble a word and help Astrid uncover the secret to the magician's missing sense of humour.

Originally print published by Macmillan Education Australia.

Also in the Sleuth Astrid series, by Hazel Edwards

Copyright © Hazel Edwards and Jane Connory, 2013.

Written By Hazel Edwards.

www.hazeledwards.com

Illustration and design by Jane Connory.

www.janeconnory.com

978-0-9871575-0-8 Sleuth Astrid the Mind-Reading Chook

Originally published by Macmillan Education, rights reverted to Hazel Edwards

All electronic rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

Teacher resources and activities available -
http://www.hazeledwards.com/shop/item/sleuth-astrid-the-mind-reading-chook

Chapter 1 Hi-tech Hen

Chapter 2 The Performance

Chapter 3 Eggs-actly Right

Chapter 4 Clues

Chapter 5 Smelly Chook Chase

Chapter 6 Sniffing Around

Chapter 7 The Forget-ory

Chapter 8 The Smell of Success

Chapter 1

My name is Astrid. I'm a mind-reading chook.

Chickens are ordinary. But I'm special. Ever since that accident in the Lab, I've been able to read minds.

I work part-time with Merlin, the magician. I'm the mind-reading chook in Merlin's magic act.

On stage, Merlin plays cards. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. In my hand I have a pack of cards. Over there, is Astrid, the Mind-reading Chook.'

I bow. That's hard with a mobile under one wing.

They clap. Merlin invites some kid on stage. ‘I'd like that boy in the front row to come out. Yes, you. Come and pick a card from this pack.'

Merlin shuffles the cards. The boy watches. Merlin holds out the cards. The boy chooses one.

Merlin smiles. He holds the card up high. ‘Astrid will tell us the card.'

Merlin waves his cloak around. Then he twirls his stick. ‘Astrid, is it a red card?'

‘Yes' is one peck on the microphone. ‘No' is two pecks. I peck once. ‘Chook, chook, chook ,' I say.

‘Astrid is right. It is a red card,' says Merlin. The audience clap.

‘Astrid, is it a picture card?'

Again, I'm supposed to peck once for ‘yes' and twice for ‘no'. It's a red King of Hearts. I'm supposed to peck the right card.

That's easy for me. I'm the star.

I also work as an actor. And I like solving mysteries. I look for clues. And I keep my eyes to the ground. I notice things. And most people don't notice a chook who's just pecking around.

RING. RING. RING.

‘Hullo, Astrid here.' I pull my mobile out from under my wing.

I like being a hi-tech hen. I can peck very fast on my tablet. Online, I'm part of Chooks Anonymous.

‘Astrid, it's Ben. I've got a job for you.' Ben is my agent. He gets extra work for me. ‘It's a TV commercial. They want you to act as a chicken,' says Ben. ‘That should be easy.'

‘Very easy,' I say. Too easy I think. So I get suspicious. ‘Who's it for?' I ask.

‘The Hot Chicken Shop,' says Ben.

‘No way!' I reply.

I don't even like going near that shop. It's no mystery what happened to my Aunty Rhoda in there. She became a Special Sandwich with lettuce, mustard and pickles. And my uncle is now a duster at the Feather Bed Shop. So I won't act in bed-shop commercials either.

Ben says quickly, ‘Okay I've got something else. A job for a mystery solver, Astrid.'

‘Okay. What is it?'

‘It's Merlin,' says Ben. ‘He's lost something he needs for his three o'clock show.'

‘Flopsy?' I ask hopefully. Flopsy is Merlin's white rabbit. She has long ears and a bad temper. She wants to be a star too.

‘Not Flopsy,' says Ben.

‘Is it a contact lens again?' I ask. Merlin used the wear glasses. Then he bought contact lenses. You know those little things which go in your eyes. Now he even loses them!

‘No, this time, Merlin's lost his sense of humour,' says Ben. ‘He can't laugh or smile anymore. Nothing is funny for him.'

‘When did he lose it?' I ask.

‘Before he got up this morning,' says Ben.

‘Does he know where he lost it?' I say.

‘No. That's why you've got the job of finding it.'

‘What about my fee?'

‘D'you want the usual?' asks Ben.

‘Yes please.' I say. Since I'm a hi-tech chook with a tablet, Ben pays me in new e-games like Leghorn, Eggs Galore or Find the Egg.

‘It must be found before the afternoon performance,' repeats Ben.

This is a perfect job for Astrid, the mind-reading chook

Chapter 2

Merlin is thinking aloud.

‘Nothing is funny. Nothing is fun. I just feel grumpy all the time,' says Merlin. He swishes around his magic wand.

It snaps!

‘Oh no,' wails Merlin. ‘See? Everything is breaking down or getting lost. Last night I forgot which carpark I left my car in, so I caught the train home.'

I looked into Merlin's mind for clues. His memory is a bit murky. I see toothpaste, breakfast muffins and a dark hole. This must be where he forgets things.

Merlin tries to superglue his broken wand. His fingers are stuck to the wand now.

At least he won't be able to lose that!

‘Go and find the car first, ‘orders Flopsy.' I don't want to walk to work.'

I wonder if Flopsy has anything to do with Merlin's missing sense of humour?

I try all my contacts. I peck around a bit. I find Merlin's car. It's a bit hard to miss a van with MERLIN THE MARVELLOUS written on the side. Especially when it's the only vehicle left in the carpark.

I hit the buttons on my mobile. Merlin is still stuck at home.

‘Thanks for finding the car,' says Merlin grumpily. ‘But I don't feel like laughing.'

‘Don't worry. I'll find your sense of humour next.' I say.

Merlin used to smile. He used to laugh. And he played jokes. Where did he laugh for the last time? On the train last night? Is that where he might have lost it?

I visit the railway Lost Property Office. Umbrellas, shoes and sports gear fill the room. But no clues to a lost sense of humour.

So then I check the henhouse. It's the gossip centre of the yard. The hens know everything.

‘Have you heard anything funny?' I ask the hens.

‘We might have. Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!'

‘Merlin's lost his sense of humour,' I explain. ‘He needs it for his show this afternoon. I must find it before three o'clock.'

‘So you're the hard-boiled detective?' says Rooster loudly.

He makes the same joke every time we meet. It isn't funny.

‘Rooster fell off the henhouse roof yesterday morning. Merlin was here and he laughed. So he still had it then,' says Inspector Clues, the French chick. ‘Would you like some help with this case?'

I shake my beak. ‘Not yet, thanks.' Unless it's a French mystery, where you have to speak French, I think I'm better at the job.

Yesterday's laugh was a clue. But that was yesterday, not today.

Rooster thinks he's top of the pecking order. His job is to look after his hens.

‘Heard any laughs around here?' I ask him very politely. ‘Any giggles? Or even some smiles?'

‘Why? Is laughing a crime?' Rooster says. Then he laughs at his own joke. But he doesn't look where he is going. He trips and falls into the water bowl, beak first.

I try not to laugh. The hens giggle. Then they laugh aloud. Rooster shakes himself and stalks away. Drops of water fall on the ground from his dripping beak. In his mind, I can picture fireworks. He is very angry.

I sigh. What happened to Merlin's sense of humour? Where could it be?