Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a beautiful little valley.

It was filled with rolling hills, pink flowers and peach trees.

Down the lane and around the bend, in a secret part of the valley, there was a beautiful little farm.

Many animals lived on this farm.

There were horses, and dogs, and chickens, and cows and even sheep.

One animal on this farm was very, very special. She was different from all the rest.

She was a small, white duck named "Miss Quacky".

Miss Quacky may have been very small, but she was the smartest animal in the entire valley.

She was cleverer than wiley Mr. Fox.

She was wiser than Old Man Owl.

She was trickier than a barn cat.

Miss Quacky could do one thing that no other animal could.

She could solve mysteries.

In fact, Miss Quacky was the valley's one and only, "Duck-tective" !

One day, Fiona, one of the farm dogs, came running up to Miss Quacky, barking excitedly.

Fiona was a beautiful tan and white Corgi. She had big, foxy ears and short stubby legs. And because Fiona loved to eat too many dog cookies, she was much fatter than was good for her.

So by the time she reached Miss Quacky, Fiona was all out of breath.

Huffing and puffing, Fiona barked, "Miss Quacky! You have to help us!"

"What's wrong?" asked Miss Quacky.

"Someone has taken the key to Farmer Goodfellow's tractor!" Fiona said. "And unless he can get it back, he won't be able to plow the field. And if he can't plow the field, he can't plant the wheat! And if he can't plant the wheat, none of the farm animals will have food for the winter!"

"Oh no!" said Miss Quacky.

"Oh yes!" said Fiona. "And we don't have much time. Farmer Goodfellow has to plow that field this week or it will be too late to plant the wheat! We've got to find that key, Miss Quacky, and we've got to find it quick!"

"Well, does Farmer Goodfellow have any idea who could have taken it?" asked Miss Quacky.

"No." Said Fiona. "No one saw or heard anything. We've looked everywhere and we can't find it. That's why I came to you for help."

Miss Quacky thought for a few minutes. Then she said, "Ok, Fiona, I'll help you find that key. But first, here's what you need to do." And she whispered something in Fiona's ear.

That night, all the animals gathered in the barnyard.

Miss Quacky called them to order and said, "The key to Farmer Goodfellow's tractor is missing. He has looked everywhere and he can't find it. If he can't find the key, we will all starve this winter."

All the animals gasped.

FARMER'S DAILY NEWS

Missing - In the land of the beautiful valley, one farmer's key has gone missing. Anyone with information, please apply to Miss Quacky at the pond behind the barn...

"We believe," said Miss Quacky, "that someone has taken the key. Now if anyone knows anything about who took the key, I want you to come and talk to me. In the meantime, I need all of you to do your very best to find that key!"

There were loud snorts, grunts, bleets, moos, cackles, whinnies, and woofs in response to Miss Quacky's announcement. But no one knew who had taken the key.  Finally, all the animals went off to search for it.

Every animal did his or her best to find the key.

The chickens pecked the ground looking for the key.

Frankie, the big farm dog dug holes everywhere looking for the key.

The pigs rooted around trying to find the key.

Pauly, the donkey, ate all the sweet green grass looking for the key.

But not one of the animals could find the key.

Meanwhile, Miss Quacky set about making her inquiries.

"First," she said to herself, "I must inspect the scene of the crime." So she looked very closely at the tractor and at the ground all around it, looking for clues.

But there were no pawprints or noseprints anywhere. All she found was a lot of dirt, several old wheat seeds, and one old black and white feather.

Next, Miss Quacky looked carefully at everything near where the tractor was parked.

But all she saw were the old oak trees where the magpies sometimes nested, and the barn. There was nothing new or different anywhere, and nothing was out of place.

"I can't see any clues here." Said Miss Quacky.

Miss Quacky was stumped. She couldn't see how anyone could have stolen the key without leaving any kind of clue.

Finally, Miss Quacky knew what she needed to do. "I'm going to have to closely question all the animals." she said to herself. "I have to find out if any of them saw or heard anything that night."

And so she set off down the road towards the farmhouse.

When she got to the farmhouse, Miss Quacky gathered all the farm dogs together.

"Did you hear anything that night?" she asked Fiona, Frankie and Little Bear.

"Nuh, huh." Said Frankie.

"No." said Fiona.

Little Bear just shook his head "no".

"Well, did you see anything that day or see anything that night?"

"Nuhn, huh." Said Frankie.

"Nope." Said Fiona.

And Little Bear just shook his head "no".

Miss Quacky thought for a while.

Then she said, "Well did you smell anything unusual or different that day?"