Just like Jason, Nancy thought. He didn’t even say thank you! But at least she could tell he liked the ball.
Then Nancy glanced over at Emily. She was smiling happily.
“Ooooh! I got two gifts!” Emily cried. “And they’re both good ones!”
Nancy saw them on Emily’s desk. One was a pretty pink wallet. The other was a tiny stuffed Santa Claus with a pack of toys on his back.
Nancy watched as Emily read the card that came with the wallet.
“Thank you, Peter,” Emily said, jumping up and down.
Peter DeSands sat a few seats away from Emily. He got up and walked over to her.
“Do you like it?” he said.
“Oh, I do,” Emily said. “Pink is my favorite color!”
“Well, I’m sorry about the bad lunch and card and stuff,” Peter said. “I thought it was funny—until I heard you telling Nancy how bad you felt.”
“Oh, yeah,” Emily said, blushing a little. “Well, anyway, you made up for it with two presents. I love them both.”
“Huh?” Peter said. “I didn’t give you two presents.”
“You didn’t?” Emily said. “Then who gave me this Santa Claus doll?”
Peter shrugged.
Emily ran over to Nancy. She brought the Santa Claus with her.
“Nancy,” she said. “You’re good at solving mysteries, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Nancy said.
“Well, I want to know who gave me this present,” Emily said. “Can you find out?”
Nancy grinned. “No way,” she said.
“But why not?” Emily said. “Are you still mad at me?”
“No,” Nancy said. “But I have a feeling the person who gave it to you wants it to be a secret. In fact, I’m sure of it. And some secrets are supposed to stay that way.”
Nancy smiled to herself as Emily went back to her desk and sat down. This was turning out to be a good Christmas after all. And Christmas day hadn’t even arrived!
Nancy took out her special blue notebook. She opened it and wrote:
Today I solved the Secret Santa mystery. Now I know why grownups always say it’s better to give than to receive. It’s because when you give someone a present, you end up getting what you want in return—a happy feeling inside.
Case closed.
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The Secret Santa Page 4
