Russell knew he had to follow Rodney's advice. He yelled, “Mr. Chickee!”
Their friend walked out onto the porch.
“Yes, Russell?”
“I hate to burp Bucko's bubble, but that kid just stole his dictionary!”
Steven put his hand to his neck and felt the dangling cord.
“What?”
He started off the porch in the direction Marvin had disappeared.
Mr. Chickee called, “Steven! Stop! We can't possibly know which direction he took. We can't do anything until Ms. Tiptip and Richelle come back. We'll have to wait.”
Steven said, “I can't wait, Mr. Chickee! That's part of my family history!”
“I know, Steven, but there's nothing more to do, we simply have to wait.”
Steven said, “When I get my hands on that thief, he'll wish he hadn't messed with the presid—the former president of the Flint Future Detectives!”
Mr. Chickee said, “Patience, Steven, patience. Once people from the Guide family go bad, they go very bad. We'll have to carefully consider our next move. This has the smell of a danger rating of nine and a half. I promise you, once the women are safely back and we've set out on the final mission, we'll get to the bottom of this.”
Rodney Rodent whined to Russell, “Big buddy! Mr. Chickee's right, he speaks the truth, there's nothing more to do. Tell Bucko that he'll meet that thief before his mission's through. Big troubles, woe and tons of pain Bucko will have to see, before he gets that mean book back, before it's finally free. Tell him this, to keep in mind what my mummy used to say: The best-laid plans of Munchkers and men will often go astray.”
Steven looked at his Oops-a-Daisy.
Russell looked at his Oops-a-Daisy.
Mr. Chickee looked at the sky.
Rodney Rodent looked at the woods.
Each was thinking the same thing: “This is turning out a lot worse than I ever imagined!”
And if they thought their adventure was going to be over soon, I'm sorry 'bout their luck!
About the Author
CHRISTOPHER PAUL CURTIS is the bestselling author of Bud, Not Buddy, winner of the New-bery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Medal, among many other honors, and most recently of Mr. Chickee's Funny Money (a companion to Mr. Chickee's Messy Mission) and Bucking the Sarge. His first novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, was also singled out for many awards, among them a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Honor. Christopher Paul Curtis grew up in Flint, Michigan. After high school, he began working on the assembly line at Fisher Body Flint Plant No. 1 while attending the Flint branch of the University of Michigan, where he began writing essays and fiction. He is now a full-time writer.
Published by Wendy Lamb Books
an imprint of Random House Children's Books
a division of Random House, Inc.
New York
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of
the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living
or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2007 by Christopher Paul Curtis
All rights reserved.
WENDY LAMB BOOKS and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
www.randomhouse.com/kids
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
www.randomhouse.com/teachers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Curtis, Christopher Paul.
Mr. Chickee's Messy Mission/Christopher Paul Curtis.
p. cm.
Summary: Flint Future Detective Club members Steve Carter and his friends Russell and
Richelle follow Russell's dog, Rodney Rodent, into a mural to chase a demonic-looking
gnome, only to find the mysterious Mr. Chickee on the other side.
eISBN: 978-0-307-48846-6
[1. Gnomes—Fiction. 2. Dogs—Fiction. 3. African Americans—Fiction. 4. Flint
(Mich.)—Fiction. 5. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Title. II. Title: Mister Chickee's
Messy Mission.
PZ7.C94137Mrg 2007
[Fic]—dc22
2006026690
v3.0
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