you, me, and an empty cage
on a train
on the way to Los Angeles.
Olivia said she would catch
up with us. How could she
be sure of that?”
I, Nate the Great,
knew the answer.
Sludge and I stretched out
on a couch.
Good detectives know
when to take action
and when to wait.
This was a time to wait.
We waited. And waited.
At last a piece of paper
was slipped under our door.
I picked it up.
There was a message on it.
“Come on, Sludge,” I said.
Sludge and I walked to the last car.
I knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Olivia called.
Sludge and I walked in.
Olivia was sitting behind a huge desk
with a computer, a telephone,
and piles of paper.
“I’m at work,” she said.
“I’m writing up reports
on my last five cases.”
“Where is Hoot?” I asked.
“Hidden on the train,” Olivia said.
“Why didn’t you tell me
the cage was empty?” I asked.
Olivia tossed her boa.
“Because I knew that
you and Sludge
would not want to guard
something that was nothing.”
“Good thinking.”
Olivia stood up. “So, did you
find out who wrote the note?”
“Yes. But Sludge and I must leave.
We will be back soon.”
Sludge and I were back
in ten minutes with
the lady with very clean feet,
the musician, and the Owl Man.
“Everybody please sit down,” I said.
I turned to the lady.
“Hoot makes you sneeze.
But you sneezed when
I was with you
and Hoot wasn’t.
So other things must
make you sneeze too.”
“Yes,” she said. “Turnips, glue,
petunias, dirty feet, cats,
chewing gum, anything pink,
fresh air, and spiders.”
“Hmmm. So if Hoot wasn’t around,
you would still sneeze.”
“Yes.”
“Then maybe you do like Hoot?”
“Nice owl. Good manners.”
I turned to the musician.
“You like Hoot, correct?”
“Yes,” said the musician.
I turned to the Owl Man.
“You do look like an owl,” I said.
“But that’s because you want to.
You wear spotted shirts,
you comb your hair into two points,
and you wear big yellow glasses.
You like looking like Hoot.
I, Nate the Great, say
that none of you
have a reason for
writing a terrible note about Hoot.”
Then I turned to the musician.
“YOU wrote the note!”
“What?” The musician stood up.
“I did not write a terrible note.
I like owls.”
“I believe you,” I said.
Olivia walked up to me.
“Did you solve this case
or not?” she asked.
“Yes. I, Nate the Great, say that
the note was a get-well note!”
Olivia pulled the note
out of her pocket.
“It says that it will
be a happy day when Hoot
the owl flies away.
How can that be a get-well note?”
I turned to the musician again.
“You have a little trouble
writing rhymes, right?”
“Yes, and I needed something
to rhyme with day.
It was a good, friendly note.”
“I, Nate the Great, say
that things that look good
to somebody
can look terrible
to somebody else.
Today I was served
food that looked good
to the waiter
and bad to me.”
I turned to Olivia.
“End of case.
Hoot is safe.”
Olivia tossed her boa
into the air.
“You were fabulous!”
she said.
“No,” I said.
“Actually I was only great.”
The boa landed on Sludge.
“I’ll give you anything you want,”
Olivia said. “Make a list.”
I reached into my pocket.
“Sludge and I came prepared,” I said.
I handed Olivia a piece of paper.
“Now tell me exactly where Hoot is,”
I said.
“She’s still on the train,” Olivia said.
Suddenly I, Nate the Great, knew Olivia
had given me a clue I did not want.
Sludge and I went back to our room
and sat by the window.
We were not alone.
What’s Inside
Nate’s Notes: Owls
Nate’s Notes: Trains
Nate’s Notes: Guarding Things
The Owl Express Quiz
Train and Owl Riddles
Chocolate Nests Recipe
How to Make a Pinecone Owl
How to Make a Twinkie Train
Train Talking
The Owl Express Quiz
1. Who can see best?
a. Nate
b. Hoot
c. Olivia Sharp
d. Fang
2. What are owls good at?
a. hunting
b. flying quietly
c. giving wise advice
d. both a and b
3. What is an owl pellet?
a. owl poop
b. something the owl coughs up
c. dried owl food
d. a place where pet owls sleep
4. Where is the longest stretch of straight railroad track?
a. in Peru
b. in the Grand Canyon
c. in Australia
d. in California
5. Where is the largest train station?
a. in London
b. in Paris
c. in New York City
d. in Montenegro
Answers: 1. b; 2. d; 3. b; 4. c; 5. c.
Train and Owl Riddles
What’s the difference between a teacher and a train?
A teacher tells you to spit out your gum. A train says “chew chew!”
What happened when the T. rex took the train home?
He had to bring it back!
What happened when the owl lost his voice?
He didn’t give a hoot!
Why did the owl howl?
Because the woodpecker pecked her.
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Owl.
Owl who?
Owl aboard!
How do you know owls are wiser than chickens?
Have you ever heard of Kentucky Fried Owl?
Where does a 500-pound owl sit?
Wherever it wants!
What does a 500-pound owl say?
“Here, kitty, kitty.”
Chocolate Nests Recipe
Owls live in nests. People eat chocolate nests.
Ask an adult to help with this recipe. It will make about eight nests.
GET TOGETHER:
• one 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
• one 12-ounce bag of chocolate chips
• one 5-ounce can of chow mein noodles
• a cup of jelly bea
ns
• a mixing bowl
• a potholder
• a cookie sheet
• waxed paper
• spoons
HOW TO MAKE YOUR CHOCOLATE NESTS:
1. Pour the condensed milk into the bowl. Add the chocolate chips. Microwave at low power until the chips melt.
2. Using the potholder, remove the bowl from the microwave. Be careful!
3. Pour the noodles into the bowl. Mix them with the chocolate.
4. Cover the cookie sheet with waxed paper. Drop a couple of spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture onto the paper. Press the mixture into the shape of a nest.
5. Add a few jelly beans. These are your eggs.
6. Chill the nests for several hours.
7. Eat!
How to make a Pinecone Owl
This owl is a good pet. You don’t need to feed him. He’ll never need a bodyguard.
GET TOGETHER:
• a black marker
• white construction paper
• safety scissors
• two acorns
• white glue
• one fat pinecone
• yellow construction paper
• a small branch
HOW TO MAKE YOUR PINECONE OWL:
1. Make your owl’s eyes: Draw two dime-sized circles on the white paper. Cut them out. Color black circles in the center of each one.
2. Remove the caps from the acorns. Glue the paper eyes inside the caps. Glue the caps to the pinecone.
3. Make your owl’s beak: Cut a triangle from the yellow paper. Glue it onto the pinecone.
4. Give your owl a place to sit: Glue the pinecone onto the branch.
How to make a Twinkie Train
Riding trains is fun. Eating trains is fun, too.
GET TOGETHER:
• a Twinkie
• tubes of frosting in different colors
• whipped cream cheese
• six vanilla wafers
• a marshmallow
HOW TO MAKE YOUR TWINKIE TRAIN:
1. Unwrap the Twinkie. Use frosting to make it look like a train. Try drawing windows and doors.
2. Use cream cheese to glue on vanilla wafers for wheels.
3. The marshmallow is your smokestack. Glue it on with the cream cheese.
4. Make a frosting track on a plate. Take your train for a ride.
5. Eat!
Train Talking
Trains have a language of their own.
Learn how to talk like a conductor.
A caboose is a car attached to the end of the train. The people working on the train use the caboose as an office on wheels.
A conductor is the worker in charge of the train. She collects tickets, too.
A cowcatcher is an iron wedge mounted on the front of an engine. It works like a plow. It clears the tracks of tree branches, snow, and even cows!
The crew is all the people who work on a train.
The engineer runs the locomotive. (More about locomotives on the next page.)
Freight is the cargo, or stuff, that trains carry. People are not freight. They are passengers.
A grease monkey is the worker who keeps the train well oiled.
Kingpin is another name for the conductor.
A locomotive is the train car with the engine inside. It pushes or pulls the other cars.
The main line is the most important route on a railroad. Smaller routes are called branch lines.
If a train crew puts it on the ground, that means they’ve crashed the train!
Trains run on rails. These are a pair of metal bars attached to the ground.
A fast freight train is a red ball.
A roundhouse is a round building where workers clean and repair trains.
A terminal is a place where passengers wait for their trains. Freight is loaded and unloaded there.
A station is a place where the train stops.
A word about learning with
The Nate the Great series is good fun and has been entertaining children for over forty years. These books are also valuable learning tools in and out of the classroom.
Nate’s world—his home, his friends, his neighborhood—is one that every young person recognizes. Nate introduces beginning readers and those who have graduated to early chapter books to the detective mystery genre, and they respond to Nate’s commitment to solving the case and helping his friends.
What’s more, as Nate the Great solves his cases, readers learn with him. Nate unravels mysteries by using evidence collection, cogent reasoning, problem-solving, analytical skills, and logic in a way that teaches readers to develop critical-thinking abilities. The stories help children start discussions about how to approach difficult situations and give them tools to resolve them.
When you read a Nate the Great book with a child, or when a child reads a Nate the Great mystery on his or her own, the child is guaranteed a satisfying ending that will have taught him or her important classroom and life skills. We know that you and your children will enjoy reading and learning from Nate the Great’s wonderful stories as much as we do.
Find out more at NateTheGreatBooks.com.
Happy reading and learning with Nate!
Solve all the mysteries with
Nate the Great
Nate the Great Goes Undercover
Nate the Great and the Lost List
Nate the Great and the Phony Clue
Nate the Great and the Sticky Case
Nate the Great and the Missing Key
Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail
Nate the Great and the Fishy Prize
Nate the Great Stalks Stupidweed
Nate the Great and the Boring Beach Bag
Nate the Great Goes Down in the Dumps
Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt
Nate the Great and the Musical Note
Nate the Great and the Stolen Base
Nate the Great and the Pillowcase
Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine
Nate the Great and the Tardy Tortoise
Nate the Great and the Crunchy Christmas
Nate the Great Saves the King of Sweden
Nate the Great and Me: The Case of the Fleeing Fang
Nate the Great and the Monster Mess
Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective
Nate the Great and the Big Sniff
Nate the Great on the Owl Express
Nate the Great Talks Turkey
Nate the Great and the Hungry Book Club
Nate the Great, Where Are You?
MARJORIE WEINMAN SHARMAT has written more than 130 books for children and young adults, as well as movie and TV novelizations. Her books have been translated into twenty-four languages. The award-winning Nate the Great series, hailed in Booklist as “groundbreaking,” was inspired by her father, Nathan Weinman. Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and her husband, Mitchell Sharmat, have written many books together, including the Olivia Sharp series, based on his concept of detective Olivia Sharp, Agent for Secrets.
MITCHELL SHARMAT, a graduate of Harvard University, has written numerous picture books, easy readers, and novels, and is a contributor to many textbook reading programs. He is best known for the classic Gregory, the Terrible Eater, a Reading Rainbow Feature Selection and a New York Times Critics’ Pick. In Mitchell Sharmat’s honor, The Sharmat Collection, displaying the books he’s written, was established at the Harvard Graduate School of Education by the Munroe C. Gutman Library.
MARTHA WESTON illustrated How Will the Easter Bunny Know? by Kay Winters (Yearling), as well as more than forty books for children, including six she also wrote.
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