It was a busy morning and the city was preparing for the annual Summer Festival. Streets were filled with colourful banners, children’s laughter, and the scent of freshly baked pies. But just as the mayor was about to give his speech, a crisis arose, his prized top hat was missing! Mayor Bumblesworth, a jolly gentleman with a twinkle in his eye, looked distraught.
“My hat! My favorite top hat! It’s vanished!”
Inspector Summer-Garden, adjusting his glasses that kept slipping down his nose, took a deep breath.
“Don’t worry, sir. We’ll find your hat.”
The inspector started his investigation at the mayor’s office. He carefully examined the scene, though his glasses kept fogging up in the warm room. On the floor, he noticed a faint trail of tiny feathers.
“Feathers,” he mumbled, squinting. “That’s odd.”
Constable Pipwick, his ever-watchful assistant, pointed to a small torn piece of fabric caught on a chair leg.
“Could this be part of the missing hat?”
Summer-Garden nodded.
“Possibly. And those feathers, perhaps a bird was involved?”
Suddenly, a loud squawk interrupted their thoughts. Peering out the window, they saw a curious sight: a bright green parrot sitting on a lamppost, squawking loudly. The parrot flapped its wings and squawked,
“Polly wants the hat! Polly wants the hat!”
Pipwick looked puzzled.
“A talking parrot? That’s unusual.”
Summer-Garden squinted at the bird, then at the feathers on the ground.
“It seems our feather trail leads to that parrot. Maybe he saw who took the hat.”
The inspector, nearly tripping over his own feet in his eagerness, hurried outside. With some difficulty, he managed to coax the parrot down from the lamppost using a few breadcrumbs.
“Polly,” he said gently, “do you know anything about the mayor’s hat?”
The parrot tilted its head and squawked again,
“Find the thief! Find the thief!”
Following the parrot’s clues, Summer-Garden and Pipwick wandered to Lansdowne Park, where children played and flowers bloomed. The feathers on the ground led to a small hole behind a bush. Inside the hole, they discovered a tiny nest lined with bits of fabric and, to everyone’s surprise, the mayor’s top hat! It was slightly chewed, and a mischievous squirrel was sitting nearby, nibbling on a corner.
Pipwick chuckled.
“Looks like Mr. Squirrel took the hat for a nap!”
Summer-Garden nodded, adjusting his glasses.
“And the parrot saw it all. Clever bird!”
With the squirrel gently persuaded to relinquish the hat, the inspector carefully retrieved it and returned it to the grateful mayor.
“Thank you, Inspector Summer-Garden!” the mayor exclaimed, placing his beloved hat back on his head. “You’ve saved the festival!”
As the crowd cheered and the festival resumed, Summer-Garden smiled warmly.
“Another case closed, with a little help from a parrot and a squirrel and my trusty glasses, of course.”
Pipwick grinned.
“You’re quite the detective, sir!”
Summer-Garden tipped his hat, nearly knocking over his glasses again.
“Just doing my duty for the people of the city!”
Lazarus Carpenter - Author 