The greenhouse is special. People come from everywhere just to
look at Mrs. Clodhopper’s famous, prize-winning sunflowers. They’re all over the
place, and one room in the greenhouse is full of them! The huge blooms are
the brightest yellow, and the leaves the deepest green ever.
They’re beautiful, and have won first-prize at the county fair for ten years in
a row—a record that Mrs. Clodhopper is eager to protect. But, she’s a little nervous
that Elma Bloomright, her rival gardener, is growing a new flower that might wow
the judges. Could it take first place at this year’s county fair?
That’s why Mrs. Clodhopper’s been working on a new kind of sunflower
– one that would be bigger and better than anything Beulah Falls had seen before
- a very special kind of sunflower that she knew would be so bright and colorful
that it would astound the judges.
She and Mr. Clodhopper have been the only ones to see the new
blooms. They were kept in the Secret Room at the very back of the greenhouse. The
Clodhoppers were planning to replace all the old sunflowers in the greenhouse with
the new ones, even though they still have not decided what to do with the old sunflowers.
The change was to have taken place on the greenhouse’s 50-year anniversary – which
ia also the Clodhopper’s 50th wedding anniversary!
Early yesterday morning, just as the sun was coming over the hills
above Beulah Falls, Mrs. Clodhopper left town to visit her niece in Reed City. She
didn’t plan to be back until late last night. "Oh, don’t forget to tell Jacob about
the key," Mrs. Clodhopper reminded her husband.
Alright, darlin’," he said as he helped his wife into the car.
He closed the door and watched as the car rolled out of the driveway and turned
the corner.
Now, the Big Day is here! This morning the greenhouse opened as usual, and then closed for lunch. That’s when the Clodhoppers had planned on
bringing out the new sunflowers, put away the old
ones, set out refreshments, and re-open the doors! But apparently, not everyone
was excited about the new sunflowers. When Mr. Clodhopper went into the Secret Room
he discovered that all of Mrs. Clodhopper’s new sunflowers were missing! Who could
have possibly taken them? Until someone figures that out and can tell us where the
new sunflowers are, the celebration can’t begin.
A special team of investigators has been assembled to solve this
mystery and figure out what happened to Mrs. Clodhopper’s new sunflowers.