📁 Case File: The Missing Class Pet
Professor Nibbles is the GATE class hamster. He loves sunflower seeds, carrots, and running on his wheel all night. But on Monday morning, his cage is EMPTY.
Read each chapter, search for clues, solve 3 logic puzzles, and clear the suspects one by one. Then name WHO took him, WHERE he is, WHEN it happened, and WHY.
⏳ No guessing allowed! There are over 3,000 possible answers. A wrong accusation locks the case for 5 minutes. Real detectives use evidence!
🕵️ The Detective Team
🔒 Earn all 6 badges to unlock Solve the Case.
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📓 Detective Notebook
Clues you find will show up here.
Chapter 1: The Empty Cage
Monday morning starts with a shock.
On Monday morning at 8:00, the GATE class walked into Room 12. Shiloh D. raced straight to the back counter, like always, to say good morning to Professor Nibbles.
Then Shiloh froze. "Guys. GUYS! Professor Nibbles is GONE!"
Everyone crowded around the cage. The little door was wide open. The wheel was still. The cozy pile of wood shavings in the corner was empty.
Mr. Lehmkuhl hurried over. His face went pale. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Has anyone seen him?"
Nobody had.
"I fed him on Friday after school," said Van R. quietly. "He was fine. I promise!"
Keira C. knelt down and looked closely at the cage door. "Look at this latch. It's bent."
Lily D. was already opening her detective notebook. Aria C. was already putting on her thinking face. Jasmine W. said what everyone was thinking:
"School doesn't even open until 7:15. Somebody was here EARLY. Detective team... let's find Professor Nibbles."
Chapter 1 check
Chapter 2: The Search
Six places. Eighteen things to search. Not everything is a clue!
Mr. Lehmkuhl called the office, and the principal gave the detectives a special hall pass.
"Split up," said Aria. "Check every room that grown-ups use before school."
"And be careful," added Lily. "Some things will LOOK suspicious but won't really be clues. We need PROOF."
Your turn! Pick a place, then tap each thing to search it. Real clues 🟨 go into your notebook. Search all 6 places!
Chapter 2 check
Puzzle 1: The Coffee-Stained Sign-In Sheet
Four grown-ups signed in early. But the times got soaked!
The front office secretary remembers a few things about Monday morning. Figure out what time each person arrived and which door they used.
Chapter 3: The Trail
Tiny clues down a long hallway.
Back in Room 12, Van R. got down on his hands and knees. "Hey. There's a scrap of cardboard right outside our door."
Keira looked down the hallway. "And there's something by the water fountain. And the trophy case. It's a TRAIL!"
Four detectives spread out to follow it. Lily wrote down what each one found... but she was writing so fast that her notes got scrambled.
🧩 Puzzle 2: Follow the Trail
Four detectives each searched a different spot in the hallway, and each found a different thing. Unscramble Lily's notes!
The trail went from Room 12, past the water fountain, past the trophy case... and ended at a pile of wood shavings right outside the Science Lab door.
The door was locked. But taped to it was a sticky note:
📝 "V.I.P. inside! Do NOT open the box. 🥕"
"V.I.P.?" whispered Jasmine. "Very Important... PET?"
"Maybe," said Aria. "But we don't know WHO put the note there, or WHEN, or WHY. We need more evidence before we accuse anybody."
Chapter 3 check
Chapter 4: The Security Cameras
The school has five cameras. What did they see?
The principal let the detectives look at the security camera clips from early Monday morning. There were five clips, one from each camera.
"Uh-oh," said Shiloh. "The time stamps are glitchy. They're all jumbled up!"
"No problem," said Keira, cracking her knuckles. "We'll figure it out with LOGIC."
🧩 Puzzle 3: The Camera Clips (5 × 5!)
Each camera recorded ONE clip at a different time, and each clip shows something different. This is the hardest puzzle yet!
Everyone leaned closer to the screen. At 6:45 a.m., the hallway camera showed someone walking past Room 12, carrying a cardboard box very carefully with both hands. You couldn't see their face. Just the box... and a ring of jingling keys.
"Whoever that is," said Van, "they were in the school at 6:45. That's way before the doors unlock!"
"Time to talk to the suspects," said Lily, flipping to a fresh page. "ALL of them."
Chapter 4 check
The Suspect Board
Eight grown-ups. Eight stories. Who has proof, and who doesn't?
The detectives interviewed everyone who could have been at school early. Read each person's story. Then decide: Cleared ✅ (proof they didn't do it) or Still a suspect ❓. Pick the evidence that proves it!
Solve the Case
Where is Professor Nibbles?
Locked!
Earn all 6 badges to solve the case.
Use ALL your evidence. Answer all four questions, then press Accuse!
⚠️ There are 3,072 possible combinations. A wrong accusation locks the case for 5 minutes, so check your notebook first!
📖 Chapter 5: The V.I.P.
The six detectives marched down to the boiler room, where the Custodian was wiping water off the floor with a giant mop.
"Excuse us," said Aria politely. "We solved a mystery. At 6:45 this morning, YOU carried Professor Nibbles down the hallway in a box, and you put him in the Science Lab to keep him safe."
The Custodian dropped the mop. "PROFESSOR NIBBLES! Oh my goodness, I completely forgot to tell anybody!"
The Custodian explained everything. At 6:40, the Custodian heard tiny squeaks in the hallway and found a hamster running toward the stairs! The cage latch had been bent, and Professor Nibbles had pushed the door right open.
"I didn't want him to get lost or hurt," said the Custodian. "So I made him a cozy box with wood shavings, a water dish, and a carrot from the cafeteria, and I put him in the quiet Science Lab. I taped a note on the door. And then a pipe BURST in the bathroom, and I've been mopping ever since!"
The Custodian unlocked the Science Lab. There, in a box with little air holes, was Professor Nibbles, fast asleep on top of a half-eaten carrot.
"He's SAFE!" cheered Shiloh.
That afternoon, the Custodian fixed the bent latch with a brand-new lock. Mr. Lehmkuhl made the Custodian an official Honorary Detective. And Van made a new sign for the cage: "ALWAYS CHECK THE LATCH!"
Professor Nibbles didn't say anything. He just ran on his wheel all night long, like nothing had ever happened.
THE END 🐹🥕
✍️ Write a thank-you note AND a new class pet rule
Write at least 3 sentences. Thank the Custodian, and invent one new rule to keep Professor Nibbles safe.