Beau And Dart's Cozy Castle Adventure

“Come on, Dart,” Beau whispered. “Let’s explore.”

Beau was seven, and he lived in a castle with his loyal cat, D’Artagnan. Everyone called the cat Dart. The castle foyer was warm and bright. A soft rug covered the floor, and the air smelled like toast from the kitchen.

Dart padded beside Beau. His tail curled like a question mark. Together, they walked past the tall clock near the stone steps. Its golden hands pointed to three.

BONG!

Beau stopped. Dart stopped too.

The clock had chimed once. It was not three o’clock.

“That is odd,” said Beau. “Let’s listen.”

They went down a hall with blue windows. Their shoes made tiny taps on the floor. Dart’s paws made softer taps behind them.

BONG! BONG! BONG!

The clock rang again, though they were far from it.

Beau looked at Dart. “That was three chimes. But we are not near three o’clock.”

Dart gave a small meow and tucked close to Beau’s leg.

“It is all right,” Beau said gently. “We can go slowly. You are safe with me.”

They followed the sound back to the foyer. The clock was quiet. Beau checked its hands. They had not moved.

“Maybe the clock is playing a trick,” Beau said. “Or maybe it wants us to look somewhere.”

Dart sniffed the rug. Then he hurried toward a narrow alcove beside the clock. Beau followed. The alcove was cool and dusty. A little silver bell sat on a shelf.

BONG!

The sound came from behind the wall.

Beau pressed his ear to the stone. He heard a faint tick-tick-tick. Dart sniffed along the bottom of the wall and scratched once at a small wooden door.

Beau rubbed the dust away. A tiny lock appeared.

“A hidden room!” he said.

On the door was a carved riddle:

“Count the paws that walk with care.

Find the moon where stars are there.”

Beau read it twice. Dart lifted one paw, then another.

“Two paws?” Beau guessed. “No, you have four. And I have two feet.”

Dart gave a soft purr. Beau smiled. They had found the hidden door, but it would not open. The lock stayed still, and the clock ticked behind it.

“We found the clue,” Beau said. “Now we need to find the answer.”

He sat on the warm rug. Dart curled beside him, safe and snug.

Sometimes a mystery opens one door but gives you another puzzle to solve. What could “the moon where stars are there” mean?