儿童英语读物 The Cereal Box Mystery CHAPTER 1 A Box of Silver Frosted Stars

Mrs. McGregor was making a list for the Alden children to take to the grocery store. “Anything else?” she asked.

“Cereal¹!” cried Benny Alden. “You didn’t forget the Silver Frosted Stars, did you?”

Mrs. McGregor looked at the grocery list. “No, I didn’t, Benny. Your favorite cereal is right at the top of the list.”

She handed the list to fourteen-year-old Henry Alden. He folded it and put it in his pocket.

“I just need two more silver stars from inside the cereal boxes,” Benny said. “Then I can send away for my very own silver star detective’s badge².”

Twelve-year-old Jessie Alden laughed. “We know, Benny,” she said.

Violet, who was ten, smiled at her six-year-old brother. “Even if you don’t find a star inside the cereal, you’ll find a prize, won’t you, Benny?” she asked.

Benny nodded. Then he said, “If it is a really good prize, maybe I will give it to Grandfather for his birthday.”

The others laughed. Their dog, Watch, who was curled up on his dog bed near the door, stood up. He wagged³ his tail and barked.

“No, Watch, you can’t come with us,” Henry said. “We’re riding our bikes and it is too hot for you to run alongside⁴.”

“But we’ll bring you a present,” Benny promised. He petted the dog on the head.

“Yes. A brand-new col —” Jessie began, but Benny stopped her.

Benny put his hands over Watch’s ears. “Shhh! It’s supposed to be a surprise! You have to keep your lips zipped!” Benny pretended he was zipping his lips shut.

“Right,” said Jessie, and pretended to zip her own lips shut, too.

Saying good-bye to Mrs. McGregor and Watch, the Aldens got on their bicycles and rode through the streets of Greenfield to the grocery store downtown.

In the cereal aisle⁵ of the grocery store, Benny went straight to the Silver Frosted Stars. He studied all the boxes closely. He took each box off the shelf and gave it a gentle shake. Finally, he said, “This is a good box.” He put the cereal in the shopping cart.

Henry pushed the cart a little way down the grocery aisle.

“Wait!” said Benny. He held up two more boxes. “These are good boxes, too.”

He looked hopefully at his brother and two sisters. “We could get three boxes of Silver Frosted Stars,” he said. “I promise to eat all three.”

“Oh, Benny! Three boxes?” said Jessie.

But Violet, who always liked to be helpful, said, “I could help you eat the cereal, too, Benny.”

Henry and Jessie exchanged glances. Henry said, “I guess I could eat a few bowls of Silver Frosted Stars.”

“Me, too,” Jessie agreed.

“Hooray!” cried Benny, and he skipped happily to the shopping cart to add two more boxes of his favorite cereal.

The moment they had left the grocery store, Benny opened one of the boxes of cereal. “Look!” he cried. “A silver star! Now I only need one more to send away for my special detective’s badge.”

“Good for you, Benny,” Henry said as he and Jessie loaded grocery bags into the baskets of the bicycles. “But you can’t open any more boxes of cereal until you finish that one.”

“I’ll start right now,” Benny said. He took a handful of cereal from the box and began to eat it.

“No milk, Benny?” asked Violet.

Benny grinned. “It tastes good this way, too!” he assured her.

They walked along Main Street, past the hardware store and the bookstore. Outside the bakery, Benny stopped and pointed⁶. “Look at that cake,” he said.

“It’s a beautiful cake,” said Jessie.

Benny put the box of cereal back in the bag in one of the bicycle baskets.

“It’s a birthday cake,” said Henry. “A cake like that would be nice for Grandfather’s birthday.”

Violet said, “Mrs. McGregor could make a cake like that, especially if we helped.”

“With a cake like that, you need a party,” said Jessie.

The four Aldens looked at one another. Then Henry said, “Is anyone else thinking what I’m thinking?”

“A party!” Benny crowed. “We can have a party for Grandfather’s birthday.”

“A surprise party,” Jessie said. “Let’s make it a big surprise.”

Violet said, “We can invite Soo Lee and Cousin Alice and Cousin Joe.”

Everyone began to talk at once. They were so excited that they almost forgot about Watch’s surprise.

Then Jessie said, “Oh, dear. We just passed the pet supply store!”

They turned their bikes around and walked them back to the pet store. They parked their bikes outside and went in.

Benny and Violet chose a new red collar for Watch and even ordered him a new tag with his name and address and phone number on it. As they walked out of the store, Benny said, “It’s too bad the tags aren’t shaped like stars. Then Watch could be a detective, too.”

Ahead of Benny, Jessie stopped so suddenly that Benny bumped⁷ into her.

“Ow!” said Benny.

“Look out!” Henry said.

“Police! Stop! Stop, thief!” they heard a voice cry.

1 cereal   

n.谷类，五谷，禾谷

参考例句：

• I have hot cereal every day for breakfast.我每天早餐吃热麦片粥。
• Soybeans are handled differently from cereal grains.大豆的加工处理与谷类的加工处理不同。

2 badge   

n.徽章，证章，标记，标识，象征

参考例句：

• Every student should carry a school badge.每个学生都应该佩带校徽。
• The olive leaf is a badge of peace.橄榄叶是和平的象征。

3 wagged   

v.（使）摇动，摇摆( wag的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The dog wagged its tail with pleasure. 那条狗高兴得直摇尾巴。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She wagged her finger with mock severity. 她故作严厉地摆了摆手指。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 alongside   

adv.在旁边；prep.和...在一起，在...旁边

参考例句：

• There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
• Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。

5 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 bumped   

凸起的，凸状的

参考例句：

• In the dark I bumped into a chair. 我在黑暗中撞上了一把椅子。
• I bumped against an old friend in town today. 我今天在城里偶然碰见了一个老朋友。