Maple Sap Mystery

by Sun Park

Jonah Brannigan awoke at midnight with a feeling of uneasiness. He stumbled out of bed, quickly donned his favorite flannel shirt and worn-out jeans, and whistled for his dog, Meena. Sugaring season had just begun, and it dawned on Jonah that the tubing that brought all the sap from the maple trees to the sugarhouse might be in jeopardy. Sometimes animals wandered through the trees and got caught in the tubing, interrupting the sap flow. As he and Meena loped out the door, Jonah saw a flash of gray near the sugarhouse, then blackness. He turned on his flashlight and searched the ground, but the only footprints he could see were those of his cat, Noodle. Meena also saw nothing out of the ordinary, so she and Jonah raced back into the house, shivering and annoyed. The next morning, Jonah found tiny bite marks in the tubing near the sugarhouse. Could it be? he wondered. He hid behind a group of trees and waited. Sure enough, moments later, Noodle slunk to the tubing, chomped it with his tiny fangs, and lapped at the sweet sap that oozed out. Jonah smiled. He had found the midnight marauder!