Bul-bul-bul…
Bul-bul-bul!
From the kitchen of the Animals’ Detectives’ house came a mysterious gurgling sound. A moment later, a loud cry rang out:
— Ouch! Hot!
Patrycja, Alfred, Zofia, and Ala hurried into the kitchen as fast as they could.
At the table sat Kuba, wearing a bathrobe with green leaves. His eyes were closed, his paws rested on his knees, and he was trying to meditate. In front of him stood a huge mug of chamomile tea, with steam rising from it.
— Kuba, are you all right? — Zofia asked, peeking into the little pot.
— Of course — Kuba answered in a very calm voice. — Today is a day of rest. A day without mysteries, clues, chases, or surprises.
Bul-bul-bul!
— Then what is bubbling? — Alfred asked.
Kuba sighed.
— My belly.
The kitchen fell silent.
— Yesterday I ate a few too many steaks — the lion admitted. — Just a tiny bit more than usual.
— How much is “a tiny bit”? — Patrycja asked.
Kuba looked away.
— Four steaks, two steak cookies, and… half a bowl of spicy beans.
Ala almost fell off her perch laughing.
— Bul-bul-bul, Kuba-Stew-Pot! — she cried.
— That’s why I’m drinking chamomile tea and meditating — said Kuba. — Inhale… exhale… peaceful belly…
Bul-bul-bul!
— Maybe today you should eat a light breakfast instead — Zofia suggested gently.
Soon the table was covered with slices of bread, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, and fruit. Alfred made mint tea, and Patrycja brought a small jar of honey.
— A healthy breakfast for a healthy detective — she said.
Kuba looked at the vegetables a little suspiciously.
— Can a tomato taste like a steak?
— No — Alfred replied. — But it certainly won’t gurgle.
Kuba carefully bit into a piece of cucumber.
— Hmm. Not bad, actually. And you know what? A quiet day is really needed. After breakfast we’ll exercise, then read books, tidy our notes… No problems, no journeys.
— And advice for the residents? — Patrycja reminded him.
— Just three ordinary cases — said Kuba. — A meerkat, a lizard, and a squirrel. What could possibly go wrong?
Ala tilted her head.
— In the jungle? Everything!
## Chapter 1. Cancelled visits
On the terrace, the detectives set out chairs, notebooks, and little cups of lemonade. First came little Lizard Jagoda. She walked quickly, but every few steps she hiccupped.
— Hic! Detectives, I have a problem! Hic!
— Hiccups? — asked Patrycja.
— Since yesterday! Hic! I ate my breakfast too fast. There were crunchy flies, then fruit, then more crunchy flies… Hic!
Alfred handed her a small cup of water.
— Drink in tiny sips. Next time, eat more slowly and take breaks between bites.
— And don’t try to swallow everything at once — Zofia added. — Breakfast is not a race.
Jagoda drank the water, took a slow breath, and… the hiccups disappeared.
— It worked! Thank you! — she called happily.
She was just about to leave, when suddenly she remembered something important.
— Oh! I must hurry! I still have to take the gifts!
— Gifts? — repeated Kuba. — To whom?
— Well… you know… to… hic! — Jagoda covered her mouth with her paw. — Sorry, I’m really in a hurry!
And she ran off so quickly that tiny pebbles bounced behind her on the path.
— That was strange — Patrycja noticed, writing something in her notebook.
A moment later, Teofil the Toucan, messenger of the jungle, landed on the terrace. Two little notes were tied to his leg.
— Message for the detectives! — he croaked.
Patrycja read the first:
— “Dear Detectives, I won’t come for my advice today. I have urgent business. Meerkat Sonia.”
The second note was similar:
— “Dear Detectives, I’m sorry, but I can’t come today. I must urgently prepare something. Squirrel Wera.”
Kuba adjusted his hat.
— Meerkat, squirrel, and lizard. Suddenly they all have urgent business. This no longer looks like a peaceful day.
— And you said nothing could go wrong — Ala reminded him.
Just then Zofia stretched her neck high above the roof of the little house.
— Look! Something unusual is happening in the jungle.
Ala flapped into the air.
— I’ll go check!
## Chapter 2. Gifts for the cave
A few minutes later Ala returned, flapping her wings with excitement.
— Everyone is heading toward the old cave under Great Hill! The squirrels are carrying nuts, the monkeys have baskets of fruit, and even Mrs. Hippopotamica is carrying a huge pot of sweet compote!
The detectives hurried after her.
On the forest path they met Meerkat Sonia. She was carrying a little bag of dried apricots and looking around nervously.
— Sonia, why didn’t you come for your advice? — Patrycja asked.
The meerkat lowered her voice.
— Because someone said that tomorrow the Sun will disappear forever. And if we want to save it, we must bring gifts to the cave.
— Who said that? — Alfred asked.
— I don’t know. The voice came from the dark. It said that a great shadow spirit will take the Sun away unless it gets enough nuts, fruit, and sweets.
— That sounds very suspicious — Kuba muttered.
Squirrel Wera confirmed the same story. She was carrying the finest nuts from her winter запас.
— I don’t want to give away all of them — she said softly. — But if the Sun really disappears…
Patrycja gently stopped her.
— Wera, no one can take the Sun. And before we give our supplies to anyone, we must know what they are really for.
## Chapter 3. The book about the sky
The detectives returned to the house for a moment. Patrycja ran to the bookshelf and pulled out a thick book with a star on the cover.
— I knew I had read about this somewhere! — she said, turning the pages. — Tomorrow there will be a solar eclipse.
— A… what? — Kuba asked.
Patrycja drew three circles in the sand with a stick: a big Sun, the Earth, and a small Moon.
— The Earth goes around the Sun, and the Moon goes around the Earth. Sometimes the Moon moves between them. Then it briefly blocks some of the Sun’s light and casts a shadow on Earth. That is an eclipse.
— So the Sun doesn’t disappear? — Ala asked.
— It doesn’t disappear — Patrycja answered. — The Moon just covers its light for a moment over part of Earth. This time it will happen right above our jungle.
— And no one has to pay for that with nuts? — Alfred added.
— Definitely not.
— So someone knows the word “eclipse,” but is using it to scare the animals — Zofia summed up.
— We have to find out who — Kuba decided.
Patrycja became serious.
— There is one more important thing. You must never look straight at the Sun, even during an eclipse. To observe it, you need special glasses so you don’t damage your eyes!
## Chapter 4. Night observation
When the sun went down, the detectives hid near the cave.
Patrycja crouched behind the root of an old tree, with her notebook and magnifying glass. Alfred stood by a side path leading to the ferns. Zofia watched from a high hill, and Ala circled silently above the treetops.
Kuba hid behind a giant boulder.
— This is a very good place for a lion detective — he whispered.
— This is a very good place for a lion who doesn’t want to be seen — said Patrycja.
— That’s almost the same thing.
The minutes passed. The last animals left their baskets at the cave entrance and went home. Soon everything grew quiet.
Then a soft rustle came from the cave.
Szszsz…
Tup.
Silence.
Tup… tup…
Patrycja held her breath.
Kuba leaned out from behind the boulder.
— Do you see anything?
— Shh!
— I’m whispering.
— Kuba, you whisper like a lion.
Tup, tup.
From the darkness came a figure in a huge scarf. It was pulling a wooden cart full of fruit, nuts, honey, and sweet snacks.
— I smell a jackal — Alfred whispered.
The figure looked around nervously, then walked along the side path toward the ferns. The detectives followed carefully.
Behind the thick ferns there was a rocky crack. Three crates were already standing there, full of the gifts that had been brought.
The figure removed the scarf.
— Jackal Szymon! — Ala whispered.
Szymon rubbed his paws together with satisfaction.
— Perfect! — he purred. — Tomorrow everyone will be even more worried about the eclipse. They’ll bring even more gifts, and I’ll gather supplies for the whole dry season!
Szymon looked at the crates.
— Well… maybe for two dry seasons.
Then he looked at another crate.
— Or three.
Kuba frowned.
— Now we have proof — he whispered. — And a plan.
## Chapter 5. The Eclipse Spirit
The next evening Kuba dressed up as a huge wandering tapir. He wore a long dark coat, large paper ears, and a silly, stretched-out nose.
— Do tapirs have lion tails? — Patrycja asked.
— This one does — Kuba replied. — He’s a very rare detective tapir.
Kuba carried two enormous baskets covered with leaves. Patrycja and Alfred hid in one, Ala in the other. A few fruits and nuts lay on top.
Szymon peered out of the cave.
— Oh, another gift! Excellent. Leave the baskets and go. I’ll see if I can stop the spirit that wants to take the Sun away!
Then Patrycja, Alfred, and Ala jumped out of the baskets.
Ala flew in front of Szymon’s lamp, casting a giant shadow on the cave wall. Alfred banged on an empty pot:
BUM! BUM! BUM!
Patrycja said in a booming voice:
— We are the Spirits of the Eclipse! We know about the crates hidden behind the ferns!
Szymon turned pale.
— How… how do you know?
Kuba threw off the tapir coat and stood before him in his hat.
— Because real detectives check clues, and don’t believe scary stories.
Szymon tried to run away, but Alfred blocked his path, and Zofia stretched her neck high above the rocks.
— You don’t have to run — she said calmly. — Return the gifts, apologize to the jungle residents, and stop frightening them.
Szymon lowered his head.
— I wanted to have lots of supplies without working — he admitted quietly. — That was unfair.
## Chapter 6. Picnic under the Moon’s shadow
The next day all the gifts were returned to their owners. Instead of storing them away, the animals spread blankets across a big meadow and had a picnic.
Patrycja prepared a safe demonstration. She took a sheet of paper, a small box with a hole in it, and placed it facing away from the Sun. A bright round image appeared on the paper.
— We do not look at the Sun — she explained. — We look only at its image on the paper.
Zofia held up three fruits: a big mango for the Sun, an orange for the Earth, and a small plum for the Moon.
— When the Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun, it briefly blocks some of the light — she explained. — And then we see an eclipse.
Kuba watched the demonstration very seriously.
— So even when it gets a little darker, there’s no need to panic?
— Exactly — said Alfred.
— And no need to give away all your cookies? — Ala added.
— Especially cookies — Alfred agreed.
As the Sun’s light began to change gently, the animals watched the safe image on the paper and marveled at the strange sight.
Kuba sat down beside Patrycja.
— You know, sometimes fear starts when we don’t understand something — he said. — But when we ask questions, check, and learn, the fear gets smaller.
Patrycja smiled.
— Exactly. Knowledge is like a good flashlight. It helps us see what is really hiding in the dark.
Ala spun in a circle above them.
— And it helps you not fall for a spirit who likes other animals’ nuts!
Everyone burst out laughing.
Even Kuba.
This time his belly did not gurgle at all.