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Novel excerpts: Detective stories for young adult readers

by David Mckellar

Created on: February 04, 2008   Last Updated: July 11, 2008

CHAPTER ONE

Welcome to Once Upon A Time Land here at the foot of the Bavarian mountains. Life in Fairyland can be a real crapshoot. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Today, I lost. My name is Tucker. Tommy Tucker. I run a law enforcement agency called the FBI - The Fairyland Bureau of Investigation. My job, to fight disorganized crime and clean up the streets of Happy Ever After Land, the crime capital of the world.

You should see the crime report: Bo Peep's sheep missing, three little piggies' homes destroyed, The Queen of Hearts has lost her tarts and parents arrested for leaving their rock a bye baby swinging on top of a tree. It sure has been a busy night in Fairyland. And as if that isn't enough the missing person's list is as long as your arm. Hansel and Gretal, Rapunzel, Fuzzy Wuzzy the bald bear and a prince who had been changed into a frog.

I'm walking down Jack and Jill Hill, heading to my office as Dawn came creeping through the streets. "Hiya Dawn" I yelled. "Hiya Tucker" she yelled back. Dawn had been out all night, but that's another story.

I said Good Morning' to the crooked man as he was coming out of his crooked house. The fog had just cleared. I could hear the cocks crowing. The Hickory Dickory Dock clock on City Hall struck six a.m. and Fairyland was beginning to wake up. The sidewalks were becoming busy. The cobblers, the tailors and the candlestick makers were opening their shops..I took a lollipop out of my pocket, took off the wrapper and popped it into my mouth. It's a filthy habit but I'm down to ten a day.

The short cut took me across the wooden bridge that spanned the royal moat. In the distance, the Royal Palace shone eerily through the trees. All was quiet. The only sound I could hear was Princess Miserella the Miserable desperately kissing frogs. She was looking for that missing prince I just told you about on the crime sheet. All frogs had been declared endangered species and were being rounded up and dumped into the Royal Moat for the princess to kiss.

When I walked passed her she was waist deep in the cold water. She was miserable because her lips were extremely sore from kissing frogs all night. So far she had kissed Flying Frogs (Rhacophorus), Dagger Frogs (Babimaholsti), American Bull frogs (Rana Catesbeiana), French gourmet frogs (Rana esculenta), Barking Tree frogs (Hyla gratiose), Hairy frogs (Astylosternus robustus), and Green Tree frogs (Hyla cineree) but still no sign of her prince.

This was a sad case. Princess (Miserella)

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