The Stinky Cheese Surprise

  Contents

  Chapter 1: Battle of the Burgers

  Chapter 2: Surprise Party

  Chapter 3: Say Cheese!

  Chapter 4: Trouble up a Tree

  Chapter 5: Cheese Grilled

  Chapter 6: Pester Jester

  Chapter 7: Cook or Crook?

  Chapter 8: Herbie Rules!

  1

  Battle of the Burgers

  Only three weeks of summer vacation left,” George Fayne sighed.

  George’s cousin Bess Marvin gasped. “Three weeks?” she asked. “That means summer vacation is practically over!”

  Nancy Drew smiled at her two best friends as they walked along Main Street. Then she did the math.

  “There are seven days in each week,” Nancy figured. “So three weeks times seven days in each week equals . . . twenty-one days.”

  Bess sighed with relief. “Twenty-one days sounds much better!” she said.

  It was Monday afternoon. Each of the girls had gotten permission to go to Hamburger Herbie’s on Main Street. Herbie served the best burgers in River Heights.

  It was cool for August so the girls wore shorts, sneakers, and light jackets over their T-shirts.

  Nancy wore butterfly barrettes in her reddish blond hair. Bess had a pink scrunchie wrapped around her long blond ponytail. George’s dark curls bounced freely as usual.

  “What fun things should we do for the next three weeks?” Nancy asked. “I mean, the next twenty-one days?”

  “We can go to the movies,” George suggested. “And to the park.”

  Bess gave Nancy a wink. “And maybe even solve a mystery!” she said.

  Nancy loved solving mysteries. She even had a special blue detective notebook where she wrote down all her suspects and clues.

  “Maybe,” Nancy said. “But right now, all I can think of is a juicy burger and a yummylicious root beer float!”

  The girls stopped in front of Hamburger Herbie’s. Nancy reached to open the door . . . .

  “Hey, Nancy!” a girl’s voice called.

  Nancy turned and saw Brenda Carlton. She was dressed in a yellow suit jacket, matching skirt, and white shoes. Running behind her was eight-year-old Bobby Mercado. Bobby was in Mrs. Keller’s third-grade class at Carl Sandburg Elementary School. He was holding a video camera.

  “I heard Brenda joined the River Heights Junior Reporter Brigade this summer,” George whispered. “They have their own TV channel and everything.”

  Brenda was in the girls’ third-grade class. She wrote her own newspaper, The Carlton News, on her computer every week. Brenda was good at reporting the news but not always good at being nice.

  “Nancy Drew,” Brenda said. She shoved a microphone up to Nancy’s face. “Is it true that you went to Space Camp? And flew a spaceship all the way to outer space?”

  “No!” Nancy cut in. “But Bess, George, and I did just come back from Echo Lake.”

  “And the lake was invaded by tiny mutant lizards,” Brenda added. “Right?”

  “Wrong!” Nancy said. “But we did win second prize in a sand castle contest.”

  Brenda narrowed her eyes. She motioned for Bobby to shut off the camera.

  “Why can’t you just go along with it?” Brenda asked the girls. “Then I can report an awesome story.”

  “That would be lying,” Bess said.

  “But nothing exciting happened in River Heights all summer!” Brenda wailed.

  “Why don’t you report on Herbie’s great hamburgers?” George suggested.

  “Herbie’s is history!” Brenda scoffed. “Ever since Regal Burger opened two weeks ago all the kids go there instead!”

  Nancy glanced across the street. Regal Burger looked like a bright yellow castle. Outside it was a miniplayground with a dragon slide and a unicorn carousel. It was filled with kids.

  “We ate at Regal Burger last week,” George said. “And Herbie’s still rules.”

  “You mean drools!” Brenda said meanly. “Come on, Bobby. Maybe someone spotted a two-headed alien at the mall.”

  “Cool!” Bobby said.

  Nancy watched Brenda and Bobby walk away. “I never saw Brenda wearing a suit before,” she said.

  “Me neither. She’s usually wearing snooty-pants!” George joked.

  Nancy was about to open the door to Hamburger Herbie’s again when someone else from their class ran over. It was Orson Wong.

  Nancy blinked. Orson was dressed in a red-and-yellow jumpsuit. He was also wearing a matching cap and curled shoes that were sewn with bells!

  “It’s not Halloween yet,” Bess said. “Why are you dressed up as a clown?”

  “I’m not a clown!” Orson snapped. “I won a joke-telling contest and now I’m Regal Burger’s Jester of the Week!”

  Nancy had read about jesters in a book about old castles. A jester’s job was to make the king and queen laugh.

  “I get to tell jokes to all the customers,” Orson bragged. “Like this one: How do you make a rhino float?”

  Nancy, Bess, and George shrugged.

  “Add soda and ice cream!” Orson guffawed. “Get it? Get it? Get it?”

  George rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know Regal Burger served corn,” she said.

  But Nancy thought Orson’s joke was funny.

  “Why don’t you tell some jokes to the kids at Herbie’s, too?” Nancy asked Orson.

  “Hamburger Herbie’s?” Orson gasped. “If Queen Patty saw me in there I’d lose my jester job!”

  “Who’s Queen Patty?” Bess asked.

  “Queen Patty owns Regal Burger,” Orson whispered. He glanced over his shoulder. “And here she comes now!”

  Nancy noticed a dark-haired woman crossing the street. She wore a red pantsuit and a gold cardboard crown on her head.

  “There you are, Orson!” Queen Patty called out. “I need you to stand outside the castle and hand out smoothie samples.”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Orson said quickly.

  “Then I want you to tell jokes to the customers waiting on line,” Queen Patty added. “And make sure they’re funny.”

  The bells on Orson’s shoes jingled as he followed Queen Patty back across the street.

  “She may not be a real queen,” George whispered, “but she sure acts like one!”

  The girls finally entered Hamburger Herbie’s. But something wasn’t right. The tables and booths were practically empty!

  Herbie stood behind the counter. He smiled when he saw the girls.

  “Don’t tell me—let me guess!” Herbie said. “Three burgers and three root beer floats—heavy on the ice cream.”

  “Yes, please!” Nancy said happily.

  “Where is everybody?” George asked. “This place is usually packed with kids.”

  “The kids are all over at Regal Burger,” Herbie sighed. “I even hired a prize-winning chef from Paris to try to compete, but the kids won’t even try his burgers!”

  Nancy glanced through the square window behind the counter. A man wearing a floppy chef’s hat was flipping burgers in the kitchen.

  “Three burgers coming up!” Herbie said as he turned toward the kitchen.

  As the girls headed toward a table Nancy felt sorry for Herbie.

  “There must be something Herbie can do to bring the kids back,” Nancy told her friends. “But what?”

  “Herbie doesn’t have room for a dragon slide,” George said. “Or a carousel. Or even—”

  “Ohmigosh!” Bess cut in. Her hand trembled as she pointed. “Look!”

  Nancy looked toward where Bess was pointing. She saw a tiny green lizard-type creature tottering between the tables. It made a whirring noise as it walked.

  “Mutant lizards are invading Herbie
’s!” Bess cried. “Brenda was right!”

  George shook her head and laughed. “That’s Windup Wally, Bess,” she said. “He’s the hottest toy around this summer.”

  “How did Windup Wally get in here?” Nancy asked, looking around. “He couldn’t have walked in all by himself.”

  Emily Reeves poked her head inside the door. “He’s my Windup Wally,” she giggled. “I wound him up outside and aimed him right through the door!”

  Nancy smiled as eight-year-old Emily walked into Herbie’s. Nancy hadn’t seen her all summer.

  “My mom is at the store next door,” Emily explained. “She said I could come in and say hi.”

  Emily picked up her Windup Wally. His legs moved back and forth even as she held him.

  “How did you get a Windup Wally, Emily?” George asked. “I heard they were all sold out.”

  “I have ten Windup Wallys at home,” Emily explained. “They were supposed to go inside my birthday party goody bags.”

  Nancy remembered getting an invitation to Emily’s birthday party in July. Bess and George each got one too. But they all couldn’t go.

  “Sorry we missed your party, Emily,” Nancy said. “We were on vacation at Echo Lake.”

  “We entered a sand castle contest,” Bess added with a smile. “And won second prize!”

  But Emily wasn’t smiling. “Everyone was on vacation!” she complained. “So my mom had to call off the party.”

  Nancy, Bess, and George frowned.

  “You mean you never had a birthday party?” Nancy asked.

  “At all?” Bess asked.

  Emily shook her head. “Nope. Now I’m stuck with stickers, feather pens, Windup Wallys, and ten empty goody bags!”

  Goody bags? Nancy glanced at Herbie, who was behind the counter. Her eyes lit up.

  “Bess, George!” she said. “I just got a major brainstorm!”

  2

  Surprise Party

  The girls sat down together at a table. George, Bess, and Emily huddled close as Nancy shared her idea.

  “Herbie can give out goody bags to the kids who buy his burgers,” Nancy explained. “Regal Burger doesn’t do that.”

  “Great idea!” George said. “And Herbie can call the goody bags zippy bags.”

  “Why ‘zippy’?” Nancy asked.

  “Because when the kids find out about the awesome bags,” George explained, “they’ll zip over to Hamburger Herbie’s!”

  Nancy gave George two big thumbs-up. But Emily looked totally confused.

  “Regal Burger? Herbie?” Emily cried. “Can someone tell me what’s going on?”

  Nancy told Emily all about Herbie’s problem. Then Herbie came over with a tray of burgers, and Nancy told him her idea.

  “I like it!” Herbie said. He placed the tray on the table. “But where do I get all those great goody bags?”

  “We can use Emily’s goody bags!” Bess blurted out.

  Nancy nudged Bess. It wasn’t nice to offer Emily’s bags without her permission.

  “I was going to save the goody bags for my next birthday party,” Emily sighed. “If I ever have another birthday party.”

  Nancy felt badly. Maybe there was a way to help Herbie and Emily.

  “Why don’t we have a new birthday party for Emily here?” Nancy asked. “We could have it on the day Herbie gives out the zippy bags!”

  Emily’s eyes lit up. “A birthday party at last!” She swooned with delight. “Thanks!”

  Bess began counting on her fingers. “What if more than ten kids show up?” she asked. “We’ll only have ten zippy bags.”

  “I’ll be happy if five kids show up tomorrow,” Herbie explained. “We can try out the ten zippy bags as a test.”

  Nancy and her friends offered to stuff the ten zippy bags that afternoon. They would give them out the next day at Emily’s new birthday party.

  “Don’t worry, Herbie,” Nancy said. “Tons of kids will be eating here again!”

  Nancy was about to bite into her burger when someone shouted, “No! No!”

  Glancing up, Nancy saw the French chef walking over. His mustache was twitching and his fists were clenched.

  “What’s wrong, Philippe?” Herbie asked.

  “I heard everything!” Philippe snapped in a French accent. “And I did not come all zee way from Paris to cook for a kiddy restaurant!”

  “But kids are our best customers, Philippe,” Herbie said. “You’ll see!”

  Philippe muttered something under his breath. Then he stormed back to the kitchen.

  “He sounds mean,” Bess whispered.

  “Yeah,” George said. She nodded to her plate. “But he makes a mean burger!”

  • • •

  “Bess!” Nancy said. “Those ribbons are for the bags—not your hair.”

  “Okay, okay,” Bess sighed as she yanked the red ribbon off her ponytail.

  It was three o’clock in the afternoon. Nancy, Bess, and George were sitting at the Drews’ picnic table. The table was covered with feathered pens, sheets of stickers, and ten Windup Wallys.

  Emily had helped carry the toys, silver paper bags, and red ribbons from her house to Nancy’s. Then she went back home to call everyone about her brand-new birthday party.

  Nancy was about to grab a green feathered pen when her Labrador puppy, Chocolate Chip, scurried into the yard.

  “Woof! Woof!” Chip barked.

  “Chip always barks at squirrels,” Nancy said as she picked up the pen.

  “A squirrel?” George asked. “Looks more like a rat to me.”

  Nancy stared at the small creature under Chip’s nose. Instead of a bushy tail it had a long skinny one. It was a rat!

  Bess shrieked, “I hate rats!”

  “Aw, put a sock in it, will you?” a boy’s voice growled.

  Nancy saw Jason Hutchings, David Berger, and Mike Minelli run into her yard. All three boys were in the girls’ class. They were also the class troublemakers.

  I should have known, Nancy thought as David scooped up the rat. It was his pet, Skeevy.

  “We’re taking Skeevy to see the new Moleheads from Mars movie,” David said. He pointed to his backpack. “I packed tons of his food so he doesn’t eat our popcorn.”

  David tucked Skeevy inside his jacket. Jason pointed to the picnic table.

  “Windup Wallys!” Jason cried. “Neat! Can we have some?”

  “Sorry,” Nancy said, shaking her head. “These toys are for goody bags.”

  “Another girlie party?” Jason sneered. He looked at his watch, then turned to his friends. “Come on. The three-thirty movie starts in ten minutes!”

  The boys raced out of the yard.

  “I thought I smelled a rat,” George muttered. “Three of them!”

  Nancy and her friends went back to stuffing the zippy bags. When they tied the last ribbon on the last bag they stood up and stretched.

  “Let’s go into the house for a snack,” Nancy suggested. “The zippy bags will be safe here in the yard.”

  The girls entered the kitchen. Hannah Gruen greeted the girls with a smile. Hannah had been the Drews’ housekeeper since Nancy was only three years old.

  “How’s the Zippy Bag Brigade coming along?” Hannah asked.

  “Super, Hannah!” Nancy said. She smiled at the cheese and crackers on the kitchen table. “And those look super too!”

  “I used a Dutch cheese called Gouda,” Hannah said. “Did you know there are over a hundred different cheeses in the world?”

  “That means over a hundred different cheeseburgers!” Bess declared.

  When they were finished eating the girls loaded the zippy bags into their bicycle baskets. Then they got permission to pedal to Hamburger Herbie’s.

  As they parked their bikes Nancy noticed a sign on Herbie’s store window. It read: FREE ZIPPY BAGS ON AUGUST 15TH. WINDUP WALLY INCLUDED!

  Carefully, the girls carried the zippy bags into Hamburger Herbie’s.

  “Herbie is
in zee kitchen,” Philippe said. “So I vill take zee zippy bags.”

  Philippe seemed more cheerful than before. He showed the girls where he would hide the bags—in the cabinet beneath the ketchup and mustard counter.

  “Herbie will be surprised to see all the kids tomorrow!” Nancy said excitedly.

  Philippe snickered and said, “Zat won’t be his only surprise!”

  Nancy had no idea what Philippe meant. But it didn’t really matter.

  “We’ll help hand out the bags when you open the restaurant at noon tomorrow,” Nancy offered.

  “Très bon!” Philippe said. “That means ‘very good’ in French.”

  Nancy smiled to herself. So far everything was very good. She couldn’t wait until tomorrow!

  • • •

  “What a turnout!” Nancy cried.

  It was Tuesday and a few minutes before noon. Eight kids were already lined up outside Hamburger Herbie’s.

  Emily was handing out birthday hats to the kids on line. Even Brenda and Bobby were there to videotape the event.

  “Brenda Carlton here with breaking news!” Brenda said to the camera. “As you see, Hamburger Herbie’s is not history!”

  Orson darted across the street with samples of Regal Burger’s tangy tacos.

  “Who wants tacos now?” a boy on line said. “We want burgers and zippy bags!”

  At noon Herbie swung the door wide open. He whisked all the kids inside.

  “The zippy bags are under the counter,” Herbie whispered to Nancy.

  “We know,” Nancy whispered back.

  But as the girls pulled them out, Nancy noticed something weird. The ribbons on the bags looked pink, not red.

  “The lights in here are bright,” George said. “Maybe they just look pink.”

  When every kid was seated, Nancy, Bess, and George handed out the bags.

  “Go ahead, kids!” Herbie called out. “See what’s inside!”

  Bobby’s camera rolled as the kids ripped open the bags and tipped them over. But instead of toys, white chunks shaped like triangles dropped out on the tables!

  “What is that?” George gasped.

  “It looks like some kind of . . . cheese!” Nancy said, confused.

  The kids also looked puzzled as they pulled off the plastic wrappers. Then—