The Footprint Clue

Melissa and Ian help clear leaves from the school garden. Beside a bed of flowers, they notice small prints in the soft soil. “Has someone walked here?” asks Ian. Melissa crouches on the path to look more closely.

The prints are much smaller than their shoes. Some are in pairs, and others overlap. Ian thinks a cat might have crossed the bed. Melissa looks at the low fence around the garden.

A small gap has opened under one panel of the fence. The prints lead from the gap to the flowers. There are also a few nibbled leaves. “Something small came through here,” says Melissa.

Their teacher helps them look from the path without disturbing the bed. Near the hedge, a rabbit sits very still. Then it hops through the gap and out onto the field. Ian gives a quiet laugh.

“That explains the prints and the leaves,” he says. Their teacher checks that no animals remain inside. Melissa and Ian help her close the fence gap with a board. They leave the rabbit safely on the field.

The next day, they check the flower bed. There are no fresh prints, and the new leaves are untouched. “We followed the clues,” says Melissa. “And found a way to protect the plants,” says Ian.