1. Brian’s Great Idea

Calendar Mysteries May Magic by Ron Roy

Chapter 1 Brian's Great Idea "No, she won't!" Bradley said. He and his twin brother were in their room. They were lying on their beds, reading comics. Bradley was wearing

his I'M BRADLEY T-shirt. The family dog, Pal, was chewing on a tennis ball. "Yes, she will!" Brian said. His bed was covered with toys, clothing, games, sneakers, books, and a damp bath towel. His T-shirt said, I'M BRIAN. "Bet she won't," Bradley said. His bed was neat. "Bet she will," Brian said. Their mother knocked and walked into the room. "Bet I will what?" she asked Brian. "Brian wants to raise ducks," Bradley said. "I told him you'd say no." Mrs. Pinto looked at Brian. "Your bed is a mess," she said. She picked up the bath towel. "And why do you want to raise ducks?" Brian held up a page in his comic book. "Look at this, Mom. Ducks can make me rich!" His mother read the page. In big letters an ad said: RAISE DUCKS AND MAKE BIG BUCKS!!! "Darling, running a business is hard work," Brian's mother said. "Besides, I can't even get you to clean your side of the room!"

"If I clean my room, can I have ducks?" Brian asked. "No, dear, you're only six years old," his mother said. "Besides, you already have a dog and

a pony to play with." "I don't want to play with ducks," Brian answered. He held up the comic again. "It says here you can collect their feathers and make pillows. Then you sell the pillows and make a lot of money!" "Do you know how to make pillows?" Brian's mother asked. Bradley giggled. "Cinchy," Brian said. "You just sew some cloth and stuff it with feathers!" His mother smiled. "Honey, you don't know how to sew." Bradley cracked up. "Told you so," he said. "Get it? SO!" "Okay, you two, please get this room cleaned up," their mother said. "Tomorrow is Mother's Day, and I want this house spotless!" "But my side is already spotless," Bradley said. "So help your brother clean his side," his mother said as she left the bedroom with the towel. She stopped and turned around. "If you do a good job, I'll give you each one dollar."

Bradley put his comics neatly on his shelf. "Get busy, Brian," he said. "I like my side of the room messy," he said. "Yeah, but Mom doesn't, and she's boss," Bradley said. "Why can't we have a mom who lets us be slobs?" Brian asked. He kicked some of the junk off his bed. "Mother ducks don't make their baby ducks clean their rooms." Bradley laughed. "Baby ducks don't have rooms," he said. "They have ponds." Brian smiled. "Let's build a pond in our room," he said. "Then we can sneak in some ducks!" "Are you kidding?" Bradley asked. "Mom would have a cow!" "I don't want a cow," Brian said. He sighed and began tossing his junk into a closet. "Are you gonna help me?" "Sure," Bradley said. He began sorting Brian's comics and games and toys. "What's this?" He held up a sheet of paper. "It came in the mail with one of my comics," Brian said. Bradley read the sheet. "Hey, Bri, look at this."