Moe’s Secret in the Attic
Moe and a friend discover a hidden door in the attic. What waits behind it?
It was raining on the first day of the holidays. Moe was bored. ‘Why don’t we explore the attic?’ suggested Dot the penguin. They fetched a torch and climbed the creaky ladder.
The attic was full of old boxes and trunks and dust. A single round window let in a grey light. Moe sneezed. Dot giggled. They opened box after box, finding old hats, curtains and a lamp.
‘Wait,’ said Moe. He tapped the wall behind a tall bookcase. It sounded hollow. He pushed the bookcase aside. There, hidden in the wood, was a tiny, round door, no bigger than a tea tray.
Dot looked at Moe. Moe looked at Dot. ‘Ready?’ they whispered. Moe turned the tiny brass handle. The door creaked open slowly. A cool breath of air drifted out, smelling of lavender and old paper.
Inside was a little hidden room. In the middle sat a dusty wooden box. On the lid, in faded gold letters, was a label: ‘For whoever finds this.’ Moe’s heart thumped. He lifted the lid.
Inside, there was a rocking horse and a letter in curly writing. And a letter from the old keeper. ‘Dear finder,’ it said. ‘I hid these here when I was your age. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Please remember to hide something for the next child.’
Moe and Dot read the letter again and again. Then they ran downstairs to show Eli the elephant. Eli smiled with tears in his eyes. ‘I remember that room,’ he said. ‘I put that box there long ago.’
That evening, Moe wrote a letter of his own. He popped it in the box with a favourite toy, and placed it back behind the bookcase. ‘For whoever finds this,’ he wrote, ‘be curious. And be kind.’
The little lesson
The things people leave for us can teach us something about who they were, and who we can be.
Let’s talk about it
- Would you open the door? Why or why not?
- What would you put in a box for people in the future?
Finish stories to collect Moe as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
More Mystery & Detectives stories
Tara’s Case of the Missing Cookies
Someone has taken every cookie from the cookie jar! Tara the detective is on the case.
Daisy, Detective, and the Vanished Biscuits
Someone has taken every cookie from the cookie jar! Daisy the detective is on the case.
Alba’s Attic Adventure
Alba and a friend discover a hidden door in the attic. What waits behind it?
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