The Mystery of the Missing Magnets

Barnaby Buttercup was a poet, but not just any poet, he was a poet of funny sounds! He lived in a little house overlooking the Giggle Gardens, where all the flowers sang silly songs. Barnaby was also a collector, a collector of shiny, colorful magnets. He had hundreds! One sunny afternoon, Barnaby met a new friend, Penelope Pinwheel, a baker whose cakes were as sparkly as her eyes. Penelope loved magnets too! She had a special apron with lots of pockets to hold them.

Barnaby was smitten, but something strange started happening. Every time Penelope visited, one of Barnaby's magnets would go missing! First it was the sparkly red star, then the blue whale, and then the green polka-dotted frog! Barnaby started to worry. Could it be that Penelope was…a magnet snatcher? His friend, Captain Calico the cat, suggested Penelope might be secretly building a giant magnet robot.

Barnaby decided to investigate! He pretended to leave a very special, extra-shiny golden magnet right on the table. When Penelope visited, he watched her carefully, hiding behind his poem-writing desk. Penelope smiled, gave Barnaby a slice of her rainbow cake, and then… she didn’t even look at the magnet! Barnaby’s heart pounded. He watched her more carefully, and this time saw that her apron had a tiny hole. Each time she moved, a magnet would accidentally slip out.

Barnaby laughed. It wasn’t a magnet thief, just a hole-y apron! He showed Penelope, and together, they sewed up all the holes and celebrated with extra cake. Penelope even shared some of her special, magnetic icing with Barnaby’s new poem about missing magnets. Barnaby still loved Penelope, even with her hole-y apron, and they lived happily ever after, sharing magnets, poetry, and delicious cakes.