Nate the Great and the Big Sniff Read online

  Praise for the

  series

  ★ “Kids will like Nate the Great.”

  —School Library Journal, Starred

  “The illustrations capture the exaggerated, tongue-in-cheek humor of the story.”

  —Booklist

  “Nate, Sludge, and all their friends have been delighting beginning readers for years.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “They don’t come any cooler than Nate the Great.”

  —The Huffington Post

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2001 by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Mitchell Sharmat

  Cover art and interior illustrations copyright © 2001 by Martha Weston

  New illustrations of Nate the Great, Sludge, Fang, Annie, Rosamond, and Claud by Martha Weston based upon the original drawings by Marc Simont.

  Extra Fun Activities text copyright © 2007 by Emily Costello

  Extra Fun Activities illustrations copyright © 2007 by Laura Hart

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, in 2001, and subsequently published in paperback with Extra Fun Activities by Yearling, in 2004.

  Yearling and the jumping horse design are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Visit us on the Web! randomhousekids.com

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at RHTeachersLibrarians.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-0-385-32604-9 (trade) — ISBN 978-0-385-90020-1 (lib. bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-440-41502-2 (pbk.) — ISBN 978-0-307-55843-5 (ebook)

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  eBook ISBN 9780307558435

  v4.1i

  a

  For our sweet, shaggy

  DUDLEY SHARMAT

  a.k.a.

  DUDS

  DIPSEY DOODLE

  and

  COMPUTER DOG

  December 3, 1988 (adopted)–March 3, 1997

  —M.W.S.

  —M.S.

  For Diane and Nancy, my good friends

  —M.W.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One: The Long Wait

  Chapter Two: Slippy Sloppy Dog

  Chapter Three: Hats and Underwear

  Chapter Four: Lost! My Best Friend!

  Chapter Five: On the Run

  Chapter Six: The Tip of a Tail

  Chapter Seven: Think Like a Dog

  Chapter Eight: A Flour Trail

  Extra Fun Activities

  Learning with Nate

  About the Authors

  My name is Nate the Great.

  I am a detective.

  My dog, Sludge, is a detective too.

  Today I had my biggest case ever.

  But Sludge couldn’t help me.

  Because looking for Sludge

  was the case!

  Sludge was missing.

  Lost. Gone.

  I had to find him!

  This morning Sludge and I

  went out to shop.

  We went to my favorite store,

  Weinman Brothers.

  Sludge isn’t allowed in stores.

  I go in and Sludge waits outside.

  Sludge is great at waiting.

  He likes to watch people go by.

  He always finds a few

  he likes to sniff.

  “I am going to buy one thing,”

  I said to Sludge.

  “I will be right back.”

  Sludge wagged his tail

  and sat down.

  I walked into the store.

  I was looking for a present for Sludge.

  I went straight to the pet department.

  I found a nice dog bowl.

  And a long line of people.

  They were all waiting to buy things.

  I went to the end of the line.

  Then I, Nate the Great, counted.

  I was waiter number twenty-one.

  I could grow old waiting in this line.

  The seasons could change.

  The world could change.

  Pancakes could disappear.

  And Sludge would still be waiting.

  I put down the bowl.

  I walked away. I went outside.

  Sludge was gone!

  I looked for Sludge.

  I saw big puddles.

  The air smelled of rain.

  “Sludge!” I called.

  “Woof!”

  I heard a dog’s bark.

  I turned around.

  Annie and her dog, Fang,

  were standing there.

  Fang is big and scary.

  Today his teeth were wet

  and gleaming.

  “Are you looking

  for Sludge?” Annie asked.

  “I saw him sitting out here.

  It started to rain.

  Sludge got wet and drippy

  and sloppy.

  He moved closer to the store.”

  “So where is he?” I asked.

  Annie pointed.

  “He sat down on the thing

  that opens the store door,” she said.

  “The door opened.

  Sludge looked surprised.

  He walked into the store.”

  “He walked in?” I asked. “Then what?”

  “Sludge shook himself off.

  He sat down and waited.

  For you, I guess.

  A saleslady came over with a towel.

  She started to wipe him off.

  Then another saleslady

  yelled at him,

  ‘You’re not a shopper.

  You have no money.

  Leave!’

  She grabbed Sludge.

  But he slipped away.

  ‘You slippy sloppy dog!’

  she yelled after him.”

  “Then what happened?” I asked.

  “Sludge ran into

  the hat department.

  I couldn’t see him anymore.

  So Fang and I went after him.

  But the mean lady stopped us.

  She looked at Fang and said,

  ‘Too many teeth. Bad breath.

  And no money. Out!’ ”

  “Then what?”

  “Fang growled at her.

  She screamed and stepped back.

  I took Fang outside.

  A minute later you came along.

  You missed Sludge.”

  “I must go to the hat department,” I said.

  “Fang and I will wait here,” Annie said.

  “In case Sludge comes back outside.”

  “He’d have to pass that lady,”

  I said. “Sometimes Sludge is brave.

  But not that brave.”

  “Well, Fang is.

  He can go back in and get Sludge

  past that lady.

  He and I will guard the door.

  If we get Sludge, we will find you.”

  I, Nate the Great,

  rushed back into the store.

  Annie called after me,

&nb
sp; “Don’t forget:

  Sludge looks slippy sloppy.

  It could be a clue.”

  I went to the hat department.

  There were hats

  of every size and shape.

  But I did not see Sludge.

  I looked for wet pawprints.

  Perhaps there was a trail.

  Nothing.

  I went up to a salesman.

  “There was a wet dog…,” I began.

  The man pointed to the left.

  “That way,” he said.

  I rushed to the underwear department.

  No Sludge.

  Could he be hiding from that mean lady?

  But where could he hide?

  I saw a sign: DRESSING ROOMS.

  I did not want to peek into those rooms.

  I did not want to look at underwear

  with anyone inside it.

  But I had to find Sludge.

  I went to the dressing rooms.

  “Sludge!” I called.

  Somebody peeked out

  from a dressing room.

  Somebody who looked strange.

  Very strange.

  It was Rosamond.

  She was wearing a nightshirt

  that had MEOW

  printed across the front.

  It was much too small for her.

  “I’m shopping,” she said.

  “This is for my cat Big Hex.

  I buy all my cats’ clothes here.”

  “Have you seen Sludge?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she said. “I saw him run

  in and out of this department.

  I don’t blame him.

  There’s not a thing here for dogs.”

  “Thank you for that information,” I said.

  I left.

  Where could Sludge have gone?

  I needed clues.

  I needed pancakes.

  I always eat pancakes

  when I can’t solve a case.

  They help me think.

  I knew there was a cafeteria

  at the back of the store.

  They serve great pancakes.

  But I did not want to go there.

  I was not hungry.

  I was sad.

  I was thinking about Sludge.

  How I had first met him.

  In a field.

  How he had become my dog.

  And my best friend.

  And now he was lost.

  I went to a pay phone.

  I called home.

  The answering machine came on.

  I left a message for my mother.

  I hung up.

  Where should I look next?

  In this big store, who would know

  where Sludge might be?

  Of course!

  I, Nate the Great, rushed to

  the lost and found department.

  I saw somebody I knew.

  It was not Sludge.

  It was Claude.

  Claude spends a big part

  of his life in lost and found.

  The lost part.

  Claude is always losing things.

  I went up to him.

  “I have lost Sludge,” I said.

  “I saw him,” Claude said.

  “Where?”

  “At your house on Sunday,” Claude said.

  “He wasn’t lost then,” I said.

  “Oh, right,” Claude said.

  Claude pointed to a man

  sitting at a desk.

  “He knows what’s lost

  and what’s found.

  Talk to him.”

  I rushed over to the man.

  I said, “I, Nate the Great,

  have lost my dog, Sludge,

  in this store.”

  “Oh, the dog,” the man said.

  “We know about him.

  He’s been spotted

  all over the place.

  Nobody who sees him

  will ever forget him,

  I’ll tell you that.

  But we can’t catch him.

  He just runs and runs.

  I haven’t had a report

  for five minutes.

  He could be anywhere.”

  “Runs and runs?” I said. “Hmm.”

  “Hmm, what?” the man asked.

  “A clue,” I said.

  I walked away.

  Sludge could be tired

  by now, I thought.

  Nobody has seen him

  run for five minutes.

  I rushed to the bed department.

  It was full of beds.

  A great place to rest!

  I looked on the beds

  and under them.

  I looked for dog hairs

  and pawprints.

  And a dog.

  Suddenly I saw what looked like

  the tip of a tail!

  It was under a bed.

  Was I dreaming?

  Was I hoping too hard?

  I got closer.

  It was a dog’s tail!

  And it was attached to Fang.

  Fang crawled out

  from under the bed.

  Annie came running.

  “There you are, Fang!” she yelled.

  “What’s Fang doing

  in the store?” I asked.

  “I thought I saw Sludge,”

  Annie said. “So I ran inside.

  Fang followed me.”

  “You saw Sludge?” I asked.

  “No. It was a mistake.

  It was a wet mop.

  But don’t worry.

  I left the door guarded.

  Rosamond came along.

  She’s standing there

  with a big whistle.”

  “A whistle?”

  “Yes. She said every guard

  should have one.”

  I sat down on a bed.

  “So Fang is the dog

  who’s been running

  around the store,” I said.

  “And scaring the customers,”

  Annie said.

  I, Nate the Great, was sunk.

  I should have guessed

  that the running dog was Fang!

  The man said that nobody

  who saw him would ever forget him.

  I should have known that was a clue.

  The kind of clue I did not want to hear.

  Annie and Fang left.

  I, Nate the Great,

  lay down on the bed.

  I was tired.

  I had used my feet too much.

  And my head too little.

  I had to think.

  Where would a dog go

  in this store?

  Suddenly I had the answer.

  Kibbles, leashes, bowls,

  doghouses, bones.

  Where the good stuff was.

  I rushed back to

  the pet department.

  I counted eleven people

  still in line.

  But Sludge wasn’t one of them.

  I went to the dog food.

  No Sludge.

  I went to the dog toys.

  No Sludge.

  I went to the doghouses.

  Maybe Sludge would be asleep inside.

  I looked in every one of them.

  No Sludge.

  Maybe Sludge had been here and left.

  I walked up to the head of the line.

  “Excuse me,” I said

  to the man behind the counter.

  “I am in a hurry.

  I am on a big case.

  I am looking for a wet dog.

  A slippy sloppy dog.”

  “A slippy sloppy dog?” he said.

  “And it has a tail, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Fur?”

  “Of course.”

  “And it barks?”

  “Yes.”

  The man chuckled.

  “Nice try,” he said.

&nb
sp; “But if you want to buy something

  you have to go to the end of the line.

  I remember you when you were

  number twenty-one.”

  I, Nate the Great, walked away.

  I sat down on a dog mat.

  This was my most important case.

  And I could not solve it.

  Sludge always helped me

  with my cases.

  But now he was the case.

  He could not help me.

  Or could he?

  Sludge was a great detective.

  Was he trying to find me?

  Was he sniffing

  all over the store?

  No. He was afraid the mean lady

  would get him.

  He had to hide.

  But he had to find me too.

  How could he do both things?

  Suddenly I, Nate the Great,

  had the answer.

  Suddenly I knew where

  Sludge had to be.

  I rushed to the back of the store.

  To the cafeteria.

  Where the pancakes are.

  People were sitting and eating.

  There was a room

  behind the cafeteria.

  There was a trail of flour

  going in and out of the room.

  It was a trail of white pawprints.

  The door of the room

  was partway open.

  I looked around.

  No one was watching me.

  I crept into the room.

  It was a storeroom.

  There were boxes and cans

  and jars and sacks.

  Sitting on a torn sack

  of flour…was Sludge!

  He was sniffing.

  He rushed toward me.

  He gave me a big sniff.

  Then he wagged his tail.