Illustration coming soon

The Case of the Missing Kugel

Ages 6-9 | Story and 9 activities

It is Friday afternoon, and the kugel has vanished.

Bracha stands in the kitchen with her hands on her hips. This morning there was a big golden noodle kugel on the counter, still warm, cooling under a dish towel. Now there is only a towel and nothing else.

"Somebody took it," she announces.

"Who?" asks her brother Duvid, popping a grape into his mouth.

Bracha narrows her eyes. "You."

"Me? I've been at the library all day!"

"You always take food."

"So do you!"

"Okay, okay." Bracha puts up a hand. "Let's be detectives. Detectives don't just point. They collect clues."

She gets a notebook from the drawer and writes: THE CASE OF THE MISSING KUGEL.

"Clue one," she says. "The towel is folded. If someone grabbed it fast, it would be messy."

"That's true," says Duvid. He is interested now.

"Clue two. There are crumbs. But not on the floor. Only on the windowsill."

They both go to the window. A few yellow noodle crumbs sit on the ledge, next to a tiny muddy paw print.

"A paw print," whispers Duvid.

"Clue three," says Bracha. "The back door is open a crack."

They follow the little muddy prints out the door. They lead across the porch, down the steps, and across the yard to the hedge.

Behind the hedge, lying on his back in the sun, is Mr. Buttons, the neighbor's orange cat. A single noodle is stuck to his whiskers. Beside him sits a large glass dish, licked clean. It was not a small kugel.

"Mr. Buttons!" says Bracha.

The cat opens one eye, yawns, and goes back to sleep.

"We accused each other," says Duvid. "And it was a cat."

"I accused you first," says Bracha. "Sorry."

"It's okay," says Duvid. "You were hungry, and you were mad. I've done it, too."

They look at the empty dish. The sun is dipping low, and Shabbos is coming in two hours.

"What are we going to do?" says Bracha. "Mommy's guests are coming."

"We can make another one," says Duvid. "I know the recipe. It's noodles, eggs, sugar, and cinnamon."

"You know the recipe?"

"I watched Mommy do it last week."

They run back to the kitchen. Bracha boils the noodles, and Duvid cracks the eggs. They stir in the sugar and a big shake of cinnamon, and slide the pan into the oven.

When Mommy gets home, the whole house smells warm and sweet.

"You made a kugel?" she asks.

"We made two," says Bracha. "One was eaten by a cat."

Mommy bursts out laughing. "Mr. Buttons?"

"He left a clue," says Duvid. "A whisker."

That night, the kugel comes out golden, with crispy edges. The guests have seconds. Even Duvid and Bracha think it is better than the first one.

After Shabbos, Bracha tears a page from her notebook and writes: Case closed. The culprit is an orange cat. We did not blame each other, and we baked a better one.

She tapes it to the fridge, right next to a drawing of Mr. Buttons, wearing a tiny detective hat.