The Answer She Gave Away

Chapter 1A Door with No House

Mrs. Braun placed paper riddle cards on the classroom tables for approved break time.

Each card had a riddle on the front and its answer on the back. The girls could work alone or ask a partner for help.

Gitty chose one about something with a door but no house.

Her friend Malky had solved that card yesterday.

"A cupboard," Malky announced as soon as Gitty finished reading.

Gitty put the card down.

"I was still trying."

Chapter 2The Fast Helper

Malky had meant to save her friend from getting stuck.

"But now you know it."

"I wanted to work it out."

Malky looked at the answer on the back. She had given the right word. Gitty was not thanking her.

She reached for another card.

"This one's a clock."

Gitty caught her hand before she could turn it over.

"Please don't tell me that one, too."

Malky let go. Two correct answers had made two cards less useful for what Gitty wanted.

Chapter 3What Kind of Help

Mrs. Braun came to the table when the girls asked for help with their disagreement.

Gitty explained that she wanted thinking time, not the final answer.

Malky said she had thought knowing the answer was the point.

"It can be part of the game," the teacher said. "But ask what help someone wants before giving away what they are trying to find."

Malky apologized.

The first answers could not be put back into Gitty's mind as mysteries. There were other unread cards in the teacher's box.

Chapter 4A Smaller Hint

Mrs. Braun supplied a fresh card.

Gitty read it silently. Malky stayed quiet.

After a while, Gitty said, "Could I have a small hint, not the answer?"

Malky asked what part was confusing.

"Something has teeth but cannot bite."

"Think of something used to tidy hair," Malky said.

She stopped there instead of naming the object.

Gitty touched her braid.

"A comb!"

She turned the card over to check. She had connected the clue herself.

Chapter 5The Unread Card

For the next riddle, Gitty asked for no hints at first.

Malky began a separate card of her own.

She did not sigh or hover over Gitty's paper until help became hard to refuse.

When Gitty later asked to hear the first line again, Malky read that line and stopped.

Repeating a line did not authorize the answer, any more than asking for a hint did.

At cleanup, both girls returned the cards as the teacher instructed.

Chapter 6A Cupboard That Stayed Solved

Gitty laughed about the first cupboard riddle later.

"That door opened very fast."

"I opened it for you," Malky said. "Next time I'll ask."

She had not stopped wanting to help.

At the next puzzle table, she asked whether Gitty wanted time, a hint, or an answer. Gitty chose time.

Malky found her own riddle and let her friend's door stay closed a little longer.