The Mystery of the Disappearing Lunches

Lexile: 875 | Grade: 5

Passage

Liam and his friends were excited for lunch. Every day, they gathered at the picnic tables behind the school, sharing their favorite snacks and trading sandwiches. But lately, something strange had been happening—some students’ lunches were mysteriously disappearing!

At first, everyone thought it was just bad luck. Maybe someone forgot their lunch at home, or maybe they accidentally dropped it on the way to school. But when Liam’s own lunch vanished from his backpack, he knew something was wrong.

Determined to solve the mystery, Liam and his best friend, Zoe, decided to set a trap. They placed a peanut butter sandwich inside a lunchbox and left it slightly open on the bench. Then, they hid behind a tree and waited.

Minutes passed, and then—a rustling sound came from the bushes. A small brown squirrel scurried up to the lunchbox, sniffed the air, and quickly grabbed the sandwich! Liam and Zoe couldn’t believe it. The lunch thief wasn’t a student at all—it was a hungry squirrel!

The next day, they told their classmates what they had discovered. Instead of being upset, the students decided to leave some extra food for the little squirrel in a special box near the tree. From that day on, there were no more missing lunches—just a well-fed and happy squirrel.