Anika and Betka, two little sisters like two merry bells, had just pattered home from kindergarten. Anika, the older one, was already reaching for the doorknob of their little house when she realized... “Oh, no!” she gasped. “Betka, I don’t have the keys!”
Betka, with hair like sunshine, rolled her eyes. “And I don’t have them either,” she said, wrinkling her little nose. They both remembered how they had been playing in the yard that morning and had left the keys on the bench. They must have forgotten them there!
“What are we going to do?” Betka whispered, and little tears began to glisten in her eyes. The little house was locked, and Grandpa, who was supposed to be waiting for them, wasn’t home from his walk yet.
Anika thought for a moment. “Don’t worry, Beti. Grandpa surely left us a message or a spare key somewhere.” She looked around. On the colourful doormat in front of the door lay a little note. It was folded into a triangle.
“Look!” Anika exclaimed and picked it up. “There’s something written here!”
On the little note was Grandpa’s familiar handwriting:
“My dear little bees, if you have lost your keys, don’t you fret! I’ve prepared a little game for you, a spare little key I’ve hidden well. The first clue waits where a red circle greets the sun each day, and by its side, a blue friend is the only one to stay.”
Betka’s eyes went wide. “A red circle? And a blue friend?”
Anika scratched behind her ear. “Hmm, a red circle that greets the sun... and is in the garden...” Suddenly, it dawned on her. “It must be our old red watering can! It’s round like a circle and stands next to the blue rain barrel!”
“Exactly!” Betka jumped up excitedly. “Let’s go!”
They ran to the corner of the garden. The red watering can was indeed smiling in the sun, and next to it stood the large blue barrel. Anika carefully peered into the watering can. Nothing. She walked around the barrel. Nothing there, either.
“Where could it be?” Betka frowned.
Anika knelt down and examined everything around them. “Grandpa wrote that the red circle greets the sun and the blue friend lives by it... Maybe it’s not directly in them, but somewhere close!” Her gaze fell upon a small wooden stake stuck in the ground right next to the barrel. And tied to it was another little note, this time folded into a square.
“I’ve got it!” Anika cried, triumphantly holding up the square note. Betka jumped with anticipation. Anika excitedly unfolded the piece of paper. Grandpa’s letters smiled from it just as cheerfully as the first ones:
“You are clever girls, it’s true! The second clue leads to where four wooden legs support a post, and on it, the birds often prepare a feast. Seeds fall from it when the wind blows.”
“Four wooden legs?” Betka mused, tapping her chin with a finger. She held up four little fingers. “And birds have a feast there? What could it be?”
Anika looked around the garden. Their gaze fell together on the tall wooden bird feeder that Grandpa had recently built in the middle of the lawn. It stood on four legs and had a space for seeds under its little roof. Sometimes, when a stronger wind blew, a few seeds would indeed fall to the ground.
“That's it!” Anika exclaimed. “The bird feeder! Quick!”
They scampered across the soft lawn to the feeder. It was quite tall, but Anika stood on her tiptoes, and Betka peered curiously over her shoulder. On the wooden platform, where sunflower seeds for the titmice and sparrows were usually scattered, lay another small note. This one, for a change, was round like a coin or like the sun in a child's drawing.
“Yay! Another one!” Betka cheered, clapping her hands. “This one is round!”
Anika carefully took it in her hands. It was smaller than the ones before. “What could Grandpa have prepared for us now?” she whispered and, with anticipation, began to open it. Anika carefully unfolded the round piece of paper. Inside, more of Grandpa's mischievous lines awaited them:
“A round note you hold in your palm, shining like the sun in the morning sky. Now search for what the breeze loves to spin, what turns in the grass with the colors of the rainbow. It stands by the flowers that smell oh-so-sweetly, where another message awaits, quietly, quietly.”
“‘The breeze spins it? And with the colors of the rainbow?’” Anika repeated aloud. Betka frowned and looked around. “What in our garden spins and is colorful like a rainbow?” The two sisters thought for a moment. They had many things in the garden. A swing, a slide, a sandbox... but those didn’t spin in place and weren’t right next to the flowers that smelled the sweetest.
“Aha!” Anika suddenly exclaimed. “I remember! Grandpa bought that colorful... um... pinwheel last week! And he stuck it in the rose bed, because he said it supposedly scares away moles and looks pretty, too!”
“Yes, yes! The one with the red, yellow, and blue blades!” Betka added, her eyes shining. “And the roses really do smell so sweet!”
Without hesitation, they ran to the large rose bed that stood proudly by the fence. And sure enough! In the middle of the fragrant flowers, stuck on a thin stick, stood a cheerful pinwheel. Its colorful blades were just then gently turning in the faint breeze.
Anika carefully stepped closer, so as not to step on Grandpa’s beloved roses. She leaned over and looked under the pinwheel’s colorful blades. And there, tied to the stick with a thin ribbon, hung another little note. This one was oblong, like a small rectangle. And next to it, also tied on the ribbon, was a small treat—two strawberry lollipops.
"Yippee!" shouted Betka. "Lollipops! Grandpa is the best!" Anika smiled. "He sure is. But first, let's read what's written here." She carefully untied the rectangular note and handed one lollipop to Betka. She tucked the other one into her pocket for now. The sisters licked their lips in anticipation, and Anika began to read the final riddle. Grandpa's handwriting on the rectangular note was a bit more ceremonious:
“Congratulations, my dear detectives, you are just one step from your diligent goal! The key to our dear little house, do not look far, it is in a familiar place. Where letters and messages for us are hidden, and the postman places them with a smile each morning, there the key quietly has its new hiding place.”
Anika read the note twice. "Where letters and messages are hidden? And the postman places them there?" She pondered. "The mailbox!" Betka blurted out almost immediately. "Our green mailbox by the gate!"
"Of course!" Anika agreed. "That's it exactly! Grandpa must have hidden the spare key there!" They felt their little hearts leap with joy. They ran to the small green mailbox, which stood on a wooden post right next to the entrance gate to the garden.
Anika reached for the small door of the mailbox and carefully opened it. And there, at the bottom, next to a folded newspaper, lay a small silver key! It was tied to a red string so they would find it more easily.
"Hooray! We found it!" both little sisters exclaimed at once, and they jumped for joy. Anika took the key. It was the right one, the spare key to their little house.
They carefully locked the gate, and then Anika pushed the key into the lock on the front door. Click! The lock gave way. They opened the door and entered the cool hallway.
"We did it!" Anika said proudly, smiling at Betka. "That was a super adventure!" Betka added, sucking on her strawberry lollipop. "Grandpa came up with a great game."
Just then, a familiar voice came from the kitchen. "Well, where are you, my little investigators? I heard some commotion." Grandpa was standing in the kitchen doorway with a smile from ear to ear, holding a tray with glasses of raspberry soda. "I see you've passed my little test with flying colors. And you found the keys, you clever girls!"
Anika and Betka ran to him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for the game, Grandpa! It was fun!" said Anika. "And for the lollipops!" Betka added with her mouth full.
Grandpa stroked their hair. "I was happy to entertain you like this. And you know what? You really did leave the other keys on the bench in the yard. I hid them so you would have to puzzle it out a bit." They all laughed.
And so, Anika and Betka not only found their way to the little house, but they also had a thrilling adventure full of riddles, shapes, and colors. And most importantly, they discovered that together they could solve any mystery. Maybe you have a hidden riddle at home that you could try to solve with your parents.