In a quiet little cul-de-sac , where the houses curve like a smile, there lives a small dog with a big job. 

His name is Tater. 

Tater is an investigator who sniffs out trouble in his Tater-tory and solves mysteries- with a little help.

Today, Tater is excited as the family is all headed out from their neighborhood - to go to the farm! 

It's always fun there, where he can roam about and enjoy different smells.

Marlee will come too - and when they get there, they'll greet dog cousins, golden retrievers Rusty and Texas. 

Rusty is a wise and docile 12-yr-old with reddish hair and Texas is a cream-colored young dog who is extremely rambunctious! 

Texas always gets into trouble. Once he even ate part of his owner's birthday cake before the party even started! "Fur" real! Ha!

Tater couldn't wait for the drive to be over and finally get to the farm.

The gravel of the long driveway crunched under the tires as their car rolled slowly to a stop.

Tater's ears perked up. He pressed his nose to the window, sniffing the fresh country air. 

This place always smelled different- like damp earth, sunshine, and something else....

"We're here", his owner said with a smile.

Tater didn't waste any time getting out. His little "bee-stinger" tail twitched excitedly. 

Marlee carefully stepped down, stretching her legs.

Tater had barely stepped out of the car when barreling by in a blur came Texas!

"Hi guys!", Texas barked.

Then, from behind Texas, a calmer voice called out-

"Texas, let them at least 

arrive first."

"Hey, it's Tater, 

the detective! 

You're a real sleuth!" 

Tater puffed his chest out a bit. "Well, as you recall, I AM known as Tater the Investigator. I've solved a mystery or two."

Just then--

Buzzzzzzzz

A tiny bee zipped past Tater's nose.

"Whoa!" Tater jumped back.

The bee seemed to hover for a moment or two...

...then zipped around him in a circle - like it had somewhere very important to be.

Tater watched the bee carefully. 

Busy.

Fast.

And possibly....suspicious?

"That little guy has been bee-zy today," Rusty said.

Marlee looked over at Rusty. "Very clever", she murmured. 

Just then, a voice chirped from near the front porch--

"Ooooh! Tater's here!"

A tiny squirrel popped out from behind a flower pot,

her fluffy tail flicking with excitement.

"Miss Nibbles!" Tater barked.

...."Your uncle, Mr. Nibbles, from our neighborhood, had told me that you're the squirrel who knows the local chatter at the farm." 

Niss Nibbles was known for two things: 

1) Being cute and cheery   2) Being a busy body

"Tater the Investigator! Yes indeed!", she chirped cheerily.  "I'm the one who knows what's going on around here."

As a matter of fact, I'm glad you arrived! There may be a mystery here for you to solve."

Tater's ears shot straight up.

Marlee looked at him.

Rusty gave a knowing smile.

Texas bounced in place.

"A mystery?!" Texas barked.

 "I KNEW IT! 

This is gonna be AWESOME!"

Tater took a step forward, his nose twitching.

Clue #1 Strange Mark in the Dirt:

He glanced down at the ground....noticing a faint and mysterious mark in the dirt near the porch.

It wasn't any track that he 

recognized.

Texas leaned closer.

"Ooooooh....mysteeeerious."

Tater narrowed his eyes. 

"Well," he said, "it looks like this case....."

He paused.

"...is already underway."

Tater thought to himself.  Was this curious impression in the dirt, the first clue?! Or was the busy little bee the first clue-and this was number 2?  It just so happened that in a previous case, it was a bee that had distracted him....

Miss Nibbles broke into his thoughts just then...

Her voice squeaked a bit as she spoke--

"There must be a mysterious animal lurking on the farm. I've been seeing strange tracks all over the farm yard", she said to the group.

Just then they all heard a 

crash and then a banging

sound coming from the

direction of the barn- over 

past the grain bins and the

machine shed.

Miss Nibbles

 jumped!

Marlee looked startled. And Rusty looked puzzled.

Tater's eyes narrowed.

"Suspicious.....very suspicious," he whispered.  

They all treaded over past the grain bins and then past the shed - towards the barn, to investigate.

Was it caused by some kind of mysterious animal, as Miss Nibbles suggested?

Clue #2 A Peculiar Pattern :

The whole group continued over towards the barn.

They hadn't even gone inside when Miss Nibbles called out--

"More prints!"

Sure enough there were more mysterious prints in the dirt. 

And then....even MORE prints. 

Tater stopped.

He looked down...then tilted his head. "That's strange," he murmured.

Texas leaned in.

"What? What is it? Is it a clue? Is it a BIG clue?!"

Tater pointed with his nose.

"These prints go into the barn..." , he said.

Everyone looked.

Then he turned slightly.

"And...they come back out."

They all leaned the other way.

Texas gasped.

"Whoa....it escaped!"

Rusty shook his head gently.

"Or it left."

They stepped inside the barn.

The ground was packed with dirt....covered in strange prints.

Marlee blinked "That's....a lot of prints."

Miss Nibbles scampered up onto a chair that had been placed near the door.

"It must be a very busy animal!"

Tater slowly walked in a small circle.

Then he stopped again.

"....or one very 

busy path," 

he said grimly. 

Texas spun around.

"Wait-- what does that mean?!"

Tater hadn't even answered Texas yet when they all heard the banging and crashing sounds again, this time even louder!!

Miss Nibbles jumped up 

into a nearby tree, 

she was so scared! 

Everyone else froze.

Clue #3 Odd Sounds:

Just then, they all heard the faint sound of music. 

"Whaaaaaaattttt?", Tater said, almost to himself.

It was coming from right inside the barn, he realized. 

"Do you hear that?", he said to the whole group.

Rusty, Marlee, Texas - and even Miss Nibbles up in the tree, all nodded. 

"We need to investigate further inside this barn. Anyone want to come?", Tater asked.

"I'll go", Rusty offered. 

"Texas and I will be doing watch -just in case", Marlee said. Texas nodded. 

Miss Nibbles stayed put in the tree.

Tater and Rusty headed further into the barn. It was pretty dark further inside from the entrance- and smelled musty. 

It didn't take long until the sound of the music was louder. As they walked a little ways, they found the stairs up to the hayloft- off to the right.

The banging and crashing sounds then repeated over and over. 

Tater and Rusty could tell it seemed to come from up there. They looked at each other, puzzled. 

"This calls for Tater the Investigator. I'm going up these steps. Rusty.  You keep an eye out."

"I've got your back", Rusty promised.

Tater slowly creeped up the stairs. The banging and crashing was really loud now- and the music too!

Tater got to the top step and peered over the edge.....

He held his breath, not knowing what he would find...

And what he saw...

....was the family all laughing and stomping around with the grandchildren in the hayloft! 

Whaaaaatttt?! , Tater thought to himself.

Then he quickly trotted back down the steps to inform Rusty. 

"Oh, they're having a barn dance!",

 Rusty explained

 to Tater. "That 

would be why 

we heard all

those sounds!"

Tater chuckled. 

They both headed back to the front entrance of the barn.

Marlee, Texas and Miss Nibbles were all there, with expectant looks on their faces.

"Well, what did you see?", Marlee asked them both.

Rusty answered. "It was just the family entertaining the grandkids with a barn dance in the hayloft!