Casilda and Operation Green Hanger

Text: Susana Bokobo illustrations: sandra aguilar edition: Bokobobook layout: Maria téllez

The Petco pet shop on Hollywood Boulevard had closed for the day. It was getting dark. All seemed quiet. However, half an hour after Mr. Sperk, the owner, had left, all the pets in the area gathered in front of the shop. Rudolf, the biggest of all the dogs, opened the door to let the animals in. And in they all went … dogs, cats, rabbits, tortoises, guinea pigs, hamsters ...

One of the guinea pigs stood in the middle of all the animals and began to talk. The guinea pig’s name was Freddy. Freddy spoke in a high-pitched voice: - Ladies and gentlemen, come on, settle down now, no need to make a fuss! Shhh! Shhhhhh!

Alice the mummy rabbit said:

- Oh, I’m sorry, I had to bring my little ones along, and she sat down surrounded by ten tiny bunnies.

- Alright, alright, said Freddy, - as long as they don’t make any noise. Are we all here?

The animals looked around and at each other and saw that no one was missing. Freddy continued:

- Dear all, I just wanted to let you know that we’ve found the human being who’s going to help us with our operation.

- Hooray! they all cheered.

- Mr. Cow … said Freddy, gesturing for calm with his little paws. - Mr. Cow, as you know, is the human spy who normally helps us, but he can’t do it on this occasion. So now we need a boy or a girl, and I think he’s found the ideal solution… a girl called Casilda, she’s in his Social Science class. He says she’s very bright, intelligent and responsible.

The operation, as you know, is very important. A number of costumes and accessories for the end-of-year school play have gone missing. At this rate there won’t be anything left. Yes, there are just over two weeks to go and the humans still

haven’t realised, but … we have a slight problem.

The animals furrowed their brows, wondering what it could be.

- Casilda isn’t a spy, said Freddy. - Ahhhhh. And the animals murmured among themselves.

- But yes, she’s involved in the production. She’s the costume designer, said Freddy. - She’ll definitely know what’s missing.

- Yes, yes, that’s all well and good, but if she’s not a spy, what are we going to do? asked Mr. Platypus. - We’ll have to find someone else, he said in a commanding voice.

- Calm down, calm down. If Mr. Cow said that Casilda can do it, it’s because she can. What’s more, we need someone who knows the school and is involved in the play. Mr. Cow can’t do it himself. But let’s trust him. He’s never let us down before.

- But how are we going to do it? insisted Mr. Platypus.

- I have an idea, said Freddy. - Alice, didn’t you have a cousin who lived at the Farm School in the northern part of town?

- Yes. Actually, I have 120 cousins who live at that Farm School.

- Great, fantastic. Ask one of them if he can get me in. I imagine there must be some guinea pigs there.

- Yes, of course, said Alice. - But I still don’t understand.

- Honestly, I have to explain absolutely everything … Look, Casilda’s class are going to visit the farm the day after tomorrow. Mr. Cow told me that Casilda loves guinea pigs. Well I’ll be there, and I’ll make sure she ends up taking me home with her and I’ll teach her how to be a spy. She’s going to be the best spy in town.

- But you can’t teach someone to be a spy in a matter of days. That takes years of training, Mr. Platypus pointed out.

- We haven’t got years. We’ve got days. But I’m sure Casilda will do a great job.

It was time for the day trip to the Farm School. Casilda loved to go there and stroke the sheep and the rabbits and feed them. But above all she loved the guinea pigs. So soft and furry and with those lovely little black, brown and white patches.

Freddy was there among the guinea pigs, putting on his best “take me with you” face and his biggest smile. He pushed his way to the front, lifted his head up and started twitching his little nose.

Casilda said to her best friend Marley:

- Look, Marley, what a cute guinea pig! Look! It’s like he’s saying hello to us. Hi there! Hello, gorgeous! Can I pick him up? she asked the monitor.

- Of course you can. Besides, it’s “adopt an animal” week. You can take him home if you want.

- Oh, yes please! My parents said I could bring an animal home with me, but only for a week.

Freddy thought, “OK, a week to begin with and then we’ll see”. And he carried on twitching his little nose.

Casilda took Freddy home. They gave him a big cage and food for a week. Casilda was so happy that her parents let her take the cage to her bedroom when it was time to go bed.

After the “good night” kiss, Casilda heard a strange noise, a kind of whistling sound. “I’m sure it’s nothing”, she thought. But then she heard the whistling sound again:

- Pssst

She got out of bed and went straight over to Freddy’s cage to see if he was alright. She was staring at him when suddenly …

- Pssst, hey, Casilda, listen.

The squeaky voice came from the cage, but Casilda, finding that hard to believe, soon lifted her head and started looking all around her. Freddy insisted.

- Yes, it’s me. Here. Here.

Staring into the cage again, Casilda said:

- But… you can talk?

- Of course I can talk! said Freddy, looking up at her.

- I knew you were clever! You can talk and everything! said Casilda, smiling happily. - That’s right. I can talk and my name’s Freddy. - I’m so sorry. - Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter. Can you keep a secret? - What are you talking about? Of course I can. But can I tell my best friend Marley? - Is she really a proper best friend? And would she able to keep the secret, too? - You bet. Marley’s my best friend in the whole wide world. - Well then you can tell her. What’s more, we’re going to need her. - Need her? What for? asked Casilda, intrigued.

- I’ll start by introducing myself properly and then I’ll explain. I’m special agent Freddy and this is my first mission as unit leader.

Casilda’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

- You’re a spy?

- That’s right, Casilda. And I’m here to make a spy out of you, too. If you want, that is.

- Of course I do! And what do I have to do?

- Get a good night’s sleep, for a start. Tomorrow I’ll tell you everything.

- Yes, sir! Can I tell my friend Marley about this, too?

- Of course. And now, special agent Casilda, off to bed!

Casilda went straight back to bed and had sweet dreams.

The next day, Casilda was as eager to get to school and tell Marley everything as she was to get back home and talk to Freddy.

Casilda went straight up to her room. Freddy was waiting for her:

- Hello Casilda, how was your day? - Good, yeah, great, said Casilda, feeling a bit nervous. - Are you ready to listen to everything I have to tell you? - Yes, yes I am, she answered, feeling excited now.

- Well, as we don’t have much time, your training as a spy is going to be very brief and to the point. The first thing you need to know is that to be a good spy, you mustn’t give the impression that you’re a spy.

- Oh, how do you mean? asked Casilda.

- I’ll give you an example. Someone very close to you is a spy and you don’t know it, said Freddy, stirring her curiosity.

Casilda couldn’t imagine who it might be.

- Mr. Cow! said Freddy in his shrill voice. - Really? I’d never have guessed, said Casilda in surprise.

- Mr. Cow has been working with us for years. The good thing is that nobody knows, and he can move around without raising any suspicions. What’s more, it was him who put your name forward for this mission.

- Ah, now I get it! exclaimed Casilda.

- It’s very important, Casilda, that you lead a normal life, that you study, play, help out at home and do what you always do, said Freddy.

Freddy paused and sat down in the wheel of the cage.

- The second thing you need to know is that a spy always works as part of a team. And I’ve been told that you’re very good at working with others.

- Who am I going to be working with? - For this mission you’ll be with Pingo and me and, of course, Marley. - What mission? Pingo? Marley?

- I forgot to tell you about the mission! How careless of me! said Freddy, raising his front paws in the air. - The mission involves locating the costumes and accessories that had been designed for the end-of-year party and finding out who took them.

- The accessories are gone? It was going to be the first time my designs were going to be seen… But the party’s only a few weeks away. No way, what a disaster! cried Casilda, clutching her head.

- But that’s what we’re here for, to solve the mystery and avoid the disaster, said Freddy with determination.

- Which accessories are missing? Because there are costumes that are no good without accessories, said Casilda, very concerned.

- We’re not sure but don’t worry, Casilda. The team to solve this mystery is here. We need to give the operation a name so that we can communicate in code… Got it! We can call it Operation Red Hanger, because all the costumes and their accessories are on clothes hangers.

- Can we call it Operation Green Hanger? asked Casilda. - Green is my favourite colour. - Of course, of course.

Casilda smiled and soon had another question: - And Pingo? How can Pingo be part of the team? He’s just a cuddly toy dog. - He was just a cuddly toy dog, said Freddy, - but now he’s a perfect spying machine. - How do you mean? asked Casilda.

- Go and get Pingo off the bed and bring him to my cage, said Freddy.

Casilda did as she was told. - Pingo, walk towards the door, ordered Freddy.

Suddenly, Pingo started moving his legs as if he wanted to walk. Casilda got a tremendous fright and dropped Pingo, but he landed on his paws and walked towards the bedroom door.

- Pingo, stop, turn around and stand in front of Casilda!

And the little dog stopped, turned around and stood in front of Casilda. - Wow, that’s amazing! shouted Casilda.

- And that’s nothing. In his eyes there’s a camera that films everything that’s happening, and it even works when there’s not much light. In his tummy there’s a hook that comes out when he needs to climb or hold onto something. Smoke comes out of his ears when he needs to create a distraction or get out of a difficult situation. And there are so many other things he can do. Underneath the bed there’s a little book that explains everything. So he’ll help you with anything you can’t do yourself.

Casilda got down on all fours and reached under her bed to get the little book. It had ten pages, with drawings on each page showing what Pingo could do. Casilda thought it all looked very easy to learn.

- Right, off to bed now, Casilda, said Freddy. - And Marley? What’s she going to do? asked Casilda. - Carry on being your best friend, said Freddy with a wink and smile. Come on, time for bed.

Over the next few days, Casilda continued to learn how to be a good spy. She was a very good student and a fast learner. She also quickly memorised everything Pingo could do and came up with ideas for other possible new additions: remote control, a waterproof coat, little wheels that came out of his paws when he needed to go faster...

The hardest thing was to find a good time to go into the school and leave Pingo there.

It was very important that Pingo sent the images so that they could find out what was going on.

Eight days before the show Casilda had a great idea: she thought they could add a new character to the story. The shepherdess would have a little dog to guide the sheep.

Although there wasn’t much time left, everyone thought it was an excellent idea.

The next day at break time Casilda and Marley went to the room where all the things were kept and left little Pingo there.

There were only seven days left until the show, but they had already accomplished the most difficult part of the mission. Now all they had to do was wait to receive the images Pingo recorded and then watch them. When Casilda came home from school, Freddy had her tablet ready.

For once, Freddy got out of his cage and sat on Casilda’s lap.

- Press “play”, said Freddy.

For a while nothing happened. Then suddenly, a shadow moved slowly across the room. It circled the whole room once, and then it did the same again. And again. There was nothing left to steal! Casilda and Marley had taken home what little they thought they could be stolen. The shadow kept doing laps of the room, searching for something. Then just as it seemed to be getting tired, it did the unexpected: it turned on the light!

- Mr. Platypus! exclaimed Freddy. - Do you know him? asked Casilda. - Of course I know him! He’s one of ours! - One of our what? I really don’t understand.

Freddy shuffled off Casilda’s lap and crawled into his cage, crestfallen. - I really don’t understand, either, he said sadly.

- Mr. Platypus is another spy like us. He belongs to the Petco pet shop unit.

- There must be some explanation, said Casilda, trying to reassure him. - Tomorrow you can talk to him and sort everything out.

The next day when Casilda came home from school she went straight to see Freddy. He was very happy. The mystery had been solved, all the stolen costumes and accessories had been returned, and there was an explanation for everything Mr. Platypus had done.

- Freddy, can you tell me why Mr. Platypus stole those things? asked Casilda.

- Yes, of course. There’s a school on the other side of town where the children can’t have an end-of-year party because they can’t afford to pay for it. Mr. Platypus thought we wouldn’t notice if a few things went missing and he took them to the other school so that they could have a party of their own. And you know what? Between us all we’re going get some things together so that they can do just that.

- I told you there was an explanation, didn’t I? Casilda smiled, but then she felt sad. - What’s the matter, Casilda? asked Freddy.

- I’m sad because the operation’s over and we won’t see each other again… You’ll go back to the Farm School and I won’t be a spy anymore.

- Noooo, Casilda! Don’t be sad! As the operation was a success, we’ve decided that you can carry on being a spy!

- Really? So I’m a spy? said Casilda, jumping for joy.

- You’re an “apprentice” spy; you still have a lot to learn. And you’re also a wonderful designer. Here’s to the next mission!

The doorbell rang. Casilda picked up the cage, opened the door and gave it the man from the Farm School. She was happy.

CASILDANOWNOWIT’SYOURTURNTOMAKEUPSOMENEWADVENTURES,CASILDA.