Max wasn’t the best at math, but he worked hard. So when his finished homework vanished three days in a row, he was baffled.
“Max, excuses won’t work forever,” sighed his teacher.
“But I really did it!” Max groaned.
At home, he double-checked. His math sheets were neatly stacked on his desk. But by morning, they were gone!
A Sneaky Suspect
One night, Max stayed awake with a flashlight, determined to solve the mystery. At midnight, he heard a soft scritch, scritch, scritch.
He peeked under his desk… and gasped. A plump gray rat was stuffing his homework into a shoebox, nibbling on the corners like potato chips!
“Hey! That’s not food,it’s fractions!” Max whispered.
The rat froze, paper dangling from his teeth, then squeaked and scurried under the bed.
The Homework Hideout
The next evening, Max set a trail of cookie crumbs. Sure enough, the rat appeared again—following the crumbs right into a cardboard tunnel Max had built.
Inside, Max discovered the rat’s secret stash: half-chewed homework sheets, pencil nubs, and even his missing eraser!
The rat looked guilty, paws clasped like he’d been caught stealing candy.
Max laughed. “So you are the homework thief! I guess paper tastes better than cheese?”
A Funny Solution
Instead of chasing the rat away, Max had an idea. He built the rat his very own “snack station” with carrots, apple slices, and sunflower seeds—rat-approved food only.
In exchange, the rat stopped stealing homework and became Max’s midnight study buddy. Whenever Max groaned over math problems, the rat squeaked encouragement.
The next day at school, Max proudly handed in his work—no bite marks this time. When his teacher asked how he solved the “homework problem,” Max grinned.
“Oh, I had help from my… study partner.”
And so, the mystery of the vanishing homework was solved—not with scolding, but with snacks, giggles, and a rat who loved to learn (and nibble) along the way.
The End !
