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Penelope was the most organized person in the whole wide world, or at least the most organized person on Maple Street. Her pencils were color-coded, her books were alphabetized, and her cookie jar was always, always full of oatmeal raisin cookies. So when she went to get a cookie for her afternoon snack and found the jar completely empty, she knew something was horribly, hilariously wrong.

She looked around her kitchen, a place of pristine order and gleaming counters. The window was locked, the door was bolted. No one could have come in. A mischievous glimmer entered her eyes. The only other person in the house was her dog, Chester, a basset hound with ears so long he could trip over them. Chester was currently snoring on his dog bed, twitching as if he were dreaming of chasing squirrels.

Penelope tiptoed over to Chester. He was a very good boy, but she had a hunch. He was, after all, a basset hound. They were very close to the ground. She leaned in close to his nose and sniffed. Nothing. Just dog. She decided to go for the belly. Penelope knelt down and started tickling Chester’s floppy belly. He let out a little puff of air. A crumb popped out. Then another. And another! Soon, a whole shower of oatmeal raisin crumbs rained down on the rug.

Chester's eyes fluttered open. He looked at the crumbs, then at Penelope, then back at the crumbs. He let out a quiet little sigh, as if to say, "Busted."

Penelope pretended to be stern. "Chester, did you eat all my cookies?" Chester's tail gave a single, pathetic thump against the floor. "I’m not mad," Penelope said, trying not to laugh. "I just want to know how you did it."

Chester slowly, carefully, sat up. He looked at the counter where the cookie jar sat. He looked at the kitchen chair next to the counter. He looked at his own tail. Then, with a little grunt, he walked over to the chair, stood on his back legs, and used his tail to sweep the chair over to the counter. He then pushed himself onto the chair, and then onto the counter, where he looked triumphantly at the empty cookie jar.

Penelope finally burst out laughing. Chester, her sweet, lazy dog, had a secret life as a cookie-stealing acrobat. She decided to go to the grocery store for more cookies, but this time, she’d make two jars: one for her, and a lower one for Chester.