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Visit the “A Bedtime Story” show website to submit your story ideas for a future episode!
In the charming town of Everlight, lived a man named Arthur. Arthur possessed a very peculiar and utterly unhelpful superpower: he could make anything he held feel a tiny bit warmer. Not hot enough to cook an egg, mind you, just a pleasant, toasty temperature. It was a power that made his tea cozy collection rather redundant, but not much else. He'd tried making a frozen pizza feel warmer, but it just ended up being a lukewarm rock. He'd once tried to comfort a sad friend, but all he did was slightly heat their hand, which only made them wonder if he was getting a fever.
One Saturday morning, the tranquility of Everlight was shattered by a most curious crime. The annual Everlight Muffin Competition had just taken place, and the winner, Mrs. Gable's famous blueberry muffin, had gone missing from its velvet display case. A wave of panic rippled through the town hall. Who would steal a muffin? And why?
Arthur, who had been admiring a rather ornate muffin stand, was suddenly pulled into the investigation by Sheriff Gable, who also happened to be Mrs. Gable’s husband. "Arthur, you're a man of keen observation and... well, you're here. We need all the help we can get."
Arthur, feeling slightly overwhelmed, agreed to help. They interviewed everyone, but the clues were as cold as a forgotten ice cream cone. That's when Arthur, out of habit, picked up a stray muffin crumb from the floor. He focused his mind, and the crumb grew just a hair warmer. It was a completely useless thing to do, but it gave him an idea. He began to touch every object near the crime scene, a chair, a table, a water pitcher, but nothing gave off a feeling of unusual warmth.
Then he saw it. A discarded, half-eaten muffin on a bench near the town hall entrance. It was a perfectly ordinary muffin, not Mrs. Gable's prized creation, but Arthur’s heart started to thump. He leaned over and, with a silent prayer to the Muffin Gods, placed his hand on it. Nothing. Then he saw a small, metal clasp lying on the ground next to the bench. It was from the town's official Muffin Award trophy. He touched the clasp, and it felt just a bit warmer.
He suddenly had an idea. He walked over to the trophy case and touched the velvet lining. It felt warm. Then he reached down to the floor, where a small, almost invisible trail of blueberry goo led to the coat of Mr. Fitzwilliam, the notoriously clumsy town mayor. Arthur walked over and lightly brushed his hand against Mr. Fitzwilliam's coat. It felt warmer than it should have.
"Mr. Fitzwilliam, did you perchance, sit on the winning muffin?" Arthur asked gently.
The mayor's face turned as red as a tomato. "I… I thought it was a cushion! The case was so low, and I was just so tired from all the excitement. I didn't mean to!"
With a sigh, Mrs. Gable produced a second muffin from her handbag. "I always bake a spare, dear. Just in case."
And so, Arthur’s useless superpower had finally, gloriously, found its purpose: solving the great muffin mystery. From that day on, he was known as "The Warm Detective," a title that made him smile every time he held a cold doorknob.
By Matthew MitchellVisit the “A Bedtime Story” show website to submit your story ideas for a future episode!
In the charming town of Everlight, lived a man named Arthur. Arthur possessed a very peculiar and utterly unhelpful superpower: he could make anything he held feel a tiny bit warmer. Not hot enough to cook an egg, mind you, just a pleasant, toasty temperature. It was a power that made his tea cozy collection rather redundant, but not much else. He'd tried making a frozen pizza feel warmer, but it just ended up being a lukewarm rock. He'd once tried to comfort a sad friend, but all he did was slightly heat their hand, which only made them wonder if he was getting a fever.
One Saturday morning, the tranquility of Everlight was shattered by a most curious crime. The annual Everlight Muffin Competition had just taken place, and the winner, Mrs. Gable's famous blueberry muffin, had gone missing from its velvet display case. A wave of panic rippled through the town hall. Who would steal a muffin? And why?
Arthur, who had been admiring a rather ornate muffin stand, was suddenly pulled into the investigation by Sheriff Gable, who also happened to be Mrs. Gable’s husband. "Arthur, you're a man of keen observation and... well, you're here. We need all the help we can get."
Arthur, feeling slightly overwhelmed, agreed to help. They interviewed everyone, but the clues were as cold as a forgotten ice cream cone. That's when Arthur, out of habit, picked up a stray muffin crumb from the floor. He focused his mind, and the crumb grew just a hair warmer. It was a completely useless thing to do, but it gave him an idea. He began to touch every object near the crime scene, a chair, a table, a water pitcher, but nothing gave off a feeling of unusual warmth.
Then he saw it. A discarded, half-eaten muffin on a bench near the town hall entrance. It was a perfectly ordinary muffin, not Mrs. Gable's prized creation, but Arthur’s heart started to thump. He leaned over and, with a silent prayer to the Muffin Gods, placed his hand on it. Nothing. Then he saw a small, metal clasp lying on the ground next to the bench. It was from the town's official Muffin Award trophy. He touched the clasp, and it felt just a bit warmer.
He suddenly had an idea. He walked over to the trophy case and touched the velvet lining. It felt warm. Then he reached down to the floor, where a small, almost invisible trail of blueberry goo led to the coat of Mr. Fitzwilliam, the notoriously clumsy town mayor. Arthur walked over and lightly brushed his hand against Mr. Fitzwilliam's coat. It felt warmer than it should have.
"Mr. Fitzwilliam, did you perchance, sit on the winning muffin?" Arthur asked gently.
The mayor's face turned as red as a tomato. "I… I thought it was a cushion! The case was so low, and I was just so tired from all the excitement. I didn't mean to!"
With a sigh, Mrs. Gable produced a second muffin from her handbag. "I always bake a spare, dear. Just in case."
And so, Arthur’s useless superpower had finally, gloriously, found its purpose: solving the great muffin mystery. From that day on, he was known as "The Warm Detective," a title that made him smile every time he held a cold doorknob.