What's That Smell?

WE'RE HOOMMMEEEE! Whoosh! Scout and Emma burst through the front door. They'd just come back from the park. Scout's tail wagged happily. What a great walk! When all of a sudden... "Eww!" Emma wrinkled her nose. "What's that smell?" Scout's nose twitched. Sniff. Sniff. Something smelled TERRIBLE. Really, REALLY terrible. Scout's ears perked up. A mystery! He was Scout the Detective Dog! (Well, just Scout. But he felt like a detective right now.) He had to find that smell! Scout put his nose to the ground. SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF! He followed the stink across the living room. Into the kitchen! The smell was coming from... the rubbish bin! Scout stuck his whole head inside. SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF! Old banana peels! Moldy bread! Yesterday's fish bones! Yep, pretty stinky. But That wasn't THE smell. It was close, but not quite right. Scout pulled his head out. The terrible smell was still there! He kept sniffing. Through the hallway! Up the stairs! Into Emma's room! There! The dirty laundry basket! Scout dove in nose-first. SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF! Sweaty soccer socks! Muddy shirts! Gym shorts! WOW, this was stinky! But... Still not THE smell. Scout backed out of the basket with a sock on his head. Emma giggled and pulled it off. The mystery continued! Scout raced back downstairs. Out the back door! SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF! Around the yard he went. Past the flowers! Past the swing! Then he found it! The compost pile! Scout stuck his nose right in. SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF! Rotten vegetables! Brown banana peels! Mushy tomatoes! Slimy lettuce! This was the STINKIEST thing yet! Surely this was it! But... No. The terrible smell was STILL there! Even stronger now! Scout was confused. Where WAS it coming from?! Then he remembered. The cat's litter box! Of course! That had to be it! Scout ran to the corner of the garage. There it was - Whiskers the cat's litter box. Scout leaned in close. SNIFF SNIFF— "What are you doing, you soggy mop?" Whiskers the cat sat on the washing machine, licking her paw. She looked at Scout with one eyebrow raised. "Looking for the terrible smell!" Scout barked proudly. "Oh really?" Whiskers said. "And you think it's MY box?" "It has to be!" Scout insisted. Whiskers laughed. A mean little cat laugh. "You ridiculous dog," she purred. "The smell isn't coming from MY box." She pointed her paw at Scout. "It's coming from YOU." Scout blinked. "Me?" "Yes, YOU. You smell like a swamp monster." Scout slowly lowered his head. He sniffed his own paw. SNIFF. Oh no. He sniffed his back. SNIFF SNIFF. OH NO. He tried to sniff his tail but spun in circles instead. Round and round and round! But he could smell it now. WET DOG. The terrible smell was HIM! Suddenly, Scout remembered what happened at the park... SPLASH! He'd jumped in that muddy puddle! ROLL! He'd rolled in the wet grass! MUNCH! He'd found something gross and ate it! ZOOM! He'd run through the sprinklers! He'd gotten SO WET and SO MUDDY and SO STINKY! And he'd been carrying the smell around THE WHOLE TIME! "Emma!" Scout barked. "EMMA!" Emma poked her head into the garage. "What's wrong, Scout?" Scout looked up at her with big, sad puppy eyes. He was the smelly one. "Oh, Scout!" Emma giggled. "Is it YOU? Do you need a bath?" Scout hung his head. Yes. He definitely needed a bath. Emma filled the tub with warm soapy water. SPLASH! In went Scout. Scrub, scrub, scrub! Bubbles everywhere! Scout shook his fur. WHOOSH! Water flew all over Emma! "Scout!" she laughed. Finally, he was clean. Emma dried him with a big fluffy towel. Scout sniffed himself. Ahhhh. He smelled like lavender shampoo now! Much better! Whiskers walked past and sniffed. "Slightly less disgusting," she said. But Scout didn't care. He was clean! He was fresh! He smelled GOOD! And he'd learned something important. Sometimes the thing you're looking for is closer than you think. Way, way closer. Like... right under your own nose! The End