It was an unseasonably warm day in the kingdom of Arendelle. Princess Anna tilted her head to the sky and sighed, enjoying the feel of the sun’s rays on her arms and face. She was making her way from the royal palace to the town square. Today was the day she had agreed to host story time for all the village children.

Anna loved to read. She was eager to share her love of books with the smallest citizens of Arendelle. She was especially pleased that it would be warm enough to hold story time outside.

Anna strolled past the shops lining the cobblestone street. She passed Tilda’s bakery on the corner. She waved to Leander, who ran the village laundry. He was hanging linens on a clothesline to dry. As usual, he was humming a lively tune. Finally, she reached the busy town square. She smiled when she saw such a large group waiting for her, gathered around the base of the clock tower. It seemed as if the children of Arendelle were looking forward to story time just as much as she was!

“Princess Anna! Princess Anna!” The children clapped and cried out in excitement when they saw the princess approaching.

“Hello, little ones,” Anna said kindly. She pulled a large blanket from her knapsack and spread it on the ground. “Gather round now. We’ll begin story time as soon as everyone finds a seat.”

Anna waited patiently for each child to find a spot on the blanket. Just as she was about to pull her book from her bag, she heard someone shout, “Wait for me!”

It was Olaf, running toward them at full speed.

“Come to join us for story time, Olaf?” Anna asked.

“Oh, yes! I love stories!” Olaf said. “Do we have time for a warm hug first?”

Anna giggled and held out her arms. “We always have time for that!”

She watched as Olaf proceeded to dole out hugs to several of the children before taking a seat on the colorful blanket. When everyone had quieted down, she pulled out her book. “Today we’ll be reading…” She paused for dramatic effect. “The Pied Piper of Hamelin!”

The children let out a chorus of oohs and aahs. Olaf turned to the little girl sitting beside him. “I’ve never heard this one before,” he whispered, “but I think it might be my favorite!”

Anna raised the book high in the air so that all the children could see the picture on the cover. Then she carefully turned to the first page.

“‘Once upon a time…’” she said, looking out at the sea of little faces. Everyone, including Olaf, was sitting in rapt attention. For the first time all day, it was silent in the town square. Anna smiled and continued to read.

The story was about a German town called Hamelin, which had become overrun by mischievous rats. The rodents ate all of the villagers’ food. They left messy piles of trash in their wake. The king of Hamelin tried everything to get rid of the rats. Nothing he did seemed to work.

One day, a mysterious man with a magic flute appeared at the village gates. He promised to lead the rats out of town in exchange for a sack of gold. Then he began to play his flute. The rats, hypnotized by the music, formed a line behind the Pied Piper and followed him right out of town. Thanks to the Pied Piper’s beautiful playing, the villagers of Hamelin were saved!

A round of applause broke out when Anna had finished the story. She stood and gave the children a playful bow. Olaf, meanwhile, was sitting stock-still on the blanket. His eyes were wide, his mouth agape.

“What did you think of the story, Olaf?” Anna asked.

Olaf jumped up from his seat and clapped his hands together with glee. “That…was…wonderful!” he shouted.

To Anna’s surprise, Olaf took his carrot nose in both hands and pretended it was a magic flute. He marched and pranced around the blanket, using his carrot nose as a flute while he hummed a catchy tune. The children shrieked and giggled with delight. They got in line behind Olaf, just like the rats of Hamelin, and followed him around the town square.

Anna was clapping in time to the beat when she suddenly felt her stomach rumble. “Come on, Olaf!” she called. “It’s almost time for dinner! Let’s head back to the palace and see what Elsa’s been up to.”

Anna and Olaf waved goodbye to the children, promising to read them a new story next week.

By the time Anna and Olaf reached the palace, the sun had already begun to set behind the North Mountain. With Olaf bouncing happily along beside her, Anna walked through the massive palace doors, across the Great Hall, and past the royal kitchen, stopping just outside the audience chamber. She was about to pull open the door when she heard Elsa calling them from down the hallway.

“Anna! Olaf!” Elsa waved and hurried over. “How was your day?”

“Oh, it was wonderful,” Anna said. “We read The Pied Piper of Hamelin, and then Olaf started playing his nose like a flute.…”

Elsa laughed. “That sounds like fun! I can’t wait to hear all about it. But as you can see, I haven’t quite finished with the day’s meetings.”

Elsa opened the door and gestured to a line of villagers still waiting patiently for an audience with the queen. “Can we talk more at dinner?”

“Of course!” Anna said. She knew that meeting with the people of Arendelle was an important part of her sister’s job. She looked around for Olaf, but he was already chatting with the villagers in line, telling them all about the Pied Piper.

Anna took the stairs two at a time and pushed open the heavy oak door to her room. After the day’s excitement, it would be nice to have a few quiet moments to herself. She plopped down into a plush armchair and reached for her favorite book: an old and well-worn copy of The Nansina Drude Files.

Anna loved all stories, but she especially loved reading mysteries. As she flipped through the pages of her book, she wished that she had a case to work on, too—just like the brilliant detective Nansina Drude. But there wasn’t much in Arendelle to investigate these days. The secret of Elsa’s magic had already been revealed. Anna had figured out why she was missing some of her childhood memories. It seemed as if there wasn’t much mystery left.

Just then, Anna heard a sharp rap on the door.

It was Elsa. She walked across the room and took a seat on the edge of Anna’s bed. Her brow was furrowed.

“Anna,” Elsa said in her most serious voice, “something mysterious is going on in Arendelle.”

A mystery to solve! Anna sat up with a start. “What’s happened?” she asked.

“It appears that someone has been stealing fish from the wharf,” Elsa said. “And pies from the bakery, too.”

Anna leaped from her chair and dashed to the closet. “Oh, where is it?” she said to herself. “Aha! Here it is!”

Anna turned around, holding a notebook for writing down evidence. “Let’s go!” she said. “I’m ready to investigate!”

“Not so fast,” Elsa said with a smile. “You won’t be solving any mysteries on an empty stomach.”

Anna felt her stomach rumble again. “I am hungry,” she admitted. She flashed Elsa a sheepish grin.

“Me too,” Elsa said. “Let’s go to dinner. We can start our investigation bright and early tomorrow morning.”