Cool Christmas Stories

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Chapter One The Sweet-Treat Spies Sam Hay It was two days before Christmas. Thump. Thwack. Thud! Malcolm, who slept in a little room above his dad's bakery, woke up with a start. Something heavy had just landed on the roof above his bedroom. "Not again!" groaned Malcolm, who had a pretty good idea what it might be. It definitely wasn't burglars, and it was much too early for Santa. It had to be spies! Sweet-treat spies-sneaky thieves who were desperate to get their hands on his dad's secret recipe books. It happened every Christmas. Malcolm's dad was an award-winning baker, famous for his fabulous creations. His pastry was perfect. His cakes were incredible. And his muffins were marvelous. But best of all were his Christmas gingerbread cookies. They were truly mind-blowing! Every Christmas he started making his famous festive flavors. There was Bubblegum-and-Brussels-Sprout flavor-a green gingerbread man that you could chew for hours. Festive Firecrackers exploded in your mouth, Jingle- Bell Gingers actually jangled when you bit into them, and Frosted Snowmen turned into Popsicles in your mouth. His best-selling cookies were the famous Glitter Gobs-they glowed and sparkled like real Christmas trees! People came from miles around to buy them. And every baker in the country was desperate to sneak a peek at Malcolm's dad's recipe books, to see how he created them. And that was the problem . . . Thump, Thump, Thump. Malcolm listened. Whoever it was on the roof, by the sound of it, they were now making their way toward the chimney . . . He sighed. Sometimes he wished that his dad had a different job. Then he wouldn't have to spend all of his time spotting the sweet-treat spies! Two weeks before, Malcolm had discovered one pretending to be a mouse catcher. The sneaky spy had knocked on the bakery door. "We've had a report that there are mice in this bakery!" he'd said to Malcolm's dad. "I've come to catch them!" Malcolm wasn't so sure. There was something fishy about him. The mouse catcher didn't seem to be looking for mice at all-he was much more interested in the tray of Glitter Gobs that Malcolm's dad was frosting. Malcolm decided to test him. He got Monty-his pet mouse-and quietly dropped him onto the bakery floor. It didn't take long for Monty to work his magic . . . "Ahhhhh!" squealed the man as Monty's head popped out of a container of flour. "A MOUSE!" The man hopped onto a chair, dropping his notepad, his pen . . . and the SECRET CAMERA that he'd stuffed up his sweater! He was swiftly escorted out of the bakery. A week later, it happened again. A window cleaner appeared at the bakery window, standing on a long ladder. Malcolm's dad didn't notice. He just continued putting the sugar jangles into his Jingle-Bell Gingers. But Malcolm spotted him. He watched the man clean the same section of glass, over and over again . . . And then, when he thought no one was looking, he reached into his bucket and pulled out a video camera! "Hey!" yelled Malcolm, but the spy didn't notice. So Malcolm picked up a big blob of dough and threw it at the window. Thwack! The man got such a fright that he fell off his ladder. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. And now with only two days to go until Christmas, it sounded like the spies were about to strike again. Malcolm frowned. Had the long-ladd