The Mystery of the Grinning Gargoyle

The Mystery of the Grinning Gargoyle by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

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Authors: Gertrude Chandler Warner
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meet us after the groundbreaking ceremony for the Alden Library,” said Henry. “You can film the final chapter of the grinning gargoyle mystery. Will you do that?”
    â€œWe sure will,” Annabel said. “I didn’t think I’d be making anymore gargoyle videos, but I suspect this is a good plan.”
    â€œSpeaking of suspects,” said Jessie, “I think we know which suspect we need to talk to. Let’s eat our breakfast as we walk.”
    The Aldens had finished their breakfast by the time they reached the old library. The stone gargoyles grinned down at them from high above. The papier-mâché gargoyle he had found the night before grinned up at the statues from Benny’s arms.
    Benny held onto his gargoyle until the children reached the desk where Miss Hollenberg already sat. The old librarian looked up from the book she was reading and was surprised when the youngest Alden dropped the papier-mâché creature into her lap.
    â€œWhere did you get this gargoyle?” Miss Hollenberg asked, looking surprised and a little bit annoyed with the powdering of white dust that covered her red dress. “It’s papier-mâché. Did you children make it?”
    â€œNo,” said Henry. “But we think you did.”
    â€œWhy would I do such a thing?” asked Miss Hollenberg.
    â€œYou’re sad about the Alden Library replacing this old library,” said Jessie, “and you thought you could foil the plan by scaring people with the legend of the grinning gargoyles.”
    Miss Hollenberg laughed. “Why that’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard,” she said. “For one thing, the Alden Library isn’t replacing anything. But that’s a secret for today’s ceremony, so that’s all I will say about that. And for another thing, the legend of the grinning gargoyles is fiction…”
    â€œWhat does ‘fiction’ mean?” Benny asked.
    â€œIt means ‘made up,’” Henry said. “Just like Raven was made up. Or just like Holly Page, who wrote the newspaper article!”
    â€œI haven’t heard that name in years,” Miss Hollenberg sighed, taking the old, yellowed newspaper from her desktop.
    â€œYou created the gargoyle legend, didn’t you, Miss Hollenberg?” Violet asked. “You were Holly Page.”
    â€œI sure did,” said Miss Hollenberg. She pointed tothe author’s nameon the newspaper article. “See. Holly, like Hollenberg. And Page, like the pages in all these books Holly Page. That’s me.”
    â€œBut why would you make up a legend like that?” asked Jessie.
    â€œYears ago, even before your grandfather was a student here at Goldwin University, I had a problem with students misbehaving in the library,” Miss Hollenberg explained. “Like I told you when you arrived yesterday, gargoyles are supposed to protect the buildings which they decorate. I figured that a spooky legend about grinning gargoyles would make everyone behave. So I wrote this article in the Goldwin Gazette, using Holly Page as my pen name.”
    â€œWhat’s a pen name?” Benny asked.
    â€œIt’s a made-up name an author uses instead of their own,” said Henry. “Sort of like how Annabel used the name Raven for her videos. Did your article work, Miss Hollenberg?”
    â€œIt did back then, and then it was forgotten for many, many years,” said the old librarian. “But recently, the legend of the grinning gargoyles has been causing more trouble than it has solved, what with people talking about gargoyles scratching at windows and peeking in at scared students. It reminded me of the old article, which I found among my things. I don’t know how anyone else knew about the legend, though—I highly doubt there are any other copies left.”
    â€œThen how would someone find out about the legend,” Jessie wondered, “if they

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