Eight-year-old Sam was a boy with extraordinary observation skills who dreamed of becoming a great detective like Sherlock Holmes. He always carried a small magnifying glass and a detective notebook, carefully observing everything around him.
One morning, the school librarian Mrs. Wang came into the classroom looking worried: "Students, something strange has happened in our library. Several of our most popular storybooks have suddenly disappeared, and there are no borrowing records."
Sam's eyes immediately lit up—this was his first real case!
During recess, Sam came to the library with his magnifying glass. He first examined the bookshelves and found that the missing books were all placed in the most accessible positions. "Strange," Sam wrote in his notebook, "all the missing books are the most popular ones."
Next, Sam began looking for clues. Near the bookshelf, he found several small mud marks. "This mud is fresh," Sam observed carefully, "and only sneakers would leave marks like these."
Sam also found some bread crumbs in the corner of the library. "Someone was eating in the library," he reasoned, "but eating isn't allowed in the library."
Through a whole day of observation, Sam noticed that Tim from his class always avoided his gaze and had fresh mud on his sneakers. More importantly, Sam saw that Tim's backpack was much fuller than usual.
But Sam didn't immediately report Tim. Instead, he proactively approached him for a chat. "Tim, you seem to really like reading lately?" Sam asked kindly.
Tim nervously clutched his backpack: "I... I didn't steal any books!"
"I know you didn't steal them," Sam said gently, "but why did you take the books away?"
It turned out that Tim's family was poor and couldn't afford to buy extra books. He especially loved the storybooks in the library, but was too shy to get a library card. He saw that those books were never borrowed and thought no one liked them, so he "borrowed" them home to read, planning to quietly return them after finishing.
"But library books are for everyone to share," Sam explained. "You just need to get a library card, and then you can legitimately borrow books."
Tim was surprised: "Really? But I'm worried the teacher will think poorly of my poor family."
Sam took Tim to Mrs. Wang and bravely explained the situation for Tim. Mrs. Wang wasn't angry at all; instead, she gently helped Tim get a library card and even gave him a beautiful notebook, encouraging him to write reading notes.
"Sam, you're a remarkable little detective," Mrs. Wang praised. "You not only solved the case, but more importantly, you helped a classmate with understanding and kindness."
From then on, Sam and Tim became good friends. Tim often shared his reading insights with Sam, and Sam would tell Tim interesting detective stories.
Sam wrote in his detective notebook the summary of this case: "A real detective doesn't just find the truth, but also uses wisdom and kindness to solve problems. Everyone has their own difficulties, and we should learn to understand and help others."
This experience made Sam understand that being a good detective requires not only keen observation and reasoning skills, but also a kind heart and the courage to help others.