Free Mr. Chickee's Messy Mission by Christopher Paul Curtis Page A

sana!
”
    Richelle said, “
Asante sana! Sijafanya mazoezi juzi juzi
.”
    Ms. Tiptip said, “
Unaongea vizuri sana. Naamini tutapata nafasi nyingine ya kuongea
.”
    Richelle said, “
Natumai hivyo pia. Nimefurahi sana kukutana nawe!
”
    Ms. Tiptip said, “
Nafikiri ni vizuri tuendelee kuongea Kiigereza tena. Naamini kwamba marafiki zako wanafikiri tunawasengenya!
”
    Richelle smiled and said, “
Ni kweli, wao si vijana werevu hivyo
. …”
    Russell looked at Steven and Steven looked at Russell.
    Steven said, “What a show-off. So what? Richelle Cyrus-Herndon speaks a little Spanish. Big deal. So does everyone in Puerto Rico.”
    He looked at Richelle, his eyes lit up and he said, “And my, my, my, what a beautiful Spanish accent that precious little cupcake has!”
    He snatched his eyes away and said, “E-mail to self: No more looking at Richelle. Look other way no matter what. Can't forget this one.”
    Richelle pointed a finger at Steven and said, “If you say one more crazy thing to me, I'll hit you so hard you'll think Thor's popped you with his hammer.”
    Mr. Chickee said, “And finally, Ms. Tiptip, this confused-looking and -acting young man is my dearest friend from Yourside, this is Steven Daemon Carter.”
    “A pleasure meeting you, Steven.”
    “Pleeztameetchew, Ms. Tiptip.”
    Russell said, “Mr. Chickee, is it okay if I ask you a question? I was looking at that newspaper you were reading and something got me real confused.”
    “What is it, Russell?”
    Russ pointed at a headline that read: STRANGE YOURSIDE
    WEATHER: RIO DE JANEIRO SNOWSTORM, SIXTY BRAZILIANS MISSING!
    Mr. Chickee said, “Ah, that is a bit confusing, we're not sure why it's snowing there.”
    Russell said, “That's not what's got me confused, what I don't understand is how many is a brazilian?”
    Mr. Chickee looked at Ms. Tiptip.
    Ms. Tiptip looked at Mr. Chickee.
    Richelle's eyes rolled.
    Steven saved the day by saying, “I'll explain it to you later, Russell.”
    Richelle said, “Mr. Chickee, when I told you we weren'tgoing to stay here long, you said you hoped it wasn't going to be all that easy for us to get back to Flint. What did you mean by that?”
    “Richelle, I'd suggest we go to my home to work this out, there's someone there who can explain everything.”
    Russell said, “Yeah, Mr. Chickee, I'm starting to get kind of hungry, do you have something to eat?”
    Mr. Chickee said, “Of course I do, Russ. I know you're really going to enjoy it too. So what do you say, Flint Future Detectives? Shall we go? It's a very short walk to my porch.”
    A WORD FROM GREAT-GREAT-GRAMPA CARTER'S DICTIONARY You are very fortunate that I can also translate Swahili. Here is what Ms. Tiptip and Richelle Cyrus-Herndon said to each other:
    Richelle said, “Hello, madam. How are you?
”
    The African woman laughed, threw her head back and said, “Swahili! Hello! Where did you learn to speak such perfect Swahili?
”
    Richelle said, “I lived in Kenya for three years
.”
    Ms. Tiptip said, “It is such a pleasure to meet a young woman who speaks one of my languages so well!
”
    Richelle said, “Thank you very much! I haven't had much practice lately
.”
    Ms. Tiptip said, “You're doing beautifully. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to speak later
.”
    Richelle said, “I hope so. It's really good meeting you!
”
    Ms. Tiptip said, “I think we'd better start speaking English again. I'm sure your friends think we're talking about them!
”
    Richelle smiled and said, “You're right, they're not the smartest couple of boys you'll ever meet
. …”
    And in any language that you care to choose, Richelle Cyrus-Herndon sure is right about that!

Huh? I
Really
Don't Get It!
    M R . C HICKEE OPENED the door to his home and said, “Welcome!”
    Steven, being the great detective that he was, noticed something odd and said, “Mr. Chickee, this looks exactly like your place in Flint!”
    “Yes, Steven, that was done deliberately.