Cleo crept along the bakery windowsill after closing time. She was not supposed to taste the leftover sugar crystals. Her antennae twitched. The moon hung full and pale, yet the rooftops stayed bare. No silver crumbs sparkled anywhere. 'Hey! Where's my midnight snack trail?' Cleo buzzed. Shadows stretched long and strange across the tiles. Something valuable had vanished before morning could steal the rest.
A flour-dusted pigeon fluffed on the chimney. 'Name's Crumb. Moon forgot its job. Time's melting.' Cleo zoomed close. 'Three clues before sunrise or the crumbs stay gone forever!' Crumb scowled. 'Fine. First clue: check the oven that never cools.' They had minutes. The clock tower clanged once in the dark. Cleo's wings shivered but she nodded hard. The plan locked in under the ticking night.
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Inside the warm bakery, Cleo tugged the oven door. A cloud of flour exploded — FWUMPH. White dust coated everything. The first clue was a burnt roll shaped like a moon. Crumb pecked it. 'Wrong! Now we're messier and the real trail's buried.' Shadows from rolling pins loomed taller. Morning felt closer. Cleo sneezed flour. Their rescue had made the missing crumbs harder to find.
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Cleo shook flour from her wings. 'I go alone for the second clue. My stubborn feet stick best.' She marched toward the dark mixing bowl that dripped batter shadows. Crumb huffed but stayed put. The bowl hid a sticky spoon pointing to the roof vent. Cleo's legs trembled yet she climbed the slippery handle anyway. One brave sticky step at a time. The third clue waited above.
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On the roof Cleo and Crumb found the third clue: a loaf. They tilted it. A ridiculous bread-shaped shadow puppet stretched across the tiles — long crust arms waving. The moon beams bounced off the crusty shape and silver crumbs sprinkled down like rain. Rooftops glittered again. Crumb almost smiled. Cleo twirled in the fresh trail. For the child.
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