A Shadow Under the Moon

All day long, the two of them sniffed around the house like two little bloodhounds. They sniffed the old wooden wardrobe, which smelt of soap. They sniffed the rug in the guest room, which smelt of wool and rain. They sniffed Grandpa's books, which smelt of old paper.

"If I sniff one more thing," said Ali with a sneeze, "my nose is going to turn into a lemon!"

Then Maryam sat on the courtyard steps to think. A light breeze blew past, carrying a sweet white scent she knew very well.

"Jasmine..." she said slowly. "The jasmine tree!"

The big jasmine tree in the corner of the courtyard was the oldest living thing in the house. Its trunk was thick and twisted, and its branches climbed all the way up the wall to the roof. Their grandmother always said, "Your great-great-grandfather planted it before the house was even built."

"But the riddle said when the moon is in the middle of the sky," said Ali. "That means midnight!"