Bixby Sniffs the Biggest Clue

Bixby is a beagle with long droopy ears, a tri-colour coat, and a little detective cap. Bixby’s nose is always near the ground, because Bixby is always sniffing for clues.

One evening, Bixby came trotting along the riverbank just as the otters were arguing.

“It’s my reason!” said Whyatt.

“No, mine’s better!” said Whynn.

“What about mine?” asked Whyla.

Larkin had just read them a story: Duck’s sandcastle fell down. The tide was coming in fast, a big wave rolled up the beach, and a crab scuttled across the top of the castle.

Whyatt said it fell because of the wave. Whynn said it fell because of the crab. Whyla said it fell because the tide was coming in. Now they were all cross with each other.

Bixby sat down and scratched an ear. “May I sniff?” he asked.

The otters stopped arguing. “Sniff what?”

“The story,” said Bixby. “All your reasons could be part of it. But reasons aren’t all the same size. Some are big and some are small. My job is to sniff out the biggest clue, to find what is mostly why.”

Bixby put his nose down close to the words, as if they were footprints in the sand. Sniff, sniff.

“The crab,” he said. “A little crab on top of a castle. Would a crab knock a whole castle down? Hmm. Small clue.”

Sniff, sniff.

“The tide coming in. That’s important, but slow.” He wagged. “Medium clue.”

Sniff, sniff, SNIFF.

“A big wave rolled up the beach.” Bixby’s tail shot straight up. “That’s the biggest clue! A big wave crashing into a sandcastle - that’s mostly why it fell.”

Whyatt puffed up proudly. Then he stopped. “But the others weren’t wrong?”

“Not wrong at all,” said Bixby. “The tide brought the wave closer. The crab might have helped a tiny bit. All of them are reasons. But the story’s biggest clue points to the wave. So the castle fell mostly because of the wave.”

Whynn nodded slowly. “So it’s not about whose reason wins. It’s about which one is biggest.”

“Exactly,” said Bixby, with a happy, satisfied feeling, like the moment the last puzzle piece clicks in. “First you find lots of reasons. Then you sniff for the biggest clue.”

The otters stopped being cross. They lined up their reasons from biggest to smallest, and Bixby gave each of them a lick on the nose.

That is Bixby’s way. Every story has more than one why. But reasons come in sizes. Sniff out the biggest clue, and you’ll find what is mostly true.