The birthday mystery – how to keep your home warm?

Tola, Pola, and Rascal went to Warsaw during the winter holidays. The girls visited the mostbeautiful monuments: the Royal Castle, the Wilanow Summer Palace, the Palace on the Isle (also known as Baths Palace), and Rascal attended some secret meetings. He did not want to tell anyone what he was doing.

One evening, when Pola returned from a night exploring the legends of Warsaw, she unexpectedly ran into Rascal. He was taking pictures of one of the tenements. The camera screen that the owl saw from above showed the apartment building in strange blue, yellow and red colors.

Hey Rascal, what are you doing? Pola asked curiously and flew to her friend.

I? Nothing, nothing at all! replied Rascal, hiding the camera under his jacket. – I was waiting for you to go home.Pola smiled to herself. She knew Rascal liked to make surprises, so she did not ask him any further. Everyone is entitled to their secrets. Maybe he will share his secret soon?At night the owl slept like a rock! It is probably the effect of wandering, so many emotions, and sensations! The legend of the Basilisk made the greatest impression on her. She dreamed that she was a brave, big and wise owl that could handle anything, like the boy from the legend!When she woke up at dawn, she saw that Rascal was just leaving the apartment. – Why was he up so early? Where is he going, she wondered. She could not sleep anymore, so she decided she would follow Rascal.

It was cold outside, and a strange fog hovered over streets and houses. But this fog wasn’t as fresh and pleasant as Pola could remember from a camp in the woods. This time, the air was intrusive and acrid. – The SMOG again – Pola the Owl sighed. As she knew, the smog was the fog fused with the car and industrial exhaustion. Not only did it prickle one’s eyes and throat, but it also caused pollution as well, as it covered the surface with dust. – I must protect myself – Pola said while taking the mask with the writing “STOP TO DUST” on it, out of her pocket. Inhibiting the attack of cough, she flew after her friend.

Meanwhile, Rascal, having left the apartment, walked at a brisk pace. He quickly passed by the courtyards. Finally, he reached the place where he had taken pictures the night before. – I wonder what he’s going to do? – Pola asked herself, hiding behind the branch of a tree. Rascal looked around. Finally, seeing no one nearby, he walked over to one of the walls. He grabbed the gutter and, to Pola’s surprise, began to climb. Unexpectedly, however, the janitor came out of the courtyard gate, and Rascal immediately jumped down to the ground.

Hey, who are you? I don’t know you, what are you doing here? – the janitor called out from a distance, having just finished clearing the snow and was about to head back inside. – I…? I…? – the clearly embarrassed dog stuttered. – Yyyyy… I’m doing a report on the historic tenements of Warsaw. And at dawn the light is the most beautiful.

Pola knew that her friend was not telling the truth. Rascal was interested in many things, but certainly not in monuments. What is he up to? – Pola wondered, still hidden in the tree.

You must have come to the wrong place, and at the wrong time too! – the janitor grunted. – It’s neither a historic tenement nor good light. Today you can’t see a thing! Look what a smog we have! In the morning people light their stoves and black smoke billows out of the chimneys!

And did you light your stove too? Burning garbage, probably, since there’s so much smoke here… – Me?! Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! – the janitor spat three times over his left shoulder.

What are you talking about, boy! Never in my life would I throw garbage or poor-quality coal into a furnace. Do you know how burning garbage creates polluted air? Burning garbage poisons the environment and pollutes the air with toxic substances. Burning garbage is the worst thing you can do to yourself and your children! Our tenement is lucky, because we get heat from the heating plant. They burn coal there too, but fortunately it’s good quality and at very, very high temperatures. Thanks to this, far fewer toxic substances are produced. I keep waiting for the day when we replace coal with green, renewable energy. – One made from water, sun, or wind, right? – Rascal confirmed. – Yes, yes! – the janitor finally smiled…

But, as you can see, some city dwellers still burn poor coal, and for now I have to breathe this unhealthy air! I hope that in a few years, good and bad quality coal will be something you can only read about in fairy tales. The energy in the cities will be clean and green… Just like the air!

The janitor paused for a moment, because he glanced at a black box with the word PM on it, which had just started flashing red.

Oh dear, oh dear! Once again we’ve exceeded the air purity standards. My box is sending an alarm! You’d better run home instead of wandering around outside. Today the air is not favorable for reporters. And the janitor quickly slipped into one of the building’s stairwells, then slammed the door behind him.

– Okay, enough of this following. – Pola finally decided to leave her hideout and find out from Rascal the real reason he had come to the tenement.

She was just reaching Rascal when he grabbed the gutter again and began to climb. He made it past the first floor, the second floor, and so… climbed all the way up to the third. Looking around again to check that the janitor hadn’t spotted him, he grabbed his bag and started taking something out of it. It was a camera. Pola was seriously worried. – Could Rascal have become a burglar? Yesterday he took pictures of this apartment from below. Today he’s taking pictures up close. What’s going on? – this was too much. Pola decided to find out at once what was happening. She wanted to fly over silently, so as not to startle her friend. She was already close. But the polluted air irritated her throat so much that she coughed unexpectedly. The little dog noticed the movement out of the corner of his eye and, hearing the strange sound, got scared, then lost his balance and tumbled down.

– Aaa! Help! – the poor thing cried, unable to grab the gutter. The owl immediately sped up her flight, trying to catch him. Just above the ground she caught him with her paws and saved him from a painful fall. Seeing that the little dog was unharmed, she immediately asked in a nervous voice.

Rascal, are you crazy? What were you doing on the third floor? Were you trying to break into someone’s house? – she asked over and over, not letting Rascal get a word in.

Me? Break in? Oh, come on! The most I nearly did was break something, because of that cough of yours! – laughed the little dog, rubbing his bruised side. But seeing Pola’s stern face, he grew serious. – This time I’m not up to mischief, I’m doing something good – he admitted with satisfaction.

– I can’t tell you exactly what I’m planning yet, because it’s a secret… well… but if you want to know the whole truth, come to the tenement by the Basilisk at noon.

By the Basilisk? Rascal, what are you up to? – Pola, trust me! Everything will be all right! I won’t petrify you with a glance there – laughed the little dog, anticipating Pola’s fears. – Now I’m off, because I have a few errands to run. See you! The little dog took his anti-smog mask out of his bag and ran on.

– Well, that’s something! – thought Pola. – Not only did he tell me nothing, but now I also have to go to the Basilisk tenement. And I could have chosen myself a calm friend and not had so many worries – thought Pola, even though at the same time she knew perfectly well that her crazy friend was the best under the sun.

At noon, Pola appeared in front of the tenement by the Basilisk. In front of the building stood cross-country skis, sleds, and bicycles. – Maybe Rascal belongs to a sports club, and that’s why he climbs up the gutter…

I’ve never seen so much sports equipment in the middle of the city – the owl opened the front door and, seeing the stairwell, went down. In the basement, however, she didn’t notice any entrance to a sports club. On the heavy wooden door hung an emblem that said something entirely different.

ECO DETECTIVES’ CLUB

WANT TO HELP? COME ON IN IF YOU WANT TO DISCOVER WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON 🙂

– Eco Detectives’ Club? So this is where Rascal has been spending his afternoons lately? That would actually make sense – she thought.

Without waiting long, she knocked and opened the door. In a small room sat several different animals. Each one with a camera and a notebook. Hearing the knock, they all immediately turned toward the door.

Oh! Pola! Great that you’re here! – she heard Rascal’s voice. – Come in, everyone’s been waiting for you! Listen, everyone, let me introduce my friend Pola.

The club members immediately started greeting her. – Hi, hey… I’m Kasia! And I’m Adam. And I’m Ola. – Hi! Is that sports equipment in front of the building yours? I was expecting a sports club, not a detective one – Pola remarked.

Of course it’s ours! In winter we fight smog by getting around on public transport, that is, buses, the tram, or the metro. And if there’s snow, we choose sleds or cross-country skis. Today the conditions for that were perfect! – replied Zygmunt the dove. – Oh, really? – asked Pola, excited.

– She knew that car exhaust produces a lot of toxic compounds, dangerous to one’s health. Yet she rarely met anyone who truly cared about it and gave up the comfort of a car in favor of a bus or a bicycle.

If we want to visit friends, go to a class, or to the cinema, let’s choose public transport, that is, the bus, tram, or metro. It’s much healthier for the environment than driving your own car. Fewer cars mean less exhaust and cleaner air.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Philip the rat. The rodent ran up to the board at the end of the room and spoke.

Pola, since you’ve crossed the threshold of the Eco Detectives’ Club, I owe you an explanation. We founded our club over a year ago to help solve ecological mysteries. For the past few days we’ve been trying to solve a mystery connected to Kasia the cat. Kasia – at this point the rat pointed to the photo of the cat pinned to the board – is the school friend of Jola the cat. – Jola raised her hand and waved.

– Kasia’s birthday is next week. Recently she said, in confidence, that she might not throw a birthday party, because her home is too cold and her mum is worried the guests will catch a cold. But maybe she can’t afford a birthday party? Apparently her mum always turns the radiators up to the maximum and that’s why she spends so much on heating. Since I live in the tenement next door and my home is warm, I thought this matter needed investigating. What is cooling Kasia’s apartment down so much? Why does she use so much heat, yet the apartment is still cold?

And what have you found out so far? – asked Pola, intrigued.

Rascal took a picture with a thermal imaging camera. It’s a special device that uses colors to show which part of the building is the warmest on the outside, that is, where the heat is escaping to the outdoors.

And? And? – Pola pressed.

It turned out that, first of all: the windows leak and warm air escapes through small cracks. Secondly: the building is not insulated – no one has renovated or insulated it with wool for a long time. That’s why the walls give off heat to the outside. Surprisingly, it also turned out that Kasia’s mum opens the window at night. Everyone knows you should, but to air out the apartment while keeping it warm, she should open the window for 5–10 minutes and then close it tightly!

Oh dear! Well, no wonder the apartment is cold – Pola admitted.

Yes, yes… but that doesn’t explain everything. There must be something else that keeps the apartment from warming up. Rascal was supposed to take a picture from the outside, but he fell off the gutter and didn’t manage to snap it. So we have to go into the apartment and note down what’s wrong.

All right, but do you really know about this kind of thing and what to look out for? – Pola asked, a little awkwardly. She herself had no idea what else could cool an apartment down.

Yes, we already have a list prepared.

The members of the detective club decided that Jola – Kasia the cat’s friend – would go to the apartment together with Pola. She would tell Kasia the truth: that Pola had come from the Suwałki region for the winter holidays and, since there was nothing special to do, they were going for walks and meetings together. While Kasia and Jola talked about school and their plans for the holidays, Pola would write down everything that might affect heat loss and the cooling of the apartment.

The next day, Pola and Jola knocked on the cat’s door. Kasia quickly opened it. Her apartment looked completely normal. At first glance, nothing unusual caught the detectives’ eye.

Please sit down on the couch. The couch is nice and warm. Mum pushed it right up against the radiator on purpose. I’ll make some tea. The moment Kasia disappeared into the kitchen, Pola pulled out her list and ticked off:

Furniture too close to the radiator. All the heat goes into the furniture instead of passing into the room.

Then Pola slipped her feathers under the window. She felt a cold draft blowing. She noted at once:

Windows leaky. Cold air gets into the apartment.

Hearing her friend’s footsteps, Pola quickly hid the note under her wing. Kasia was carrying a pot of winter tea and a plum cake, along with three cups and teaspoons. When Pola saw the teaspoons, she jumped with delight. – I’ll have an excuse to look behind the couch – she thought, and then added aloud:

Oh, how lovely the cake looks! May I help myself? Kasia nodded with a smile, and Pola grabbed a plate with cake and a spoon. To Kasia and Jola’s amazement, she suddenly hurled the spoon behind her. The spoon bounced off the wall and fell behind the couch.

Oh, how clumsy I am! – the owl exclaimed, pretending to be embarrassed. – I’ll get it out, I’ll get it out. Kasia couldn’t say a thing, because the owl threw herself behind the couch and, holding on with her claws, dove for the spoon. Only her wiggling little rump could be seen. Jola and Kasia, seeing this strange behavior, exchanged a knowing smile. The little commotion let Pola observe a few more things, which she wrote down on the sheet:

Radiator covered in dust – it traps the heat and won’t let it spread around the room. No thermostat, that is, no knob to regulate the heat. Because of this, the temperature can’t be lowered at night or raised during the day.

Oh, I’ve got it! I’ve got it! – called Pola, finishing her last note. She tucked the sheet back under her wing and clambered out from behind the couch. – You really didn’t have to go to so much trouble! – Kasia laughed politely, thinking about the whole scene. – I’d have brought you a new spoon. – Oh, it’s no trouble at all – Pola replied as if nothing had happened.

Not five minutes had passed when Pola decided she had to look at the other room. But how could she do that without arousing suspicion? A brilliant plan came to her. She took the raspberry tea Kasia had made and… splash – the tea spilled out of the cup and soaked the owl’s fur.

Oh dear, I’m sorry! What an unlucky day I’m having. I have to dry off quickly! – she cried, pretending to be flustered. – Where’s the bathroom?

Straight ahead and to the right – Kasia answered promptly. – Are you all right? Shall I bring you some ice? – she asked, concerned.

– Oh no. The tea was already cool. I’ve only made a mess. I’m running off to dry myself.

Pola jumped off the couch and practically ran out of the room. The bathroom was to the right, but she turned left, wanting to peek into the other room.

Right, then – she said aloud to herself. –

In the room, the curtains are drawn. The fabric covers the radiators and won’t let the heat warm the room.

Were you saying something to me? – a serious male voice suddenly asked. Unexpectedly, Kasia’s dad came out of the kitchen.

Me? Yyy… – Pola trailed off, and if only she could have, she would surely have blushed. – No, no, I just said, “Right — I was supposed to turn right to the bathroom, and I went the wrong way. I’m such a scatterbrain, oh my!” – she exclaimed.

Yes, yes – the dad agreed. – A scatterbrain indeed… Pola went into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. It was a close call – Kasia’s dad had nearly discovered what she was doing here. A little stressed, she dried her wet wings and quickly returned to her friends. The girls chatted about school for a little while longer. Since Pola couldn’t concentrate on the conversation at all, they said goodbye to Kasia fairly soon, thanked her for her hospitality, and ran to the Club.

The Eco Detectives were already waiting for them.

Mystery solved! Mystery solved! – Pola and Jola shouted, running into the club.

Tell us quickly, what did you find out? – the young detectives asked impatiently.

For a few minutes they listened intently to the news about the couch next to the radiator, the leaky windows, the missing thermostat, the thick curtains, and the dust on the radiator. The mystery was officially declared solved. They agreed that Jola would bring Kasia the “heat loss list” and encourage her friend to make small changes that keep the heat in the room.

AND WHAT ABOUT YOU? DO YOU, AT HOME AND AT KINDERGARTEN, FOLLOW ALL THE RULES FOR SAVING HEAT? MAYBE TOGETHER YOU COULD THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO IN YOUR CLASSROOM OR ROOM TO TURN THE RADIATORS UP AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE WHILE STILL KEEPING IT COZY AND WARM?