Scout, the head chef for the Dog Library kitchen, collected smells for each story. Then he created recipes so dogs could understand the stories just by sniffing them.

Scout especially liked adventure stories. One day he created a recipe about hiking. The smells included the bottom of hiking boots, a backpack, trail mix, a water bottle, and a rain poncho.

But Stanley, the library’s mischief dog loved causing trouble. He snuck into the kitchen and took out the hiking boot smell.

Charlie, the official story mixer, could tell some smells were missing. They didn’t follow Scout’s recipe, and the story couldn’t be mixed properly. It smelled only like a bare cement patio.

Marigold, the story tester, suggested more hiking boot smells, plus rotting leaves and maybe a lizard or two.

So Scout revised his recipe. Then Charlie mixed up the smells again and Marigold tested the story.

Afterward, Scout took a final sniff. If he thought the smells would make sense, he gave the story to Margaret, head librarian for the Dog Library. It was a good chance to see her anyway. He thought she was very pretty.