Sam Snow.
Kit Casey.
The Creature Cases!
The Disappearing Dung Ball.
Look at this beautiful dung!
Giraffe dung!
Our favorite.
Better hurry before it's all gone.
There. Now that we have a dung ball,
we can find a nice place to bury it and start a home.
And a family. Just like we always dreamed about.
Picture it.
I'm going to build us the home of our dreams,
and it all starts with this beautiful ball of--
It's gone!
Okay. I've swept the floors,
vacuumed the rugs, tidied up the books…
Kit?
How's that laundry coming?
Uh, just about finished!
Hm…
Huh?
What is that smell?
What--
Uh…
Hey, my sandwich! I was wondering where that went.
You better do something with it, Kit. I am not touching that!
Don't get your tail in a twist, Sam. It's just a--
The CLADE crest. Director Scratch must have a new case for us.
-Come on!
Agents, thanks for coming.
I'm afraid today's case is a messy one.
Messier than Kit's bedroom?
We just received word that some dung beetles' dung ball has disappeared.
Oh no! That's terrible!
I'm sorry, their "dung ball"?
As in a ball of poop?
Sam, animal dung is extremely important.
It keeps soil healthy, helps plants grow,
and it's where dung beetles lay their eggs.
Egg-xactly. That's why it's so important that you two
figure out what happened to that missing ball.
You can count on us, Director.
Ready to get your hands dirty, Sam?
I hope you don't mean--
Now arriving at destination biome,
African Grasslands.
Thanks, R.O.N.
Huh, huh, hoo!
Now there's a smell for ya.
We can help with that.
-Hello, Sam. -Hello, Kit.
Stinkwells. What are you doing here?
The Director sent us here to help you deal with any "funny smells."
After all, nobody knows more about "funny smells" than we do.
-Whoopsie.
Here. These Destinkifier Masks will make everything smell fresh und lovely.
Go on! Give it a sniff!
It works!
I don't smell the dung at all!
Better go find those beetles.
Thanks, Stinkwells.
You're welcome.
Then, when we turned around,
our perfect dung ball was gone!
And now, there's not even any dung left to make another one!
Don't worry, sweetie. These nice folks are gonna find our ball.
We sure are, ma'am. We know how important it was to you.
Can you describe what your dung ball looked like?
Well, it was round.
And moist too.
Hm…
If you don't find it before it dries out, I won't be able to lay my eggs in it.
Oh, I can't bear the thought!
We're gonna find it. I promise.
Better look for clues.
Hm…
No footprints or evidence of foul play.
Ah-ha!
Check it out, Kit.
Sam, that's just a pebble.
It is just a pebble, but watch.
Uh, how long do I have to keep watching?
This spot that the beetles chose to start their home is on a hill.
Things roll down it.
So that means maybe the dung ball just rolled away?
The simplest explanation is often the best. Come on!
Whoa, whoa! Uh! Ah…
Wait. Why am I running when I can roll?
Woo-hoo!
Looks like all kinds of stuff has rolled down this hill.
By the smell of things, there's dung nearby.
Better start searching!
Watch your step, Kit.
If the dung ball's down here, we don't wanna step on it. Yuck!
Hm?
Sam, I saw something. A rock was moving.
I saw it too!
-Ha!
Oi!
-What's the big idea here? -Hey!
That's no rock! It's a dung ball!
Ew! And I almost touched it!
What are you two stomping around here for? You're gonna squish my dung ball.
I think we may have found a suspect.
Sam Snow and Kit Casey. Agents of CLADE.
-Where'd you get that dung ball? -None of your business.
-Hm… -Sam, dung beetles are known
to steal dung balls from each other. Do you think…
I didn't steal nothing!
Herd of elephants passed through not long ago,
and I rolled it up meself.
Oo, it was my lucky day.
Elephants?
Sam, I don't think this is the dung ball we're looking for.
The one that went missing was made of giraffe dung,
and this one's elephant dung.
There's still a little over here.
Help yourselves.
Uh… No, thanks.
Elephants came this way recently. Maybe they've seen the missing dung ball.
Better check it out.
Follow those elephant tracks!
Some folks don't know good dung when they see it.
Come on!
There are the elephants!
And there's a dung ball!
Okay already.
Huh. Giraffe dung all right.
It's the one we're looking for. But how did it get here?
-Here we go. -Come on!
I'm clear!
-I'm open! -That's how.
It must have rolled down the hill. Then, these elephants kicked it away.
Well, we better get it before it gets squished.
Hey!
Excuse us! That ball you're using is--
Ew!
Look at that!
After it!
Hey, hey!
Better call for backup.
Requesting assistance
-from all nearby CLADE agents.
Bill! Jill!
-Hey, guys. -Yoo-hoo!
Stinkwells!
-Whoopsie.
Okay, everybody.
Get that dung ball!
Okey dokey!
I'm out.
There it is!
The goal!
She shoots…
-Whoa! -…she scores!
Come on. Now is our chance.
Oh yeah. That's what I'm talking about. Oh yeah.
I got it! I got it! I--
Huh?
-Wow! What was that?
Over there!
-Split up! -We got it!
-We don't got it. -Whoa!
I'm seeing it.
Get this out of here!
Here we go again.
Hurry! It's heading for that cliff!
Oh no! It'll splat like a pancake!
-Don't worry! -We will get it!
We got this.
Whoa!
Ooch!
-Sorry, guys. -It's up to you now.
Come to Kit, little dung-- Whoa!
Oh no!
My turn!
You gotta grab it!
Gotcha!
Woo-hoo!
-Woo-hoo! -Nice one.
-Whoa-ho! -Great catch, Sam!
Ew! Yuck!
Our dung ball!
And it's still nice and moist.
Now we can finally start our family.
Nice catch back there.
Another Creature Case…
Closed!
Guess I really did get my hands dirty this time.
Ew!
Thank you so much for your help, agents.
Why don't you stay for dinner?
You know, all that running around did make me kinda hungry.
Sam, you do know what dung beetles eat, don't you?
They eat dung.
-Uh…
Maybe another time.
Mice Squad Fact File.
-Status?
System Settings?
Update. Dung beetles.
Dung beetles are famous
for collecting big balls of animal droppings.
Otherwise known as dung.
Dung is their food and their home.
It's where the females lay their eggs!
They compete for dung and sometimes even steal from each other.
Guess they know good dung when they see it.
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The Search for the Spotted Frog.
-There.
Okay, Dotty. Fetch!
Oh, good boy, Dotty.
Good boy.
Did you hear that, Dotty?
I hope it's not a predator trying to steal my eggs.
You stay here, Dotty, and guard the eggs.
I'll go look outside.
-Shoo! Shoo! shoo! -Hoo-hoo!
Hoo-hoo!
Don't worry, Dotty. I scared him off.
Dotty? Where'd you go?
Dotty?
Dotty!
Aw…
Who's a good boy?
You are. Yes, you are.
Here you go, little Hypoestes Phyllostachya. Drink up.
Sam! We can't call our new plant that.
Why not? It is its scientific name.
Our plant needs a good name.
Like Spot. Or Speckles.
Or Frank.
-Huh? Kit, look! The CLADE crest.
We'll have to name you later, little plant.
We've got a Creature Case to solve!
Ah, agents, you're just in time.
We've got another case on our hands, and this one's a real doozy.
A tarantula's pet frog has gone missing somewhere in the jungle.
Whoa. Hold on. Tarantulas have pets?
This kind does. Well, sort of. It's more of a mutualistic relationship.
A what?
The frog protects the tarantula's eggs,
and the tarantula protects the frog from predators, like birds.
It's called a mutualistic relationship.
Which is why you've got to find that frog.
You can count on us, Director.
Good luck, agents.
Now arriving at destination biome,
South American Jungle.
Dotty?
Dotty! Dotty!
Ma'am?
We're from CLADE, and we're here to help you find your frog.
Oh, thank goodness.
It's not safe for Dotty to be out here all by himself.
Don't worry. We'll launch a full-scale search for him.
Yeah. And in the meantime,
it was a great idea putting up all these missing-frog posters.
But… I didn't put these posters up.
You didn't? Then who did?
Make way for Wally!
Is that…
Wally Bungler?
-Ow!
Wally!
Good day, citizens.
Little help?
Thank you.
Wally, did you put up all the missing-frog posters?
I sure did. As a nature ranger, it's my duty to help.
Plus, I know what it's like when a pet goes missing.
You do?
A few weeks ago, my pet slug, Sluggo, crawled off and never came home.
Oh, Sluggo.
Not a day goes by I don't think about your squishy little face.
Wouldn't hurt to have another set of eyes looking for Dotty.
Right.
Ma'am, you stay here in case Dotty comes back.
Kit, Wally, and I will search the jungle for him.
Ha-ha!
Onwards!
Ha!
-As I was saying, my pet Sluggo. -Oh…
Boy, that slug was…
That little frog could be anywhere.
Ow!
-Whiskers. This jungle's full of frogs!
-Remember, Dotty's a spotted humming frog.
That means he's small with gray skin and lots of dots.
-Hm…
This frog's too big to be Dotty.
And this one's too small.
This one doesn't have any dots, and this one's got too many dots.
Phew!
Keep it up, you two.
I'm just gonna take a rest
right next to this small, gray, spotted rock.
Oh?
Wally, that small, gray, spotted rock is a frog.
It is?
It is!
Could be Dotty. Come on. Let's bring him back to the tarantula.
Hm…
This frog sure looks like Dotty, but…
Um… What's she doing?
Feeling the frog with the special hairs on her legs
that tell her exactly what kind it is.
Nope. Definitely not Dotty.
It's not even the right kind of frog.
Dotty's a dotted humming frog.
That's the only kind of frog that will protect my eggs.
Hey, hold on.
I was so worried about Dotty,
I didn't notice that one of my eggs is missing too!
There's a missing frog and a missing egg?
Maybe there's a connection between the missing egg and Dotty.
Better look for clues.
Hm…
Hey!
What is it, Wally? You see a clue?
No, but I smell one!
It smells like…
…ants!
What? Sluggo and I worked on an ant farm one summer.
Huh.
It does smell a little anty.
-Activate Stink-O-Vision.
Look! There's an ant smell trail leading away from the eggs.
Ants must have snuck in here and taken one.
Oh no!
Come on. If we follow that smell trail,
maybe we can find the missing egg and Dotty!
This smell trail will show us where the ants went.
This way!
Look.
There are the ants!
If we're really quiet, we could sneak up on them and--
Wally, dear. I spilled jam all over the toaster again.
Mom, not now. We're sneaking up on some ants.
Huh? What was that? Who's there?
So much for sneaking. Come on.
Hold it right there, ants!
Where's that tarantula egg?
Ah! Okay, okay, we stole an egg.
But we don't have it anymore. Honest.
Yeah. A little gray frog came outta nowhere and took it away from us.
A frog?
Whiskers, that's it!
When the tarantula came out to see if there were any predators…
the ants snuck into the tarantula's burrow and stole one of her eggs!
But it's Dotty's job to protect them.
So he followed the ants into the jungle and took the egg back.
Huh. But where's Dotty now?
I don't know. He could have gone anywhere with that egg.
Oh dear, that poor little frog, lost out there.
Just like my poor little Sluggo.
Huh. Wally, I think you just found a trail of frog slime.
Dotty may have left it behind.
I did?
I did!
It could lead us to Dotty.
Follow that frog slime!
Dotty must have come this way.
-Oo!
Crikey!
I've never heard so many frogs.
How are we ever gonna figure out which one is Dotty?
Remember, Dotty's a spotted humming frog.
He sounds like this.
So we've just gotta zero in on this sound.
Nope.
No.
Not that one.
Ah! Bingo!
I hear a spotted humming frog right over…
there!
-Dotty!
And he's got the egg!
Come on, little froggy. Time to get you home.
-Where you'll be safe and--
Hoo-hoo!
-That owl just took Dotty!
Hang on, Dotty! We're coming!
Hoo-hoo!
Oh no! The owl's flying away!
Not if I can help it.
Yah!
Don't worry, Dotty!
Hoo-hoo!
Wally's got ya!
Oh! Gotcha!
-Phew!
It's okay, Dotty. You're safe now.
That tarantula was right.
Dotty, you belong back in her burrow where she can protect you. Come on.
-Oh!
Dotty! It's you!
Oh, I was so worried.
-And you kept my egg safe.
Who's a good boy?
Oh, detectives. I don't know how I can ever thank you.
It's our pleasure, ma'am.
Yeah. We're just happy you two are back together.
What's that, Dotty? You wanna play fetch?
You know, this reminds me of when me and Sluggo used to play together.
-Wally! It's a miracle!
Sluggo's come home!
Sluggo's home?
Hang on, Mom! I'll be right there!
I'm coming, Sluggo!
See you around, Wally.
Well, Sam, looks like that's another Creature Case…
Closed!
And I think I know what we should name our little plant.
Dotty!
Who's a good plant?
Yes, you are.
Who's got the spottiest little dots?
You have. Yes, you do.
And you're so cute. Look at you.
Mice Squad Fact File.
-Status?
System Settings?
Update. Tarantulas.
Tarantulas don't actually have pets.
But some species really do like to live with dotted humming frogs.
They protect the frog, and the frog protects their eggs.
A mutualistic relationship.
Tarantulas can tell what kind of frog it is by touching its skin.
Wouldn't want one touching me.
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