This Robert Quackenbush story, with the 1983 copyright, is being republished in the QUIX – FAST *FUN* READS series.

World famous ducktective Miss Mallard is in Venice, Italy, when a famous painting is stolen. The local police ask for her help. After seeing the crime scene, a museum guard hails a gondola for Miss Mallard to use. As Miss Mallard follows the clues around Venice, her gondola is very slow. Often Miss Mallard sees a masked duck El Ducko, the suspected thief, along the gondola’s route. Slowly, but not as slow as the gondola, Miss Mallard reasons the gondola’s slow speed is part of the art thief’s plan to convict El Ducko and escape with the painting. She leaves the gondola behind with the help of the masked duck and catches the thief – the museum guard- in the nick of time.

The story unfolds in five large font chapters with black. white, and gray illustrations of Miss Mallard’s journey through the waterways of Venice on almost every other page.

Comes with a glossary and five discussion questions at the end of the book.