🔍 Read & Solve

The Missing Prize

On Friday afternoon, Ms. Green was preparing the school library for an English competition. The winner’s prize was inside a long, narrow box on her desk.

At 3:40 p.m., Ms. Green left the library to speak with another teacher. When she returned at 4:00 p.m., the prize was missing. Only three students had been in the library: Emma, Sam, and Leo.

Emma said, “I was reading near the window. I left the library at 3:56.”

Sam said, “I returned a blue dictionary at 3:45. The prize box was still on the desk when I left.”

Leo said, “I wanted to print my school project at 3:50, but the printer was broken. I left without printing anything.”

Ms. Green checked the library’s information. The entrance camera showed Emma leaving at 3:56 with only her small handbag. Sam left at 3:48 and was not carrying anything. Leo left at 4:02 while carrying a large poster tube.

The printer’s history also showed that someone successfully printed a document at 3:51.

The prize box was long and narrow—small enough to fit inside a poster tube.

Can you solve the mystery?