Mood:  happy

Where’s CeCe

Another alley and more of those big green monsters. Don’t they ever empty those things? As the wild bunch wandered down the alleyway, they could see trash everywhere. At least this might make the food search easier and safer.

“Humans really go through this pizza stuff.”

“How do you know that?”

“Look at all the boxes that have that on top.”

Alex was right. There were piles of pizza boxes all over the place. But there was too much activity to check them out. They searched for, and found a safe haven. Just to ensure their safety, they took turns sleeping. After CeCe’s troubles with the dumpsters, Alex and Amanda decided to let her have the first nap.

While CeCe slept, Alex slipped out to scout around. That would make the food run faster and safer. He was gone for quite awhile. Amanda was starting to get worried. She was getting ready to wake up CeCe when he finally made it back.

“What took so long?”

“I was on my way back when another kitty from someplace around here, started coming towards me. I went quite a ways in the other direction just in case I was seen.”

“Ok. Did he follow you?”

“No, he didn’t see me and I watched him leave in a different direction.”

“Good. At least you’re safely back.”

By this time CeCe was awake. That allowed Amanda and Alex to get some much-needed rest. The two kitties curled up next to each other and were sound asleep in no time. They knew they could keep both eyes closed because CeCe was on lookout.

“Where’s CeCe?!?”

“I don’t know. She was just laying in front of us, wasn’t she?”

“I thought so. Alex, we have to go find her!”

Alex had scouted around the area so he had some ideas of where to look. At first he wanted to go alone, but Amanda wouldn’t let him. They would work as a team. Alex led Amanda over to the large pile of boxes. There were signs CeCe had been there but she wasn’t in sight. They followed her scent as far as they could but soon the scent of other kitties made that impossible. It was dangerous but the decided to call for her. Soon…

“Mandy?”

“CeCe?”

They found her hiding between some garbage bags.

“Where did you go?”

“I thought I could be like Alex and get something to eat.”

“CeCe, Alex has a lot of experience. He knows the signs. If you want to go on these adventures with us, you stay with us, understand?”

“Yes, I promise.”

CeCe was safe. They went back to their hiding place. After a good rest, they were ready for their next adventure.

Posted by here-it-is at 9:19 AM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

Mood:  not sure

Alex Disappears

Amanda had awed all of Koko’s charges with all their adventures. Even Rabbit was impressed. As Amanda was finishing up, Cocoa and Cora, the two baby squirrels were nudging closer and closer.

“More stories”

It took Amanda a moment to understand Cocoa’s squeaks. But finally she realized they wanted to hear more adventure stories. Unfortunately every story Amanda knew had been told.

“Ok everyone, it’s snack time. Rabbit, would you do the honors?”

“Sure. Cocoa, Cora, could you help me?”

Between the three of them, everyone was given a snack of their favorite food. But there was a problem. Where was Alex? In all the commotion, no one noticed that he had slipped out.

“Koko, did Alex say where he was going?”

“No, I didn’t even notice he was gone. That bothers me since I’m supposed to be able to keep an eye on everyone.”

“Well, he isn’t one of your charges, but I can understand what you mean.”

“I have an idea of where he went.”

“Can I come with?”

“If it’s ok with Koko, you can Rabbit.”

With Koko’s permission, Rabbit and Amanda went in search of Alex. The logical place of course was where she had first met him. They retraced the route they used. But when they asked some of the other alley cats, no one had seen him. Amanda admitted to Rabbit that she hadn’t noticed any signs that he had gone back that way, but she was really hoping that he had. Rabbit suggested going back to Koko’s a different way. Maybe they could pick up some traces.

It was a very scared and nervous Amanda that walked into Koko’s place. Even the other animals they passed on the way back hadn’t seen Alex, or any other kitty for that matter. Koko suggested a search party. Something was not right. She divided her charges up into groups of two and had one of the crows go with each group. If Alex was found, the crows could sound the alert.

Since Amanda was new to that part of the forest, it was suggested that she team up with Koko. Although it was early in the day, it was hard to see because of all the foliage. Thanks to Koko’s eyesight and knowledge of her home territory, the trek was relatively easy. They steered clear of as many brambles as they could but they also checked each one as they passed by. Amanda kept her nose in the air, in hopes of picking up Alex’s scent.

It only took about an hour before Amanda picked up a familiar scent. She pointed out the direction to Koko and hurried towards their friend.

“Alex!!!”

“Hi”

Koko had JuJu, the crow sound the alert and he also found Rabbit and had him take everyone back to the cave. Koko and Amanda could take it from here.

“Why did you leave?”

“I was just in the way. You were having so much fun that no one even noticed me. I was with you, but everyone looked at you as the great adventurer. I suddenly just got very lonely and unwanted.”

“We came and found you, didn’t we?”

“Yes, but only after you had dazzled everyone and told the whole adventure.”

At this point, Koko intervened. She could see that Alex was very hurt inside. Amanda had indeed taken center stage and Alex wasn’t even mentioned. She pointed this out to Amanda who did apologize to him. But Koko went one step further.

“Amanda, have you stopped to consider Alex’s feelings? From what you told us about your adventures, it was where you wanted to go. Maybe Alex might have wanted to go someplace different sometime. I’ll let you think on that while we head back to my place. I don’t want both of you lost out here.”

Once back at Koko’s, Amanda and Alex stayed outside for a little bit talking. Amanda admitted that most of the adventures were her ideas. Alex said he didn’t mind that, but it hurt him that she never even bothered to ask him if he might have wanted to go someplace different.

Amanda sidled up next to Alex and said she was sorry. They went in to Koko’s to say goodbye.

“Ok you two, go have some more adventures, but next time, tell me about Alex’s travels.”

Posted by here-it-is at 10:30 PM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | View Comments (2) | Permalink

Mood:  mischievious

The Attitude Adjuster

"INCOMING!!!!"

Bob had just gotten the G out when the missile with the chipped blue coloring smashed into the door inches away from Lisa.

"Ewwww, What is that smell? Mustard gas?"

"No Lisa, that is the unmistaken odor of Sulphur. We've been egged!"

Indeed, on the cement below where the ‘bomb' had hit was the broken shells of what appeared to be, of all things, an Easter egg! Who has been saving their eggs this long? It was the middle of July and the town was going through an epidemic of rotten eggs and they had all been decorated.

Meanwhile, across town, a mother is concerned. Her youngest has not returned home.

"What's with that boy? Ever since Georgy saw that picture in the paper, he's been acting like a total stranger. I am going to have a talk with his father when he gets back from his food run."

Toonis used to be such a quiet place. There was no crime to speak of, but lately, there had been a rash of egg throwing. No one could figure it out. What made it so odd was that it was Easter eggs flying in July! Who would save them that long? And why?

Georgy's dad got home first.

"PC, you have got to talk to your youngest. He has been acting real strange lately."

"Yes, I know. He seems to be gone a lot lately also. I'll talk to him when he gets home."

About an hour later, Georgy wandered in. He looked like he had been ‘rode hard and put away wet'. Momma sent him to bed. In his condition talking would have been useless. Meanwhile PC, as momma called him, went back to his desk to get ready for the upcoming season. Although he only worked out of the home one day a year, it took a lot of preparation.

"Momma!!!"

"Yes?"

"Has Georgy been using this computer? I've told all the kids that I can't have them playing in here, there are a lot of names and address's and I can't lose them!"

"Well, I heard the printer going the other day, but I thought it was you in here. I was fixing supper and not really paying much attention."

The next day, Georgy and his sisters and brother (ten sisters, one brother), were heading out to play. Momma stopped him and told him his dad wanted to speak to him in the den. Poor Georgy, he looked like he had just lost his last friend. He knew what papa wanted. It had to come out sometime.

"Georgy, have you been playing on this computer? You know I need it for work."

"Sorry Papa. I just needed a copy of the deliveries."

"Why georgy? Why do you need to know who I deliver to? You're too young to take over the business."

"I don't want to take it over. I saw this picture in the paper and I got very upset. Every year you hand out all this chocolate and the first thing those people do is bite off the ears! It's not right! We rabbits need our ears, why do they do that? Since they can't understand me when I talk, I only had one way to get my message across. I've been saving those eggs for a long time."

Pc, or as we know him, Peter Cottontail, typed up a news release explaining that the egg thrower was just trying to convince people not to bite the ears off the chocolate Easter bunnies.

Posted by here-it-is at 10:26 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 23 March 2008 10:32 AM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

Mood:  lazy

 

Easter Secrets

 

As Amanda and Alex were walking through the woods, they happened to pass Harley's big tree. Harley was the master owl and he ran the forest newspaper. All the news fit for the animal kingdom he would always say. He made sure the paper came out once a month to keep the kritters informed of the good news as well as the human element. That is how everybody knew it was time to find a new home when the humans decided to build the housing development.

 

Since he traveled mostly at night, he could check the very early editions of the town paper. He also learned that only part of the forest would be used and the rest would be protected. He made sure everyone knew about the upcoming construction, but he also pointed out the fact that the humans valued the forest and the animals.

 

"Amanda, look at this!! Harley just issued a special edition of the Leaves and Grass Gazette."

 

"Wow!! Our very own Rabbit got to travel with the Easter Bunny!!"

 

Indeed, Koko's family was getting around. It was well known that Koko used to be Easter Bunny's sidekick, but had to retire. Rabbit was offered a chance to ride and this was big news! Amanda read the headline, then opened the paper to see the whole story.

 

**

 

Eggactly!

 

Sometimes Koko's rabbit would tell her stories. But some of them were just totally outrageous! Many years in the past, Koko would travel along to help the Easter bunny, but time and one too many quills growing in the wrong direction put a stop to it. Koko was the most senior porcupine and she adopted many of the little creatures from the forest. She had a large cave and plenty of room. Rabbit was one of the adoptee's. She tried to give him a name but rabbit said he preferred being just called Rabbit.

 

After one particularly rough Easter, Rabbit told Koko that he would take her place the next year. Koko talked to the Easter bunny and got an ok. Supplied with several of Koko's quills, Rabbit was set to go. Hiding Easter eggs is not the easy job humans pretend that it is! Especially when the order comes in to put them inside someplace. Santa Claus comes down chimneys, but bunny's use the door and some humans keep them locked. But, Koko's quills are very effective at picking them.

 

After every trip, Rabbit would fill Koko in on the latest adventure. He would hop from one story to another. He talked so fast that Koko threatened to send him to auction school.

 

"Slow down a bit Rabbit. I'm trying to keep up."

 

"But Koko, you wouldn't believe some of these places! We went to one and I almost got eaten by this huge horse!"

 

"In the house?"

 

"Yes!!!!"

 

"Did he say anything?"

 

"He just kept barking and barking. I thought he would wake everybody up! But the Easter bunny told me that the humans would be gone until later that day. I used the longest quill to protect myself."

 

"Uh, Rabbit, that was a dog, not a horse."

 

"Well he was as big as a house!"

 

This was only one of his adventures. Some of them got even more far fetched. But, nobody ever got hurt. With eight rabbit's feet, they had the luck of the Irish with them. Well, they had the luck of the Irish because they had a guest ride with them a few times.

 

McTavish, the head leprechaun, disguised himself as a well-dressed human and walked through the local village. As he was walking down the sidewalk he happened to catch an advertisement on one of the TV's in a window. They were talking about Lucky Charms cereal! He wanted to investigate this closer so he contacted the Easter bunny and made arrangements to have one of his fellow leprechaun's ride along.

 

That made deliveries much easier since now there were three of them! It was also a rather odd year considering that the Leprechaun's colored some of the eggs.

 

"Koko, we delivered some pretty eggs that had rainbows on them!"

 

"Wow! I bet the human kids were surprised."

 

"Oh, we didn't give them to the humans. These were for the little leprechaun's."

 

"Now that is unusual."

 

It was a very different year but it started a whole new tradition. So next time you're trying to catch a leprechaun, don't be surprised if he leads you over to a cauldron full of colored eggs!

 

**

 

"Alex, let's take this paper back to Mom."

 

With a nod of his head, they headed back to see mom and the rest of Amanda's family. As they were walking, Amanda suggested a visit with Koko might be in order.

Posted by here-it-is at 12:12 PM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

Mood:  caffeinated

A friend in need

As Amanda and Alex wandered away from their new acquaintances they decided to explore this wild wilderness they were in. The vast timberland seemed to go on forever! In human terms it was only a couple of acres but to a pair of kitties, it was forever. They did keep their eyes and ears wide open though because there were so many strange sounds.

As they were walking, Amanda saw a little squirrel. Being a typical kitty, she wanted to chase him, a normal kitty game. But first she had to sneak up and with the dry, crunchy leaves, that was not an easy task. Mr. squirrel (squeaks by name), saw her and waited until she started to run. He quickly made his way up a tree.

“Chatter, chatter” (Squirrel for ha ha, I’m faster than you)

“hmmph”

Alex was behind her, laughing so hard he couldn’t stand up.

“And what would you do if you caught him?”

“Nothing, just let him go and chase him again.”

But Amanda tired of this game quickly because she saw a butterfly. This could be lunch. In a flash she was off! Try as she might, that butterfly always stayed just out of reach. Standing on a rock, Amanda made one last jump. Alex sat down and watched her play. But after that last jump, she didn’t get up.

“Amanda?”

“Help!”

Amanda landed in a bramble bush that was full of spikes. Poor Amanda was covered with little thorns and although she didn’t know it yet, one had penetrated her paw. Alex came over and helped her out of the maze of twigs and sharp thorns. Using his teeth he got many of the thorns out of her fur.

“Let’s get out of these woods and get back to where we belong.”

“Ok”

But Amanda’s first step said she wasn’t going very far. Alex tried to get the thorn out of her paw, but couldn’t. He told Amanda to try and walk on three paws. It was a brave effort and it did get them out of the forest, but Amanda was exhausted trying to walk that way. She had to stop and rest. Alex didn’t know what to do!

As fate would have it, the grassy area they stopped in happened to be the backyard where Sandra lived. Alex looked up and saw their friend sitting on the back steps. Without thinking he ran up to her.

“Meow!!!” (please, come help my friend)

“Hi! Where is the other kitty?”

It took a bit of doing but finally Sandra got the hint to follow Alex. As soon as she saw Amanda lying there, she scooped her up and took her into the house. Alex waited by the edge of the woods. He knew Amanda was in good hands.

“Mommy, kitty is hurt. Can you do something?”

“Let me see. Oh the poor thing is covered in thorns. Get a box and put a towel in it and I’ll get the car keys. Doc Ketter can get these out.”

Amanda was terrified. She wanted to get up and escape but she also knew the little girl was trying to help. Besides, she was so tired she couldn’t move.

“Let me see what we have here. Is this your kitty Sandra?”

Her mother answered and said she was. As she explained later to Sandra, she thought she should pretend that it was her kitty so that the doctor would treat it and not take it to some shelter. Yes, it is an outdoor kitty but it has also been a good friend for Sandra and right now, she needs all the friends she can get.

“Ok, I took the thorn out of her paw and gave her a shot to prevent infection. She’s too young for the regular set of shots but bring her back in a couple of months.”

Once they arrived back at Sandra’s house, her mom told her to put the kitty, box and all, on the porch and give it some food and water. Sandra’s mother knew there was another kitty that was probably very worried about his friend. Sandra put two bowls of food in the box and set it on the porch and went back inside to watch. Alex saw the box and Sandra. But he did not see Amanda. Cautiously he approached the porch and looked in the box. He jumped in and licked Amanda all over. Then he looked up at the door and saw Sandra.

“Meow!!!!!!!!”” (Thank you)

Posted by here-it-is at 8:46 AM EST

Share This Post

Post Comment | View Comments (3) | Permalink

Mood:  caffeinated

Arrowmatic Affairs

"Mama! I wroted a poem for Debra."

Love is like a Gorsh bush
One touch and you're on your tush
Be mine, come the big V day
From you I'll never stray

"What ya think?"

"That stinks!"

"Goody, I writed it right."

Max had fallen for the girl down the road. Ok, he tripped over her to be more precise. Debra was sitting comfortably and Max was just looking all over, except where he was going! He was a typical teenager, carefree and enjoying life. But he knew it wouldn't be long before he would be on his own. Skunk families are pretty close, but even they need to start their own families and Max was no exception.

He had never been real interested in girls, but Debra just smelled right. Cupid's arrow had struck just the right scent. There was only one minor problem; Debra didn't know him from Adam (Adam was the boy she was pining for). Normally her family lived in the elm tree near the edge of the woods, but they had recently moved to be closer to the food. This just happened to be about six trees away from pinecone central.

Every time mama brought home breakfast, Debra would ask if she saw Adam. She usually did. He would be strutting around like his tail didn't stink. Mama asked him one day about that very thing and told him, that if you're tail doesn't stink, how are you going to protect yourself and your family? He didn't have a good answer.

"Debra, forget Adam. He's more lilac than stinkweed. He would not have a clue as to how to protect himself or his family."

"But mama, he's captain of the bugby team!"

Bugby is the forest animals answer to the human games. The only difference is that instead of balls, they use beetles. For night games the fireflies provide light. Adam got on the team only by signing a contract that said no cheating, or use of anything aromatic. Some of the games stink bad enough without a skunk making it worse.

Debra had been hoping Adam would notice her, but he only had eyes for himself. Then came the day that mama saw Adam with another girl. She told Debra and that is why she was sitting by herself right where Max tripped over her.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. Did I hurt you?"

"No. But you look silly with those pink flower petals stuck on your fur."

"Thanks. I wear these to impress the ladies."

"Are you serious?"

"No, but it's a good excuse to explain the petals."

The petals were from a dogwood tree and had landed on the ground in an area covered with sap. Looks like Max is stuck with pink petals for a bit. After learning Debra's name, he headed home to see if momma could help get the sticky stuff out of his fur. It was a bit embarrassing for a skunk to be wearing pink!

Max walked in and before momma could see him, his sisters did. The ensuing ruckus brought her on a run. She was ready to start yelling, until she saw Max and the petals. It took her ten minutes to recover her composure. She wanted to know how it happened but wasn't quite brave enough to ask. Poor Max!

"Looks like that tree is really stuck on you."

"Thanks momma. Can you just help me get these things off? It's embarrassing."

It took several baths and a lot of patience, but finally Max was again just black and white. There isn't much worse than to be dogged by a tree! He headed back out to where Debra was.

"Better?"

"Much"

They became fast friends. The ultimate test came the day they were walking near the pinecone field and ran into Adam. But before they could say anything, an arrow landed in the tree, just above their heads! This wasn't cupid, it was a human with a new toy. Before Debra could say anything, Adam was gone! Max on the other hand made a beeline for the kid and offered him a free paint job. It only took a fleeting moment before the kid was gone.

Debra found her man! Max would protect her, Adam wouldn't. This budding romance was coming up roses, er, stinkweed. Debra's eyes glistened and Max was now feeling the effects of a different arrow. One look at Debra and Max was turning red. Not a becoming sight for a mighty skunk. He walked her home and then headed home himself. That night is when he wrote his first (and probably only), poem.

Max took the poem and handed it to Dee, as he affectionately called her. It had the desired effect. Max had just gotten de-skunked.

Posted by here-it-is at 3:14 PM EST

Updated: Monday, 14 January 2008 6:47 AM EST

Share This Post

Post Comment | View Comments (3) | Permalink