Bruce Moose!!

Bruce Moose!!

“Well Betty, what activity would you like to do today? Should we try to count chickens again, or poke the ground with a stick? Maybe make silly faces at each other to see who laughs first? How about a parade, or a fashion show? Or…snail races?! It’s been a while since we’ve had some snail races! It would be nice to see their little faces again. We just have to be patient because those snails take a while to cross the finish line, they definitely take their time. Anyway, there’s lots of things for us to choose from if we use our imaginations.”

Bruce waited for Betty to answer, but she didn’t. He waited, then waited some more, but she still didn’t answer.

“Betty? Did you hear me?” He asked.

“I heard you Bruce. I was just thinking. I’m not sure any of those items are on the menu today, Bruce. I think the day has something else planned. I think today is going to be a day of distinction.”

“A day of distinction? What’s that?” Bruce asked.

“Yes, a day that we’ll remember for a long time. I have a feeling one or more of our friends on the farm is going to need our help today. And that help will be important—to them, and to us. We’ll need to have our wits about us.”

“How do you know this, Betty?”

“Intuition…”

“Intu…oh boy…that’s a tough one.” Bruce said.

“It’s a feeling you get; when you get a sense that something might happen, but you can’t really explain why. It’s like when a thought suddenly pops into your head that tells you something’s not right, or it could tell you that you’re on the right track. It’s that little voice in your head. That’s intuition.”

“Oh, I see. Do we have to be afraid of this intuition?”

“No, not always. I don’t think we’re in any danger. Sometimes it just means we have to keep our minds clear and be ready for anything, that’s all.”

“What’s in our minds that we need to clear, and how do we do that?”

“I read a book once, and it said that we can clear out the clutter, like when a room is filled with too much stuff, we clean it out. We just clear our minds, instead of the room. The book says we can start by being quiet and relaxed. Then, we calm ourselves by getting rid of any negative thoughts in our head and ignoring the noise around us. Then we focus on something, like a tree, or some flowers…or a lake—or in our case, a pond will work. Anything in the world really; anything that relaxes us. The book says we can even close our eyes if that helps. We just breathe and let our peaceful surroundings inspire us, and then maybe we’ll be ready for whatever comes our way; like answers or guidance.”

“Get ready for answers? Who will tell us these answers?”

“It’s not really a who, it’s a feeling inside of us. That’s intuition. Why don’t we just try to calm ourselves and see if we can figure this out.”

“Okay Betty, I’m ready.” Bruce said, being a little nervous.

“Let’s see, first we’ll get comfortable and relaxed, and very quiet, then we’ll go from there. Just do what I do.”

Bruce watched Betty as she relaxed her arms—her wings—to start, then she took some deep breaths, followed by a good flapping to get rid of the nervous energy, which shook just about everything below her neck. Bruce did his best to copy her. But mostly he just shook, almost tipping over. They closed their mouths—but not too tight. Afterall, they were trying to relax. Bruce plopped down on the ground with a thud—he actually sat. Betty hopped up to her usual favorite place; the tippy-top of Bruce’s left antler. They both focused, trying to turn off their minds, as much as they could. Bruce focused on the apple orchard—of course, and Betty stared at the barn, noticing that it needed new paint…Focus! she thought. The old, faded paint, a kind of green—almost a shade of lime—on the big barn, well, that was for another time. Dark red—stop! you’re supposed to be clearing your head! Well, just as Betty was getting back to calming her inner self, Bruce’s stomach interrupted the silence with a deep harmony of rumbling and grumbling and gurgles and other sounds that seemed to echo all over the sanctuary grounds.

“Sorry Betty.” Bruce whispered loudly out of the corner of his mouth.

“It’s okay, Bruce. Sometimes being silent and focused is hard. And it’s our first time doing this, so it may take a little practice. Let’s do this a different way. Let’s just sit here quietly and observe what’s going on around us. Maybe that’s the best way for us beginners to see things clearly.”

“I think that’s a good idea. I’m going to be quiet and focus on all those apples in the orchard just waiting to be snacked on.” Bruce said, drooling a little.

“Okay, Bruce. I’m going to close my eyes and wait.”

After a brief moment of silence and closed eyes, there was a breakthrough—a loud breakthrough in the form of more stomach rumbling which made Betty’s eyes pop open. It seemed as if a sign had finally appeared, because it was at that very eye-opening moment she observed Cindy Sue Butternut Squash-Pettigrew doing Cindy Sue-ish stuff, that would lead to Bruce and Betty’s mission for the day. Bruce and Betty’s hard work attempting to listen to their intuition turned out to be a success. Just not in the way they expected. But they were ready for the challenge.

“There goes Cindy Sue Butternut Squash-Pettigrew” Betty Crow said with a touch of sadness in her voice.

“What is she doing, Betty?” Bruce asked, as they watched her disappear into the corn field.

“Well, she’s sort of wandering, Bruce.”

“Wandering? Why?”

“Well, you know how you like to wander around the farm?”

“Oh yes, I like taking a little time each day to look around this place. It’s like a very quick vacation. I get to see all sorts of things going on because I’m pretty curious. But you know that.”

“Well, it’s kind of like that, except she doesn’t always know where she’s going, or why she’s going. She doesn’t really have a plan like you do. She just walks away from her pail.”

“What do you mean, Betty?”

“Some of us, as we get older, get a little confused about what’s going on around us. It’s kind of like getting tired. Remember all the times you ran and ran and ran for hours all around the farm, then you came back to the big barn, and you were very, very tired and all you wanted to do was stop everything you were doing and rest because you just didn’t have any more energy? It’s like that, but when you get older, it can happen more often, and sometimes instead of just your body being tired, your brain gets tired too and then you can’t remember some things as well as you used to; like where you’re going, or maybe the names of those around you, or some of the things that you did when you were younger; or you might misplace or lose things altogether because your memory just isn’t as good as it used to be. Well, Cindy Sue’s brain gets a little tired from time to time and that causes her to get confused, and that can lead to her wandering off. But the good news is, we can help her.”

“We can?” Bruce asked.

“Oh yes, we can watch her so she doesn’t wander away too far, or we can go on walks with her so she doesn’t get lost, or we can just sit and talk to her and help her to remember things that she’s forgotten. Those are the kinds of things a good friend does.”

“I like to go on walks! And I like to have lots of talks! I would like to help Cindy Sue if that’s what we can do!” Bruce said.

“Wow Bruce, you are getting really good at rhyming! I’m very proud of you.”

“Thanks Betty, I’ve been practicing at night in the big barn when everyone is asleep…”

Suddenly some shouting in the distance grabbed Bruce and Betty’s attention. They could see Stanley frantically running toward them.

“Oh boy…” Bruce said.

“I’ve lost my marbles!” Stanley shouted as he got closer to Bruce and Betty. He skidded and came to a screeching halt right in front of them. As soon as the dust cloud cleared, Stanley shouted again, “I’ve lost my marbles! I can’t find my marbles, maybe they’ve rolled away! You’re too hysterical Stanley—calm down! I know that’s what you’re going to say!”

“I—I’m not sure what you’re trying to tell us, Stanley.” Betty said. Bruce remained silent and had a very confused look on his face. He thought that was the best way to be for the moment.

“My collection of marbles—they’re gone! The blues, the greens, the yellows, the kind of oranges, and even the one and only red—they’re missing, they’re gone, they’ve vanished, I said! Who would do such a thing? Who, I ask? Who would betray my trust? Help me find my marbles—find them, save them, you must do what you must!”

“That’s terrible, Stanley. Bruce and I would be happy to help you find your marbles, right Bruce?”

Bruce looked at Betty, then back at Stanley, and asked, “Is there a reward? Maybe a small box of apples, or a large box of apples perhaps?”

“Bruce…” Betty said, shaking her head.

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to ask…you know how much I like apples.”

“Of course, of course, anything you ask—apples, corn, oats, berries…pears and cherries! Cabbage or lemons, even a picnic basket overflowing with all kinds of goodies, including a big chocolate cake…whatever you want, whatever it takes. Please solve the case of my missing marbles!”

“Yes, okay Stanley, we’ll help you find your marbles, but a simple thank you is all we really need. Right Bruce?”

Bruce wasn’t so convinced that a reward didn’t matter, but he agreed to help. “Okay, we can help you, Stanley. We’ll talk about a big chocolate cake later.” Bruce quietly said as he licked his lips. He could almost taste that chocolate cake.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Stanley said, breathing heavily as he stomped around in circles.

“I need you to calm yourself.” Betty said, getting a bit woozy watching Stanley spin, rinse, and repeat.

“I’m just sick with worry, oh dear, I’m light-headed and now my eyes are slightly burning and blurry! You must question every creature on this farm to find my marbles—hurry, hurry, hurry!”

“I know you’re upset, Stanley, but you have to relax and breathe so you don’t make yourself sick, okay?”

“Drama…” Bruce muttered.

“Okay, okay, but I have one last thing to say…oh no, now I forgot, isn’t that always the way?!”

“When was the last time you saw your marbles? Let’s start with that, okay?” Betty asked.

“I was admiring them this morning, just after breakfast—pancakes and berries, and a bucket of oats, I ate the oats, like all good goats! I brought my marbles out yonder to the patch of soft grass next to the corn field. I like to take them out on a sunny, clear day, they really do sparkle and shine in the most wonderful way. They’re bright and colorful when they glisten in the sun, well I was in hog heaven, having fun, fun, fun. Then all of a sudden I noticed Penny and Little Teddy Ready putting something in the goat pen. It was causing quite a kerfuffle with the other goats, so I ran over to investigate and there it was—a brand new barrel! Well, I didn’t want to be odd goat out, so I joined in on the stomping and romping, and that’s what that was all about! Well, after some time I went back to collect my marbles, and they were—gasp! Gone! Missing, disappeared and vamoose! Where could they have gone, Betty and Bruce?!”

“Well, that is a mystery…” Bruce replied.

“We have a thief among us!” Stanley said.

“Well now, let’s not start calling anybody names, or pointing the finger at anyone until we know all the facts, Stanley. We have to do a little investigating first. You wouldn’t want to be accused of something you didn’t do before knowing all the facts and the truth, right?”

“Well, I suppose not…the truth is what we’ll find out. The facts of the case…so there’s no egg on my face. Mmm…eggs…yum, yum, yum. Maybe later I’ll get me some.” Stanley got a little sidetracked thinking about food. But then, Stanley was easily sidetracked.

“Okay Stanley, Bruce and I are going to go on a little fact-finding mission. You stay here and breathe. Calm yourself while we’re gone.”

“Fine, fine. Calm—stay calm, don’t think of food—wait! Think of food, that’s calming! Maybe I should do some yoga…yes or no? Well, I’ll think about it, how about that? I’ll wait and I’ll think, no more talking, just be silent—oh no, I forgot how to blink!”

“Stanley…” Betty said in a firm tone, shaking her head.

“Oh right, I’m being quiet.” Stanley responded.

“Before we go Betty, do you think we should dress up for the part? You know, like real detectives do since we’re going to do detecting stuff. Maybe a hat, or a cape, or a mustache…or glasses? Ooh! How about a magnifying glass for spotting small stuff so when we see it, we can say, a-hah! A clue!”

“I don’t think that will be necessary, Bruce. I don’t think it will fool anybody around here, but I’m glad to know that you’re really using your imagination more and more.”

“I’m reading lots of mystery books.” Bruce replied.

Betty hopped on Bruce’s antlers and the two left Stanley mumbling about something. He wasn’t being as quiet as he promised, but he was a smidgeon calmer. Bruce and Betty made their way to the chicken coops to talk to Ramona Hen, the eldest chicken of the flock. Ramona usually had a pretty good idea of all the goings on around the farm, and she had a chicken’s-eye view of the area where the marbles were last seen. When they got to the coops, they waited patiently for Ramona to make her appearance. There was a defined pecking order with the chickens. It was all about order with the fluffy fowls, otherwise, it was nothing but chaos. Pure chaos! First, you waited for one of the younger hens to greet you—a sort of corporal hen…then she would call a lieutenant hen…and then she would call a captain hen, who would alert a general hen, and then finally, you got to have an audience with the hen-iest hen of them all—Ramona. She didn’t need a title; everyone knew who was in charge. Their system was supposed to speed things up, but it was actually just the opposite. Nevertheless, they stuck to it. That was your only choice. And that was that!

“How can I help you, Betty and Bruce?” Ramona said in a no-nonsense way, and with the authority of a chicken in charge.

“Well, we just had a chat with Stanley—a slightly hysterical, mini freakout chat. But a chat, nonetheless. Anyway—it appears that he’s lost his marbles…”

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me that. I’ve seen it coming for a long time, Betty. That goat is a few pecks shy of a bushel if you ask me.” Ramona responded quickly.

“Well, in this case, he really did lose them. He has a set of marbles that he treasures very much, and they’ve gone missing. Bruce and I were wondering if you saw anyone, or anything strange going on in the grassy area just outside the corn field this morning.”

“Did you see a culprit—a shadowy figure—maybe a slippery so-and-so?” Bruce added.

“Bruce…” Betty shook her head.

“Sometimes I use too much imagination don’t I…”

“Well, let’s see. I remember seeing Stanley just as I ended my morning inspection of the flock. I didn’t pay much attention to what he was doing, but I saw him. I also watched him suddenly run off. I saw Mootilda Cow wander through just after that. She paused to graze, then—”

“There was that rat who sometimes runs through this area looking for leftover seeds!” Willie interrupted. Willie (Filomena) was a nickname, and second in command of the flock. It was mostly a ceremonial role. She had no real power, but it made her feel good. Her only real job in the coop was to not count the chickens before they hatch. She did that very well.

“Oh yes, that’s right, thanks Willie.” Ramona said.

“You’re welcome, ma’am.”

“Okay, good. Anybody else?” Betty asked.

“Just CSBS-P, but that’s not unusual these days.”

“Who?!” Bruce asked, with a very confused look on his face.

Betty smiled and said, “It’s short for Cindy Sue Butternut Squash-Pettigrew.”

“Ah-hah.” Bruce replied, then continued, “If I had a magnifying glass my, ’ah-hah’ would have been much more dramatic. Also, if I had a notepad I’d write that information down I think.”

“Saves time—no unnecessary talking. We have enough chatter here at coop headquarters…efficiency is key…ship-shape, no nonsense, keep it simple is our motto…run it like clockwork.” Ramona said.

“Ship-shape…no nonsense…simple…clockwork.” Willie repeated.

“Well, that’s helpful to us, thank you for your time, Ramona.”

“Pleasure. Always happy to help. Goodbye.”

Bruce and Betty walked away and made their way to the open field where Mootilda Cow was chewing, and swatting flies with her tail.

“May we bother you for a moment for a little chat, Mootilda?” Betty asked.

“Of course, of course, I don’t mind, as long as you don’t mind me chewing my cud as we chat.” Bruce liked that answer. He was very fond of chewing because that meant he was eating, and if he was eating, it was probably something he liked. He started thinking about apples and other delicious snacks. Bruce was hungry and now his stomach was more than a little rumbly and grumbly than it was before.

“No, no, we don’t mind. We just wanted to ask you if you saw anything unusual this morning as you passed by the chicken coops…specifically, if you saw Stanley’s marbles on the ground at that time. He left them there while he went to play on the new barrel in the goat pen and when he came back to collect them, they were gone.”

“I saw them. I didn’t touch them though. Cows don’t have much interest in marbles. We’re a fun bunch, and very curious about the world around us, but marbles, they aren’t very interesting—to us anyway.”

“Oh, I understand, believe me, I understand…” Bruce said, nodding.

“Now, if they had been big bouncy balls, that would be different. That falls into the category called—a good time!”

Bruce nodded. “Yes and yes, thank you very much. I agree.”

“Ahem.” Betty cleared her throat. Bruce straightened up and stopped talking.

Mootilda continued. “As I was saying, when I walked through the area I saw the marbles on the ground. I also saw that little rat who runs through here from time to time, but that’s about it.”

“Okay, so the marbles were definitely still there when you walked through.”

“Absolutely, positively, and so on and so forth.” Mootilda replied.

“Thank you for your time, Mootilda. We appreciate the information.”

“You’re welcome, Betty Crow. You too, Bruce Moooooose. Anytime.”

Bruce and Betty left Mootilda to her chewing and walked over to the grassy area—otherwise known as the scene of the crime. Betty hopped off Bruce’s antlers and hit the ground pretty quickly. It was a rough landing, but she was okay.

“Well Bruce, this is what we know so far…Ramona and Willie told us that the only creatures they saw in this area, close to the marbles, were the rat, Mootilda and Cindy Sue. Mootilda admits she walked through here but didn’t touch the marbles. Mootilda also saw the rat in the area. You and I saw Cindy Sue in the area. Now, that means it could only be one of those three who touched the marbles.”

“Except for Stanley…” Bruce said.

“Yes, except for Stanley, but I don’t think he would take his own marbles, then say they were stolen. Do you?”

“No, I guess not. He couldn’t get that upset over an inside job…”

“I can really tell you’ve been reading those detective books.” Betty said. She started walking around, scratching here and there, getting further and further away from Bruce. She seemed determined to find some evidence, but Bruce wasn’t sure there was any evidence. Suddenly he heard Betty yell—well, crow loudly, “Over here!”

Bruce galloped over to Betty, who was holding up a brilliant red marble. She dropped it on the ground in front of Bruce. He lowered his head to get a better look at it.

“That sure is red and shiny, it’s also very tiny…compared to me. Did you find any other marbles?”

“Not yet, but let’s keep looking.” Betty and Bruce walked a little bit further along the narrow path that Cindy Sue made over time on her travels from the pail she sat in (for unknown reasons, still) to the corn field she sometimes wandered around in. Bruce spotted something sparkling up ahead of them. It was another marble, and this one was blue, and it wasn’t far from the pail of Cindy Sue! They got closer and closer, and then they got even more closer, until they were just inches away from Cindy Sue herself, sitting on her pail throne! Now how could they have known…that the rest of the marbles were practically right under their nose, so close the marbles could have bitten by them! But marbles never bite, so Bruce and Betty were safe.

“Hello Cindy Sue, how are you?” Bruce asked.

“Hi Bernie, hi Bonnie…” Cindy Sue said, getting their names wrong. It was okay though, Bruce and Betty didn’t mind, it was more important for them just to be kind, and talk to her in a friendly way, and that was that! as they would usually say.

“Are you feeling alright today?” Betty asked.

“I think so. I’m a little tired, a little out of sorts—there’s a bit of soreness in my left wing, a touch of pain in the neck, a skosh of ringing in my ears, but you’ll know what that’s like when you get older, I fear.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that. What can we do for you, Cindy Sue? How about we fetch you a blanket, would you like a blanket?” Betty said.

“Oh, that would be lovely, there’s one over by the bale of hay, just over that-a- way.” She pointed.

Bruce rambled over and gently picked up the blanket with his teeth and brought it back. Cindy Sue hopped out of her pail so Bruce could drop it in. Just when he was about to let go of the blanket, he noticed some items in the bottom of her pail mixed in with her bed of hay—or straw, whatever that stuff is. His eyes got big, then really big. He tried to get Betty’s attention. He winked and furiously blinked, he started thinking, and then he started sinking—lowering his head close to the pail because Betty, being a little short, couldn’t see inside the pail like he could. “Uh, Betty…” Bruce said, as the alarms went off in his head.

“Yes? What’s wrong, Bruce?”

Bruce nodded at the pail, then nodded some more, then nodded faster, like he had never nodded before. Betty jumped up and balanced herself on the rim of the pail and looked in. “Hey, there’s something in the straw!” She said, then quickly added, “This is not good, this is very bad…this is going to make Stanley extremely happy, but at the same time, sad.”

“What are you two looking at?” Cindy Sue asked.

“Uh, well…have you looked in the bottom of your pail?” Bruce asked.

“Not for a while, why?” Cindy Sue responded.

“Well, you have some various items in the bottom mixed in with the straw…or hay, quite a few things in fact, I say.” Betty jumped in and poked around, then jumped back up to the rim, just before she jumped down.

Bruce tapped the pail, knocking it over. “There are seeds, and peanuts and chunks of other stuff. There’s a pencil and a thimble, a shoelace, a half-eaten mint, and some yarn…there’s a toy car—probably Little Teddy’s, one that he plays with in the barn. There are some crumbs of cheese, a rubber glove, and a handkerchief in case you sneeze. Now I see a comb and a brush and there’s even a book that shows you how to draw…there’s so many random things mixed in with the straw!”

“And some marbles…” Betty said.

“And some marbles!” Bruce repeated.

Cindy Sue looked closer at the items spread out in front of her. “Those aren’t mine! I’ve never seen those marbles!”

Just as Betty was about to respond, Stanley showed up. “Gasp! And double gasp! Those are my marbles! Cindy Sue Butternut Squash-Pettigrew, you have some explaining to do!”

“Now calm yourself, Stanley. Let’s not get over excited. Let’s hear what she has to say, okay?” Betty said.

“I will be calm like a storm!” Stanley shouted, hopping up and down, snorting and snorting, then showing a frown.

“That’s not really being calm, is it Betty?” Bruce asked.

“No Bruce, I’m afraid not.” Betty replied, and then sighed.

Cindy Sue walked over to Stanley with her little quail beak quivering and said, “I’m sorry Stanley, I don’t remember taking your marbles. Sometimes I forget things. Maybe I took them, I don’t honestly know…I’m very sorry if I did, I didn’t mean to, how can I make it up to you?”

“Well…they’re very special to me, I hope you know, I’ll have to think about all this bru-ha-ha, but for now, I’ll take my marbles and go!”

Suddenly Cindy Sue’s eyes lit up. “Wait! Now I remember something! Did someone say there were cheese crumbs in my pail?”

“I did. I said that. Why? Is that something important?” Bruce asked.

“What do you remember, Cindy Sue?” Betty asked.

“I had a whole piece of cheese in my pail, not crumbs! How can that be? Where’s the rest of it?”

Betty thought for a moment. “Wait a minute, hold on! I smell a rat!”

“What do you mean, Betty?” Bruce asked, looking more confused than usual, if that was possible.

“Remember what Willie said? Her and Mootilda both told us that they saw a rat in the area this morning around the time the marbles disappeared. And now Cindy Sue’s piece of cheese is gone, and all that’s left are some crumbs…who loves cheese that much?”

“Me?” Bruce answered.

“No Bruce, a rat!”

“Oh yeah, a rat…” Bruce said, a little embarrassed.

“We need to find that rat and get some answers. I’m thinking that rat sniffed out a delicious piece of cheese and took it. I think that rat may know something about those marbles too, I’ll bet my beak on it. We need to have a chat with that rat.”

“But where can we find a rat…on a big farm? They’re so little! Compared to me anyway.” Bruce asked.

“Well, let’s figure out where it wouldn’t be first of all. We’ll eliminate some areas and search for it in the other areas. So, where do you think a rat wouldn’t go, Bruce?”

Bruce thought for a moment, then thought some more. “Hmmm. Well…Oh! A rat probably wouldn’t hang out in the pond, right? And a rat wouldn’t go into the pig stye, right? Then it would be a dirty rat…let’s see, where else?”

“Okay, that’s good. So, we’ll avoid the pond and the pig stye, and the chicken coops because…well, too many chickens, and we’ll focus on the big barn, because it’s warm in there and there’s lots of hay—or straw, to hide in. We can also check the vegetable garden and the compost pile behind the big barn because there’s a lot of things there for a rat to enjoy.”

“I enjoy things in those places too, but you already knew that.” Bruce said, stating the obvious.

“I think we have our plan, Bruce. Now, Stanley, I want you to stay here with Cindy Sue until we get back, okay? And Cindy Sue, I want you to rest. Maybe Stanley can help you get your pail put back together.” Betty said, nudging Stanley.

“What?!” Stanley asked. Betty nudged him again and said, “Maybe you can help Cindy Sue organize her pail…so she can rest for a while…understand?”

“Oh. Yes, yes, yes, alright—you don’t have to make a big deal out of it! Don’t overreact…stay calm like me…calm Stanley, that’s me!”

Bruce and Betty both rolled their eyes so hard you could practically hear them rolling around in another county. The pair walked away leaving Cindy Sue and Stanley to do whatever they were going to do and made their way to the big barn.

“I sure hope Stanley and Cindy Sue will be okay.” Bruce said, in a worried kind of way.

“I think they will. Stanley can be goofy, but he means well. But just in case, we better find the rat and hurry back.”

“Let’s search the vegetable garden and compost pile first, Betty. That’s where I would be if I was a rat…near the food.”

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with your grumbling, rumbling stomach, would it?” Betty asked.

“Well…I can’t say no…and I shouldn’t say yes, but if we happen to find a wayward apple or carrot, or a lost pile of oats, I have to be honest, I wouldn’t pass it up.”

“Okay, let’s check the garden and compost pile…”

Betty and Bruce poked around and what they found was a whole bunch of nothing. No rat, just the orange, no-name cat. The orange cat?! If anyone knows the whereabouts of a rat, it has to be a cat. Bruce decided to take the moose by the horns—so to speak, and call out to the orange stranger. “Hey cat! Have you seen a sneaky rat!?”

The cat pointed to the barn and went on its way. Bruce and Betty scrambled to the big door of the big barn and opened it very quietly and peeked inside. They listened and looked, and in a far-off corner, next to a shovel and a rake, there it was, the rat! for goodness sake.

“Hey rat! Can we have a word?”

The rat turned and looked, not really bothered, and said, “Sure, what do you want?”

“Well, earlier this morning some marbles went missing—”

The rat interrupted. “Yes, I know. I took them.”

Betty and Bruce looked shocked. “You admit it?” Betty asked.

The rat came closer to the pair. “Sure, why not? I have nothing to hide. By the way, my name is Gideon, or haven’t you heard…Gideon Rat, the thirty-third.”

“The thirty-third?!” Bruce asked, with big eyes.

“Yeah, it’s a long line of rats I come from.”

“Well, that’s very interesting and all, but why did you take the marbles and was it you who hid them in Cindy Sue’s pail?” Betty asked.

“Is that her name? I wondered what it was. Yeah, I put them in there because I thought they were hers. I see her wandering around, misplacing things, getting confused, so I wanted to help the old girl out. I put them back in her pail while she was in the corn field. What’s the big deal?”

“Well, that’s nice of you and all, but they weren’t actually hers, they belonged to Stanley.” Betty told him.

“That goofy goat?” Gideon asked.

“Yeah, that’s him. The goofy goat.” Bruce answered.

“Oh, okay. Well, I didn’t know. Tell him I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. You thought you were doing the right thing, that’s not a crime.” Betty said.

Bruce hesitated, then asked. “What about the cheese?”

“What about it?”

“Did you take that?”

“Yeah, you know…it was kind of like a reward for finding her marbles. Okay, I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I felt like…I was owed.”

“Well, you’re not really owed a reward. A simple thank you should be more than enough, right Betty?” Bruce said.

“Did you learn that somewhere, Bruce?”

“I did…” Bruce responded with a big grin.

“Okay, okay, I get it. How about I go talk to the old girl and Stanley and explain the whole thing, would that be acceptable?”

“Absolutely!” Bruce and Betty said at the same time.

Bruce and Betty, and Gideon the thirty-third, made their way back to Stanley, who was much calmer now, and Cindy Sue, who was relaxing in her pail. Stanley was telling her all about his marble collection, and Cindy Sue was trying her best to look interested—and stay awake. Stanley had a habit of talking a little fast and at a high volume, but that had no effect on Cindy Sue.

“We’re back…” Bruce announced.

“And we’ve brought a new friend with us. This is Gideon Rat.” Betty said.

“The thirty-third.” Gideon quickly added.

“Yes, the thirty-third…” Betty and Bruce said together.

“Hey, how are ya?” Gideon started, before he suddenly stopped, noticing Cindy Sue had fallen asleep. He shrugged and began again, “Well, I just wanted to let you know that I was the one who took your marbles, Stanley. It’s just a big misunderstanding actually, I thought they belonged to…uh— “

“Cindy Sue!” Bruce and Betty said loudly, reminding Gideon of her name, and jolting Cindy Sue out of a sound sleep.

“What?! What’s happening?!” Cindy Sue blurted out.

“I was just telling Stanley here, that I was the one who took his marbles. I thought they were yours, and I thought I was doing you a favor by returning them. Like I said, it’s all a big misunderstanding and I’m sorry for all the confusion.”

“Well, young man, you don’t know the trouble you’ve caused! I have half a mind to…do something…I don’t know what, but I’ll think of it eventually!” Cindy Sue said, sounding rather irritated, and a bit confused as to why she was mad.

“Well, like I said lady, I meant no harm, I’m kind of new to the farm and it’s taking a little getting used to with the rules and different personalities and all.” Gideon said, trying to make the best case for himself.

“Well, I guess I can give you a little credit since you’re new here, but what about my chunk of cheese?! I’m not entirely happy about that!”

“Yeah, I apologize for that, it’s just…it’s kind of my thing…but I promise, it’ll never happen again. In fact, I will replace your chunk of cheese as soon as I can, alright?”

“Well, okay…I accept your apology.”

“Thanks, lady.” Gideon responded.

Bruce and Betty noticed Stanley was being awfully quiet, which was highly unusual.

“Do you have anything to say, Stanley?” Betty asked.

“Say?! Say?! I have plenty to say! Where do I begin?!” Stanley said loudly, with his tongue darting side to side, in and out of his mouth.

“At the beginning. I always find it best to start at the beginning.” Bruce said, thinking he was helping the situation. He really wasn’t helping though.

“Oh…plum pudding! I’m just happy to have my marbles back! I hope you know how important they are to me, Gideon. You caused a stir, a panic, and a big mess, but it all worked out I have to confess. Let’s not dwell on this one day, it’s in the past, and that’s that, as some around here say.”

“I think that’s a good idea, we all have bigger fish to fry as the saying goes.” Betty said.

“Fish to fry?” Bruce asked.

“It’s just a saying. It means there are more important things in life to worry about than some marbles and a piece of cheese. The point is, we’re all okay, we’re all friends, and we’ve all learned some things today. That’s a good day.”

“But we haven’t resolved one last problem, Betty.” Bruce said.

“What’s that, Bruce?”

“My rumbling, grumbling tummy…”

“Okay, Bruce. Let’s head to the apple orchard.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard in the last…ten seconds! Hop on the Bruce train, Betty! Choo-choo!”