Friday, December 12, 2008

TWENTY

Just as Pinky was sinking into a deep gloom the empty bus lurched forward and left her tumbling backwards. She struggled to get to her feet and grabbed the packet of candies with her tail. Though she felt dizzy she made her way to the front of the bus, hoping to get a glimpse of her surroundings. The driver was whistling an upbeat tune as he drove along the same bumpy road where it seemed they had just traveled. Nothing looked familiar, yet it all looked the same – a long, gray road with trees and colorful houses blurring past. The driver pulled into a driveway and parked the bus, thankfully leaving the door wide open as he bound into his house.

The moment he was out of sight Pinky didn’t waste time and scurried down the steps, each level causing her to squeak with fear. The last step to the ground seemed especially steep yet she had no choice but to leap and hope for the best. Tossing the candy packet first she plunged toward the gravel driveway, holding her nose as if she were doing a cannonball into the stream. She landed on her bottom and gave another painful yelp. Much like Cocoa, she had crushed her tail beneath her. My, that hurt!

Brushing the dirt and gravel from her fur she gripped the candy packet in her aching tail and decided to explore her surroundings.

The house looked like all the other houses in the area, just a flat square box painted pale yellow with bright, white shutters. Some of the other houses were blue, gray or green. She thought she had even seen a pink one. The house that stood in front of her warren was a periwinkle color with pretty purple shutters and a long, wooden porch out back.

Pinky decided to check out the back of this yellow house and discovered that it also contained a porch, but it was enclosed in mesh screen. There was a doghouse but Pinky couldn’t see a dog anywhere, thank goodness. There was a line of trees, just as in her neighborhood. This was very encouraging and Pinky dragged the candies with her as quickly as possible.

Once inside the coolness of the woods she felt very drowsy and looked for a safe spot for a nap. She decided she would sleep for a few minutes and then resume her journey homeward.

Presently she came upon a hollow log loaded with termites. Ordinarily this would have been the feast she had been dreaming of, but for now she just wished to lie down. Besides, she was stuffed with peanut butter and couldn’t imagine eating another bite for quite a while. Clutching the candies in her arms she snuggled deep within the log and fell sound asleep.

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