Suddenly all the ferrets
at the shelter appeared nameless!
The plastic pockets hanging from each
cage were void of the pink and blue cards bearing the
names of each inhabitant.
Where had they gone? Would we remember
who was who? Who should we call? What would we do?
Of course, SHERLOCK was
right there waiting to take the case! Since his trusty
friend, WATSON,
was nowhere to be found, he quickly called long distance
to the new addition of the Shelter and asked for MAGNUM. This
handsome brute of a gentle nature agreed, without hesitation,
to aid SHERLOCK in his quest for
the missing cage cards.
Carefully they poked around the shelter,
searching for clues. Who could have been so clever
to take the tightly fitting cards out of these almost
inaccessible pockets? Intriguing as it seemed, suspicion
pointed to the German HEINZ or maybe the Russian
TISHKA; perhaps they needed the names for a future invasion
or an experiment or two? The crafty pair were last
seen tunneling in the tube, trying to leave town together.
SHERLOCK questioned
ACE to
see if he had a few LUCKY cards up
his sleeve. He said he was too busy digging under the
deck to be bothered with such nonsense. MAGNUM went
to check out PANCHO's alibi, he was snoring away
in his hideaway, while CAROLINE lay
FLAT in
the FUZZY hammock, almost DIZZY,
swaying to the sound of RINGO's latest
rock song. PANDORA's box yielded
nothing but a LACEY - SILK
- FLOWER and
a NUTMEG and CINNAMON
SUGAR - COOKIE.
Stealthily, they continued to search
each nook and cranny, stopping at every cage to inquire
of its inhabitants. Surely, someone had seen the SASSY intruder! "JIMMY
'n' CRICKET," said MAGNUM, "where
is SNOOPY when we need him?"
Weaseling their way westward, SHERLOCK stumbled
on a BANDIT (an unlikely suspect,
though he had just come from behind bars after 'ROBIN'
RUBY and SAPPHIRE.
Before you could say BOO, GENIE appeared
with ALADDIN. They could shed no light
on the matter. The rest of the SQUIGGLY ferrets
seemed to be busy, eating and drinking PEPSI or
taking a nap; only SUMO was wrestling ideas.
All of a sudden, MAGNUM saw
a flutter of pink, then SHERLOCK noticed
a flash of blue. They had finally stumbled on the neat
little stack of DUSTY cards, tucked
under the cage by the window, where a ray of SUNSHINE had alerted
them to the hidden treasure.
Who was responsible?
A strange crackling noise was heard above.
KELLOGG claimed
it was CORNFLAKE. Everyone stared
upward. What a HONEY of a surprise!
There stood VIOLET,
caught in the FRISKY act... her little white
paw held open the pocket while her teeth firmly grasped
the little blue card, as she tugged merrily away.
"Oh, FUDGE!" she exclaimed.
TROOPER stood by to make the arrest.
"Incredible," said SHERLOCK.
"Ingenious," laughed MAGNUM.
"Hurrah!" cheered everyone
else, no longer under suspicion.
SOLOMON was called on
to judge the matter. VIOLET, the pickpocket,
was told to return all the names, so that visitors
to the Shelter would be able to identify each ferret
in every cage. ABRAM assured
her she would be forgiven.
SHERLOCK shook paws
with MAGNUM,
thanking him for his assistance and requesting his
help for the future. MAGNUM agreed, then asked, "When
shall we celebrate?"
SHERLOCK replied, "How
about FRIDAY?"
"ABSOLUTE-ly," said
MAGNUM as
they parted company, elated in having solved the mystery.
All the ferrets settled in their MARSHMALLOW-soft
sleeping bags and hammocks, knowing they were safe
and secure, grateful to SHERLOCK and
MAGNUM and
happy to have names once again!
So ends this tail. |
