Tiddlywink the Mouse Page 3

just out here with my mom and when I got hungry she gave me some peanuts and hot sauce".

  "Oh my goodness!" exclaimed Tiddlywink, "those were just your mother's snacks."

  "Oh", said Jeremy, "I guess that explains it".

  Just then the sea began to churn and they heard what sounded like an underwater roar. It sounded something like "mmmmdmdmdmdmmbmbmbmmb".

  Actually it sounded like a herd of cows swimming in milk.

  The waves got choppy and suddenly, a sea monster popped out of the ocean. He was green and blue and had yellow eyes and orange teeth. He looked right at the friends and said,

  "I too would enjoy some peanuts and hot sauce. Give them to me now."

  "Oh no", said Tiddlywink, "we don't have any."

  "I heard you talking", said the sea monster.

  "Yes", said Tiddlywink, "I was explaining to my friend that his mom is the one with the peanuts and hot sauce."

  "I want some peanuts and hot sauce now" declared the sea monster.

  Tiddlywink had an idea.

  "I know", he said, "just follow us and we'll get you some"

  "Okay," said the monster, "but no tricks or else I'll gobble you up".

  So Tiddlywink and Jeremy sailed back to the harbor, tied up their boat, and clambered onto the pier and began to walk away.

  "Hey" shouted the sea monster, whose name was Bill, "what about my snack?"

  "Just follow us", said Tiddlywink.

  "That's not fair" Bill roared, "I can't follow you on land, I'm a sea monster, remember?"

  "Gee, I guess that's too bad" said Tiddlywink, "because the snacks are over this way".

  "You better bring me some peanuts and hot sauce" Bill declared, "or else the next time you go sailing out to sea I will find you and I will gobble you up".

  "Okay", said Tiddlywink, "you wait right there and I'll bring them to you. Promise".

  So Tiddlywink and Jeremy ran to Jeremy's tree and rushed up to his mother and Jeremy breathlessly let out

  "Mom, mom, you have to give us some peanuts and hot sauce now there's a sea monster and we promised".

  Jeremy's mom thought it over for a moment, and then she said,

  "Let me get this straight. You want ME to give you MY peanuts and hot sauce, and then you're going to give them to some silly sea monster? Why would I do that?"

  "Because", Tiddlywink exclaimed, "Because if you don't, he's going to gobble us up".

  "Oh" said Jeremy's mom, "well, in that case, here you go", and she handed them a bag of freshly roasted peanuts and hot sauce.

  They ran back to the pier and gave them to Bill, who was very happy, and promised, if they were ever in any trouble out at sea, he would come and help them at once. Tiddlywink and Jeremy waved goodbye and were very glad to see the monster go away.

  Tiddlywink and the Orange Ball

  One day Tiddlywink lost his orange ball, and had no idea where to look for it. He decided to start in the heart of the jungle, so he scampered across the fields and over the hills and through the woods until at last he came to the heart of the jungle, but he didn't see his orange ball anywhere. After awhile he noticed a spider dangling from a tree, and said,

  "Excuse me, Mr. Spider, but have you seen an orange ball?" The spider appeared to frown, and thought for a moment, and finally replied,

  "What kind of spider do you think I am, an orange-ball-seeing spider? Of all the nerve!"

  "I only thought ..." began Tiddlywink

  "Enough!", shouted the spider. "I will not listen to another word. Now leave me alone or I will scoot over there and bite your nose!"

  Tiddlywink wasted no time, but ran away from the very unfriendly spider, although he couldn't understand why the spider was so upset. He stopped to catch his breath, and then he heard a bumblebee buzzing about, so he said,

  "Excuse me, Mr. Bumblebee, but I was just wondering, with all your flying about here in the heart of the jungle, whether you might have seen a little orange ball".

  "A what?", asked the bee, "An orange ball? Did you really ask me if I had seen an orange ball? Do I look like the kind of bee that goes around seeing orange balls? Is that what you think I am? An orange-ball-spotting-bee?"

  "No, no", cried Tiddlywink, "I meant no offense, I'm just looking for an orange ball I lost somewhere, and I ...."

  "Not another word" declared the bee, "I won't hear any more of this nonsense. Go away or I will have to come down there and sting you on the nose."

  Tiddlywink ran away from the bee as he had from the spider, and now he was very confused. It seemed like such a simple question, after all, and he still hadn't found his ball. As he stopped to rest by a honey bush, he heard a mosquito zeeing about, and he said,

  "Excuse me, Mr. Mosquito, but I couldn't help but wonder whether you had seen an orange ball here in the heart of the jungle". The mosquito stopped its whining, and flew closer to Tiddlywink. He said

  "Am I hearing things, or did you just ask me if I had seen an orange ball?"

  "Yes", said Tiddlywink, "that's what I asked. You see, I lost my ...", but he didn't get to finish his sentence, because the mosquito flew right up and bit him on the nose.

  "Maybe that will teach you some manners" said the mosquito, as he flew away.

  "Ouch" cried Tiddlywink, "that hurts!", and he ran off to the river to soak his poor little nose. That's it, he told himself, I won't ask anyone else about that orange ball, and I don't even care if I never find it again.

  After he was done swimming and dunking his poor bitten nose, he resumed his search, quietly this time. As he neared a clump of sugar trees, he saw his friend, TreeTrunker the Elephant, who said

  "Hello, Tiddlywink, how are you this fine hot sticky day?"

  "Okay, I guess", said Tiddlywink, determined not to bring up the subject of the orange ball.

  "Are you looking for something?" asked TreeTrunker.

  "Oh, no", replied Tiddlywink, "No, no. Nothing at all. Not me."

  "Oh", said TreeTrunker, "because I thought you might be looking for your orange ball. You left it at my house and I was going to bring it back to you."

  "Really?" said Tiddlywink, "You have my orange ball?"

  "Yes", said TreeTrunker, "Do you want to go and play with it?"

  "Yes" cried Tiddlywink, and they both went back to TreeTrunker's house, where they played with the orange ball the rest of the day and into the night.

  Tiddlywink and the Four Treasures

  One day Tiddlywink decided to go on a treasure hunt. I won't come home until I have four treasures, he declared, so he set out early in the morning. He scampered across the fields and certainly noticed the red clovers, which the bees were busily buzzing around, and he thought they were quite beautiful, but the day had just begun and he had treasures to find.

  Next he skipped through the forest and notices all sorts of pinecones and acorns scattered around the forest floor. Each time he stopped to pick one up, he saw another which was just as interesting, and soon he realized he could never find the best since they are all unique and wonderful in their own way, so he put down the pinecones and acorns he'd collected, and continued on his way.

  Next he climbed up the side of a steep hill, and here he noticed all variety of colored rocks and gems. He had to stop to admire a new one every few feet so it took him quite some time to get to the top of the hill and by the time he reached it he realized he was loaded down with rocks and still had far to go, so he emptied his pockets and continued on his way.

  Now he had to climb to the top of a snowy peak, and here too he found all sorts of beautiful things, in particular some clumps of violet blue flowers, each one special and gorgeous in its own way. Tiddlywink did his best NOT to pick any of the flowers since he could never decide which ones were the nicest.

  Well, Tiddlywink was very tired when he reached the top of the mountain, and then he realized the day was growing short and he still had a long way to get back home, and after all his finding and collecting and putting down, he had NO
TREASURES at all and he needed four to complete his task.

  Then he realized this would be easy.

  On the way home he could pick one blue flower, one rock or gem, one pinecone or acorn, and one clover, and any one he picked would be okay, because they were all, each and every one of them, beautiful and wonderful treasures.