Carmelita Stories 27-39

Minnie had to admit it.  She was jealous.  Quinn, Gray, and even Ashby had been on the trampoline repeatedly and she had never had one single chance to try it out.  She didn’t even know that there was a trampoline in the backyard until she’d heard Gray and Quinn talk about it and had watched them rush out to jump on it.  Then, one day when no one was around, she sneaked out onto the deck, peered around the seagulls, and saw it hidden behind the back wall of the house.  To Minnie it looked huge. Gigantic.  Enormous. And like lots and lots of fun.

Looking at the step ladder next to the trampoline that big people used to climb on, Minnie realized it would be a challenge just to get onto the webbing in order to bounce.  So Minnie asked Mannie and Moe to help her think of a way to climb the step ladder.

Mannie and Moe both had trouble imagining a trampoline, let alone why someone would think it fun to jump up and down on one.

“Seems like it would just make you dizzy,” said Mannie.

“Yeah, and make your lunch come back up,” added Moe.

“Or you could fly into the air and get caught in a tree branch,” continued Mannie.

“Or crash into an airplane flying overhead,” said Moe.

“Or fly into space and get melted by the sun” suggested Mannie.  “Then you come crashing down and land on the lawn in a fireball.”  He and Moe were getting carried away imagining just how high one could bounce.  

“Sounds dangerous,” concluded Moe.  “Minnie, are you sure that you want to climb up there?”

“Certainly,” replied Minnie. “It will be a blast.  We’ll be lucky if we bounce as high as our heads.  And the net will keep us from falling onto the lawn.  Nothing could be safer.  So help me guys. C’mon. C’mon. Please.  Pretty Please.”

“I’ll think about it,” said Mannie.

“I’ll share my Halloween candy with you if you help me,” offered Minnie.

“Deal!” said Mannie and Moe together. “We’ll take your tootsie rolls.”

“I get to keep one,” responded Minnie.

And so Minnie, Mannie, and Moe sat down together to think of a way to get themselves up onto the trampoline.  The most obvious way was to use the stepladder.  

“If Minnie stands on the ground and Mannie climbs onto her shoulders, then I can climb onto Mannie’s shoulders.  Then I can climb onto the first step of the ladder,” figured Moe. 

“How about if you’re the one on the ground instead?” said Minnie.  “I can’t hold the two of you on my shoulders.”

“Won’t work anyhow,” said Mannie.  “That will get one of us onto the first step of the ladder.  But the other two will still be on the ground and too short to climb up.”

“Hmmm,” said Moe. “Maybe we can all get on the little trampoline and bounce up onto the big trampoline.”

“That’s worth a try,” replied Mannie.  So all three hoisted themselves onto the little blue trampoline and jumped together and separately.  But try as they would, the best they could do was get themselves up a few inches in the air and that was when they jumped together.  When they jumped separately, they just crashed into each other.”

“You know what,” said Minnie as they all sat down to rest, “I think we need to ask Carmelita for help.”

Carmelita said that she would be happy to help, but first they needed to ask Grandma Lin if it was all right for them to even go on the big trampoline.  Grandma Lin said it was OK with two conditions:  1st they had to make sure that the zipper for the net was closed so no one would fall out.  And 2nd they had to give each other enough room to bounce so they didn’t bump each other and get hurt.  And with that, Carmelita told Minnie, Mannie, and Moe to each imagine a good way to get up onto the trampoline; then she would help them with what they imagined.

Minnie went first.  She imagined a tall ladder with steps just the right size for her little body.  And, with a wink, Carmelita made just the right ladder appear against the side of the trampoline.  Minnie stood at the bottom of the ladder and looked up.  It was long and thin and wobbly.  But she summoned her courage and proceeded to climb up.  Because each step was small, there were a lot of rungs and by the time Minnie got to the top she was very tired and flopped onto the trampoline to rest and catch her breath.

Mannie watched and decided that there had to be a faster and easier way to get up there than using the ladder.  He imagined riding up on a rocket balloon.  So, with another wink, Carmelita produced a big blue rocket balloon and a red balloon pump to go with it.  Together Mannie and Moe pumped the balloon until it stretched like a giant bean.  Mannie climbed on.  Moe pulled the pump off the end.  And Mannie shot into the air as the balloon made a loud screech.  First he headed toward the maple tree; then he made a sudden turn toward the roof of the house; then he shot along the gutter.  Finally, as the balloon ran out of air and stalled over the trampoline, Mannie fell with a plop onto its black surface and bounced a few times. The empty balloon fell down over his head. “That was too fast and crazy”, he groaned, as he flopped next to Minnie.

Moe had watched Minnie and Mannie.  He decided that there had to be an easier way than Minnie’s and a slower and gentler way than Mannie’s.  So he imagined floating up onto the trampoline on a feather carried by the wind.  So once again, with yet another wink, Carmelita put a big Osprey feather on the ground a Moe’s feet with just enough wind to lift the feather with Moe on it up into the air.  The only problem with Moe’s idea, however, was that even though Moe is pretty small it still took a pretty strong wind to lift him.  And, like Mannie’s rocket balloon, you can’t steer a feather.  So up and up went Moe as strong gusts of wind carried him toward the big tree behind the garage.  Then he soared still higher and looped back over the lawn.  A couple of small blackbirds decided that Moe was a very strange osprey invading their space.  They dived at Moe and pecked at the bucket on his head.  “Get outta here, you wierd bird,” they screeched.  Moe twisted to avoid the bird pecks and lost his balance.  He fell off the feather landing on his tushie on the trampoline next to Minnie and Mannie.  All three bounced.  The feather floated down onto the lawn.

Maybe not the best ways to get onto the trampoline, but there they were with the net zippered shut.  So they bounced, and dropped, and rolled, and crashed into each other and into the netting until they were all a little dizzy, quite tired, and ready to come down.

“Uh, oh,” said Mannie. “How will we get down?  My rocket balloon is deflated and even if I could, I’m not about to climb back on that thing.”

“And my feather fluttered onto the lawn when I fell off,” said Moe. “And even if it were here on the trampoline, I think I’ve done enough gliding for forever.”

“Well,” said Minnie, “my ladder’s still here but looking down the ladder makes it a lot scarier than climbing up.  Shall we ask Carmelita again to help us down?”

“I guess we have to,” said Mannie. “But I’d rather she not tell us to use our imaginations to think of ways to come down.  We’re only going to come up with even crazier ideas.”  Although as he spoke, Mannie imagined a giant water slide that twisted and looped until it delivered him with a splash into a wading pool on the lawn.  

“Agreed. We have to insist on not using our imaginations,” said Minnie even as she imagined a big colorful parachute opening above her head and floating her gently onto the grass.

“That’s the smart way to go.  No imagination stuff.  Just quick and easy,” added Moe as he imagined being roped into a harness and rappelling like a mountain climber down the tall pipes supporting the netting.

And so, together, they asked Carmelita if she would help them down without asking them to use their own imaginations.  “Well,” said Carmelita, “I can do that if you want.  But it’s always more exciting to think of your own way.  And, yes, sometimes what you imagine doesn’t turn out like you expect it -- but it’s always more exciting to imagine, and you always learn something new.  This time, however, I’ll do what you’ve asked.  And with a wink of her eye, Minnie, Mannie, and Moe were suddenly together on the lawn below the trampoline.

“Now tell me,” said Carmelita, “what you three thought of your experience today.  Going up?”

“Scary”, all three replied.

“Being on the tramp?”

“Fun!” all three exclaimed.

“Getting down?”

“Boring…”

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One day in the late summer, Gray, Quinn and Ashby came with Rob for a visit to Annapolis.  Molly was working.  After lunch, each got to choose an activity to do with their Dad – each, that is, except Ashby who had to choose a nap.  Quinn chose to go paddleboarding.  And Gray, surprise!, chose to fish.  First all three jumped on the trampoline.  Then Rob and Quinn took paddleboards to the water, Grandma took Ashby up to his crib, and Gray went out to the garden to dig for worms.  He found a bunch of fat squiggly ones that he put in a jar with some wet dirt.  Just when he had about six worms in his jar, Rob came back from paddleboarding.  He and Gray took their rods and Gray’s jar of worms down to the dock where the baited their hooks and started casting.  They had good casts and Gray got one bite – but no luck actually catching a fish.  Soon it was time to go back to the house to get ready for the drive back home.  Gray left his rod and the jar with the remaining worms together on the front porch.

After Gray left with Ashby, Quinn and Rob, Moe looked out onto the porch and saw the rod and worms lying next to the walrus.  This was his chance.  He had wanted to go fishing all summer and there was a rod and bait just calling his name.  He poked Mannie.  “Look what Gray left for us,” he said.  “Let’s go to the dock and try it out.”

It didn’t take much for Moe to convince Mannie to come along.  Soon the two were headed down the ramp with Moe dragging the fishing rod and Mannie rolling the jar of worms.  At the bottom of the parking lot the jar jumped onto the grass, fell on its side, and off popped the lid.

“Perfect!” said Moe as he scooped up a big squiggling night crawler. “Mannie, help me hook it.”

Together they wrestled the active worm onto the fishing hook, somehow managing to just hook the worm and not their pants.  Then they dragged the rod and reel over to the water’s edge.  Mannie looked down and pointed to the old raft tied next to the dock.

“I can’t believe our good luck!” exclaimed Moe. “Our own fishing raft.  This was meant to be.”

The two clambered down onto the old raft and, working together, they managed to swing the rod and cast the worm about five feet over the water.  It fell with a plop.  They waited.  Nothing happened.  So they cast again and they waited.  Again nothing happened.  After about five tries Mannie turned to Moe.  “You know,” Mannie said, “I don’t think this is a good place to fish.  The boats on the ramp probably scare the fish away.  We need to get to the other side of the marina.”

They contemplated carrying the rod down the road to the spit but it seemed like too far to walk.

“I have an idea,” said Moe to Mannie, and he whispered his idea into Mannie’s ear.  Mannie’s eyes widened, he smiled and he gave Moe a thumbs up.

“Just one cast should do it,” said Moe.

“Let’s hope,” said Mannie.

Just then and old man rolled his power boat on its trailer down the ramp and into the water.  He busied himself tying the boat and parking the trailer.  Then he climbed in the boat, started the engine and backed slowly away from the ramp.

“Ready?” said Moe.  Mannie nodded yes.

“One, two, three,” counted Mannie.  Then, together, they flicked the fishing rod and cast the hook directly toward the back of the powerboat.  The hook snagged the wooden rail of the boat.

“Caught a big one this time,” said Moe.  He locked the reel and their raft started to float out behind the power boat as it moved slowly along the shore.  Moe and Mannie held tight to the rod and they were pulled out past the boats lining the spit and then around the piers.  The old man continued to busy himself with life jackets, coolers, towels and other things – not noticing that he was towing the raft around toward the mouth of the river.  Finally, however, his eye caught the hook stuck in his boat rail with the big night crawler still wiggling on it.  “What the heck,” he muttered, pulling the hook loose and dropping it into the water.  Then he sped his boat and headed out to the bay leaving Moe and Mannie on the raft in the boat channel on the open water side of the spit.

“Perfect,” said Moe again.

“Brilliant,” said Mannie. “Now let’s fish.”

About this time, Minnie decided to see how Mannie and Moe were doing.  So she climbed out of the basket and wandered down to the boat ramp.  Of course, when she got there there was no sign of the boys, nor of the rod and the bait except for the lid of the bait jar that had popped off on the grass.  She got worried and ran back to the house to find Carmelita.

“Carmelita, Carmelita,” Minnie shouted.  “Moe and Mannie went fishing and now they’re missing.  We have to find them.  Maybe a fish pulled them into the water and they sank.”

“Now Minnie,” replied Carmelita, “I’m sure they’re fine but I’ll come and help you find them.”  And together they went back down to the water by the ramp.  Minnie was just about to shout “Moe, Mannie where are you?” as loud as she could when she and Carmelita heard Mannie’s voice out across the water shouting excitedly.  

“That’s it, Moe, now pull up and reel it in fast.  Faster.”

Minnie jumped into the basket on Carmelita and together they rolled quickly around and onto the spit, just in time to see Mannie help Moe haul a perch onto the raft that was still floating in the boat channel.  Moe and Mannie were so excited watching the perch flop on the deck of the raft that they didn’t notice a cabin cruiser move past them, nor did the captain of the cruiser notice the little raft.  It was going too fast and had a big wake.  As the big boat passed them, the raft was lifted and tipped nearly on its side.  Then a fishing boat came the other way.  Its captain honked his horn and shouted “Out of the way, you’re in the channel, move your raft! Crazy little buggers” just as his wake tossed the raft the other way.  Mannie and Moe fell on their bellies and grabbed what they could to hold on.  The perch flopped back into the water and pulled the fishing rod in with him.  Both disappeared beneath the surface.

Carmelita had seen enough.  She winked.  Suddenly the fishing boat’s engine stalled and the chop from the boat wakes smoothed.  Then a strong wind blew off the bay.  It pushed the raft over to the little beach by the rock jetty.  Mannie and Moe clambered off onto the sand.  They were soaking wet.

“My, My,” said Carmelita sternly as Mannie and Moe approached. “What did you two troublemakers catch today?”

“Well, first we caught a boat,” answered Mannie.

“And then we caught a perch,” said Moe.

“And maybe we caught a cold,” they said together as both sneezed.

“We’re hungry,” said Moe and Mannie. “What’s for dinner?”

“Frozen fish sticks for you,” replied Carmelita.  “And after that you’re both digging in the garden.  You owe Gray some worms.”

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Carmelita, Minnie, Mannie, and Moe were invited for Thanksgiving dinner.  Carmelita naturally asked what they could bring to contribute to the meal.  But they all realized that not only was Grandma super organized, but that other guests would be contributing appetizers, desserts, or things to drink.  So it was hard to think of what they could bring.  Minnie, Mannie, and Moe were too small to carry a bottle of wine and didn’t have a kitchen of their own to make something that would feed a big person.  Grandma, of course, said that they didn’t need to bring a thing.  Every dish was taken care of, and besides, Minnie, Mannie and Moe ate so little that no one would have to add to their recipes.  There would be tons of leftovers after everyone ate all that they could.

Still Minnie, Mannie and Moe agreed with Carmelita that it would be nice to make a contribution.  But what could they do?

“How about if we offer to help Grandma cook?” suggested Minnie.

“Not a good idea,” said Mannie.  “Grandma will be moving so quickly around the kitchen that we’ll only be in the way.”

“Then maybe we could help Grandpa prepare the turkey; or peel potatoes.” 

“I don’t think that will work either,” responded Mannie. “Grandpa doesn’t want anyone around the kitchen when he’s trying to cook something.  He’s likely to slam the turkey down on top of us if he thinks we’re in the way.”

“And I’d stay away from peeling potatoes with him,” added Moe. “Either of you remember when Grandpa stuffed all the potato peels in the disposal and plugged the sink drain?  He wasn’t a fun person to work with after that.”

“Well,” said Carmelita, “It’s nice for you to be thinking of what you can contribute to the meal but you’ve realized that that’s probably not very practical.  Maybe you can think of other ways to help out.”

“I’ve got it!” said Moe. “We’ll offer to help eat the leftovers.  That’s a big job.  Besides, Rob says that they’re the best part of the meal.  That’s SO important because if we don’t help, Grandma and Grandpa might be eating leftover turkey and potatoes and cranberry sauce and Brussel sprouts FOREVER.”

“Brussel Sprouts?” asked Mannie?  “Brussel sprouts don’t go with Thanksgiving.”

“Careful,” said Minnie. “I heard that Molly is bringing Brussel sprouts and Grandpa is excited about it.  No peas this year.”

“I like peas,” said Moe.

“That’s beside the point,” replied Minnie with some frustration in her voice.  “We’re supposed to be thinking about how we can contribute, not debating the menu.”

“Let’s do something to help decorate,” said Mannie.

“We’re already part of the decoration,” said Moe, “who was starting to worry that his idea about helping with the leftovers wasn’t going to fly; and he didn’t want to miss out on them.”

“You know, Mannie,” said Minnie. “That just may be a brilliant suggestion.  People like to put out special decorations for holidays and I heard Grandma tell Grandpa that she didn’t really have many Thanksgiving decorations.  So, yeah, while we sit here on Carmelita and help to decorate the living room every day, there’s not much about us that Thanksgiving-y.”

“What shall we do, then?” asked Moe.  “Dress up like Indians and Pilgrims?  Or wear feathers like a turkey and go gobble-gobble?”

“Is that what a turkey says?” asked Mannie.  “I thought they went cluck-cluck.”

“Cock-a-doodle-do,” said Moe.  “No, that’s a rooster.  By the way, is a male turkey a rooster?”

“Cut it out, you two.  Get serious.  Mannie, for once, had a good idea.  We’re supposed to be thinking of what we can make for a Thanksgiving decoration,” said Minnie, “but now you’re both pretending you’re in a barnyard and making chicken and turkey noises.”

“Cluck, Cluck,” said Moe.  Minnie shot him a dirty look.  “Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” said Moe apologetically.

“Maybe we can have Carmelita roll onto the center of the table and we’ll be the Thanksgiving centerpiece,” suggested Mannie.

“I can’t tell if you’re serious or just trying to be as big a goof-ball as Moe,” said Minnie, “but you may have had your second good idea of the day.  Two good ideas; that’s a record!  Not the idea that Carmelita would roll onto the table, which is a bad idea; but that we could make a centerpiece for the table or even just a decoration for the living room.  We could go to the glass studio or to the shop and each make something, then put them together in basket.  What do you think?”

“I like it,” said Mannie. “Especially since it was my idea.  And not just a good idea, Minnie, but a great idea.”

“Well I guess you can have a little credit,” replied Minnie.  “I think I’ll make something out of wood.  What about you two?”

“Glass,” said Mannie.

“Wood,” said Moe. “And let’s not tell each other what we’re going to make.  We’ll find out when we put them together.  That’ll make it a surprise for us as well as a surprise for Grandma and Grandpa.”

“Shall we tell Carmelita?” asked Mannie.  “Or shall we surprise her, too?”

“Let’s just tell her that we’ve decided to make a decoration as our contribution to Thanksgiving.  We won’t tell her yet what it is,” said Minnie.

And that is what they did.  Carmelita was both pleased and curious.  She decided not to ask what they were going to make, perhaps magically sensing that they really didn’t know themselves.  So as soon as Grandma and Grandpa took Carly away from the house, Mannie scurried up to the glass studio and Minnie and Moe headed to the shop in the garage.  Once in the studio, Mannie looked around at all the pieces of uncut glass as well as cut pieces waiting for firing.  There were trays of glass rods, bottles of frit, and cut strips of different colors.  The more he looked around the less sure he was of what he could possibly make.  Meanwhile, the same thing was happening to Minnie and Moe.  In the shop they found piles of wood everywhere.  There were logs way too big for them, big blocks, and boxes with wheels and dowels and small colorful scraps.  What could they possibly make?  They were all overwhelmed.

As they each stood looking at the glass or wood in front of them, each without any idea where to start, Carmelita knew it was time for her to help.  First she concentrated on Mannie in the studio.  And as she did an idea magically appeared in Mannie’s mind.  Keep it simple, he thought.  Small.  Shiny. Colorful. Red…like a cranberry!  That’s it.  A Thanksgiving cranberry.  And he quickly set about finding the right piece of glass that he could polish in the kiln to make a Thanksgiving cranberry.

With Mannie busy, Carmelita turned her attention to Minnie who was asking herself what she could possibly make from wood that had something to do with Thanksgiving.   Carmelita concentrated and an idea came suddenly to Minnie.  Thanksgiving, dinner, cooking, something to cook with, a spoon!  Perfect.  And Minnie set out to find a small piece of wood and a chisel to carve it.

Finally, with Mannie and Minnie both hard at work, Carmelita focused on Moe who seemed even a little more lost than Minnie had been.  What to make? What to make?  Moe’s mind jumped from one idea to another as his eyes moved from one pile of wood to another.  Carmelita winked in Moe’s direction.  Thanksgiving, turkey, white meat, toothpicks.  Yes! Toothpicks.  Lots of people (ESPECIALLY Grandpa) need a toothpick after a big meal.  And Moe happily set out to find a small block of wood and tool to split it.

When they were done, each proudly brought their creations back to the living room to share with each other and with Carmelita who just happened to have a little basket to put them in.  “How did she know to have a basket?” wondered Minnie, Mannie, and Moe together.  But they were used to Carmelita’s ability to always know what they needed; and they were too pleased and excited by what they had made to think about it any further.  They tucked their creations together into the basket thinking what a beautiful decoration it would make.  Then they hid the decoration on the shelf behind Carmelita and went to sleep.

The next day was Thanksgiving.  Molly, Rob, Quinn, Gray, Ashby and Hollywood came early.  Then Uncle Nick, Aunt Chris, and Cousin Sam came.   Minnie, Mannie and Moe were excited about the company. They had a huge meal with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, Brussel sprouts, and yummy desserts.  Everyone was stuffed but after a while Rob and Moe managed to find room in their tummies for some leftovers before Grandpa cleaned away the rest.  Then everyone was sleepy.  Minnie, Mannie, and Moe thanked Grandma and Grandpa, climbed back into their basket, and nodded off to sleep the way people with tummies full of turkey will.  After a time, Minnie stirred and glanced down behind Carmelita where the basket remained hidden. “Our decoration,” she sleepily thought, “we forgot to give Grandma and Grandpa our decoration.” She looked over at Mannie and Moe.  They were sound asleep.  Moe was snoring quietly. Should she wake them up?  Too late really.  Grandma and Grandpa will have the decoration with plenty of time before Christmas.  Carmelita will make sure they find it.  And with that comforting thought, Minnie went back to sleep.

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It was bedtime.  Minnie, Mannie, and Moe had finished their dessert, put on pajamas, and brushed their teeth.  Now they huddled in their basket waiting for Carmelita to read to them.  They had looked over all the books on the shelf but couldn’t decide what they wanted to hear.  All their books were old and worn and they knew most of the stories so well that they could recite them from memory without even opening the book cover or looking at the pictures.

“You know,” said Mannie, “I’m kind of tired of the stories in these books.  Do you think Carmelita could tell us a story we’ve never heard before?”

“Yeah,” agreed Moe, “Maybe she could tell us a story that no one has heard, ever!”

“She could use her imagination,” added Mannie, “Like Grandpa does when he tells stories to Gray and Quinn about us.”

“I know,” said Minnie, “Let’s ask Carmelita to tell us a story about Ashby, Quinn, and Gray.  They’ve heard a lot about us but we’ve never been told a story about them.”

“Do you think Carmelita knows any Gray and Quinn stories?” wondered Moe.

“She could ask Grandma or Grandpa to tell her one and then she could tell it to us,” suggested Mannie.  “Or maybe she could make up a story about them.  It wouldn’t have to be true… just a good story.”

“But it can’t be scary,” said Moe. “We have to be able to fall asleep after it’s over.” 

“Fair enough,” said Minnie.  “But, personally, I’d rather hear a true story rather than a made up story.”

So they asked Carmelita if tonight, as a special treat, she could tell them an Ashby/Gray/Quinn story.  Carmelita said she wasn’t sure that she knew any stories about Ashby, Quinn and Gray but that she would check with Grandpa for suggestions.  And while she was doing so Minnie, Mannie, and Moe should all go and brush their teeth.

“But we’ve ALREADY brushed,” they said together.

“We’ll,” responded Carmelita, “You can share the last of the Christmas cookies.  Then you’ll need to brush teeth a second time.  And while you’re doing that I’ll talk to Grandpa to see what he suggests.” 

Minnie, Mannie, and Moe did as they were told.  They finished the last of the Christmas cookies that Grandma had left in the kitchen.  Moe even licked the plate to get up the last hardened crumb of frosting.  Carmelita consulted with Grandpa.  When they were done brushing for a second time and resettled in their basket, Carmelita said she had a Quinn/Gray/Ashby story for them.  And this is the story that she told:

Ashby, Gray, and Quinn Rescue a Pony

“Once upon a time Quinn, Gray, and Ashby…”

“Wait a minute,” interrupted Minnie, “I thought you were going to tell a true story.  True stories don’t start with “once upon a time”.  That’s how fairy tales start.”

“OK,” agreed Carmelita.  “I guess I’m so used to stories that start with “once upon a time” that I started that way out of habit.  I’ll start over.”

“One day, Quinn, Gray and Ashby went with Rob to the beach at Assateague Island.  There was a big hurricane far out in the Atlantic Ocean and Rob, their Daddy, wanted to surf the big waves that were coming onto the shore.  The kids … we’ll call Quinn, Gray, and Ashby the kids so we don’t always have to repeat their names … Anyhow, the kids weren’t allowed to surf or to even go close to the water since the waves were so big.  So they made a campfire on a sand dune and sat roasting marshmallows while Rob surfed.  While Gray and Quinn focused on roasting the perfect marshmallow, Ashby wandered off over the dune and into the woods.

After a while, Rob tired and came out of the water to rest.  He laid his surfboard on the sand near the campfire and stretched out under the sun.  Quinn and Gray were by then trying to see who could put the most marshmallow and the biggest piece of a Hershey bar between two graham crackers without breaking the crackers.

“Where’s Ashby?” asked Rob.  “Over there,” answered Gray pointing vaguely toward the far side of the dune while he remained focused on his ‘smore.  Rob looked over the edge of the dune but only saw a trail of little footprints heading into the woods.  “C’mon,” he said.  “We’d better go find him.”  But just as he was getting up to look, Ashby came out of the woods shouting “Giddy, Giddy … GIDDY.”

“Ashby must’ve seen some wild horses,” exclaimed Quinn who jumped up and ran passed Ashby into the woods.  Her ‘smore fell onto the sand next to the fire.  “Wow,” said Gray.  He carefully stuffed the last of his ‘smore into his mouth before taking off to follow Quinn.”  Rob picked up Ashby and trailed behind. 

They ran along a narrow path through the woods that lead them back onto the beach a short distance from where they had made their campfire but around a bend so it couldn’t be seen from where they had been.  There, trapped on a little island cut off from the main beach by heavy surf, was a little pony.  The herd of horses from which it had come had moved further along down the beach and stood at a distance looking back as Gray and Quinn reached the water’s edge.

“It’s lost,” shouted Gray over the noise of the crashing waves.

“We have to save it,” shouted Quinn even more loudly.  “Giddy, Giddy,” added Ashby for emphasis.

“I know,” said Gray, “we’ll lure it off of the island with a ‘smore.”

“I left mine at the campfire,” said Quinn and the two turned and raced back to the fire leaving Rob and Ashby on the beach watching the pony.  The herd of horses, meanwhile, wandered further down the beach and disappeared.  By now the wind and waves were quieting down.

When they got back to the campfire they found Quinn’s ‘smore mostly melted and covered with sand.  They were out of marshmallows and chocolate so they couldn’t make another.  Quinn briefly started to get upset about losing the ‘smore but then remembered they were going to rescue the pony.  The lost ‘smore didn’t matter.  Graham crackers alone would have to do…together with a carrot that Gray found in their snack bag.  

Back to the beach they ran with crackers and carrot in hand.  Ashby saw them coming.  “Cracker,” he shouted, grabbing a chunk from Quinn and stuffing it into his mouth.  Then he looked back at the pony and pointed.  “Neigh,” he said.  The pony looked back at Ashby.  “Neigh,” it responded.

Quinn and Gray waded into the surf up to their knees and held out the remaining graham cracker and carrot.  The pony looked but didn’t budge.  

“It’s afraid to go into the waves,” concluded Quinn.  “We have to find a way to float it off its island.  We could wait for the tide to go out but we don’t have enough time before we have to leave for home.”

“Maybe we can find sticks in the woods that we can use to build a bridge,” suggested Gray.  But then he realized that the sticks would probably float away; and that there weren’t enough to build a strong bridge even if they didn’t float.

Then Quinn and Gray’s eyes met.  They nodded and smiled to each other.  They each had the same idea at the same moment.  “Daddy’s surfboard!” Quinn stuffed the last of the graham cracker into Ashby’s mouth and, once again, they ran back to the campfire.  There they each grabbed an end of the surfboard and raced with it to the edge of channel that separated the pony’s island from the beach.  The water was now calm.  Without even asking permission, they jumped together onto the board and paddled quickly to the island.  The pony looked nervously at them but didn’t move away.

“Here,” said Quinn. “Climb on the surfboard and we’ll float you back to the beach.”  The pony didn’t move.  Gray offered it the carrot that he’d held onto.  The pony dropped its head nervously but still didn’t move – neither closer nor further away.  Instead it looked back across the channel to Ashby.

“Neigh,” said Ashby.  “Neigh,” the pony responded to Ashby, understanding through Ashby that Gray and Quinn were there to help.  Then it stepped slowly onto the surfboard.  Gray and Quinn carefully pushed the surfboard into the channel and guided it back to the beach.  When they touched to sand of the beach, the pony jumped off the board and pranced in a circle around the three kids.  It gave each a nuzzle to say “Thank you”.  Then started to trot away to join the others in the herd.

“You forgot your carrot,” shouted Gray who then tossed the carrot as far as he could toward the retreating pony.  It stopped, came back, picked up the treat and tossed its head to say “Thank you” one last time before disappearing around the next point of land.

THE END.

After a moment of silence, Moe turned to Carmelita.  “Was that a true story?  Did that really happen?”

“Well,” responded Carmelita.  “That’s just the story that Grandpa told to me.  Do you think he would make it up?”

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Minnie, Manny and Moe were tired of winter.  They felt trapped in the living room with nothing to see out the windows except gray skies and rain or snow.  Then, one Saturday, they overheard Grandpa talking to Grandma.

“Thank goodness we’re finally getting some sunshine today”, said Grandma. “Ashby, Gray and Quinn are coming this afternoon and it’ll be a little warmer.  You should be able to take them into the shop without freezing.”

“That’s right,” replied Grandpa.  “I’ve promised to take them out there to make something.”

“Do you have any particular project in mind?” asked Grandma.

“Not really.  There’s a box of wood scraps, hammers, nails and some glue.  So I thought I’d just let them try to make whatever they want while I hang around and help.  That reminds me, I have to go turn on the heater so it will be warm enough.”

“Better do it now,” said Grandma.  “We have to run errands before they arrive and you’ll want the shop already warmed if they want to rush out there.” 

So Grandpa headed out the garage to turn on the lights and heat.  Then he checked to be sure that there were enough small pieces of wood and nails for Quinn and Gray to use.  And that the glue was runny.  Satisfied, he came back to the house.  Then Grandma and Grandpa got into the car with Carly to go to the grocery store and then for a walk with Carly in the park.

Mannie and Moe overheard Grandma and Grandpa’s conversation and watched them leave the house.

“What a great idea, going out to the shop to make something,” thought Mannie.

“I’m reading your mind,” said Moe.”

“How’s that?” said Mannie.

“You’re thinking what I’m thinking,” said Moe.  “Here’s our chance to go out to the shop to make something.  Like a present for… well, for Carmelita.  Yes, we’ll make a present for Carmelita.  What better time to do it?  The heat and lights are on, there’s wood, and Grandpa is away on errands!”

“Do you think we could get in trouble?” asked Mannie, really hoping Moe would convince him that is WAS a good idea.

“How can we get in trouble?” replied Moe.  “We’re going to make a present for Carmelita.  That’s a GOOD thing to do.  You don’t get in trouble for being good.”

“Well…” said Mannie, “I guess…”

“Besides,” interrupted Moe. “You had the idea first AND we’ll ask Minnie to join us so we’re all together.  Minnie can’t resist the idea of making a present for anyone.”

And Moe was right.  Minnie couldn’t resist the idea of making a present even if she thought working in the shop without Grandpa being there was a mistake that might get them in trouble.

“We’re going to make a present, not to make a mistake.  We’re going to make a present for Carmelita; we’re not going to make a mistake.”  Minnie repeated over and over to convince herself it was a good idea and that nothing bad would happen.

So they climbed out of their basket and down off the shelf, and then scampered to the back door.  Mannie climbed the shade on the door until he could reach the button to open the garage door.  Then they carefully walked across the ice that still crusted the back of the driveway.  By the time they got into the garage they were already feeling a little tired since it’s a long way for such little people to go.  But the heater was blowing enough warm air that it actually felt cozy in the shop.  Soon they were ready to get to work.  They found the box of wood on the floor and could look up to see the hammers, the glue bottle and the jar of nails that Grandpa had set out on the bench.

This time Moe climbed up onto the bench.  One at a time he pushed the two hammers off.  Each clanged loudly as it hit the concrete floor.  “Thank goodness this is plastic,” Moe thought as he pushed the jar of nails over the edge, “a glass jar would shatter.”  The plastic nail jar hit the floor and bounced.  Then the lid popped off and nails spilled out.

“Be careful,” Minnie shouted up to Moe.

“Careful?” replied Moe. “How can I be careful pushing things off the workbench?  You have to watch out.  Here comes the glue.”  And with that, Moe rolled the glue bottle to the edge and down it came with a thud.  Splat.  Some glue squirted toward Mannie like ketchup -- but it missed him.

Moe climbed down.

“What’ll we make?” asked Mannie.

“How about a birthday cake for Carmelita,” suggested Minnie. “Her birthday was on Valentine’s Day and we didn’t give her anything.”

“This is a shop, not a kitchen,” said Moe.

“Duh.  I know that,” replied Minnie.  “It will be an art-cake, made of wood.”

“Cake it is,” agreed Mannie who was anxious to get started making something.  He didn’t have a better idea.

So the three set about choosing pieces of wood and nailing and gluing them into layers to make a wooden art-cake for Carmelita.  Before long they were satisfied with what they had made.  All it needed was paint for frosting.  They decided they could do that later, in the house.

Just then they heard the first crunch of car tires on the driveway.  “Uh oh, they’re back,” thought Minnie, Mannie and Moe together. “And we have no time for clean-up.”  

They jumped to their feet and just as she stood up, Minnie put one foot directly down on a nail on the floor.  It poked up into her foot right through her shoe.  “Yeow!” she yelled.

Now Minnie is a very small person and she doesn’t have a very loud voice even when she yells.  But Carmelita could hear her yell from anywhere.  And in an instant, Carmelita was in the garage gently comforting Minnie and removing the nail from her foot.  Then she looked around the shop and at the three of them.  

“Now what have you three been up to?” she asked.

“We made you a present, so you can’t be angry,” the three responded together.  “It’s an art-cake.  Happy late birthday.”

Carmelita frowned.  “We’ll talk about that later but right now we have to get Minnie back to the house for a bandage and some Neosporin.”  And in a blink she had all three out of the shop and into their basket with Minnie’s foot in a tight bandage.  Then Carmelita spoke to them.  “Thank you for my present.  I love it.” she said.  “But you realize that going out to the shop without Grandpa wasn’t a good idea.  So I hope that you’ve learned a lesson: You can do good things, like making presents, AND make bad mistakes at the same time.

“We know,” said all three quietly.

Meanwhile, Grandpa got out of the car and looked toward the garage.  “Weird,” he thought, “I’m sure I left the garage closed so it would warm up.  Maybe I’m wrong.”  Then he walked in and noticed the glue bottle, the hammers, and spilled nails on the floor.   “Oh boy,” he said to himself. “I’m going to have to be more careful about the door.  A raccoon or some other animal must’ve gotten in and knocked things off the bench.  Can’t be sure, but I’m glad that there’s time to clean up.  I wouldn’t want Quinn, Gray or Ashby to step on a nail.”

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“Guess what?” said Moe quite suddenly.

“What? What?” replied Mannie who had been suddenly awakened from his nap by Moe’s question.

“Tomorrow’s Easter Sunday!  That means the Easter Bunny will be coming tonight.  And in the morning we’ll be able to go around the living room searching for the Easter eggs the bunny will have hidden.”

“You mean jelly beans,” said Mannie.

“Well, yeah,” answered Moe. “We’re a little small for real eggs.  Jelly beans are our size.  And they’re better than real eggs.  They’re candy.”

“I hate to break it to you dreamers,” said Minnie sleepily.  (She also had been napping and was a little annoyed that Moe woke her up.) “There is no Easter bunny.”

“Is too,” replied Moe insistently.  “Who else always comes before Easter and leaves jelly beans and chocolate?  AND, I’ve seen lots of pictures of the Easter bunny in magazines and on cards and even on the TV.”

“Don’t you think that, maybe, it’s made up?  Or, maybe, it’s Carmelita?” said Minnie.

“Unh-Unh,” said Mannie and Moe together.  “Carmelita doesn’t look anything like the Easter bunny.  And she wouldn’t bring us candy.  She doesn’t approve of candy.  So it doesn’t make sense that she’d go scattering it around for us to find.”

“IF Carmelita were the Easter bunny,” Mannie continued, “We’d get baskets of broccoli and carrots instead of candy.”

“OK,” responded Minnie.  “Believe if you want.”

“We will,” said Moe.  “And if you don’t believe the bunny is real, YOU stay in bed tomorrow morning while Mannie and I go on our jelly bean hunt.  And we won’t have to share with you any of the jelly beans that we find.  And you won’t have to share the broccoli and carrots that Carmelita brings for you.”

“Not so fast, boys.  I didn’t say that jelly beans aren’t real.  I just don’t think they’re brought by some giant white bunny with floppy pink ears carrying a straw basket,” answered Minnie.  “And I didn’t say that I know Carmelita hides the jelly beans.  Maybe they’re brought by someone else…like, maybe, the Easter armadillo, or Elmo, or the walrus that lives upstairs in the bedroom.”  To tell the truth, Minnie didn’t like the idea of missing out on the hunt for candy even if she did have doubts about who left it.

“Easter armadillo?  No such thing.” Said Mannie.  “Now you’re the one who’s making things up.”

“I have an idea,” said Minnie. “Why don’t we find hiding places, stay up late, and watch out for whoever comes?  Like what we did when we caught the platypus who was stealing Grandma’s jewelry and Grandpa’s watch.”

“But we don’t want to scare the bunny away,” said Moe.  He was worried that if they spied on the bunny, it would hop away and not leave anything for them to find.

“I’m sure the bunny, or whoever comes, won’t be scared away,” said Minnie.  “We won’t show ourselves.  We’ll just watch from our hiding places.  And if it sees us we’ll just tell it that we’re doing research.”

“If we watch,” said Mannie, “we’ll know where all the jelly beans are hidden.  And then we won’t have to hunt for them.  That’ll be less fun than if we don’t watch.  When we have to hunt for them, if we don’t find them all, we can keep looking the next day, and the day after that.”

“Don’t worry, Mannie,” responded Minnie. “We won’t watch while the candy is hidden.  We just want to see who does the hiding.  Then we can close our eyes.”

“We should hide in the same hiding places we used before, when we caught the thief,” said Moe.

“No way,” said Mannie. “Minnie got to hide in the bowl on the shelf above Carmelita.  Moe got to crawl up onto Lyle.  But I had to hide in the drawer of the hall table.  I’m not going to hide in that drawer again.  It was too dark and scary.”

“OK,” said Moe. “You pick another hiding place for yourself.  I kind of liked climbing up onto Lyle and hiding behind his suspenders.”

“And I liked the bowl,” added Minnie.

“Well, I think I’ll hide on the couch under one of the pillows.  That way I can peek out and see if Carmelita leaves the shelf and goes around pretending she’s the Easter bunny.” Said Mannie.

“Does anyone know how late we’ll have to stay up?” asked Moe.

“Nope,” replied Mannie.

“Carmelita likes to go to sleep pretty early.  So if it turns out the Carmelita is the Easter bunny, we won’t have to stay up very late at all,” observed Minnie.  “We’ll just have to wait and see.  In the meantime I think it would be good if we could go back to our naps so we’ll be able to stay awake late if we need to.  And this time, Moe, if you have a new thought wait until we’re awake to share it.  Don’t talk!”

Mannie and Minnie managed to get back to sleep.  But Moe could not.  He was too excited.  Soon he would get to see the Easter bunny.  And Minnie would be proven Wrong, Wrong, Wrong.  Easter armadillo?  What nonsense.

After dinner, they each quietly crawled out of the basket and went to their chosen hiding places.  They were careful to say nothing to Carmelita so she wouldn’t know their plan.  But Carmelita couldn’t help but notice that they were each very excited in a quiet sort of way.  Mannie, realizing that it would be hard to see who was moving around after it grew dark, slipped a light ring onto his finger.  When he pushed the button on the ring, a red light would shoot out.  He could aim it at whatever moved.

Gradually the evening light faded to darkness.  Grandma, Grandpa and Carly went upstairs to bed.  And Carmelita fell asleep.  The house was quiet.  Nothing moved.  Then Minnie and Mannie heard a noise.  It was faint at first but grew louder.  It was a repeated banging sound, like someone pounding a metal drum.  Minnie poked her head out of the bowl and Mannie flashed the red light from his ring into the hallway.

“Cut it out, Moe,” they whispered together.  Moe had gotten bored and was tapping his heel against Lyle’s chest. “You’ll scare away the bunny!”

“Sorry,” said Moe.  “I was starting to get sleepy and needed to keep myself awake.”

“Just pinch yourself if you need to,” said Minnie.  “But keep it quiet.”

Everyone got settled again.  It was dark.  Mannie pushed the button on his ring and shot a beam of red light over to the piano.  Nothing there.  He shot his light into the fireplace.  Only some cold ashes from the last fire.  He shot his light over to the shelf where they spent their time in the basket on Carmelita’s back.  Nothing there.  He looked at the marble game on the round table.  Nothing moved.  He turned off the light and waited.

Minnie stirred restlessly in her hiding place.  Grandpa appeared.  He was wearing baggy pants with suspenders.  He had a fluffy cotton ball stuck to his rear between his pant pockets and a droopy set of gray and pink ears hanging from a headband.  He was carrying a basket filled with carrots and broccoli.  Minnie opened her eyes wide in amazement.  She was just about to say something when Grandpa disappeared.  All was quiet.  Had she been dreaming?

By late in the night Minnie, Mannie and Moe just couldn’t stay awake to watch any longer.  They each fell fast asleep, dreaming of Spring flowers, warm sunshine, bunnies, jelly beans, and chocolate.  Then just before dawn, something happened.  There was a soft thump thump, a scurrying, and a few soft plops.  And then whatever it was, was over – in an instant.  But “whatever it was” was just enough to awaken Moe, Minnie and Mannie from their slumber.  They opened their eyes and glanced around the room.  Here and there, in corners and under edges were tiny nests holding little jelly bean eggs.  A few foil wrapped chocolate bunny ears were visible poking out from hiding places.  Mannie pushed the button on his ring and shot a light onto the shelf in the corner.  There was Carmelita, sleeping quietly.  Funny, thought Mannie to himself, she smiles even when she’s asleep -- like she always knows a secret.

When the sun was up, all three forgot their disappointment at not catching the Easter bunny in the act of hiding their baskets (or was it Carmelita? Or Grandpa dressed as a bunny?)  They were having too much fun finding their baskets and munching the candy.  When they’d had enough, and each had put away a stash to eat later on, they confessed their plot to Carmelita – how they had argued, where they had hidden, and how late they’d stayed awake.  Carmelita smiled in her usual and mysterious way.

“Think of all the houses and all the kids that the Easter Bunny has to visit in a single night -- hiding little baskets in every home, or on lawns and under bushes.” Carmelita said.  “That bunny has so far to go and so much to do it shouldn’t surprise you that it moves so fast that you can never see it – even when it’s in your own living room.”  And Carmelita smiled again -- in her usual and mysterious way.

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Minnie could tell it was going to be a bad day the minute she woke up.  Mannie and Moe had kept her up late talking about how they were going to go upstairs in the morning to play Legos.  They had been very excited when they’d discovered a big box of Legos in the closet. Grandpa had taken the top off for Gray and Ashby and then had left the box open, so they could get into it.  They’d even figured out a way to tip the box on its side so Legos would pour onto the floor.  Then, once they’d spilled out, Moe and Mannie could use them to build their own forts and spaceships.  The plan involved sitting together on one edge of the box and leaning forward until the box gradually tipped over.  They figured that since they were barely heavy enough to tip the box, it would fall slowly and they could hop off onto the rug before the Lego bricks poured out.

As they talked, Mannie and Moe used funny words like Ninjago and Chima which made no sense to Minnie at all.  Eventually they’d quieted.  But then she’d slept poorly because Moe, or maybe it was Mannie, kept talking in his sleep and waking her up with odd shouts and cries.  “Hi-YAH!” one or the other would shout; then “BAM. BAM. BAM” as if delivering karate kicks or shooting with guns.

Minnie braced herself for the immediate resumption of talk about Lego warfare the minute Moe and Mannie woke up.  And when they did wake up, and Moe turned to her to simply say “Good Morning”, Minnie responded without listening: “Cut it out, I’ve had enough karate chops and shooting already.”

“What’s with Minnie this morning?” Mannie asked Moe.

“I don’t know,” replied Moe. “All I said was good morning.”

“Must’ve gotten up on the wrong side of the bed,” said Mannie.

“What does that mean?” asked Moe. “We don’t really sleep in a bed; and if we did I don’t imagine it would have a right side and a wrong side.”

“It’s just an expression,” explained Mannie. “It means she’s grumpy and we should stay away from her.  I don’t think it will be a good idea to invite her to play Legos with us.”

“But Legos are FUN,” responded Moe. “They’ll cheer her up.”

They decided to just mention to Minnie that they were going upstairs after breakfast to check out the Legos if she were interested and wanted to watch; or to find something else to play with herself like the Russian dolls or the collection of little cars.  Minnie wasn’t interested.  “First,” she said, “I don’t think Legos are particularly interesting.  And second, I think today is going to be a pretty bad day.  So something surely will go wrong and we’ll all get in trouble…somehow.”

“See what I mean,” said Mannie to Moe. “Minnie got up on the wrong side of the bed.”

They said nothing more.  After breakfast, Moe and Mannie climbed up the stairs and ran quietly into the kids’ bedroom where the box of Legos lay open just as they’d seen it the day before.  Moe struggled up onto the edge of the box and then helped Mannie to climb up next to him.  Together they leaned forward but the box didn’t move.  So they tried to rock the box over on its side.  Holding onto the edge with their hands, they leaned slowly backward.  Then, moving together, they threw their weight forward until their heads were out over their knees.  The box bounced and a few Legos rattled in the bottom.  They tried it again, and again.  Each time leaning a little further back and throwing their weight forward with greater speed.  And each time the box bounced a little more.  On the fourth or fifth try, Mannie lost his grip as he leaned back and fell down into the box, landing in the Lego pile with a crash. 

“You OK?” asked Moe.

“Yeah,” said Mannie. “I’ll climb out in a second.”  And Mannie tried to jump to catch the edge of the box to pull himself up.  But with each jump, the Legos below his feet moved and he sank down to his knees in the pile of bricks.

“Can you give me a hand, Moe?”

“Sure,” replied Moe who reached down with one hand only to lose his grip on the edge of the box with his other hand.  Next thing, Moe was upside down hanging from his knees.  Then, with another crash, he fell into the box next to Mannie.”

“Thanks for the help,” said Mannie.

“Very funny,” replied Moe.  “Now what’ll we do?”

Together they peered through the plastic walls of the box only to see Minnie outside of it.  She was peering back in at them with a funny smile on her face.  But Minnie said nothing.

“Well,” said Mannie. “We wanted to play with Legos and we’re standing in a pile of them.  So let’s build something right here, inside the box.”

“How about building a staircase so we can climb out?” said Moe.

“Brilliant,” replied Mannie.  And in little time they constructed a platform with a staircase leading off of it that took them right back to the top edge of the box.  Minnie had watched them with interest, still saying nothing.

“Want to join us?” Moe called down to Minnie.

“Maybe.”

“C’mon.  With the three of us on the edge we’ll be able to tip the box and spill the Legos onto the rug,” said Mannie.  

And so the three sat next to each other on the edge of the box and leaned way out over their knees. Minnie started to giggle. “What’s so funny?” asked Moe.  “Just thinking that we must look like we’re pooping together into the Lego box,” said Minnie.

“Ewe!” said Mannie just as the box tipped over delivering Minnie, Mannie, and Moe onto the rug with a pile of Lego bricks on top of them.

“It worked!” shouted Moe. “Now we can build forts and weapons and have a war!”

Soon all three had constructed forts for themselves.  Behind the walls were horses carrying riders with all kinds of strange heads and helmets, spears, swords, grappling hooks, blasters and other mysterious shooters.  Then there were tanks, trucks, mini-copters, and dragons with spiked tails.

"Hi-YAH” shouted Minnie as her super-hero warrior woman charged Moe’s fort on her horse and threw a grappling hook over his tank.  “BAM-BAM-BAM” responded Moe as his Ninjago fighter took aim at Minnie’s fighter with a special solar powered radio controlled blaster.  “FOOM” roared Mannie as his Chima tribesman swooped overhead in a mini-gyrocopter unleashing fire from flame throwers on the tail.  And so it went, “Hi-YAH”, “BAM-BAM-BAM”, “FOOM”.   Gradually, Minnie grew tired.  Claiming a headache from the noise and shouting, she climbed onto the bunk bed where she could look down on Mannie and Moe whose Ninjago and Chima warriors, after briefly celebrating victory over girls, continued to battle it out for ultimate victory.

Eventually Mannie and Moe also tired.  There had been no clear winner and Legos were by then scattered all over the room.  Moe started to play with cars and wondered about setting up a track for them to race on.  But that would mean figuring out how to somehow climb onto the top rail of Ashby’s crib where they could clamp the first piece.  And they were too tired to figure out how they’d do that without falling down onto the mattress and getting trapped among all the little stuffed animals inside the crib.  “Another day…” Moe thought to himself.

Then they heard Carmelita’s distant voice calling them for lunch.  Minnie climbed down off of the bunk and all three tumbled down the stairs to the kitchen hungry for the meal that awaited them.  

“Where have you three been all morning?” asked Carmelita who surely knew the answer without their telling her.  

“Oh, upstairs playing with Legos,” they answered casually.

“And you cleaned up before you came down for lunch, right?” said Carmelita. “…Leaving everything exactly as you found it, right?” she added, knowing full well that they’d left the room a mess.

“They started to say yes, but Carmelita knew better and with a wink she sent them instantly back upstairs to pick up every Lego brick and toss it back into the box.  “I knew this would be a bad day,” thought Minnie as she crawled around looking for little helmets, swords, and shields.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” responded Carmelita as she read Minnie’s mind.  “A little work cleaning up doesn’t spoil the fun you had playing.  And it will make it more likely that you’ll be welcomed back to play with the Legos another day.  Then, with another wink, Carmelita righted the Lego box and snapped on the cover.   The room was neater than when they’d started trying to tip the Lego box.  “Perfect,” said Carmelita.  “Grandpa will be really pleased. Now come for lunch.” 

After lunch, while they were resting, Minnie started to complain about how having to play with Mannie and Moe, and having to clean up afterward, and having to rest made it a really bad day.  But she caught herself.  She had to admit that it wasn’t such a bad day after all… In fact, she’d had a lot of fun.

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Ever since the Ospreys returned from Argentina in the early spring, Minnie had become very absorbed in watching their activity.   She’d learned from Grandma that their names were Hil and Bill.  Those were the names given to them by Grandma’s friends who watched their nest with a telescope in their living room. With Carmelita’s help, Minnie also had put together a special telescope with mirrors and lenses.  It was really a combination of a telescope and periscope.  And with it, she could look out from the living room, over the trees and directly down onto the nest.

Minnie had watched the Osprey parents, Hil and Bill, gathering sticks to build their nest and then perching on top of the masts of the sailboats nearby to look down on their summer home.  She’d watch Hil lay two eggs in the nest; and then lay down on top of them to keep them warm while Bill hunted for fish that he brought to the nest to feed the two of them.  Minnie worried when a late snowstorm came along with cold winds; but Hil managed to cover her eggs and keep them warm.  After that, Bill sometimes took a turn sitting on the eggs so Hil could take a break and stretch her wings.  Ultimately Minnie was rewarded by seeing two baby osprey chicks in the nest right after they emerged from their eggs.  Hil still kept them warm by covering them with her wings while Bill increased his hunting since he now needed to catch fish to feed the babies.

By mid-June the chicks had grown enough that they were too big to hide under Hil’s wings.  They sat up on the edge of the nest almost all the time and flapped their wings to build up the muscles they’d need for flight.  And they were hungry all the time, so now both Hil and Bill had to catch fish to feed them; and to collect more sticks to enlarge the nest so it would be big enough for the four of them.  By early July the chicks could flap their wings enough to lift them up off the nest and then back down.  Soon they would begin to fly.

Minnie, with her special telescope, had watched all of this happen.  And as Spring passed into Summer, she described what she was seeing to Mannie and Moe.

Mannie and Moe, however, weren’t very interested in the Ospreys and they weren’t being very good listeners.   Around Easter, Moe suggested to Mannie that they play a trick on Minnie.  They could make an Easter egg and put it into Hil and Bill’s nest.  It would sit next to the Osprey eggs and Minnie could spend time waiting for the Easter egg to hatch together with the real Osprey eggs.  Hil would keep it warm just like her real eggs.  Maybe a baby bunny would come out of the egg and think it was an Osprey chick.  Wouldn’t Hil and Bill (and Minnie) be surprised by that!?  

So while Minnie kept an eye on the things that were really happening in the nest, and even though she told Mannie and Moe what she was seeing, Mannie and Moe worked on their plan to put an Easter egg into the Osprey nest.  First they had to get an egg.  Moe knew right where to find one -- in Grandma’s refrigerator.  Getting the egg out of the carton and to where they could color it was going to be their first challenge.  Then they had to decide whether to boil the egg so it would be hard; or poke a hole in the egg shell to blow out the yolk and egg white so it would be light enough for them to carry it to the nest.  Then they had to color the egg and put zig-zag lines on it so they could tell their Easter egg apart from the real Osprey eggs.  Then they had to figure out how to get their egg out of house, over to the river, and up into the nest.  AND they had to find a time to do this when Hil and Bill were off the nest so they could put their egg there without being seen and chased away.  It was going to be a challenge.  But they figured that they could do it.  They would need help, maybe even from Minnie, but they would have to keep their real plan a secret.

So this is what they did:

First they decided that a hard-boiled egg would be better than an egg with the contents blown out.  It would be heavier for sure, but it would be sturdier and less likely to be crushed by Hil’s weight when she lay upon it.  So they asked Grandpa if he would please make them a hard-boiled egg for breakfast…but just leave it on the counter so they could eat it after it cooled.  Better yet, if Grandpa could roll the egg gently into the baking drawer (where they knew Grandma kept the food coloring), then they could be sure of two things: that it wouldn’t roll and fall onto the floor and that Grandma wouldn’t find it and decide to make a deviled egg.  It took a while, but by mid-April they had a nice big hard-boiled egg sitting in the baking drawer waiting to be colored.

Next they needed to color the egg.  They figured that Minnie would like to help them do this but it was already a couple of weeks past Easter.  Minnie, however, had no interest in coloring an egg for NEXT Easter and suggested that they should just eat the egg while it was fresh.  So Moe and Mannie together unscrewed the tops of the food coloring bottles and together jumped on them to squirt the food colors over the egg’s shell.  It was a little hard for them to control where the colors went; and they didn’t come up with neat zig-zag lines.  But the egg was colorful and they were pleased.  The inside of the baking drawer was also colorful. Grandma was not pleased.  But she blamed Grandpa and Moe and Mannie didn’t say a word.

To get the egg down off the counter, Moe dragged a pillow off the couch and put it on the floor below the baking drawer.  Then Mannie tipped the egg out of the drawer and let it drop onto the pillow.  They both held their breath as the egg hit the pillow, bounced up, and rolled onto the wooden floor.  But that only left a tiny dent in the eggshell.  They breathed a sigh of relief.

No one is sure how Mannie and Moe got the egg out of the house and down to the grasses by the riverbank.  Rumor has it that they got Carly to help by bribing her with a fresh bone.  But that is only a rumor.  Mannie and Moe won’t tell.  At any rate by early May, while Hil was sitting on her eggs in the nest and Bill was busily catching fish to feed her, Mannie and Moe’s egg was close to the water waiting for them to figure out a way to get it across the water and into the nest.  Mannie and Moe had to think long and hard about how they would move it.  They weren’t sure if it would float if they just pushed it into the water.  They decided it would probably sink.  And if it floated, it would get mucky.  Finally, after a lot of thinking, they decided that the best way was to take a loose plank from Mrs. O’Reilly’s dock, put the egg on that, and then paddle it out to the nest.  Mrs. O’Reilly wouldn’t notice a missing plank since her dock was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Isabel and had never been fixed.  So all the planks were loose and periodically floating into the river.

By the time they’d located a plank and found sticks to use as paddles it was already June.  The tucked the plank next to the egg in the grasses and waited for an opportunity to float it over to the nest.  Minnie said that Hil’s eggs were about to hatch but they didn’t really listen to her.  They only had a sense that they needed to hurry.  They also needed to wait for a day with calm water and some wind that would blow them toward the nest to help their paddling.  Then they had some bad luck.  There were lots of rainy days.  One day two little chicks peeked out from under Hil’s wings and Bill flew on and off of the nest constantly to catch fish to feed them.  Soon the chicks grew.   At first they just poked their heads up.  Then they started to sit on the edge of the nest letting both Hil and Bill leave them to fish.

Finally, in late June, just the right day came along.  Mannie and Moe loaded their egg and the sling they’d made to haul it up the piling onto their plank and set out into the river.  Hil and Bill were off the nest but perched on sailboat masts nearby, keeping watch.  Mannie and Moe reached the piling, tied up their plank, and started to climb up carefully cradling the egg in its sling.  It was hard work and the egg was heavy.  Minnie looked through her telescope to check on the chicks just as Mannie and Moe reached the edge of the nest.  “Oh my gosh!” exclaimed Minnie. “What are those two doing?”  She said it loud enough to alert Carmelita who rushed over to look through the telescope.

“Cheep! Cheep!” exclaimed Hil to Bill. “Two little people are invading our nest!” "Cheep, Cheep, Cheep,” the chicks called back. “Who’s coming?  Are we in danger?  Are they fish to eat?”  Bill swooped low over the nest to get a closer look while the chicks flapped their wings enough to lift themselves up into the air.  “Look out,” shouted Mannie to Moe as Bill flew close over their head screaming incessant cheeps.  Moe dove down behind the egg.  Mannie didn’t hear Moe’s warning since the birds flapping wings and the noise of their cheeping was too loud.  But the wind from their flapping was enough to knock him down and he crawled under a few sticks.  Then Hil dove down at them with her talons opened in front of her.  She would grab the two invaders, carry them out over the open water of the bay and leave them to be eaten by bigger fish.

Just then a huge gust of wind blew all of the birds up away from the nest.  Mannie and Moe were also blown over the edge.  They dropped down into the river where, luckily, they landed next to the plank that they’d taken to bring the egg out from shore.  Only the Easter egg didn’t move.  In fact it rolled down into the depression in the center of the nest where Hil’s eggs were once warmed.  When Hil, Bill, and the chicks flew back, there it sat looking settled and colorful.  “Cheep, Cheep?” asked the chicks. “Is this a new baby?”  Hil settled over the egg.  It was hard and cold and she knew immediately that it had been boiled.  “Cheep,” she responded to her chicks. “No, it’s not a new baby.  The little people who brought it were delivering dinner.”

Mannie and Moe were wet and tired when they dragged themselves back into the living room.  “You two are out of your minds!” said a horrified Minnie before they could open their mouths.  …And what do you think Carmelita had to say after that?

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“Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh!” exclaimed Minnie. “There are only five more days of summer vacation, and then school starts!”

“Is that good or bad?” responded Moe.

“It’s GOOD!” replied Minnie.  “We get new teachers, a new classroom, and new books.  In a way, it means we’re officially a year older.  Not like a birthday when we’re seven and then we’re eight, but like we were second graders and now we’re third graders.  That’s how grown-ups think.”

“I’m not so sure it’s good,” said Mannie.  I mean, we have to get up earlier and wear clean clothes every day, and wait at the bus stop, and eat lunch too early.  And we don’t get to go to the beach and jump in the waves because it’s hot outside, or just hang around and splash in the pool.”

“Yeah,” added Moe. “I agree with Mannie.  I don’t think going back to school is a good thing.  What if I don’t like my new teacher?  Or there are mean kids on the playground at recess?  Or I get on the wrong bus after school and can’t get home?”

“Silly,” said Minnie, trying to be reassuring.  “Mannie and I will make sure you get on the right bus.  You don’t need to worry about that.  And you’ll like your teacher.  I had her last year and she was really nice.  You have to think about all the fun things that will happen, like field trips and…”

“Snow days and school vacations,” said Mannie, interrupting.

“Let’s go through our new backpacks to be sure we have everything we’re supposed to bring.  Besides, we need to unwrap stuff before we get to our classrooms.”

So the three got out their backpacks and dumped everything inside onto the floor in a big pile and started to re-sort everything – new pencils, erasers, notebooks, crayons (26 colors no less), Kleenex packs, squirt guns, minions, swim goggles, two teenage ninja turtles, and a pink key chain with a rubber heart on the end.  There were three lunch boxes (same as last years), and three water bottles.

“Wait a minute,” said Minnie looking over the pile on the floor.  “Some of this wasn’t on the school supply list.”

“Yeah,” said Mannie.  “I don’t remember a pink key-chain being on the list.”

“Well,” said Minnie.  “That’s not going to get anybody in trouble.  But if you two bring squirt guns in your back packs you’re going to get kicked out of school, sent home, and you’ll be in lots of trouble.  The rules are NO guns of any kind allowed.”

“Not mine,” said Mannie. “I’m bringing the ninja turtles.”

“These are yellow and green plastic squirt guns,” replied Moe.  “One for me and one for a friend so we can shoot each other at recess.  It’s not like anyone is going to think they’re real.  Well…, they are real squirt guns and my super soaker is way too big to put in my backpack.”

“And the swim goggles?” asked Minnie.  “Whose are those?”

“Gee,” said Moe. “Those are to protect my eyes during the squirt gun fight.”

“If you bring them,” cautioned Minnie, “They’re going to get taken away, you’ll get sent home and you’ll never see them again.  I guarantee it.”

“Rats,” said Moe. “I knew that going back to school wasn’t as good as summer vacation.”

So the three sorted everything again and repacked their backpacks.  Left on the floor were the two squirt guns and the swim goggles.  But somehow the key chain, the ninja turtles, and the minions made it back into one or another of the three backpacks.  Moe figured that when the others weren’t looking he might sneak the squirt guns and goggles back into his backpack.  Carmelita might know but she would also know that they were just toys, no different than Mannie’s ninja turtles.  So she wouldn’t care.

Minnie was quickly back to thinking about what the first days at school would be like. “The teachers will ask what each of us did over the summer and we’ll get to tell what we did that was the most fun.  I’ll tell about how I watched the osprey’s have babies in their nest, and how the mommy and daddy osprey taught the chicks how to fly and catch fish.  What will you two tell about?”

“I guess that I’ll tell about how Moe and I tried to trick the ospreys into trying to hatch an Easter egg that we sneaked into their nest,” said Mannie picking up on Minnie’s idea.

“Seriously?” asked Minnie.  “I wouldn’t tell about that.  You’d have to tell about how Carmelita saved you from being eaten by the ospreys when they caught you in the nest and thought you were just funny looking fish.”

“I guess I’ll tell about jumping on the trampoline and picking raspberries in the garden.” Said Moe.

“And we can all tell about jumping off the dock by the boat ramp.  And jumping in the waves at the beach,” they all agreed.

“I guess I may miss summer a little bit,” allowed Minnie.

Soon they all quieted, each thinking about the start of school and what it meant for them in his or her own private way – what excited them and what worried them.  The days passed quickly, and before they knew it, the first day of school arrived.  They all woke up early, brushed their teeth, put on new clothes and colorful new sneakers, packed their lunches, and filled their water bottles.  Then they shouldered their overstuffed backpacks and started out the door ahead of Carmelita who was walking them to the bus stop.  As each went out the front door, Carmelita scanned each backpack with her x-ray vision.  When she looked at Moe’s backpack, she saw the squirt guns and goggles hidden behind the crayon box.  She grew alarmed and then instantly had a plan to save Moe from a lot of trouble while having the school principal teach him an important lesson.  With her plan in mind, she winked her magic wink and removed the guns and goggles from the back pack without Moe knowing what she had done.  Since Moe was being sneaky, Carmelita thought she could be sneaky too.

So off they went to the bus…

Minnie, Mannie, and Moe were happy to find old friends at the bus stop.  In their classes they each found their assigned seats, met their teachers, and in turn told what they liked most about their summer vacations.  Then, just before recess, Moe’s teacher told Moe that he had been called to the principal’s office and that he needed to bring his back pack with him.  The teacher’s assistant would walk him there.

Moe suddenly felt doomed.  The principal would find the squirt guns.  He would be sent home and not allowed to come back.  No recess.  No school friends.  No bus ride home.  Carmelita’s disapproval.  Why had he not taken Minnie’s advice?

 Head down, he shuffled to the principal’s office.  “Sit down, young man,” said the principal.  “Let me have a look in your backpack.  It was suggested to me that maybe you brought something to school that you should have left at home; and I need to find out.”

Moe, with dread, handed the principal his backpack.  The principal opened it, shuffled through the contents and then, with a frown on his face, turned to Moe and said: “Young man, there are some things here that you are absolutely not allowed to bring to school.  I will have to take them from you and notify Carmelita that you brought them.  She will decide if you need punishment.  I will keep them until after school and allow you to take them home at that time.”  And with that, he pulled the minions out of Moe’s back pack and put them on the shelf behind his desk.  “No toys are allowed in the classroom.  They’ll keep you from learning your lessons,” he added.  “Now off to recess.”

After school, Carmelita met Minnie, Mannie, and Moe at the bus stop.  “How was your first day of school?” she asked each as they climbed off the bus.

“Wonderful!” said Minnie, “I can’t wait to tell you all about it.”

“Fun,” said Mannie, “My teacher is really a neat guy.”

“It was scary,” said Moe, “But I’ve already learned a lot.”

“I’m so glad,” said Carmelita to Moe.  “I think you’re now ready to have a great year.”

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One morning, Mannie was feeling sad and out of sorts.

“What’s wrong?” asked Minnie.  

“What’s wrong?” asked Moe.

“I don’t know,” replied Mannie.  “Well, I guess I do know.  I feel like nobody pays much attention to me; like I’m not special.”

“But you are special,” said Minnie.  “You’re in EVERY story Grandpa writes about us.”

“Yeah,” added Moe.  “And YOU hold the reins when we’re in the basket on Carmelita’s back, while I’m always in the back.”

“But you CHOSE to be in the back,” replied Mannie.  “Remember?  After the dentist fixed your bad breath you decided that you still wanted to ride backward.  I don’t remember choosing to hold the reins.  Linda Lou Horn just put me there. Riding backward makes you special because you chose to.  Can’t you see that?”

“I don’t see that it makes me anything but me,” responded Moe.  “But if you think riding backwards is something special, I’m not going to argue with you.”

“You’re as special as me,” said Minnie.  “I just look out to the side.”

“As special as you?  How can you say that?” moaned Mannie.  “It’s ALWAYS Minnie, Mannie, and Moe this…and Minnie, Mannie, and Moe that.  You’re ALWAYS first.  And Moe is ALWAYS last.  And I’m stuck in the middle.

“Blame Linda Lou Horn again,” said Moe.  “We didn’t pick the name.  Linda Lou did.  Remember? ‘Minnie, Mannie and Moe – Lost Again’.  Shall we get ourselves renamed?  ‘Mannie, Moe and Minnie – Always Lost’.  How does that sound?”

“Very funny,” said Mannie.  “It’s not like we can change our given name.  It’ll always be Minnie, Mannie, and Moe.  I’ll always be in the middle.”  Mannie put his head down and sighed.

“Ok,” said Moe. “I can’t help you.  You’ll have to live with it.”

“I agree,” said Minnie. “I give up too.  You’re helpless.  Better talk to Carmelita.  Maybe she can perform a magic trick and make you cheerful.”

Of course, none of this conversation was missed by Carmelita.  And a little while later, while Minnie and Moe were doing other things, Carmelita came over to listen to Mannie.

“Why so sad?” she asked.

“I don’t know if I’m sad,” responded Mannie. “Well, I guess I am but mostly I’m tired of always being second.  I’m second whether you start from the front with Minnie; or start from the back with Moe.  Either way, I’m in the middle.  Middle, middle, middle.”

“I understand,” said Carmelita softly. “But, you know, sometimes you can’t do anything about the order of things.  But that doesn’t make you un-special.  In fact, there can only be ONE person in the middle and that person is you.  Not Moe, Not Minnie.  So you are special in that sense.  But, more importantly, you can change the order of things in a lot of ways.  If you want to be first, you can make yourself first by doing something before others do it.”

“I don’t imagine that that’s very easy,” said Mannie.  “What can I do before anyone else does it?”

“Create something,” said Carmelita. “Be the first to imagine something.  Write a story that’s never been written before.”

“Hmmm,” thought Mannie as ideas started to swirl in his brain.  A story that’s never been written…maybe about me…or with me as the main character, number one, numero uno (that’s Italian) the STAR!  But what would happen in that story?  

So Mannie picked up a pencil and a pad of lined paper, scratched his head, and started to imagine his story…his mood already brightening.  This is what he wrote:

Mannie’s History – The True Story of how MANNIE came to be the SPECIAL MANNIE that He is.

I come from a long line of SPECIAL folks.  My great grandpa, Manfred, held the reins of a stagecoach that used to go from Durango to Dodge in the days of the Wild West.  He’d hurry is team of horses across Indian Territory carrying chests of gold and silver eastward; and then cash and provisions westward.  Grandpa Manfred had a side-kick named Moses who didn’t do much.  Moses would sit next to him on the bench of the stage and hold on for dear life as Grandpa Manfred charged his horses through canyons and across streams; and as he fought off hostile Indians whose bows and arrows were no match for his special Springfield repeater rifle.  In the stage he sometimes had a woman passenger named Millie.  Millie thought Grandpa Manfred was so handsome, and so brave that she just wanted to ride the stage to be close to him; and to watch him frighten off the Indians and robbers who from time to time would try to ambush the stage and steal its cargo.

After a while, great grandpa Manfred’s butt grew sore from so much sitting on the stage coach’s bench as it charged through canyons and across streams.  So he married Miss Millie and settled on a ranch to raise cattle and a family.  He hired Moses as a ranch-hand although Moses continued to not do much.  In due time, great grandpa Manfred and (now) great grandma Millie had a son whom they named Monty.

Monty, my grandpa, was just about anything and everything Manfred and Millie could hope for.  He was really smart, and really strong, and really handsome, and really imaginative.  And he would’ve been really good at soccer except that nobody knew about soccer in the Wild West; and really good at Legos except that Legos hadn’t been invented; and really good at lacrosse except only Indians played lacrosse in those days.  So Monty decided that he’d be really good at math and science.  He went to a special high school for math and science and became an engineer.  Grandpa Monty built a huge bridge across the Flossy River.  It is still there; and people still drive their cars and trucks over the bridge to get from one side of the Flossy to the other.  Grandpa Monty was just about the most famous engineer there ever was when the bridge was finished.  He married a beauty queen named Mimi.  And, I almost forgot, he had an assistant named Morris. (I don’t know much about Morris.)

In due time, Grandpa Monty and Grandma Mimi, had a son.  They named him Mackenzie.  People also called him Mac.  Or Magic because he knew how to do a lot of magic tricks.  Magic was my Dad.  He was cool.  I think, but I’m not sure, that he might’ve taught Carmelita some of her magic.  He was that good.  Magic liked to hang around with a girl named Mindy and he had a good friend named Morris who helped him with his magic tricks, sort of a magician’s helper.  Morris would climb into a box and my Dad would stick swords through the box from every direction without ever cutting Morris.  Or Morris would climb into a trunk with his hands in handcuffs and my Dad would make him disappear.  I wish he had taught me THAT trick so I could disappear you know who when I want to.  Anyhow, Dad got married too.  Now I’ll bet you think that Mac married Mindy.  Or another woman with a name like Macey or Missy.  Well you’re wrong.  My Mom’s name was Susan.  Susan was automatically special because she was my Mom.

And so here I am. 

THE END

Mannie paused.  “You know, listening to my own story, I realize that I’m a special guy to come from such a special family.  It’s not what I do that matters.  It’s who I am, even if it seems like I’m always in the middle.

“Gosh,” said Moe as Mannie finished his tale, finally with a smile on his face.  “You know what?  You’re an especially good story teller.”

“And a special friend,” said Minnie.

“I couldn’t agree more!” added Carmelita.

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(A story written especially for Ashby)

Halloween was only two nights away.  Moe was very excited.  He was going to go out to Trick or Treat.  But he couldn’t decide what costume he would wear.  He wanted to go out to ring doorbells dressed like he always dressed.  But Minnie and Mannie told him that he had to wear a costume.

“The scarier the better”, said Mannie.  “Like a ghost or a monster.”

“Roar!” 

“But I don’t like scary,” said Moe.

“You could be a singer or a dancer,” said Minnie.  “They’re not scary.”

“Will I have to sing or dance after I knock on the door?” wondered Moe.

“No, silly,” replied Minnie, “You just have to say ‘trick or treat’”.

Moe thought about it.  While he was thinking, he picked up a little football and threw it across the room toward the piano.

“Careful,” said Minnie.  “Grandma’s glass bowl is on the piano.  Why do you always have to throw a ball?”

Then Moe knew what he would be for Halloween, a football player!  Moe remembered that Ashby was going to be a football player too.  Ashby was going to be a Washington Redskin.  Ashby already had a red helmet and a red shirt.  Moe needed a helmet and a shirt, just like Ashby…and maybe a little football to carry with him.  It wouldn’t be scary.

Now, he needed his costume fast.  So he went to the computer and checked on football costumes for Halloween.  There were LOTS of helmets and shirts to choose.  Red, and Blue, and Purple, and Orange.  Moe chose purple.  That’s the color of the Ravens.  So Moe would be a Raven, like Ashby was a Redskin.

When Moe went to buy his football costume he learned that the delivery man couldn’t bring it until the day after Halloween.  It would be too late for him to wear it to Trick or Treat.  So Carmelita, who has magic, promised Moe she would use her magic to get his football costume on time.   After she promised, Carmelita closed her eyes and counted: “One, Two,Three.”  The she opened her eyes and the doorbell rang.  Carly jumped up and barked.  There was a package at the door.  And inside the package was a purple helmet, a purple shirt that said Ravens, and a purple football.

Carmelita looked at the football.  “You know what I think?” said Carmelita.  “I think this is a magic football.  If you sit on this football, it will fly you from house to house on Halloween.  Then you can climb off, ring the bell, say “Trick or Treat”, and get candy really fast.  But if you forget to say “Thank you”, then the football loses its magic and you have to walk.”

And that’s exactly what Moe did on Halloween.  He climbed on his magic football and zoomed from door to door.  He rang the doorbell, said “Trick or Treat”, chose a piece of candy and was careful to say “Thank You.”  And when people asked him, “Who are you?”  He said “I’m a purple Raven… can’t you tell?”  “Of course,” they all replied.

That night, at bedtime, Moe had a bag full of candy to share with Minnie, who was a dancer, and Mannie, who was a monster.  And even though he flew from door to door on his magic football, and didn’t have to walk or run, he was very tired.

“I can understand,” said Carmelita.  “Football is very tiring.  Nighty-Night.”

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One morning, about a week after Thanksgiving, a shaft of sunlight came in through the window over the fern in the corner of the living room.  The light landed on the little table with the CD player right beneath Carmelita.  Moe was awakened by the light and as his eyes followed the light across the room he noticed something dart behind the stack of CDs next to the CD player.  The movement was quick and Moe wasn’t sure whether he’d seen something that was real or not.  Without moving, he stared carefully down at the small table.  And there, poking ever so slightly above the top of the stack was something pointy and green, like the end of a bean or maybe the tip of a hat.

Moe elbowed Mannie.  “Mannie, Mannie,” he whispered.  “Look down there on the table.  Do you see anything funny?”

“What?” said Mannie sleepily, “I haven’t opened eyes yet and you want to know if I see something down on the table that doesn’t look right?” 

“Well open your eyes and look,” insisted Moe.

Mannie turned to look back over his shoulder and slowly opened his eyes.  The morning light was bright and Mannie squinted to look down toward the table.  He couldn’t see anything.  “Ask Minnie,” he said.  “She has a better view.”

So Moe poked Minnie to wake her up.  “Minnie,” he again asked, “Do you see anything unusual down on the little table, behind the CD’s?”

Minnie rubbed her eyes.  She looked down out of their basket and spied the tip of a green felt hat poking up behind the CD player.  “Yup,” said Minnie, “I definitely see something down there and I think that I know what it is.”

“Well tell me,” said Moe. “What is it?”

“Or perhaps you should ask: Who is it?” replied Minnie.  “Let’s go down and see if I’m right.”

“Is it someone bad? Or mean? Or Scary?” asked Moe.

“That depends on you,” answered Minnie.

“OK Minnie, but you lead the way.  C’mon Mannie,” said Moe.  And so the three of them, with Minnie in the lead, climbed quietly out of their basket, down the shelves, across the rug and up onto the table with the CD player, all the while squinting into the morning sun which prevented them from seeing much directly in front of them.  They crowded in front of the CD player.  Moe peeked around the corner. He didn’t see anything.

“Hello,” Moe called out in a timid voice. “You there?  We’ve come down meet you.”  There was no response.  “Hello,” Moe tried again.  “Anybody there? Why are you hiding?”  There was still no response.  Suddenly, Mannie shoved Moe in the back and pushed him around the side of the player.

“Just go have a look, ‘fraidy-cat,” said Mannie.  “No, YOU have a look,” said Moe swinging back behind Mannie and shoving him in turn.  “No, YOU,” said Mannie.  Meanwhile, Minnie had walked around the CD player from the opposite direction. 

“Enough!” said Minnie.  “Listen to the two of you.  You’re both ‘fraidy-cats.  It’s just an elf-doll with a pointy green hat.”

“But where did it come from?” asked Mannie. “It wasn’t there before, for sure.   So when did it get there; and why is it hiding?”

“Yeah,” said Moe. “And how can it be a doll when I saw it move into its hiding place just when the morning sun came through the window?”

Minnie was silent for a moment. Then she said, “Well, I think I may know who it is.  I think I’ve heard Quinn and Gray talk about a little elf named Shelf who comes to their house before Christmas to spy on them.”

“Why would an elf do that?” asked Mannie.  “And where did he get a weird name like Shelf?  And how can a little doll move around and spy on Quinn, or Gray, or Ashby.”

“I think I know,” said Moe.  “He’s hired by Molly or Rob to make sure that they don’t eat too much of their Halloween candy at one time.  Why else?”

“Well,” said Mannie. “That doesn’t make too much sense to me.  We don’t have any Halloween candy left.  So why would Shelfy, or whatever his name is, come here to spy?  I THINK this has something to do with Christmas.” 

“You’re probably right,” said Moe, thinking slowly.  “A spy who comes before Christmas probably comes to see what presents we’re going to get before they’re wrapped up and hidden by Carmelita.

“Good thinking,” said Minnie. “Who would he be spying for?  Certainly not Carmelita.  She will already know what she’s gotten for us.”

“For a robber, obviously!  Someone who’s going to sneak into the house and steal presents” said Mannie.

“Gotta be,” agreed Moe. “We’d better wake up Carmelita and warn her, or tell Grandma that there’s a robber’s spy in the house.”  Mannie and Moe quickly climbed down from the table and ran back across the rug to warn Carmelita about the robbery that was being planned.

“But it’s a doll,” Minnie shouted after them.

Carmelita, of course, could explain.  “Yes, it is an elf who has come to visit,” she said. “And yes, it is a doll. And, no, its name is not Shelfy.  In fact, you three have to give it a name.  When you do, you will give it magical powers.  Then it will be able to come alive and go to the North Pole at night to report to Santa what you’ve been up to during the day.  You know, the naughty or nice thing. And in the early morning it comes back to the house and hides where it can watch you.  Moe, you must’ve seen it just getting back from the North Pole.

Mannie thought about what Carmelita told them.  “It sounds like a bad deal,” he whispered to Moe.  “I don’t think we should give this dude a name.  Think about it.  You name him, he gets magical and watches your every move.  Then he trips off every night to tell Santa what you’ve been doing.  Sooner or later you’re going to make a mistake and there goes something off your Christmas list.  This little guy could kill Christmas altogether.  I think we need to dispose of him while he’s still a doll.”

“Maybe you’re right,” said Moe slowly.

“No Way!” said Minnie.  “He’s our friend.  He’ll tell Santa how good we’ve been and why we should get what’s at the top of our lists.  Besides, I’ve already named him for all of us.”

“You have?” said Moe and Mannie at the same time.  “What name did you give him?”

“Bubbles,” replied Minnie.  “Bubbles???” said Moe. “What kind of an elf name is that?”

“Yeah,” said Moe.  “With a name like Bubbles he’ll probably be so embarrassed that he’ll have to sneak around the North Pole so he won’t get teased.”

“No-one gets teased at the North Pole,” said Minnie. “Just think of Rudolf the Reindeer.  Right Bubbles?  (Bubbles didn’t answer.)  But if you two don’t like it, pick a better name,” continued Minnie.

“No, no.  Bubbles it is,” responded Mannie.  “Let’s hope we’ve embarrassed him so much that he won’t hang out around here.”

And maybe Mannie was right, because while the little elf doll sat on the table behind the CD player all that day, the next morning he was gone.  In fact, for the next week or two, Bubbles couldn’t be found anywhere.  They looked on the table behind the CD player every morning.  Then on the mantle, on the book shelves, and behind all the pieces of art.  As Christmas approached, Minnie, Mannie and Moe made their lists for Santa.  No Bubbles.  They left the lists out on the coffee table so Bubbles could read them.  No Bubbles.  They were extra nice to each other.  Still no Bubbles anywhere.  Mannie and Moe grew worried.

“I told you!” Mannie finally said to Minnie. “You gave Bubbles a funny name, and he’s embarrassed, and he hasn’t come back, and he can’t tell Santa what’s on our lists.”

Even Minnie grew worried.

Two nights before Christmas, Minnie, Mannie and Moe wrote a note to Bubbles that they put on a little plate with two cookies and a bright red strawberry.  “Dear Bubbles,” it said, “we’re really sorry that we gave you a funny name but we love you and we hope you’ll still tell Santa how good we’ve been.”

The next morning, the cookies and strawberry were gone, as was their note.  In its place was another note.  It said “No prob., dudes.  And thanks for the grub.”  It was signed: “The BUB.”

On Christmas Eve, Minnie, Mannie and Moe put out a plate for Santa with three cookies and two red strawberries.  Next to it was a glass of milk.  

On Christmas Morning, the plate had only a few cookie crumbs left and the milk glass was empty.  On the plate as another note.  It said “Got the message about you guys.  Merry Christmas.”  It was signed: “Santa.” 

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.

New Year’s Eve was fast approaching.  Like the year before, and the year before that, Minnie, Mannie and Moe wanted to stay up late to watch the giant crystal ball drop down in New York City at the stroke of midnight.  But like the year before, and the year before that, they were pretty sure that Carmelita wouldn’t let them stay up that late.  And even if she did, they weren’t sure that they could even stay awake until midnight.  They could hear in their minds exactly what she’d say if they asked.

“No, midnight is way past your bedtime.  It’s past my bedtime too.”

“If you were to stay up until midnight, you’d still wake up at six in the morning.  And you’d be tired and grouchy.  And you’d have to take a nap without arguments.  That’s not a good way to start the New Year.”

“We can stay up until AFTER the New Year has started in England.  When it’s midnight there, it will only be seven o’clock here.”

“We can record it on the TV, and watch it in the morning.”

“But that won’t be the same as watching the crystal ball drop when it really happens,” Minnie, Mannie, and Moe each thought to themselves as if they were actually talking back to Carmelita.  No, it wouldn’t do to argue.  This year, like the year before, and the year before that, they each knew that they weren’t going to stay up that late.

“But I still want to see a crystal ball drop even if it isn’t the one that drops in New York,” said Minnie out loud.

“So do we,” agreed Mannie and Moe.

They grew silent together.  Then Moe had an idea.  “I know,” he said with a smile spreading across his face. “Let’s make our own crystal ball and drop it ourselves.  If we do that, we can drop it whenever we want and make it the New Year whenever we want.  We can even drop it again and again.  We can have a bunch of New Years and still get to bed early enough that we won’t have to take naps the next day.”

“Great idea,” said Mannie. “But what if it breaks when we drop it.  Crystal is breakable.  Then we won’t be able to drop it again AND we’ll have a mess to clean up.”

“Why are you such a worrier?” replied Moe.  “We’ll make an unbreakable ball AND we’ll drop it on the rug which is soft.”

“I like your idea, Moe,” said Minnie.  “I’ll design the ball and we’ll all make it together.”

“No, I’ll design the ball,” said Moe.  “It’s my idea.”

“No, I’ll design the ball,” said Mannie. “I’m the only one careful enough to make one that won’t break so we can use it more than once.”

And so the three started arguing about who would design their crystal ball, and who would make it, and who would test it, and when they would drop it.  In fact they argued about almost everything they could think of that had anything to do with their crystal ball.

Carmelita listened to them argue with growing impatience.  She thought about using her magic to take away their voices so she couldn’t hear them argue.  “But No,” she thought, “they’ll only find a way to keep arguing silently.”  Maybe she could magically cancel New Year’s Eve this year.  Then there would be no ball drop to argue about.  But that would certainly disappoint a lot of grown-ups.  And it would create a whole lot of confusion about when the New Year started.  Carmelita couldn’t do that.  So she thought a little longer and came up with an idea that would end the arguing.

“I have a suggestion,” said Carmelita, raising her voice above the voices of Minnie, Mannie, and Moe in order to get their attention.  “Instead of making one crystal ball that you can use over and over, why don’t you make three crystal balls?  That way you can each design you own ball and the one you design will be yours alone.  In fact, you can have a contest to see who makes the best one.  I’ll be the judge.  You know, when people have design contests they usually judge lots of different features; so I think I’ll decide which is the shiniest, which is the prettiest, which is the drops at just the right speed.  I also get to make the rules about how to make the balls so the contest is fair.”

Minnie, Mannie and Moe stopped arguing.  A contest! Fantastic!  “Will there be a prize for the winner?” they asked.  “I guess so,” responded Carmelita, “But I haven’t decided what the prize will be…yet.  I’ll think about it while you each get to work on your designs.  Here are the rules:

The balls will be made of Styrofoam.

They can be decorated with sequins, ribbons, pipe cleaners and other things from the craft drawer – but no glass, or stuff that can break.

Each ball will have a parachute to make it float down slowly.

No lights, wings, motors, jet engines, or weapons to attack another person’s ball.

And you can help each other…that would be nice and may influence the judge.

Minnie, Mannie and Moe scrambled up to the craft drawer where they found what they needed.  Styrofoam balls, aluminum foil, sparkly balls and sequins.  They also found some colored rags and string to make parachutes for their balls so they would float down instead of crashing to the floor.  Then each got to work.

Minnie decided to decorate her ball with sequins and sparkly balls.  But it was hard to get the sequins to stick.  She tried rubber cement and then a glue stick but mostly the sequins stuck to her fingers or fell to the floor.  After she got enough sort-of stuck on she made a funny face with red and blue sparkly balls; and she picked the red rag for her parachute.  Tying on the parachute was difficult and she needed help.  Rather than asking Mannie or Moe, she got Grandpa to help with the knots.  When she was done, she marked her ball with a blue “M” for Minnie.

Mannie decided to make his ball sparkly by first wrapping it in aluminum foil.  Then he covered the top with blue sparkly balls that he attached with a glue stick.  He’d watched Minnie have trouble with sequins on her ball so he decided to not bother with those, the aluminum would make it sparkly enough.  Mannie picked a white rag for his parachute and Grandpa helped him tie it on.  Then he marked his ball with a red “M” for Mannie.

Moe liked the idea of using aluminum foil to make his ball shiny.  He put two horns on his.  And around the horns he pasted red sparkly balls on one side and blue sparkly balls on the other.  He got the black rag for his parachute since that was the only one left.  He probably would’ve chosen black anyhow, so he wasn’t disappointed.  When he was done, Moe marked his ball with a green “M” for Moe.

While they were working, Carmelita announced that she’d decided on the prize for the winner.  The winning ball would be the “Official Ball” that they dropped to mark the end of the Old Year and the beginning of the New Year.

When they were done, they all proudly showed their balls to Carmelita.  They were careful not to tell Carmelita which one each had made, although each ball was marked with the initial of its maker.  Carmelita looked them over carefully.  She held them up to the light, rolled them around, and dropped them from the stairs onto the rug to see which floated down the most slowly.  (None of the parachutes worked very well which was probably Grandpa’s fault).  Then Carmelita became quiet while she thought about her decision.  Minnie, Mannie, and Moe each held their breath.  Finally Carmelita made her announcement.

“The winner,” she said slowly, “is the ball that was made by “M”.

“That’s me!” Minnie, Mannie, and Moe all shouted at the same time.

“Right,” said Carmelita.  “They’re all shiny and pretty; and none of them float down very well.  So it’s a tie.  And when it’s time for bed, we’ll take them all up the stairs and drop them – all at the same time.”

And that is what they did.  Late at night for Minnie, Mannie, and Moe -- but long before the crystal ball dropped in New York -- they carried their crystal balls up the stairs and threw them out into the living room, all at the same time.  As they did it, Carmelita winked her magic wink.   And with that wink, each of the parachutes opened wide and each ball floated down slowly and quietly.  When they touched the floor, everyone shouted “Happy New Year” and then went right to bed.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.