Hi, all.
 
I did manage to get all caught up, but things have been very busy here!
 
I met a little guy named Fane coming across the Bridge from the U.K.  His
Business of Tally and Bailey waited with me for him to make the journey,
which he did slowly, but without hesitation.  He walked right up to us
and said simply "Ears." I had no idea what he was talking about, but
Tally and Bailey did.  They just sighed, looked at one another, and lay
down in the grass.  Fane immediately walked over to them and began to
wash their ears very, very thouroghly.  Tally said "He's always been like
this.  He can't help himself.  He's a compulsive ear washer." AHA!  One
of those!  We can always use someone like Fane up here to help us take
care of the tiny kits who have to be loved and snuggled and groomed.  No
problem!  Fane is hired!  (And my ears feel great.)
 
I met a little girl, too.  Her name was Sassy, and I didn't get much time
to speak with her.  Everybody was admiring her coat, which, I must admit,
was spectacular.  Long, glossy, white fur.  And just for the sake of
style, a little black tail tip just like an ermine!  (That was a present
from the Big Boss.) Sassy was having a ball preening and showing off her
splendid coat.
 
She says that she only has one problem with it (aside from the obvious
one of keeping it spotlessly clean.) It gets very hot in the sun.  So
Sassy spends a lot of her time way up north where the days are shorter,
and the air is cooler.  The *true* ermine who live up there have
graciously accepted her as one of their own, even though she is not
wild, they so admire that regal coat!
 
I checked up on a little girl named Misty for her Hoomin Mommy Linda, who
misses her terribly.  I found Misty in her favourite place, the Giant
Pile of Fleece Sleepsacks, a soft, quiet mountain of the things!  Misty
naps there daily.  It is a quiet zone, dooking is forbidden.  The only
sound is that of long, delicious yawns!  When I found her she was with a
member of her Business, Idget.  (Bambi and Baby were at the Fruit Bar
during my visit.)
 
Misty said (very quietly!) that she was happy in the Afterworld, and had
all the treats and toys that any ferret could ever imagine.  She was
never bored, because there was always some place that she hadn't explored
yet with her friends.  She puts thousands and thousands of miles on her
wings!  She has stashed so many shiny little treasures that she doesn't
think she will ever remember where they all are, but that's fine, she'll
just stash MORE, after nap, of course!  Idget yawned then and burrowed
into my side.  She felt so warm and nice that I..started to feel...
very... sleepy...
 
(Much later)
 
We had a friendly visitor from the Dog Afterworld, her name was
Princess.She said that she was a"GoldenLabGermanShepherdSiberianHusky!"
I just looked at her and said "Huh?", so she tried to help me out by
saying it slowly,"Golden-Lab-German-Shepherd-Siberian-Husky!" I don't
really know what that *means*, but she looks very proud when she says
it!  So I just smiled and nodded, and lead her to her Business of Rascal,
Scruffy, and Cloud Dancer.  They were all very happy to see Princess, who
nosed them all in their bellies so that they giggled, and lapped them
with her warm tounge so that their fur got messed up (but they didn't
mind!)
 
They all had a nice time getting caught up, and talking about their
Hoomin, Ronald, whom they miss very much.  (Princess, especially, says
that she misses his ear rubs.) She says that it is a pure pleasure to
have her youth and vitality back, something with which Rascal and
Scruffy and Cloud Dancer emphatically agreed.  Cloud Dancer, who is the
philosopher of the bunch, stated that "Youth is truly wasted on the
young." All four nodded their heads sagely.
 
I met a little guy named Linus who had an unusual request, but it was
one that the Big Boss was happy to grant.  Linus has a thing for wild
strawberries, those tiny little ones that lie in the grass like nuggets
of garnet, so sweet.  Linus wanted his own patch of grass with wild
strawberry plants.  He can be found there every morning, while the early
sun slants down through the trees, looking for fruit.  Every single
morning Linus weeds and scratches at his little patch of earth to aerate
the soil.
 
It's hard not to giggle when speaking with Linus because he has, well,
ah, how to say this.  He's got red lips.  He looks like he has been
nibbling on lipstick, but it's staining from all of the strawberries!
When I spoke with him he wasn't at his patch, he was...guess where?  THE
FRUIT BAR!  He said that he is very proud of his strawberry patch, and
someday, he is going to enjoy sharing the berries with his Daddy Jim
again, a long time from now.
 
I met another little girl, coming across the Bridge.  Her name was
Tigger, and like any good Tigger, she *bounced*!  In fact, she bounced
right into me and her sister Sprite, who has been waiting for Tigger for
a while.  It was such a nice day, we decided to go flying.  Not to any
particular place, just around.
 
We strapped on our wings, and lifted off one by one.  It was late then,
and the shadows on the ground were long ones.  First we flew away from
the sun, and just enjoyed the landscape.  The forrests, the lakes, the
rivers, running cold and clear.  Then we turned to the sun, which was
nearly setting.  The colors were so beautiful!  Orange and gold and
salmon!  We set down on a high hill to watch the sun drop behind a
forrested ridge for the night.
 
Tigger said "I will never forget this time or this place.  Some day, a
long time from now, I will watch the sun set with one special Hoomin."
 
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 4551]