Hi, all-
 
I met a little guy coming across the Bridge.  His name was Ollie, and I
was the only one to greet him, he didn't have a Business.  Well, that
does happen from time to time, and I know the very best way to deal with
a singleton who might be feeling shy or lonely!
 
I had a few of Ollie's toys, also a new hammie for him and some wings.
We strapped on our wings, and I slipped the rest of his gear into a
little backpack that I wore for the occasion.  It took him two running
starts across the grass, but then he got the hang of it, and we were in
the air!
 
What a glorious day to fly!  The sky was blue, the sun was a warm,
buttery yellow, and there were only a few puffy white clouds in our sky.
We could see everyone and everything beneath us because we were flying
fairly low.  I pointed out all of the sights and attractions to my new
friend, who was delighted with all he was discovering.  In almost no time
at all, we came to a large stretch of dry, fairly flat land.  No trees or
bushes, really, just short grass and scrubby little weeds.
 
We landed hard because there was a down draft, but we were both o.k.!
It wasn't very long before a little tawny ferret head popped out of an
almost invisible hole in the ground, shaded over with just a little
grass.  You should have heard Ollie yell!  Fortunately, that yell took
most of his breath, because in no time at all, there were *three* little
ferret faces looking at us with the most beautiful dark eyes!
 
Then all three ferrets came up out of their tunnels, and scampered up to
us.  By now Ollie was too stunned to make any sound at all!  He just
looked at me wordlessly, and his jaw dropped open when he noticed a few
more little heads popping up in the distance.  All he could muster was a
whispery "Huh??"
 
That set our Black Footed cousins to giggling and dooking, they covered
their mouths deicatetly with their dark, dirty little paws and just plain
laughed out loud at the look on Ollie's face!  The biggest one hopped up
to Ollie and slowly reached forward, closer, closer...until his nose
touched Ollies, and Ollie fell over on his side from astonishment!
 
Amid all the new laughter Ollie looked up at me and said "Sandee, they're
real!" I said "Yes, Ollie, they are our wild cousins, and they are a lot
of fun.  They are very friendly!" Ollie said,"But they were in the
ground, in the *dirt*!"
 
By now, I was starting to laugh, too, and more and more Black Footed
ferrets were popping up out of the earth.  The one who had touched his
nose smiled and said "Yes,we live in tunnels and burrows, where it is
cool and sweet smelling.  Come with us, and be our friend!"
 
Well, it took a while to coax Ollie down one of the holes, and he didn't
go down too gracefully.  Actually, he got stuck around his middle with
just his back feet kicking in the air while the Black Footed cousins
laughed until they were weak, but finally he went down, and a little
later his dirt smudged head popped up out of the hole!  The cousine all
gave him a big cheer!
 
I left Ollie with the cousins, knowing that he couldn't be in better
hands.  (Paws, actually.) It is simply impossible to be lonely in a
colony!  They are known for their hospitality, and they will take good
care of him while he gets his bearings here in the Afterworld.  I just
hope Ollie likes beer, because they sure do!
 
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 4424]