Hi, all.
 
I met a little guy coming across the worn wooden planks of the Rainbow
Bridge.  So very many little feet have worn those planks to a satiny
sheen over the years.  None of them has so much as a single splinter!
 
The little guy came nearer, and I walked over to get his scent.  I asked
him "What is your name?" Quick as a wink he pounced on me!  He flattened
me to the grass and began to wash my face with kisses!
 
At first I tried to get away, but he had a hob's weight and I couldn't
even move.  He kissed my eyes, my snout, he planted kisses that tickled
deep into my ears.  I barely got out a second time
"What(kiss-kiss-kiss)is your(kiss-kiss-kiss)name?"
 
He yelled "GIZMO!" and kissed my neck where it tickled unbearably.I could
hardly breathe.  I just had to laugh, it was so utterly bizarre!  I asked
him "Are you always(kiss-kiss-kiss)like this?  He drew back his head so
that we were nose to nose and he yelled "YES!"
 
The kissing just went on and on for about five minutes while other
ferrets gathered around us and laughed at the spectacle!  Finally, two
other hobs pushed him off of me.  Gizmo promptly flattened the nearest
one onto the grass and began to kiss *him*!  He yelled "BLECH!  Get him
off me, get him off!", and a whole new round of laughter started up!
 
I will *never*, EVER forget meeting Gizmo!  Someday I will meet his
beloved cagemate mischief, and I will ask her how she ever got him to
stop!
 
I met a little guy coming across the Bridge.  He didn't walk.  He
bounced, he leaped in the air and turned flips!  All the while he was
yelling like a cowboy "YEE-HA!  >DANG< I FEEL GOOD!" He finally stopped
and wardanced in place until the shredded grass was flying beneath his
feet!
 
He ran up to me and said "Rainbow Bridge, right?" I said "Yes, and you
are Spirit, right?"
 
He was.  Spirit had good reason to celebrate.  Although he loved his
hoomins very much, he had spent most of his short life ill.  Only four
when he crossed, he had spent three years of that on medication of one
sort or another.  He said it was so good to *feel* good, to feel strong.
 
His Brothers in Fur, Rascal and Panda who stood with me to greet their
old friend said that he had never looked better.  The three of them very
much wanted to go for a walk on the shore.  That was Rascal and Panda's
favourite place to go exploring.  Spirit ws all for it, although he had
never been!
 
We all got into our strap on wings, and lifted off one by one.  It was a
marvelous day to fly, a marvelous day to visit the shore!  The sun was
bright, but not too hot.  As we neared the shore, a good breeze picked
up, cooling us.  Spirit, being new to flight, landed rather badly, but
fortunately he landed in sand and rolled, and was just fine.
 
We folded our wings together into a parcel and buried it in the sand
so that it wouldn't blow away.  Then, the exploring began!  There were
tidepools to splash through, rocks to climb, long, slippery green strands
of seaweed to chew.  There were stands of salt-hay and dune grass to run
through at top speed, playing chase!  Hide and seek!  Pounce!
 
After an hour or so, we were all hot and tired, and our whiskers were
dusted with salt.  It was nap time.  But first, a bath!  No ferret would
ever take a nap with salty fur!
 
We trotted back to our wings, dug them up, and shook the sand out of
them.  We slipped them on, and flew just a few minutes to a freshwater
stream that emptied itself into the sea.  We landed on its banks, and
waded in one at a time.  There was lots of splashing and horsing around.
Then, it was time to roll in the grass until we damp-dried.
 
What a marvelous day!  Spirit said that he wanted to come back againa and
again.  Panda and Rascal said that they would, a hundred timeas a hundred
times!
 
The nap, afterwards, was blissful.
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 4596]