Greetings for Vicious

The air had a definite chill to it in the evenings and No. 421 and
Oliver were stacking wood. The two had just finished the last of the
pile when Bluebird came fluttering up. "Hi Oliver and No. 421,"
Bluebird chirped. "We has a little girl crossing and you need to find
her family. She is tiny, and the Receiving Angel wants you, Oliver, to
escort her to the Bridge. He is afraid she might get lost."

Oliver twitched his whiskers and his heart skipped a beat. "What does
this cute little girl that needs my help look like," he asked?

"She is very small, champagne colored, with mitts and a blaze stripe,"
Bluebird chirped. "She has a short little tail, like a stump, and she
has family here. It is your job to find them."

No. 421 was trying not to smile, but Oliver's eyes were shining. A
little girl was here and she needed him.

Oliver rushed to shower; there was no hot water but he didn't care. He
put on his best casual clothes and was back before Bluebird and No. 421
finished.

No. 421 told Oliver to go down to the hay field next to the Horse
Division, and look for a funny shaped mound. The hay had not been cut
yet, so he should have no trouble finding it. He would meet him at the
Bridge. No. 421 read the ticket again. It said to come to the gate.
This was most unusual. Why would the Receiving Angel want him at the
gate? It was not his place to question, so off he went to the gate.
The Receiving Angel looked worried and he had a very small ferret on
his desk. She didn't look at all happy, and when she saw No. 421 she
fluffed up her stubby tail.

"Hello Vic," No. 421 said. "I'm here to escort you to the Bridge. The
Big Boss didn't want you to get lost so I'm here to help you. There is
no need to be afraid."

The Receiving Angel signed her in and passed Vic over to No. 421.

"You've got your hands full now," the angel said. "Just be careful,
she may bite."

No. 421 sat Vic up on his shoulder and started off for the Bridge. Vic
did not say or do anything; she just sat there quietly. As soon as the
Bridge came into sight, she sat up and, shading her eyes, looked hard
at several ferrets waiting on the other side.

"Hurry up, hurry up," she told No. 421. "I thinks I knows some of those
ferrets. Yes, they used to live with me at home." And that said, she
began to cry.

Oliver was in the lead, and as soon as No. 421 and Vic crossed, he
reached up to help her down. She was so light; she just melted into his
arms. Oliver set her down, and she rushed over to the band of ferrets
waiting.

"Hi fellers," Vic said. "Boy have I missed you all. I did not know
where you went, you were just gone. Is Mom here too?"

No. 421 took her tiny paw in his and told here this was the Rainbow
Bridge. She would wait here for her Mom to come and get her. In the
meanwhile, she would live with her brothers and sisters in a mound by
the field where he said he thought snakes lived. She would be very
busy, and The Boss had been looking for someone to move those snakes
out, so the farm ferrets could cut and bale the hay.

Vic began to smile, she was really beautiful, and her eyes were
shining. "Could I send a message back to my Mom," she asked? No. 421
said she could, and called Shooting Star to take the message down.

"Hi Mom," Vic started. "I'm up here with our family, now I know where
they went, and we are all waiting for you. They have a room for me, and
the nice man who carried me to the Bridge said I would have a job. I
have not met The Boss yet, but I'm sure I will, and I will work hard
while I wait for you. I love you Mom and will take good care of the
piece of your heart I took with me."

Shooting Star took the message down, and promised to deliver it that
night. Oliver said he lived just down the road and if she needed
anything, just stop by, he would be glad to help. Vic sent a
prize-winning smile to everyone, and paw in paw with her family, she
started down the path. She thanked No. 421 for carrying her to the
Bridge, and Oliver for his offer to help. No. 421 and Oliver just
watched as the happy family skipped down the path.

"Oliver," No. 421 said. "Go back and tell the Receiving Angel we
delivered Vic without a problem. He was very worried. I'll go home
and start a fire and cook supper."

Oliver went back to the gate, and No. 421 went back to the cabin and
started a supper of raisin soup. He wrote in his logbook, Mission
accomplished, Vic is here with family, and I'll send a message to The
Boss tomorrow that the snakes will be leaving the hay field, and the
farmers can harvest the hay before winter.

No. 421 closed the logbook, then sat back in his chair. He closed his
eyes and listened to the soup bubbling on the stove. He thought about
Vic, and that prize-winning smile flashed across his mind. Ferret oh
ferret, that little gal sure was a cutie.

Oliver came through the door announcing he was starved, so the two
friends sat down to dinner.

[Posted in FML 6853]