"Eat Maxie first," Rosie offered.  "She's got a little belly on her."
    "He should eat you first, Rosie," Wiggles stated.  "You got us into this
mess."
    "Yeah!" Sammi added.
    "Hey, you guys came with me," Rosie retorted.
    "You tricked us," Maxie stated.
    "Did not!"  Rosie exclaimed.  "You helped me get the car keys, remember?"
    "When was that?" Sammi inquired.
    "But if you hadn't gotten so excited," Wiggles parlayed.  "Then we
wouldn't have crashed!"
    "You were being a steering-wheel hog!" Rosie rebuffed.
    "Uh, girls," Foxie declared.  "We are about to be eaten by a huge
bear..."
    "Rosie," Maxie said.  "You always get us in trouble."
    "Nuh-uh," Rosie replied.  "Maxie, you always poop everywhere in Mom and
Dad's bedroom!  And we all get in trouble for it!"
    "That's just because Mom and Dad can't prove who did it," Maxie
answered.
    "Girls?" Foxie stated.
    "I always poop in the litter box," Sammi interjected.
    "What about the time you dug in the planter, Rosie?" Maxie added.  "Then
you showed Samantha how to do it too!  You should be ashamed of yourself for
corrupting a baby like that!"
    "What about the time you snuck outside, Maxie?" Rosie argued.
    "So, Dad found me!" Maxie maintained.  "What about when the mail-man
found you walking around outside the front door!"
    "I'm gonna get you, Maxie," Rosie said, and leapt into the air to grab
her sister around the neck with both arms and they both tumbled together on
the ground.  The wrestling continued for several minutes with hissing and
dooking coming from both of the squabbling girls.  They finally broke apart
from each other, huffing and puffing and tired.  They looked up to see Griz's
face so close to them that they could smell his awful breath and count each
of his bristly whiskers...
    "Are you finished?" Griz said, with his eyes glaring wildly at the both
of them not inches away.
    "Uh, yes," They both replied.
    "I think I just pooped again," Maxie stated.
    "So," Griz said, rubbing his chin again.  "Should I eat you all cooked
or raw?"
    "Excuse me, Mr. Griz," Wiggles intervened.  "If I may offer a
suggestion..."
    "What now?!" Griz roared.
    "Well," Wiggles began.  "I couldn't help but notice that your foot is
bleeding from your laceration, and it is my understanding from what I have
learned from reading some of my Dad's books that if you do not remove the
glass and treat the wound with medicine and a bandage, then it will become
infected, and your whole foot will have to be removed."
    "That's right," Rosie added, "And it ain't a pretty sight!"
    "Well," Griz thought about this.  "If you help me, I will let you go
free!"
    "Will you release our friend Foxie from the human-trap also?" Wiggles
asked.
    "Yes," Griz replied.  "Just fix my foot so I can still climb trees and
catch salmon and stuff!"
    "Allright then," Wiggles stated.  "Crinkle sack...give me a pair of
pliers, some rubbing alcohol, and some bandages and tape.  Oh, and some
fresh steaks for Mr. Griz so he stays nice and full and doesn't decide to
eat us anyway..."
    "What the heck is she doing?" Buzz said, and watched Wiggles climb into
the crinkle sack, and return dragging out all of the items that she had
wished for.
    "This is getting very peculiar," Foxie added, as Wiggles and Sammi
worked on removing the glass from Griz's foot and treated it with the alcohol
and bandages.  While they repaired his wound, Griz feasted hungrily on the
meat that had been offered to him by Wiggles.
    "There," Wiggles said, "How does that feel?"
    "It stings!" Griz remarked.  "Thanks for the grub.  Guess that I don't
want to eat you now.  I'm pretty stuffed."  Then he reached down with both
massive arms and pried the jaws of the trap apart, releasing Foxie at last!
She limped out of the trap, and Wiggles proceeded to use the remainder of
the medical supplies to treat Foxie's wound.
    "Much better," Foxie stated, hobbling around on her newly bandaged leg.
    "Hey," Griz said.  "You guys are welcome to wander further into my part
of the forest if you want.  But I'm warning you...Don't go any farther than
that!  You'll know when you've reached the end of the forest and the
beginning of the Evil Swamplands.  Stay out of there!  It is very dangerous!"
    "The Evil Swamplands?"  Buzz proclaimed.
    "Yes," An unknown voice from above, in the trees, announced.  "You must
not venture into that region for any reason whatsoever!"
 
     (to be continued...)
[Posted in FML issue 1660]