"No, wait a second!" Maxie said.  "Listen."
    "Dang," Jim Bob stated.  "I'm gettin' tired.  How 'bout you, Billy Ray?"
    "Yeah," Billy Ray answered, taking another swig from the bottle.  "It's
been a long day.  We gotta get up early and check the traps."
    "I could use some shut-eye myself," Stanley added.
    "They're going to sleep," Rosie declared.
    "Yep," Maxie replied.  "Let's wait till they fall asleep and cause some
major damage!"
    "Yeah," Foxie pronounced.  "Let's steal their guns and traps!"
    "That will surely render them impotent," Wiggles remarked.
    "Hey," Sammi said.  "They're taking their clothes off!"  The six of them
watched as the three trappers unclothed down to their long underwear and
socks.  The men put the fire out with some dirt, and crawled into their
sleeping bags.  In a few, short minutes the air was filled with loud snoring.
 The girls and Buzz crept slowly into the campsite.
    "This is so sneaky," Sammi stated.
    "Yeah," Rosie replied.  "Isn't it great?!"
    "This will show them," Foxie stated, as they quietly dragged the
trapper's guns, traps, and clothes away from the campsite.  They packed the
goods for a few hundred yards, and stopped when they reached the edge of a
steep ravine.
    "Jeronimo!"  Buzz proclaimed as he lifted the hunter's property into the
air with his talons, flew over the canyon, and dropped it to the streambed
below.  He repeated this several times until it was all disposed of, and then
returned to the overlook where the girls were giggling amongst themselves
joyfully.
    "Ha, ha, ha," Rosie laughed.  "Wait till they wake up in the morning and
realize they've been robbed!"
    "Yeah," Maxie grinned.  "They sure are in for a surprise!"
    "Serves them right!" Foxie declared, eyeing her wounded leg.
    "We had better get out of here," Buzz warned.
    "Yes," Wiggles agreed.  "That would be quite prudent at this time."
    "You got some prunes, Wiggles?" Sammi asked, sincerely.
    "Never mind," Wiggles answered.  "Let's go!"
    "Hop onto my back girls," Buzz declared.  "And hang on tight!"  They did
as he instructed, and the massive vulture jumped from the ledge, and began
soaring over the small valley his powerful wings.  They traveled with the
slight wind for an hour or so, and decided to land in the shelter of a thick
stand of trees and sleep for the night.  They made soft beds out of fallen
pine needles.
    "Goodnight," Sammi said.  "I love you guys."
    "We love you too," Maxie answered.  "Sleep tight."
    "Don't let the tarantulas bite," Rosie added.
     "Tarantulas?!" Sammi exclaimed.
     "She's just kidding," Wiggles stated.  "Go to sleep."
     "Oh," Sammi replied.  They fell into a deep, restful sleep as the moon
rose over the treeline.  The air was pleasantly warm on this mid-August
night in the forest.  Everyone bundled together and the ferret girls dreamt
of magical meadows glistening with the sweet smell of raisins.  The dream
seemed so real that Maxie woke up during the night licking her lips.
     "Hey," Rosie stated, sleepily, "Knock it off with the kisses."
     "Sorry," Maxie said, and fell back to sleep.  The crisp, clean light of
dawn crept over the mountains, and soon filled the forest with the sound of
hundreds of birds calling back and forth to each other.  Back at the
campsite, the three hunters awoke and stumbled out of their bags.
     "Worst hangover I've ever had," Jim Bob mumbled.
     "Did someone hit me with a brick last night?" Billy Ray said.  "My head
is pounding."
     "Uh," Stanley declared.  "Where did we put our stuff last night?"
     "What do you mean?" Jim Bob proclaimed, looking around the campsite to
find it empty.
     "Dangit!" Billy Ray replied.  "All our things are gone!  Our clothes
and everything!"
     "What are we gonna do now?!" Stanley asked.
     "I'll tell you what we're gonna do," Jim Bob roared.  "We're gonna ring
the necks of the thieves that did this!!!"
 
     (to be continued...)
[Posted in FML issue 1663]