Bluebird was all in a flutter as she landed on The Receiving Angels'
desk. She preened her feathers one last time and finally cleared her
throat and began to speak.

"Mr. Receiving Angel," Bluebird began. I has a ticket from The Boss and
He wants to know what happened to Itachi. Seems she crossed in December
and you did not notify Him the ferret population on earth was down by
one more. I'se here on this very important mission to see what happened
and where this little girl is."

"Well," The Receiving Angel said, "I didn't know where to send her. It
seems she does not like ferrets, she is afraid of them, and only likes
cats. So, Skye and I kept her here and she has been keeping house for
the two of us. It has been a long time and no one asked about her."

"Hummmmm let me talk it over with No. 421 and Oliver," Bluebird said.
Maybe he can find a place for her." And with that she flew off in the
direction of No. 421's cabin.

Bluebird went right to the door and knocked on the window. "Let me in,
I'se here on Oh-ficial business," Bluebird said. "I'se workin' for The
Boss today."

When he heard The Boss, No. 421 jumped up and ran to the door.

"Come on in," he said. "What is all this about? Did we miss someone -
Who?"

"We has blond little girl that has been keeping house for The Receiving
Angel and Skye, but she should be with family, only she doesn't have
any, and we needs to find her some ferret friends cause she likes CATS.
At that moment, Oliver came out of his room. "Hi Bluebird, er, ah, er,
did I hear the word blond? Someone saw a blond. I was mistaken -
right?"

"No" Bluebird said. "You were not mistaken. We has a little blond
girl who likes cats and is afraid of ferrets. We has to find a home
for her until other members of her family come for her."

Well, I know just the place," Oliver said. "Bakin'Bertha has that
little cafE and she told me the other day she was looking for some
help," Oliver said. "Honey and Fang are wonderful ferrets and if she
likes cats, when the mice get to be a problem, Ida comes over from
the cat division and spends a night or two. That usually sends the
mice packing."

No. 421 was thinking. "Oliver," he said. "Lets go over to Bakin'
Bertha's and see what she says. If she is looking for help, maybe
we can fix everything up."

Bluebird hopped on No. 421's shoulder and the three set off for the
cafE.

"Land sakes, look who's here," Bakin' Bertha said. "Did you smell my
new batch of cookies?"

"Now that you mention it, they do smell good," No. 421 said. "I'm here
because Oliver said you needed help and I have a little girl who needs
a home."

"Not that cute little blond that has been keeping house for The
Receiving Angel and Skye, Bakin' Bertha said?" "She would fit right
in here. Honey and Fang would take her under their wings and she
could help them."

"Well, there is more." No. 421 said. "She is afraid of ferrets and
only likes CATS."

"That is no problem here," Bakin' Bertha said. "I have had to borrow
Ida from the Cat Division on a regular basis because the mice are
naughty. They have been stealing my cookies. In fact, Ida is down in
the warehouse at this very moment. Tell you what, I'll send Billy
after Ida and we will go to the Bridge."

In a few minutes, Ida came loping up the hill from the warehouse with
Billy on her back.

"Thank you Billy," Bakin' Bertha said. "You go tell the girls to put
the kettle on for tea and have Honey and Fang whip up a batch of paw
print cookies. I'm going to the Bridge with No. 421 and we will be
back directly. Oliver, why don't you stay and help Billy bring water.
When we come back, we will all have ferretone tea and cookies."

With that, No. 421, Bakin' Bertha, Bluebird and Ida set off for the
Bridge.

Itachi was just serving The Receiving Angel and Skye some tea and
crumpets when she saw the two visiting ferrets and the cat. She moved
over behind The Receiving Angel, afraid to go near the visitors.

No. 421 told The Receiving Angel the new plan. "This will give Honey
and Fang help and Itachi a really good home," he said. "And, Ida comes
over to spend a night or two in the warehouse chasing mice, so she can
still have a kitty friend. What do you think?"

The Receiving Angel took Itachi by the paw and told her what a
wonderful job she had done. He said if she wanted to go, he and
Skye would miss her, but they would come to see her often.

Itachi looked at Ida who winked back at her. "If you want to go, I'll
ride you back," Ida said.

Itachi thought about that, she loved working with The Receiving Angel
and Skye, but, Ida would be a nice friend, and she wanted to see this
Honey and Fang.

"Okay, I'll try it," she said. Ida walked over and The Receiving Angel
put Itachi up on her back. The four waved good-bye to Skye and The
Receiving Angel and started back to the cafE. Soon the smell of fresh
baked cookies drifted through the air and the cafE came into sight.
Oliver and Billy had several pails of water waiting for the evening
clean up, and Honey and Fang were heaping fresh baked cookies on
plates.

"Oh, that smells wonderful," Itachi said. "I need to learn how to make
those."

"Honey and Fang will teach you I am sure," Bakin' Bertha said. "Now,
let's all have a bite to eat."

Oliver rushed over to help Itachi down from Ida's back and pulled out
a chair for her. He sat down next to her and poured her some tea. Then
he passed her some cookies. This was his lucky day.

After tea, Honey and Fang asked Itachi if she wanted her own room, or
did she want to share a room with them?

Itachi said she might be afraid if she were alone so she would share.
Billy and Oliver set up a third bed in the girls big room and then got
ready to go.

Honey packed up a bag of cookies for No. 421 and Oliver to take home,
Bluebird who was still on No. 421's shoulder said she had to get back
and would take the news to The Boss that Itachi was settling in nicely,
and tomorrow, she would look up Shooting Star to take a message back to
earth. Ida was tiptoeing back to the warehouse to see if the mice had
arrived yet, and Oliver was getting ready to go when he thought up a
great idea.

"Hey Billy," he said. "When you need to haul some more water, chop some
wood, whatever, I'll be very glad to help. Just come over and we'll get
the job done together."

The sun had gone down and No. 421 was smiling. He knew Oliver was
smitten with the new blond cutie, but he never expected him to offer
to chop wood just to catch her eye. The thought made him smile all the
way home.

Once home he wrote in his logbook while Oliver took his shower. Mission
partially accomplished. Itachi is going to try staying at Bakin'
Bertha's with Honey and Fang and will have a chance to see Ida the cat
when she spends a night at the warehouse. The warehouse is across the
stream from the Cat Division and Ida works for the cafE. This was a
win win situation. He blew out the lamp and jumped into bed.

[Posted in FML 7314]