No. 421 and Oliver were getting ready to go to bed when there was a
knock on the door. Oliver hurried to open it, and the Receiving Angel
was there with a ticket.

"No. 421, I'm on my way to the Big House, so I thought I'd drop this
off instead of sending Bluebird," the Angel said. "She is fast asleep
and I would not wake her. We have a ferret named Gus crossing and it
will be a night crossing, so you will need to get the fireflies up to
light the way. Skye is on duty at the Bridge, so just give a holler if
you need help."

Oliver and No. 421 hurried back into their clothes, and No. 421 called
the fireflies. They flew, two by two, into the lantern and turned on
their lights. No. 421 gave one lantern to Oliver and took the other one
himself. Reading the ticket by lantern light, No. 421 told Oliver to go
over to the Meadow of Dreams and find Scooter. The two ferrets hurried
off, one to the bridge, one to find Scooter.

No. 421 had just settled down in his chair, when a small voice called
out in the night.

"Hello, anybody there?" it said.

"No, 421 stood up and waved his light. "Come on over here," No. 421
said.

"You must be Gus, and I have been waiting for you. Come on over and
tell me about yourself."

The ferret walked slowly over the bridge and into the lantern light.

"Where is this place?" Gus said. "I was all snuggled down on my mom's
lap and was toasty. I just went to sleep. Now I am here, and my mom is
not, and I don't know want to do."

"Son, this is the Rainbow Bridge," No. 421 explained. "You came here
because your time on earth was done. Your mom will come for you
someday, and the two of you will be together forever."

Just then, Oliver came bounding over the hill with another ferret
toting a small bag.

"No. 421, I found Scooter and he remembers Gus," Oliver said.

"Hey Gus ol' boy," Scooter said. "How you doin'? See you made the trip
okay, boy have we got a lot to talk about."

Gus's face lit up and he ran to Scooter. "Hi Buddy," he said. "Boy have
I missed you. Whatcha got in the sack?"

"Hey Gus, remember those round things we had in mom's house? Well, I
found one and planted it, and now, I can pick all I want. I brought you
some so you would not be hungry. I'm glad you are here, as I can use
some help. I was planning to go into the "O" business, but I need help
with the planting, picking and delivering."

Gus dooked and dooked, and he and Scooter hugged. No. 421 and Oliver
looked on and smiled.

Scooter came over and shook No. 421's paw and asked for a messenger to
take a note back to their Mom Belinda so she would know he had found
Gus.

Gentle Breeze was playing with the night clouds and heard the request.

"We can help with that," she said. "Puffy cloud and I will practice
making O's and send the message back to their mom that Gus and Scooter
are together and alright."

With that, she poked a hole in Puffy's middle, and he giggled. The two
friends went off to practice their O message, so when Momma Belinda
sees the puffy clouds in the sky, she will see one with a space in the
middle, and know that Gus is working hard with Scooter.

The two ferrets skipped down the path and No. 421 and Oliver went home.
No. 421 opened the lantern door and let the fireflies out. They turned,
dipped their wings and flew away.

No. 421 wrote in his logbook, all was well. Gus and Scooter were
together again, and he and Oliver were going to settle down for the
night. Another successful mission accomplished.

[Posted in FML 6510]