Mid-morning finds Muldoone in quite a quandry at the Bridge.  As he is
scurrying along, every little bit he would stop and ask a ferret "you be
da fewet Snickers" and he kept getting the same answer over and over,
"sworry Mully old pal, I not be dat fewet you be wooking for.  Muldoone
continues hurrying along and muttering to himself, oh geeze I gonna be
in so much twouble wif Nanna.  Dis be my first morning dat I report for
Bwige duty wifout her.  I 'pose to gets up when da cwock make dat funny
noise but I didn't gets up and now I am verwy wate."
 
Muldoone heads for the Bridge and standing there looking lost and
confused is a ferret he has never seen before.  "Maybe dis be da guy I
'pose to gweet."
 
Mully approaches the handsome sable fuzzy and asks him, you be da fewet
Snickers I 'post to gweet dis morning and the new arrival answers yes,
my name is Snickers but you tan calls me Nick for short, dat what my mom
calls me and I wiked dat name da bestest."
 
"Well Nick, I sworry I be wate getting here to gweets you.  I be
Muldoone, da Bwidge gweeter."
 
The two fuzzbutts began to chat and Nick fills Muldoone in on what his
life was like on earth.
 
"We had our own weezil pwaywoom, we had socks to steal, and wots of
'Tone.  Do you knows bout 'Tone Nick asks Muldoone.
 
Oh yes, we hab wots of 'Tone here, we habe 'Tone stweams.
 
Weally, Nick asks him, his eyes getting big and bright.  Mr. Muldoone,
Nick begins to speak, I hab some special fwends dat comes here afore me
and my mom told me dat I would gets to sees dem after I gets here, is
dat twue, will I gets to see dem??
 
You betcha Muldoone assures his new friend, just tells me deir name and
I finds em here in this big box and dat tells us which hammy to wook for
dem in.  Mully walks over to a flat box sitting on a stump, he lifts the
lid, punches a few buttons and the screen springs to life.  "What your
buddies names be he asks Nick.
 
Well wetts see and Nick starts to scratch his head and sits down to think
really hard.  I tink my mom say deir names be Waggamuffin, Fweckles, who
was da mamma of da gwoup, Smudge, ands anodder called Jersey, da weader
of the pack.  Oh and we tant forgets Kurbby, da Wunder cat.  You had a
cat Muldoone asks Nick, I weally wike cats, dey taste gud when you chomps
down on deir feet but watch bitting em on da butt, sometimes it be kinda
stinky. "
 
Muldoone collects the information he needs to find Nick's old pals and
off they go to find them.  It was a reunion the likes the Bridge had
never seen before.  Weasel war dancing, lots of dooking, happy dancing
ferret feet.  One ferret was trying to do the weasel war-dance laying on
her back and Muldoone thought she looked pretty funny.  Muldoone hung
back and gave his newfriend time to get reacquainted with his old buddies
and all of a sudden he hears a funny noise and sees a streak of fur.
Nick squeals out the name "KURBY" and the cat was on him in an instant
giving him kisses in the form of licks and slurps, and giving head butts
which means I love you in cat language.
 
After the excitement began to die down a little, Muldoone asked Nick what
he would like to do next.
 
Well Mr. Muldoone we would all wike to sees our mom, can you takes us
dere??  Pwease??  Some of these guys habben't sees deir mom for a wong
time.  You bet I will fwend, tomes wif me.
 
When they got to the edge of the Bridge Muldoone showed them where to
stand.  You gots to tink weally hard and den you will sees her in da
refwection of da Rainbow.
 
All the fuzzies closed eyes tight and concentrated.  Even the cat had his
eyes squinched tightly shut.  Muldoone felt a warm breeze dance through
his whiskers and when he looked up he saw the face of someone.
 
WOOK Nick shouts to da odders, datts our mommy!!!  All the ferrets and
thecat drew close to get a better look.  When Nick studied his mom's
face, he could see she was upset.  Our mommy be sad, she be cwying.
Guys all our mommies and daddies be sad when we tomes here.  It be hard
for da hooman-beans to wet us go and dey misses us a wot.  But we tans
come back here anytime you wants to and sees your mom.  It be our job to
sends wots of wove to our moms but the bestest part is when we cans sneak
back for a quick visit.
 
You means we tans go back and bisit Nick asks.
 
You betcha, I doos it allda time.  When I goes back to visit, I do fun
stuffs wike I did when I wasstill on earf and my mom and dad say dose
fewets doos tings just wike Muldoone did.  I waff at dat cause I be da
one who doos it and I sometimes gets my brodders in twoble.  He twies
to chase me but I wun frou da wall and he hits it wif his nose and says
ouch.  He say he gonna beat me up when he get to da Bwidge."
 
Walking back to the center of the village at the Rainbow Bridge, Nick is
thinking to himself, boy, I gonna habe some funs but tonites, I tink I
just wants to sweep on da pioow wif mom.
 
I woves you mommy Nick whispers to the picture of his mom he now carries
in his heart.
[Posted in FML issue 4595]