Early morning at the Rainbow Bridge has Muldoone at his appointed spot
awaiting the arrival of a huge chocolate male fuzzy.
 
The music in the wind had begun to change and the sad sweet melody could
be heard dancing softly on the breeze.  This song played for each and
every arrival, whispering to their hearts; "you are home wee-one and here
you will rest until you are reunited with your earth family."  Muldoone
felt the familiar tingling in his whiskers and he knew another was
coming.  The music of the wind danced around him, singing the Ferret
Promise Song, the song told of loss, it told of love and longing, it
sang of the promise that love was eternal, and it sang of the pain of
separation and the sorrow of humans.
 
The flash of light subsided and then Mully heard the unmistakable sounds
of ferrety feets coming across the planks of the Bridge; the MoonBeam
Express having delivered another ferret whose time on earth had been cut
short.
 
Mully steps forward to greet the new arrival.  "Welcomes to da Wainbow
Bwidge Duncan, I be Mr. Muldoone, officialist Bwidge Gweeter."  Mully
leans forward offering his nose to the big handsome chocolate male
ferret.
 
Duncan sat down and looked all around at his new surroundings and gave
out a long sigh.  Something told Muldoone all was not good with the new
arrival.
 
"Dunkan, is dere somptun wrong, you bees sad?"
 
The big handsome chocolate male took a long time before answering.  When
he finally raised his head and looked at Muldoone, Mully could see tears
glistening on his furry little cheeks.
 
"Mr. Muldoone, da weason I bees sad, I kno my hoomans bees sad.  I
wishdid dat I could helps dem in some way."
 
"I know Dunkan, Muldoone told him, we all feel that way when we arrive
here, we miss our hooman familee, and we miss our fewet familee back on
earf.  But dere bees a way we can bisit dem in their dweams.  We sneaks
into deir bed and gibes em whiskery kisses.  Da hoomans tink they be
dweaming but dey not be dweaming, it be us.  And we cans make dem have
gud dweams about us, they dweams bout how widdle we were when dey firstis
bwings us home.  I shows you after we gets you settled."
 
Anodder ting Mr. Muldoone, I hear my mom say odder fewets from my home
bees here.  I knos my fewet mom and fewet dad bees here, Duncan told
him."
 
"Yes they are here, would you like to see them?" Muldoone asks him.
 
"Oh yes Duncan tells Muldoone, I would wike to sees dem!"
 
Looking over his shoulder in the direction of a fat bush, Muldoone called
out, "ebberones be weady?"
 
The bush replied "we bees weady!"
 
"Ok, den come on out" Muldoone tells the fat bush inhabitants.
 
Branches of the fat bush begins to shake, wiggle, and wobble and 6
ferrets come racing out.
 
The first ferret to reach Duncan was Jack, his bestest buddy in the whole
wide world.  "Duncan, what are you doing here?" asks his buddy Jack.
 
"Jacks, I misseed you and den I comes here" Duncan explained to him.
 
Just then a very beautiful ferret approached Duncan.  She was so stately
and elegant and carried herself like a queen.  She walked over to Duncan
and looked at him her eyes spilling over with tears.  At last she found
her voice and began to speak.  "Duncan do you know who I am?" she asked.
 
"No mam, I not knows who you bees" Duncan told her.
 
Just then the beautiful lady ferret known as Inga gestured to another
ferret in the group and waved him over.  "Duncan, this is Knight-man,
do you know who he is?" she asked.
 
"No mam, I not knows," Duncan told her.
 
The male ferret known as Knight-man gently took the paw of Inga into
his own and began to speak.  "Duncan, we are your parents, I am known
as Knight-man and this is Inga and she is your mother."
 
For a long time Duncan said nothing and his parents were afraid they had
made a mistake in telling him.
 
"Mommy, daddy, it weally bees you?" Duncan asked.
 
"Yes son, answered Duncan's dad, we are your familee and you have more
family members here to greet you; your sister Shelby, and your cousins
JD and Dodger."
 
Mom Inga and dad Knight-man stepped back a bit to give room for the
others to come and greet Duncan.  What a silly weasely-war-dance they
engaged in.  After what seem to go on forever, Duncan excused himself
from the group and walked over to where his mom and dad were watching
the reunion party.
 
"You says dat you bees my mom and dad buts I no 'member you, I only
'member my earf mom and dad" Duncan tells Inga and Knight-man.
 
"Of course we couldn't expect you to remember us, you were quite young
when you were taken from us, Inga tells him.  Inga drops her head and for
a long time she didn't say anything.  When she raised her head again she
had tears glistening on her furry cheeks.  "Duncan, did you have a good
home, good food, was your earth familee good to you, were you warm in
winter and cool in summer, did you have other ferrets to play with?"
 
Duncan's mother was firing questions at him so fast he didn't have a
chance to answer them before another question came.
 
"Yes I had a berry good home and berry good mom and dad.  Dey takes gud
care of us all and woved us a bunch" Duncan tells Inga.
 
"I am so glad to hear that, Inga tells him.  Ferret parents always worry
about their little ones, will they get a good home, will their earth
familee be good to them and I am so glad to hear you had home."
 
The reunion party continued for a while longer and once again Duncan
excused himself from the group.  Walking over to where his mom was
watching the party, his dad must have slipped off for some 'Tone.
 
Shyly reaching out for one of his mom's delicate paws, Duncan just stood
there looking into her face and trying to remember his mom, he searched
his mind for memories of his mom nursing him, giving him a bath, teaching
him things but try as hard as he could, he could not bring forth any
memory.
 
"Duncan what is it?  his mother asked him.
 
"I be missing my earf familee he told her.  I miss how my mom and dad
smelled, I miss my earf home."
 
"I am sure you do his mother Inga told him but now you have not one but
two mothers who love you very much.  Duncan, you were very lucky to have
a loving family, so many ferrets don't.  And as a ferret mom, my greatest
wish for you was to be raised by a good family who loved you.  We don't
have any control in what happens to our kits, the best we can hope for is
a good familee and plenty of love.  On the day you were taken from us, I
planted a tiny seed of love in your heart.  I inhaled the sweetness of
your scent one last time and I tucked that away in my heart and hoped to
see you again one day.  You are my son and you have come home to me."
 
~~Muldoone~~
Caring for your ferrets at Rainbow Bridge.
[Posted in FML issue 4872]