Early morning at the Bridge has Muldoone doing his favorite thing; still snoozing in his hammy. Nanna gives the edge of his hammy a tug and she is met with a resounding LOUD SNORE. She tugs a little harder and hears a LOUDER snore. Giving the hammy a quick yank and yelling "GOOD MORNING MULDOONE" brings about a result. Muldoone leaps out of his hammy and lands on the floor with a resounding THUD and looks up to see Nanna standing there smiling. "Oh good you are up" she says in a cheerie voice. "Nanna, dooes you habs to dooes dat?" Mully asks her with exasperation in his voice. "Muldoone you have a new greeting and a trip to take care of today and the Boss has assigned you a new responsibility so you need to get moving" Nanna tells him. Stumbling off in the direction of his making self presentable area, Muldoone returns and stands before Nanna for inspection. Nanna eyes him up and down and her gaze then returns and becomes fixed on his hammy-head-hair. "Muldoone, the hair, did you even try"? Nanna asks him. "Yes Nanna, I twies but".. "No need to try to explain Muldoone, I have heard it all before. We've got to do something about your hammy-head-hair. You could scare someone with fur like that!! Do you know what a Yack is"? Nanna asks her young assistant. "Uh, dat be someone who talks a wot?" Muldoone replies. "No Muldoone, a Yack is an animal that resembles a moving haystack and frankly that is what your hair looks like this morning. How in the name of Foamy Fried do you get your hair in such a tangled mess"? Nanna asks him. "I not knows Nanna, I asks da Boss to fixes it but he not fixes it" Mully tells her. "Maybes I shabes my head" Mully mutters. "M U L D O O N E!! Adrenal ferrets loose their fur and get bald but rarely if ever do they loose hair only on their heads, I don't think the Rainbow Bridge is ready for a cue-ball ferret!! Come with me" Nanna tells him, we have lots to do in preparation for your greeting of Lily." Following Nanna up one path and down another has Mully wondering where she was taking him. Arriving at an area of the Rainbow Bridge Village Muldoone was not at all familiar with, he was growing more curious by the minute. Nanna, what we be dooings here at NoFolks and what dis habes to do wif the next gweeting I be doins?" At the NoFolks Village, ferrets had arrived without familee back on earth, ferrets had come to the Rainbow Bridge having their lives cut short by abuse, abandonment, or no human to love or having been loved by. Here the ferrets had a familee of their own making. "Muldoone, Nanna begins to explain to him, your newest assignment has multiple parts to it. I realize you have never done such a complicated greeting and that is why I am here, to help you, and to make sure it is carried out exactly." "Nanna, I fought Wily had familee dat woved her, you means she hab no familee?" Mully asks his boss. "Oh yes she had familee Muldoone, she has a familee that loves her very much and miss her. NoFolks Village is only part of your new assignment" Nanna tells him. Muldoone you have some things you must do: First you must locate Lily's friend Switch that arrived here just recently and you are also to locate Sabrina their other friend Sabrina. Next you are to pay a visit to a hedgehog named France and let her know you will be watching over both Switch and Lily. Even though the hedgehog known as Frances claimed she did not like ferrets, I suspect she is saddened both Switch and Lily have passed to the Rainbow Bridge." Muldoone's eyes big and round at the mention of a hedgehog. "Nanna you 'spect me to go and bisit a hedginhug?!" Nanna asks his boss. "HEDGE-HOG Muldoone not hedginhug" Nanna tells him, they are called hedgehogs. "But Nanna, you ebber sees one of dem tings? Mully wanted to know. Dey be wike a nastees-tempers cactus Pete wif TEEF!! Pwease Nanna, I no wants to go bisit dat ting." "Muldoone, I know this is a bit unusual and was pretty surprised when the Boss gave me the up-down of this assignment but this is exactly how He wants it and you are to visit and assure the other ferret living there known as Ping is He you will be watching over his Miss Lily and Switch although he never actually met Switch." Out of the corner of his eye Mully caught sight of a ferret doing the ferret war dance like he had never seen a ferret do before. Who is this guy and what kind of raisins had he been eating Mully wondered. Excitedly the little ferret came running over to Nanna and Muldoone. "Nanna, dids you tells Misser Muldoone bout me, huh, did ya Nanna, did ya, well did ya tells him?" Laughing Nanna tells the young fuzzy, "no Clancy, I haven't had a chance to tell Muldoone about you but if you be patient I will get him filled in on everything." "Next, Nanna continues, this little boy ferret called Clancy, he will be your assistant on this assignment." Gesturing for Clancy to come back over Nanna makes the introductions. Muldoone, this is Clancy and Clancy this is Muldoone. "Oh Misser Muldoone, I so gwads to meets you at wast. I tink you be da neaterest fewet and I wants to gwows up to be a gweeter just wike you" the little panda ferret tells him. "Nanna why you tinks I needs a 'sistant Mully wants to know, I not needs 'sistant and I not wants to go and sees a hedginhug!!" "Listen to me young man Nanna tells Muldoone getting nose-to-nose with him, you will carry out this assignment as I have outlined it to you and you will carry it out to the letter." By this point Muldoone knew it was useless to argue with the older not to mention L A R G E R ferret, he may as well give in and save himself a lot of trouble in the long run. "Okays Nanna," Muldoone reluctantly agrees. "How dooes I gets dere"? Muldoone wanted to know. "MoonBeam Molly will be taking you Nanna tells him, you and Clancy will ride over on her. She has been fed her special hay with the molasses in it to give her flying powers and she is ready. Oh and one more thing you will be taking with you; Muldoone do you remember the tractor Sabrina and Switch got stuck on the Rainbow Bridge, the one the Boss shrunk down to a ferrety-sized tractor? You will be taking it along as well. Poor Lily, she worked so hard trying to teach Ping to drive and the Boss has decided to send along the smaller tractor so Ping can take it for a spin around the driveway." Off in the distance Mully heard the nickering of MoonBeam Molly letting him know she was excited to be off with their big adventure. Checking first with Clancy, "are you ready to go?" Nanna asks him. Oh yes Mz Nanna Clancy told her I bees weady." "How about you Muldoone, Nanna asks him, are you ready?" "I bees weady Nanna" although anyone could tell Mully was not happy about the situation by the glares he was shooting in Clancy's direction. "Okay, off you be, both of you" Nanna tells them. MoonBeam Molly gracefully lowered herself to the ground to allow Muldoone and Clancy to climb aboard. Muldoone noticed someone had already loaded the ferrety tractor in a special backpack the unicorn was wearing. With the sound of a thousand thunder bolts and the flash of a bright light, MoonBeam Molly, Muldoone, and Clancy were earthbound. Arriving at the place Lily, Switch, and Sabrina had called home, Muldoone noticed everything to be dark and quiet. MoonBeam Molly touched down with a perfect 4-hoof landing. Bowing low to the ground once more to allow her passengers to get off she told the two ferrets they would have to find their way into the house from there, the Boss didn't like for unicorns to go into people's homes. Once inside, Muldoone and Clancy took a moment to survey their new surroundings. "Kwancy you dooes 'xactly wike I tells you to dooes Muldoone tells him, I gots no times to answers bunches of stoopid quessions." "But Misser Muldoone, hows I 'poose to wearn anyting ifins you not wet me askis quessions" Clancy asked him. "Dat be your firstis stoopid quession Kwancy and makes it your wast" Muldoone informs him. Muldoone decides first they will locate the ferret known as Ping is He and have some fun on the tractor. Muldoone moves over close to Ping's area and clears his throat and coughs a few times. "What be wong Misser Muldoone, you gots a furball hangs up in your froat" Clancy asks him. "Dere you goes wif dem stoopid quessions 'gain Kwancy" Mully told him. Poking his hear out to see who had dared to invade his territory, Ping calls out to the invaders. "Halts, who bees out dere?! Tells me or I pelts you wif waisins." "Ping, you not knows me but my name be Mr. Muldoone, officialist Wainbow Bwidge Gweeter and I comes to sees you" Mully tell him. "You bees frum dat pwace Ping wants to know, dids you comes to takes me back wif you?" "No, I be sent here to tells you dat I be taking care of your friend Lily and we hab a surprise for you Mully tells him, come on out and sees what we bwings." Glancing around to see where Clancy was, Muldoone could hear bits of conversation between Clancy and an unidentified voice. Clancy had caught sight of France the hedgehog and he was VERY interesting in her. "Thief," says France, " I doo not like your kind, thief. Youuu are too long, too much neck, you smell like socksss..You 'ave no culture, and I should bite youu ....but come 'ere, closer, so we cannn talk without zee shouuutin'..." "Kwancy, you comes back ober here Muldoone hissed at him, stay 'way from dat ting, hedginhugs be mean." After finally convincing Ping that Mully had not come to take him back to the Bridge although he was missing Lily terribly, his eyes light up at the thought of taking the tractor for a spin. "Misser Muldoone, Wily be twying to teaches me how to dwive da twactor when she weft for da Bwidge." "Yes I know Muldoone tells him, but we brings a fewety-size twactor for yous so come on, outside ons da dwiveway!" Outside parked on the driveway Ping could not believe his eyes, it looked just like the tractor he and Lily had been driving but this was a much small one, this was a ferrety-size tractor!! "Ping, hops on and take it for a spin ifins you wants to" Muldoone told him. Ping jumps in and looking around to see exactly where all the controls were located, he was amazed at how identical this tractor was to the one he and Lily had spent so much time on. "Come on Ping, fire 'er up" Muldoone yells at him over the cranking sound of the engine. Finally the heart of the greasy metal-soul beast clangs to life. Ping can't believe what was happening, a shrunk-down version of this wonderful machine and he was going to get to drive it, all night if he wanted to!! Ping takes a couple of laps around the driveway and then he pulls to a stop. Hopping down from the ferrety-size tractor, he runs over to the big hooman-size tractor, scrambles up one of the big black tires, swings over into the seat and pops open one of the tool boxes attached to the fender. Rummaging around in the tool box and making quite a bit of racket Muldoone wonders what the heck this silly weasel is looking for. Fiddling with a couple of things and putting one on his head and the other around his neck, down he hops and runs back over to the ferrety-size tractor. With the full moon out Mully can see exactly what Ping went to get from the big tractor; he was wearing an aviator's helment complete with goggles and a white silk scarf around his neck. Back on the tractor he jumped and off he roared with his beautiful white scarf blowing behind him in the breeze. Hearing some ferret giggling in the distance, Muldoone heard a female ferret voice say "see I tells you dat he bees handsome" and Mully feels himself blush a bright red. Hearing a squeal from the girl ferrets, Muldoone braces himself for impact from the three coming straight at him. Try as he might to step out of their way, they were too quick for him and Muldoone found himself stretched out horizontal on the driveway with birdies flying around his head. It had not been HIM they thought to be so handsome, it was Ping the girls were gushing over. "Gives us a wide Ping he heard a voice calling out, yeah called out another. From the third voice he heard "Hee-heee!" Muldoone could not believe what he was hearing and seeing. He recognized one of the girl ferrets as Switch and the other as Sabrina but he did not know the third girl ferret. She just kept grinning and going "hee-heee, hee-heee, hee-heee!" "WILY" Muldoone heard Ping call out, Wily, you back, you weally comes back to me??!!" "Jussin for t'night Lily told Ping, we gots special purrmissions for a twactor wide." The tractor was stopped on the driveway and ferrets were reunited in the night. Dis be a furst fors me Muldoone thinks to himself... Muldoone lost count of the laps around the driveway and about that time he realized Clancy must have still be in the house. OhMyGosh was all Mully could think and say, OhMyGosh, OhMyGosh. Racing back inside the house the hedgehog could be overheard to say "Barbarian you 'aff no culture, and I 'ate youuu very much, I 'ate all you theif ferrets. Just then Muldoone saw Clancy trying to climb the see-through wall separating the area belong to France from the area the four ferrets now occupied. "Kwancy no, comes down frum dere." Once again the hedgehog could be heard to say "Barbarian you 'aff no culture, and I 'ate youuu very much, I 'ate all you theif ferrets." "Oh noose, I no can wook said the ferret Switch and she covered her eyes with her delicate paws. "Me neidder" said Lily covering her eyes. "I cans yelled Sabrina, dis I wanna sees!!" The ferrets heard the unmistakable sound of a thud and then high-pierced screaming coming from the direction of the hedgehog's area. When Muldoone reached the front of the enclosure he could see Clancy holding on for dear life but also trying to turn loose. He was up on the creature's back and from the way she was bucking, the scene looked like some kind of a crazy hedgehog rodeo only he was riding her backwards. A noise at a window got their attention and when the four ferrets looked, it was MoonBeam Molly. She squinted her eyes tight and blinked a couple of times and in an instant Clancy was off the bucking hedgehog, landing on the floor with a thud and was yelling and howling something about stickeries in his bum. MoonBeam Molly used her horn to gently tap on the window and sent a silent message that it was time for them to return home. Ping's eyes filled with tears at the thought of Lily having to leave again just when she had arrived. Ping walked over to Lily and took her small paw in his bigger one and then he hugged her close for several minutes not saying anything, words were not necessary, words of love were loud and clear between the two ferrets. They had not been together long but there was a definite love between the two fuzzy hearts. Ping knew he had someone special waiting for him at the Rainbow Bridge, he had his Mz Lily watching over him and she would wait. ~~Muldoone~~ Caring for your ferrets at Rainbow Bridge. [Posted in FML issue 4866]