One fine day in early spring, in a small town somewhere nestled in the heart of the mighty redwoods, there lived six young ferrets who were home alone and looking for something to do...again. Their humans (Mom, Dad, and Uncle Steve) were away to college for the day, and the house was all theirs. "What are we going to do today?" Maxie questioned. She was a traditional sable with a heart of gold and big feelings. She looked like a little bear and had the best odor from her scent glands than any ferret in the house. "I don't know," Shiva replied. She was a chocolate sable and she looked like a fluffy, little fuzzball. She loved her Uncle Steve most of all because he let her sleep with him at night. "Let's do some bad stuff," Rosie suggested. She was a siamese and was the leader of the pack in this home. She was temperamental and bossy, but deep within she had a tender heart. "I want to eat," Tony declared, searching for treats. Tony was a brand new addition to the Doyle Zoo, which is what this house was nicknamed, for there were many animals here besides the ferrets. There were frogs, salamanders, hamsters, lizards, geckos, newts, and fish. Tony was a big, bouncing boy who was silver and curious about everything going on around him. "Me too," Cleo agreed. She was new as well to this place. Tony and her were litter mates. They came from the same ferret mother, but now they live here. Cleo was a panda ferret, and if she got too exited, she was a feisty little woman! "I want to play," Sammi chimed in. She was a siamese, and she used to be very scared of everyone, but now she doesn't get scared no more at all. Mom always said that sammi was everything that is good in this world. So there you have it...These six ferrets roamed the house freely, and they loved each other very much. They were a family, and like most family, they argued sometimes, but most of the time they got along fine. So on this day in early spring, well...they were looking for another adventure, and one just happened to come knocking on their door... "Who was that?" Maxie stated, running to the front door with the others following her. "Yeah," Rosie added. "Who's knocking?" "It's me," A familiar and faint voice called from outside. "Otter?" Shiva inquired. "Hurry," Maxie declared. "Let him in..." So all six of the ferrets climbed on top of each others shoulders and the one on top unlocked the door handle and turned it. The door creaked open, to reveal their friend Otter, lying on the doormat on the porch. (to be continued...) [Posted in FML issue 1853]