Dervish has made herself at home at my parents' house, and is obivously comfortable enough here to re-open her Ferret Beauty Parlor at a new and larger location under my double-size bed (much to my chagrin). I didn't realize this latest ferret endeavor at first. See, I only started classes again on Tuesday, so I haven't had much need for my makeup and such (why bother when you're just hanging around the house and going to pet stores?). However, when I got up at seven to get ready for class on Tuesday morning, I discovered that all my makeup was gone. All of it. We're talking concealer, foundation, eye stuff, you name it. Not to mention my hair supplies (might I add it was a humid day? ... four seconds outside and my hair was a giant puffball). I didn't have time to look for my stuff, so I just tried to grin and bear it. Of course, once I was on campus, everyone I knew kept asking, "Are you sick? You don't look too good." (And I had to explain about my cosmetic-thief weasel!) And so an excavation was in order. Clearing stuff out from under my bed is a major chore, since it's dark and I really hate small spaces. Regardless, the prospect of going to classes bare-faced and frizzy-haired (again!) was too terrible to contemplate. So I put a desk lamp on the floor to light my space, took a deep breath, and slid underneath sideways. An initial pile of nail polish bottles (seven, total) confirmed my suspicions that a covert Ferret Beauty Parlor was indeed operating beneath my bed. Further back, I found a brush and comb. This encouraged me to continue, despite the dust and my claustrophobia. So I ventured on. Suddenly, everything went black. I scooted out from under the bed, to see a stony-faced ferret sitting beside the lamp cord, which had become mysteriously unplugged. I plugged it back in and continued my quest. I found my treasured and much-missed concealer, along with the squeaky football and a bottle of perfume. As I'm dragging those out, I feel something furry brush past me. It's Dervish, transferring her nail polishes back under the bed. I decided to cede the polish and just get my hair stuff, which was waaaaaaaay far back under the bed, too far to reach (my bed is against the wall). So I had to lie on my bed, sort of scootch between the wall and the bed, and feel around underneath to grab the hair gel. As soon as I got my hand on it, I felt a tug. Dervish had a hold on the bottle and wouldn't let go. I ended up hauling the bottle out, complete with ferret attachment. Now ... the makeup and hair gel are safely in a net which hangs from the ceiling, and I've decided that any time I need to polish my nails I'll just go buy a new bottle. -(TX) Meghan and Dervish the WonderFerret ("You'd look so much better if you let me put your makeup on you! Let's start with a black mask around the eyes, and white on the chin ... maybe a nice line down the middle of your nose ... some whiskers ... ") [Posted in FML issue 2562]