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Stephanie and Tripper, her little dog friend, were standing at the bus stop waiting for the local bus that would take them to the far end of the outskirts of West Krumble where Mr. Rockwell had his Vetinary Clinic. Tripper had not been feeling well and Stephanie wanted to make sure that there was nothing seriously wrong with him because they were going to stay with a cousin who lived by the sea and she didn't want Tripper to be sick all the time they were there. While they were waiting for the bus they heard someone call, “Hey Stephanie, Tripper, where're ya going?" It was Porky and his friends walking down the street licking ice cream cones. "Tripper's not feeling good, so we're going to see Mr. Rockwell and see if he needs any medicine." Tripper gave a yelp when he heard that. “I’m not THAT sick, Stephanie," he said, "1 can't STAND medicine. All I have is a stomach ache and I've kind of been off my food a little, I'll be FINE, really. We are going to visit Stephanie's cousin, Molly, next week and she doesn't want me to be sick while we're there, 'cos Molly's Mom wouldn't like it." Dress, who loved animals, asked, “Hey, could we come with you to Mr. Rockwell's? He lets us wander round his pens at the back and while he's examining you, Tripper, we can look at who he has in his hospital." "Sure." Said Stephanie, always glad to have company, and Porky was sympathizing with Tripper. He always felt sorry for anyone who couldn't eat!! The bus finally came and they got out at the terminal and walked the long stretch of road out in the country to Mr. Rockwell's Clinic. The Clinic was a sprawling building that was L-shaped. In the short part of the L were the office and examining and X-ray rooms. The length of the long part of the L was made up of rooms where different animals stayed overnight after they had had surgery, or if Mr. Rockwell wanted to observe them for a day or two. Behind the building were large pens divided by wire fencing so one could see who was in each one and each pen had a metal gate opening on to a concrete path that ran the length of the pens. There was a barn by the pens where hay and straw bales were stored and in the fields surrounding the buildings were some horses and cows. Across the road right opposite the Clinic, was the house where the Rockwells lived and Porky and his friends had gone there a few times for lunch or supper, so were acquainted with the layout of the whole place and loved to see who Mr. Rockwell was treating in the Clinic. While Stephanie and Tripper were inside with Mr. Rockwell, Porky Dress and Snorkel went out to the Paddock (that means the field), behind the pens and were looking at the dogs, one to each pen, and were about to ask the kennel boy who was cleaning one of the pens out, if they could go and talk to a small puppy who was lying curled up and looking miserable by itself, when they heard the door of a car slam out front. In a moment, a brown-haired young man in his early twenties, wearing faded jeans, cowboy boots and a white open necked T-shirt came round the corner into the yard, carrying a saddle slung over his left shoulder. "Hi Kevin.” He called to the kennel boy, “Has Rollo been fed yet? I want to take him out for a bit." Kevin stopped picking up scraps of paper from the pen and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Oh, Hi John. Yep, Rollo's ready if you want him. Just sign him out before you leave.” John was heading for the gate to the Paddock when Stephanie and Tripper came out of the back door of the building. Porky pointed to John who gave a piercing whistle and at the far end of the field, a chestnut horse pricked its ears then started to trot over towards him. Stephanie quickly told them that Tripper was fine and must have eaten something that didn't agree with him but he didn't need any medicine (at which, Tripper wagged his tail furiously). Snorkel asked John if it would be possible for him to ride Rollo before he left and was told he could take a run round the field. Most everybody in Krumble knew how to ride a horse and Snorkel loved to do this. He swung up on Rollo after John had saddled him and cantered off round the field. John looked at the others, "Would you all like a short run too?" Porky was one of the few exceptions to riders in Krumble - he didn't know how he would stay IN the saddle and images of him galloping round the field clinging on for dear life wasn't the most inspiring picture he could think of. Stephanie loved to ride and she said she and Tripper could ride together because Tripper could sit in front of her on the saddle because he was small enough to do that. John said that would be fine and when Snorkel cantered up and dismounted, Stephanie swung up and John lifted Tripper up in front of her. They set off at a walk which quickened into a trot and soon Rollo was cantering away across the field and out of sight. Five minutes later the little crowd by the pens were looking for Rollo to appear but the paddock was empty except for two other horses that were cropping at the grass. "Time those youngsters were back." said John. He gave his piercing whistle again but no Rollo came trotting up this time. "Where on earth have they got to?" asked Porky," Is there a gate the other side of the field that we can't see from here ?" John shook his head. "No, and what's more, there'd be no reason for them to go through it if there WAS one. I have never seen Rollo NOT come when 1 whistle for him." John looked worried and said they should walk across the field and see if something had happened. It was a LARGE field as you can imagine since they couldn't see the fence at the other end of it this was due in part to a gentle rise in the ground that hid the far side from view from the Clinic. Anyway, they set off walking, wondering where they three could have gone that was out of earshot. Now, what do you think happened to Stephanie and Tripper ? What Porky and the others were not aware of, was that Stephanie and Tripper can really be whoever they wish whenever they wish. As they were loving the feel of galloping across the field on Rollo, They said to him, "Rollo, wouldn't you like to just have a little change and do something you never done before?" Rollo, who had only ever known what it was like to graze on the grass in Mr. Rockwell's field, and go for gallops with John out in the country lanes, stopped so suddenly that Stephanie and Tripper almost fell off his back. "What do you mean? He asked, " Do something like what?" Tripper said, "well, you could be invisible if you like so no one can actually SEE you. We do that sometimes. and it is such fun, because we can go right up to our friends and stand right next to them and they haven't a clue. Not that we want to eavesdrop on anything personal, but if they are just chatting with someone, we can listen in and occasionally we even say something in a voice they can hear, and it's hilarious to watch their faces when they look all round and don't see anyone!" Rollo, thought for a minute and then said, " Sounds like FUN - can we all be invisible and go back and see what John and the others are doing and play a game on them?" Stephanie and Tripper laughed and said that was a great idea and they'd try it out but not for too long because they didn't want John to worry that they might be hurt or something. They might think they lost and call the police to find them, and they couldn't explain what they'd been doing! So all at once there was absolutely NO sign of Rollo, Stephanie and Tripper. One minute there was a little girl with her dog sitting in the saddle of a horse, and the next minute they were gone! Rollo started back towards the Clinic when they saw John and the little group of their friends walking hurriedly across the field. They were calling for Rollo, and talking excitedly wondering WHERE he might have got to. They were just coming to the rise in the ground and hadn't quite reached it when Stephanie thought she'd play a trick on the folks who were looking for them. She asked Rollo to gallop round behind them and neigh. He quickly galloped down the side of the field and round behind the group and let out a loud neigh that they could hear, but when they turned round to see there was nothing there. "Oh." cried Dress," maybe they somehow got back without us seeing, we should go back to the pens.” And they all hurried back the way they had come but when they reached the pens they only saw Kevin finishing up his work. Rollo and his riders had also reached the pens and Stephanie and Tripper slid off his back and Tripper, when Kevin wasn't looking, took his broom and leaned it up against the barn door. Kevin assured the searchers that he hadn't seen Rollo, Stephanie and Tripper since they went across the field, then he went to pick up his broom and it wasn't there! " Did one of you take my broom? he asked. "Of course not " said Porky, " Why would we want to do that?" Kevin said he had it just that minute before they came up and now it was gone. Dress pointed it out propped up against the barn door. Kevin's mouth fell open. "Bbbut I didn't put it there," he stuttered." Brooms don't fly." He looked suspiciously at the youngsters sure that they were playing a joke on them. Rollo, in the meantime, while they were discussing how the broom got there, had pulledout some hay with his teeth from a nearby bale and scattered in the pen Kevin had just swept out. When John said they should go back across the field, they all turned to go to through the gate when Snorkel said, “That's odd. I could swear Kevin had cleaned out that pen by the puppy. There's hay all over it now." Kevin about threw a fit. "Somebody has to be playing a trick on me" he shouted, and was about to accuse someone of messing up his work, when John said, “ Kevin, I didn't ask you to put Rollo's blanket ( sometimes the horses had blankets tied over their bodies if they had been ridden hard and the weather was cold, so they didn't catch chill after being rubbed down) by the gate. It's not needed today. The sun is shining and Rollo won't need it.” There, neatly folded and lying by the gate was Rollo's blanket which had John's Ranch initials, TRH (for The Rolling Hills) in bright red on a grey background. “I DIDN'T put it there. John. I know better than to bring it out in this weather". He HADN'T put it there. While Kevin was fussing about the hay in the pen, Stephanie had got the blanket from the stables that were round the comer from the pens, and slipped it down by the gate. She, Tripper and Rollo were laughing so hard as they watched the perplexed, and confused looks on their friends' faces. Porky nearly jumped out of his skin when Snorkel came up to him and pulled a worm out of his back pocket. " What on EARTH are you doing with a WORM in your pocket, Pork?" he asked. Porky nearly lost his tail it shook so hard. "I HATE worms.” he said "There's absolutely NO way, I'd ever put one in my pocket.” He hadn't of course, because Tripper had found one and slipped up behind him and pushed it in, wiggling and all. Dress discovered the laces of her Niki's were untied and flapping loosely because John told her she'd trip if she didn't tie them up better. Dress was MOST indignant at that. “ I always tie my laces up” she said. While they were all trying to figure out what was happening and not understanding at all, Rollo, Stephanie and Tripper decided they had played tricks long enough, and Rollo galloped as fast as he could over the rise in the field, and as soon as they were out of sight, they all became visible again and went galloping back towards the gate. The group there were so busy telling each other what they hadn't done that at first they didn't notice the return of the wanderers. Then John looked up and gave a shout “Hey, look, there's Rollo and your friends.” They forget their puzzle as they wanted to know WHERE had they been and why hadn't they come when whistled and called. Stephanie explained that they had been doing something (which was true!) and that they had only just been able to get back - which was also true. Well, Dress had a short ride on Rollo and then John took off, but he had no idea the fun Rollo had had just before that. Stephanie had promised Rollo they would come again and be invisible and play some more games. On the bus back to Krumble, Porky told Stephanie and Tripper, "You guys sure missed some odd things while you were the other side of the field.” And proceeded to relate what had happened. Stephanie and Tripper kept a straight face and looked interested and said they wondered how those things could have been, and yes, it sure was odd. When they got back to Krumble, Dress asked Stephanie what they were going to do for the rest of the day, and if they didn't have anything planned would they like to go over to the Market Square and see if there was a flea market on. Since there were always interesting things going on at the flea market. Tripper and Stephanie agreed immediately and the set off for the Market Square where there were tons of tables set up over nearly a quarter of an acre of ground with every imaginable thing spread out, not only on the tables, but on the ground and hanging on cardboard walls set up round some of the tables, or hanging from ropes strong across the top of a canvas booth. Tripper tugged at Stephanie's arm and whispered in her ear, "Steph. how about we tell Porky, Snorkel and Dress about our secret and we all have some fun seeing how we can get things cheaper from the sellers'?" Stephanie's eyes sparkled and she grinned at Tripper and turned to Porky and his friends and asked, "Can you guys keep a secret and promise not to tell ANYONE, EVER, if we share something with you?" The others looked curious and promised that whatever they were told would never be repeated, “Cross their hearts and you know what!!" Their eyes opened WIDE when Stephanie explained their special ability to make themselves invisible and were greatly excited at the thought of disappearing and being able to walk around and no one could see them. Snorkel had a bright idea, and said, " I know, if we are going to have fun here and see what we can do to get the sellers to knock the prices down, how about we keep switching so sometimes some of us can be seen and the others can, like make things disappear or appear seemingly out of now where, and we can pretend nothing unusual is happening and the people at the tables and in the booths will think they're seeing things or going nuts!" They all laughed and thought that a good suggestion. So they planned who would be seen and who wouldn't, but they thought it would work better not to switch because they could work better keeping it consistent. And anyway, it might be TOO much if someone was talking to a seller and then they disappeared before their eyes - would likely freak them out and they wanted to just have fun, not make things really serious. So they tossed a coin to see who would be invisible and who could be seen. It worked out that Porky, Dress and Tripper were to "disappear" and Stephanie and Snorkel would go round the tables and bargain with the sellers. Well, they had a ball. Stephanie and Snorkel went up to a table where there was a display of stuffed animals. There were stuffed monkeys, tigers, teddy bears, cats, dogs. penguins, bunnies, dolphins, you name it, they were all piled higgledy piggledy on a white sheet and there was a piece of cardboard tacked on to the front of the table that said, " Small Animals - $3.00". "Large Animals - $5.00". Stephanie picked up a small stuffed mouse and said to the lady behind the table, " This mouse is so small it's not worth three dollars new, and it's second hand, how about half price?" The lady put out her hand to take the mouse and look at it when Dress, who was invisible, took the mouse as Stephanie went to hand it over and placed a black and white zebra in the lady's hand. She looked in amazement and said, " I thought you just gave me a mouse.?" "I did," said Stephanie, " I said it's only worth half what you're asking." "BBBut," the lady stammered, " You gave me a zebra." "No, 1 didn't" replied Steph, " 1 gave you a mouse." " But I've got a ZEBRA, " the lady said, holding it up. " Stephanie shook her head. " Ma'am. " she said politely, " I want a mouse, I don't want a zebra, can I have it for $1. 50?" The lady was so flustered she took the two dollars Stephanie handed her and gave her fifty cents change and nearly choked when she went to put the zebra down and saw she had the mouse in her hand. She couldn't wrap it fast enough in a piece of tissue paper and the kids left trying not to double over laughing. At a small table further down the row they were walking along, a man was selling sports cards and had them on display all set out by games and players. One section was football, one, basket ball, one baseball and one hockey. The players were also sorted by name with all the major players in small areas of just their cards, like a bunch of Michael Jordans together, or McGwire. or Griffey Jr. etc. Snorkel picked up a rookie card of The Shaq ( Shaq O'Neal, the Basket ball player) that was nicked at the corner and was looking at the price. The man watched him carefully as he knew the temptation for boys to slip cards into their pockets if they could. But while he was watching Snorkel, Tripper was busy at work, and when Snorkel put the card back, he asked the man " How come you have your cards all mixed up ? 1 wanted to check out some basket ball players, like Scottie Pippin. Michael Jordan, maybe see if you have some sets of the Kings or something, and you've got hockey, baseball all mixed up with the basketball cards ?" The man started to get angry. " Boy," he thundered, " I pride myself in keep my table the best for being able to go right to what you want,. I…." Here, his voice faded out and he looked in horror and amazement at these cards, that were, just as Snorkel said, all the games mixed up and star players all muddled together. ”WHAT," he exploded, " I..I..I" words failed him. "Well," said Snorkel ,"you know I didn't do it. You were watching me when I was looking at the Shaq and seeing how much you wanted. How about letting me have it for a couple of bucks?" The man was so distracted and distraught he said " Sure, sure" and took the two dollar bills, Snorkel handed over hardly looking at him. He and Stephanie left the poor man frantically sorting his cards into their right places by games and players. Just in case you think the kids were being dishonest, they weren't – the sellers always put their prices up and the Shaq card was probably worth three bucks at the most, and they later saw more stuffed animals that had large ones for two bucks, so they really hadn't gypped the seller of anything. They were getting hungry by now, not having been home for lunch so they wandered over to the stalls that were selling food and drinks. Now Porky was an honest pig and he would never steal, but he was SO hungry and the sight of food made his mouth water. When Snorkel and Stephanie each asked for a hog dog, chips and a soft drink, the man who was cooking the hot dogs on a grill was putting mustard on the buns then went to turn the hot dogs over to cook on another side and his eyes popped wide open when the saw three more hot dogs cooking by the two he had put on the grill. " What the... ?" he gasped, " 1 thought you ordered two hot dogs?" "We did" chorused Steph and Snorkel. " " I KNOW I only put two on to cook, how come there's five there now?" "Don't ask us," said Snorkel," We've just been standing here waiting. But since you've got more cooking it's a shame to waste them. We don't have enough for five of them and nobody wants cold hot dogs, how about we help you out and take them for the same price?" The cook was so unnerved he said, sure, they could have them - he looked like he didn't even want to touch them, like they might multiply again in front of his eyes. In his haste, he filled the bags of chips to overflowing, so Stephanie and Snorkel went over to one of the tables with enough food for all of them. They could see Porky, Tripper and Dress but they saw some kids at the next table looking like they were watching a sci fi movie as three hot dogs seem to rise in the air and a bite get chewed off and then chips were dipped in ketchup with nobody holding them. Step and Snorkel were laughing fit to kill themselves, and the kids watching them asked them if they were magicians and could make things disappear. Stephanie told them it was trick they were seeing and really they didn't have anything to do with it, but the other kids didn't believe a word she said and asked them to do some more things, but when they had eaten they got up to stroll around again. So they spent the afternoon wandering round the flea market playing jokes and games and tricks on buyers and seller alike, and you can think up for yourselves, some of the things they came up with! On their way home, Porky, Dress and Tripper lost their invisibility and Porky asked if they could do that again, and Snorkel wanted to become invisible too. Stephanie said they didn't do it often, just now and then, and again asked them to NOT tell anyone their secret, and they promised not to. They parted at the street comer where they had to go in different directions and Stephanie gave Tripper a hug and said she was so glad he was feeling better - that he must be if he could eat a hot dog and chips! - and now they could go to her cousins next week and have a vacation by the sea. They walked hand in hand into their home and when they were alone, laughed and laughed as they recounted their day's adventures. ************************* Goessoftly Retired Therapist http://www.goessoftlyishere.com No copies permitted. | PIGMUS STORY 1. Heather | PIGMUS STORY 2 Nancy | PIGMUS STORY 3. Drew | PIGMUS STORY 4 Holly | PIGMUS STORY 5 Nobody | PIGMUS STORY 6 Mollie | PIGMUS STORY 7 Heidi | PIGMUS STORY 8 . Veronica | PIGMUS STORY 9. Nichole | PIGMUS STORY 10. Stephanie | Sunny | Merry Flipper | | THE HEALING PROCESS | DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER | POETRY | Biographical Entries | THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE | STORIES FOR LITTLES (Pigmus and friends) | |
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