The little hedgehog stood in quiet remembrance in front of the memorial statue for the bears. He remembered that it had been several weeks since the crew of the Determined returned home from Japan. Everyone was happy to be home, especially Pudgy, who relished every moment to sleep in his own bed. The ground was not rocking back and forth, which allowed him to relax fully. The forest was quiet, with only the sounds of the occasional breeze rustling the leaves in the trees far above the forest floor. Thoughts of the extended adventure that took forest friends first to the Philippines and then to Japan eventually faded as everyone settled back into their daily activities. Instead of maintaining the ship, the town and surrounding lands needed looked after.
The condition of Friendship Town was one of neglect, but not due to any ill will. Tall weeds had grown, and the various little paths that facilitated travel had become choked off with dense plant growth. Trees fell, and had blocked various parts of the river banks, and isolated the dragon cove, where the steam ship was moored. The main issue was that the animals who knew how to, and performed much of the work to maintain the town had gone away for months. The remaining animals tried their best, but the volume of tasks was too much to handle. The town was still in place, with its various buildings, and soon became full of life once again. The fields planted with various food stuffs and supplies were overgrown, which took a solid week worth of action by a crew of ten animals. Many vegetables were past their optimum harvest state, so they were picked and then converted into various products.
During this time, the hedgehog’s underground home was cleaned by a quiet hedgehog. It was then restocked accordingly for a variety of official town business, as well as fun personal related activities. As the fields were harvested, the various goods were taken to Pudgy’s home to be processed. The wood stove was loaded full of firewood, lit, and came to temperature quickly. Soon the familiar sight of the underground home’s chimney pipe was sending white puffy smoke up into the air. A line of small wooden carts and wagons started to appear in front of Pudgy’s round front door, and the larger round door that led into the storehouse. Some foods could be stored dry, and the natural cooler temperature underground led itself to considerable storage and food preservation capabilities.
The vegetables that would rot without care, required to be processed by the hedgehog. Glass jars were washed, filled with vegetables of various kinds, brined with a salt water mixture, and placed into a much larger metal pots were boiling away. From sunrise to sunset every day, the critter stayed very busy until everything was processed. It was endless, with load after load of vegetables were being brought by the bunnies who hopped happily, hugged Pudgy, then scampered off with empty carts to bring more vegetables. Lettuce, carrots, beans, turnips, and all manner of other vegetables were quickly filling the underground storehouse. Other foods like pickles, chow chow, sauerkraut, were also made, and carefully placed in neat rows on wooden shelves within the storehouse. The field mice were performing inventory during this process, trying to organize the chaos of freshly prepared foods coming into the storage facilities in a near constant wave.
During this time, Argente’s mother Shima was in amazement, as her daughter showed her around the forest and the little town that had been built. In many ways Friendship Town was just like Fushimi village. The biggest difference was that the layout was more organic in the placement of various structures. In Japan, the highly structured mindset resulted in tight control of development. Here, bunnies were living nearby to groundhogs, and somewhere there was a cabin full of bears. The wooden stage was a notable exception, apparently serving no purpose. However, as the day grew late, the Japanese fox watched with a huge smile as various town animals performed for every animal’s entertainment.
The bunnies had juggling acts, or acts of sheer insanity with their catapult antics. The groundhogs did dramatic readings of the time the tunnels collapsed during various mining activities. Pudgy’s stories of his adventures were always a hit, though the hedgehog did not tell them often as of late. The red panda was quite funny in his own right, doing standup routines, that made all the animals laugh. Word soon spread that he had developed a comedy drama featuring the field mice who were dressed up as humans. It was a married couple fighting about who ate the last slice of bologna. There were many chapters, and three performances had been done so far. The shows were so popular, that they were doing multiple performances of each chapter. Even Mr. Elk and his daughters arrived one day, to watch the show and laugh in their distinctive way. The big finale was coming soon, which all residents were looking forward to. Promises and promotions states that the final chapter would delve into the nature of luncheon meat and the married condition. Deep intellectual concepts were being discussed, with a side of laughter and pickles.
One morning, as a pot of water was bubbling away on the stove, Pudgy reached over and started to place spice bush leaves into the pot. As the water started to change colors from the leaves steeping in the hot water, the hedgehog sighed. He remembered the excellent tea that was served in Japan, and it made him wistful for the tea that Cobalt used to bring him when the humans were still around. Due to the extended absence of the hedgehog, the various spice bush plants had grown very full of leaves. There was a bounty of plant material to gather, and process for that matter. Once the endless stream of vegetables ceased, Pudgy dried the various gathered plants, and then filled jars and cans full with the tea plants. Wild mint was located, and was carefully gathered, along with other plants suitable for beverage purposes.
Once the tea was prepared, Pudgy fished out the leaves with a wooden spoon and tossed them into his metal sink to cool off. Pouring the steaming liquid into a white cup that was shaped in the helmet of his underground friend at the earth’s core, Pudgy looked out into the forest through his round window and sighed again. “Pudgy wish tea could still be bought, or traded for, but spice bush is good enough. Stupid emperor …” the hedgehog grumbled a bit. Had things worked out, Friendship Town and Fushimi Village could have become trading partners. In the Japanese village, there were all sorts of yummy things that did not grow in Friendship Town.
Pudgy wanted peace and happiness, which would have worked out tremendously in favor of both of their homes. With the prospect of ley line travel, the ability for both trade and travel were endless. Instead, they were treated as foreigners to be kept at paw’s length, and mistrusted. It all stemmed from the emperor, who wanted power and control. So, at the first opportunity offered, the animals of the Determined fled Japan in a mad dash rush through the ley line portal. The town had decided to never go back there. The hedgehog wiggled his nose, as an annoyed expression came upon his face. The tea was hot, steaming away in the cup, while he looked out the round kitchen window.
A tiny paw touched his back, “are you alright Pudgy?” Turning around, the hedgehog saw Mr. Field mouse, twitching his nose and whiskers. Nodding, “Pudgy all right, just thinking about Japan again.” The rodent nodded, “ahh … I see. I think about it too, as well as that Philippines place. The world sure has changed, from the way you described it in your stories to now. But I am glad we are back home … safe …and sound.” The mouse emphasized the words safe and sound, while nodding at his hedgehog friend. Since returning home, the married field mouse couple had taken some time for themselves, before returning to their various daily tasks. With the processing done, and the storehouse full, the mice had time for leisure.
Tea was poured for the mouse by Pudgy, and both friends scampered over to the kitchen table to sit down and gingerly sip their beverages. A nice breeze was blowing through the window, and the birds were chirping softly outside. Pudgy nodded, “safe and sound. No more adventures far away … Pudgy staying home now.” The two friends smiled at each other, and sighed as they watched the leaves flutter outside the kitchen window. After a time had passed, and a sip of tea from a tiny cup, the mouse chuckled, “we will see about that. I know you … in two weeks … you will be off to fight the polar bears in the frozen north.”
The hedgehog gave his mouse friend a look, and sniffled while speaking. “Oh no …what about Snortapoopus and the other bears? They were on that fishing boat in the ocean?” The mouse gave him an ‘I told you so’ look and then nodded, “macho … macho … bear …” As the ear worm filled their minds of the silly song being played and sung on the fishing boat that bears were travelling on, Pudgy smiled and spoke happily. “Pudgy want to be … a macho bear.” There was a pause, and then a concerned tone filled his voice, “Oh! Oh … Mister Dave! Pudgy almost forgot, Pudgy wanted to invite him to forest. Remember, the nice tropical eagle we met on Mt. Apo?”
The field mouse nodded, “oh yes, I remember him. He had the pale blue eyes, and the white belly feathers and brown top ones. Yes, he was nice, and I am sure Cobalt and the other eagles will enjoy a visit from him as well.” The mouse watched as Pudgy got the I want to go on an adventure look, and laughed as he sipped from his cup of tea. After a moment’s quiet reflection, the mouse spoke again,
I hope he can tolerate our climate though? Mt. Apo was a tropical island …” The animals of the forest had noticed that what had seemed like an endless string of summer days, was starting to change once again back to normal. At night, the stars were drifting once again, and the world was being put back into the position it once rested in. The change was slow, and seemingly deliberate. Pudgy suspected it was Unetlanvhi, though he did not see any sign of the thunder eagle in the skies so far.
As the world changed position, and while the temperature was still warmer than normal, all had noticed the nights beginning to cool off. Some of the smaller animals even could be seen wearing thin shells of woven fabrics, just to take the chill off. The artic fox from Alaska was of a more pleasant disposition as the slow changes occurred, though she spent her days in the river cooling off, much to the chagrin of the occasional otter that swam past. The field mouse nodded and spoke again, “which reminds me Pudgy … the potatoes and corn are coming in soon. We will need to coordinate teams to harvest.” The two friends nodded, talked some more, sipped tea, and planned the next couple weeks’ worth of activities. Plans were drawn up, on homemade paper and scribed using rudimentary pencils.
The ground hogs had discovered a source of lead somewhere. They were resistant in telling where they were obtaining the metal from, and Pudgy did not press the issue. He wanted them to help, and they were known to be quite stubborn at times, so they got a pass. The lead material was useful for marking purposes, as well as a binder for glass pieces. There was talk of a stained-glass project occurring somewhere within Friendship Town, but no one remembered where, or were not telling Pudgy until it was done. Mr. Bear’s smelting foundry was getting a work out again, from various metals processing. Once the lead was processed and ready for use, it was carefully inserted into hollow wooden shells by Pudgy. The hedgehog had shown the chipmunks how to do it, but they kept licking their paws, and getting upset stomachs. It was decided that only Pudgy would be allowed to make pencils from there on out. As with all limited quantity goods, every animal wanted one, and there would be much pouting when the supply ran out.
The day progressed, plans were finalized, and eventually the mouse went home to his wife. This led to the hedgehog being alone again, with his thoughts. The critter washed his tea pot and cups in his sink, watching the light of the day start to fade outside of his window. After a time of silence while drying the tea cups, Pudgy put away the various items into their respective places within his kitchen. Nodding to himself, the hedgehog went to his wood stove, and shut the vents to snuff out the fire. It was not a quick process, and he would not leave until everything was safe. Returning to the kitchen table, the little critter put away the various plans in various drawers and storage places within the walls of the underground home. He could feel the warmth of the stove fading, and the sound of crackling logs were dying down.
Once satisfied that the fire box was safely secured and the fire posed no risk to his home, the hedgehog nodded while he headed towards the entrance of his home. Taking a moment to secure the front door, Pudgy scampered through his home’s interior door and into the storehouse. There was no use to shut the interior door between his home and the storehouse, because the hedgehog’s home had become part of the town and animals wandered in and out all the time. The once exception was his bedroom, which the town animals left alone. Quickly scampering past the multiple stalls full of food and supplies, the hedgehog made a left and through a narrow corridor to reach the tunnel he went.
Just outside of the door from the storehouse and inside the tunnel was a little pool of water that had formed after numerous heavy rains. In the past Cobalt and Pudgy tried to mitigate it, or reroute the water, but eventually the creation of an extra pool of water proved too much a draw for the various smaller animals over the years. The pool had been built up with pieces of shale rock, and clay mud to form a very nice water tight area within the underground tunnel area. Currently, it was full of field mice squeaking away and splashing around. Pudgy waved as he navigated the tunnel while more field mice came running past excitedly. It would see the neighbors had come over for a pool party, which made him smile.
Up the tunnel he went, then made a right, the hedgehog headed so that he could reach the exterior doors of the tunnel. In years past, it went out to nice clearing, where the bunnies had made their burrow. Now, a ravine had taken its place, covered with various plants. To the right of the tunnel was Argente’s cottage built into the side of the hill, and further past that was the Dragon cove’s port buildings. Thankfully, the ground had stopped moving, asides from the tall grass waving in a gentle breeze. In the distance, he could just barely see the bobcat’s cabin, and puffy white smoke was coming out of the chimney.
As the little hedgehog scampered through the grass, he laughed and chased after a couple monarch butterflies, as he headed up the hill. The insects flew higher and higher, and then wandered off to do butterfly things. It was not long until Pudgy reached the outer doorway where Cobalt used to live when he was a dragon. It had been repurposed as the home of his red panda friend Mr. Drew, the arctic fox Mary, and now the Japanese fox Shima. There was disagreement on the name, and the original Critter Condominium was tabled, and voting underway for a new name. Taking a moment to peek inside, the hedgehog watched as Drew Red Panda was sitting with his back towards the door. The larger animal was working with a coveted pencil and paper, writing a script for the upcoming show at the stage. “What rhymes with aardvark?” The red panda said, while scribbling away with a black fur covered paw.
Nodding, Pudgy decided to leave him alone, and quietly scampered past the open doorway. Further he headed up the hill, at excited hedgehog spped, which then slowed to normal hedgehog speed, and then to Pudgy out of gas speed. It was almost another hour or so later, when a huffing and puffing hedgehog reached the crest of the hill. Dropping onto his belly, the cool dirt squished down as Pudgy’s quills twitched occasionally while he caught his breath. The smell of earth was fragrant around him, as well as the smell of Argente. The fox must have passed by sometime earlier today.
This was where the ley line node was located, and the field of stones laid in concentric rings. After many investigations, tests, and careful alignments with Angeliki Raven … the ley line was now marked with a series of much larger stones in very specific areas. Each stone marker was a piece of hard granite, which had words chiseled into them. Mr. Bobcat who had developed tools for etching and carving stone as well as wood, and had been very excited to try them out when called upon by the raven. One stone read: Mt. Apo, while another read Japan. The Japanese stone was tied with red dyed rope, and a sign that said: NEVER GO HERE AGAIN! With the various stones that remained, it was clear that there were more places they could connect this ley line to. However, no animal was in a rush to find out where those unforeseen paths could lead to, or what dangers were waiting there for their town?
It was not very long until Pudgy heard a purring voice calling out from behind him, “Pudgy? What are you doing?” As the hedgehog stood up and turned around, a curious white tigress was looking at him with pale blue eyes. Her tail swished back and forth as she padded closer, looking at him with concern building in her expression. The little critter bounced happily, “hello Blood Honey! Pudgy want to use ley line. Pudgy want to invite Mr. Dave from the Philippines for a visit here. Pudgy promised him he could come. Pudgy feel bad … Pudgy forgot until now.” The tigress nodded, “oh … all right … just no hedgehog teleporting. I do not want to have to explain to Argente why I let you wander off. Especially given what happened to every animal that returned from the Japanese debacle.”
The hedgehog nodded in agreement, “Pudgy have too many things to do tomorrow, so Pudgy does not have time for adventure.” He walked out onto the central stone, took a deep breath, and concentrated. It was not long until there was a dull thump that could be felt in the ground, and the critter started to float off the ground. Working with Angeliki Raven many times, the hedgehog now could quickly open and close the connections using the ancient ley line. Having the stone markers in place, also meant that the various node locations were easier to focus on. During one such test around two weeks prior, they could hear the emperor’s forces talking, and apparently heard that things were not going so well over there. It was not long until the shinobi rabbits saw the light from the node, and Pudgy had to quickly turn it off. Turning to face the Mt. Apo stone, Pudgy could see the summit of the mountain, and the light of dawn just starting to form. He called out, “MISTER DAVE! ARE YOU THERE?”
There was at first no response, so Pudgy floated silently as he was engulfed in blue light which stretched high up into the sky. The white tigress sat down, and watched her hedgehog friend while noticing several animals from Friendship Town peeking up the hill from where the red panda lived. “Mister Davveeeeee!” Pudgy called out again, and again there was not a response. Blood Honey rubbed her chin with a large fur covered paw, “maybe he is not anywhere near the stone on Mt. Apo Pudgy? Give him some time to respond before calling again.” The hedgehog did as was suggested, and floated silently. It was not long until he heard a loud distinct bird call, and the unique face of the Philippine eagle appearing overhead. The bird yawned, “good Morning Pudgy, why are you calling so early? I was having a wonderful dream about easily openable coconuts.” The hedgehog waved happily, “Pudgy sowwy, Pudgy forgot, Pudgy pwomise that you can come to Pudgy Forest to visit. Does Mister Dave still want to come?”
The eagle nodded and chirped happily as he continued to wake up, “why yes, I do. But I cannot leave just yet Pudgy … I have visitors here. A couple days ago, this big fishing troller washed up ashore. On board was a polar bear, a grizzly bear, a panda bear, and a koala bear. They were arguing about going off course, when I stopped by to try and break up the fight.” The hedgehog wiggled happily, “OH! that is Snortapoopus, Ivan, Bo and Bill! They made it to the Philippines! Pudgy knows them all, Pudgy so glad they made it to island. Pudgy was worried.” The eagle nodded, “when I mentioned you, the bears all started to bounce happily, and I was able to stop the fight. Pudgy, could they come too? I am sure if I leave and do not tell them, they may be upset with me.”
The hedgehog nodded, “ok Mister Dave! Pudgy can keep the connection open longer now, and it does not make Pudgy so tired anymore.” The eagle nodded, “be right back Pudgy.” The image of the eagle disappeared from overhead, and it was replaced by the sun starting to rise to the east out over the ocean. The tigress purred happily, “oh the Pacific Ocean looks so big from that vantage point. Can you show any more images, or are we just locked into that one view?” Pudgy indeed was able to turn the focus around, and able to see in many directions now to the left and right. The jungle that surrounded the base of the summit was thick with trees, and various tropical birds could be seen flying around. “Pudgy, this is almost like watching a nature show, but there is no narrator or commercials. Are you alright? Do you need to take a break?”
The little hedgehog shook his head, and the two waited for the eagle to return. An hour passed, and the tigress had fallen asleep, when Heather owl appeared and waved her wing. “Pudgy, oh wow …where is that?” The hedgehog wiggled his nose, “it is the Philippines. Pudgy going to invite Mister Dave here. Hey wait, why are you awake now?” The owl hooted softly, “Pudgy it … is … night time now. Just when did you come up here?” It had been much longer than an hour as experienced by the hedgehog within the ley line. Outside of the ley line’s portal node, time was progressing as normal, and night had returned with a waning crescent moon starting to shine overhead in the skies. The image of the eagle’s face appeared once again, “sorry Pudgy I had to go get our friends.”
A large white polar bear’s face appeared, “PUDGY! CAN WE COME TOO?” A large grizzly bear peeked in, “da comrade Pudgy, we want to come too!” Bo and Bill peeked, “please mate, don’t leave us here, we want to come!” The hedgehog nodded, “every animal friend can come to the forest. Pwease, one at a time step onto the node, and Pudgy will bring you here.” The full body of the eagle appeared overhead, and Pudgy raised his paws up towards the sky. The ley line beam pulsed strongly, and suddenly the large Philippine eagle appeared and landed hard on the ground beside the startled owl. Then Snortapoopus appeared overhead, and the beam of light pulsed much strong this time, with a large polar bear falling out of the sky and landing hard on top of the sleeping white tiger.
Blood honey roared, “ow! What the heck? Umm … hello …who are you?” The white polar bear stood up and backed away from the startled female tiger, “my apologies … I think we should back up. Ivan does not bounce as well as I do.” As the large animals started to back away, Heather bounced quickly on her talons quickly on the ground. It was just as well, since at the same time the group watched as huge Russian grizzly bear fell out of the sky and landed hard on a fallen log. He started cursing in Russian, and stood up blinking in the low light conditions. Shortly afterwards, a koala bear then a large panda bear fell out of the sky in short order. Once all friends had been summoned, the beam of light disappeared as an exhausted hedgehog dropped onto the ley line node’s smooth stone surface wiggling his paws in all directions. “Owwwwww ……Pudgy …over …did it…. again.”
Dave looked around, noticing it was dark out, “if I remember correctly … I think the Philippines is 12 hours ahead … so that makes it night here. But there is no jet lag … so we are good to go. Pudgy, I cannot believe it … I am here …. In your forest!” The other bears nodded and started to bounce excitedly, with Heather and Blood Honey looking at each other, before greeting the newcomers. After introductions were exchanged, the tired hedgehog was scooped up by Ivan and placed on the back of the white tigress. The bears fell in line behind the female white tiger, as they headed down the gill and through the forest towards Friendship Town. Down the hill they went while carefully navigating around the dark port buildings of the dragon cove. There were oohs and ahhs by the visitors, as they continued around the narrow bend to reach the grassy strip that was just outside of the hedgehog’s underground home. Thankfully the large bears did not have any accidents along the way, so no building repairs were needed.
By the time they had reached Pudgy’s home, the little hedgehog had recovered enough to slide off Blood Honey’s back, and then start hugging every animal in attendance. As the large bears sat beside the quietly flowing river that ran in front of the underground home, Snortapoopus looked up into the night sky. “Finally, here in Pudgy’s forest. Hey, here is the moon.” He pointed with his paw, while starting to fan himself with his other paw, “it is rather warm here.” Bo the panda nodded, “yes …finally … I prefer a warm climate. I wonder if they have any tasty bamboo here?” Bill Koala laughed, “I could go for a beer myself. Too bad Ivan drank it all!” The Russian grizzly bear was about to say something, when he was suddenly hugged by Pudgy. Ivan watched as suddenly the small critter ran inside through a round front door nearby, and one by one little lighted windows started to appear in the ground. The windows opened, and Pudgy’s voice called out, “Pudgy make tea now!”
Bill Koala watched as a tiny metal chimney pipe started to puff with white smoke, and the scent of burning wood wafted in the air. He bent down, and peeked through a round window, to see the hedgehog scampering about inside the underground home. “Oh wow … Pudgy …that is a nice home you have mate!” Well, the comment made by the koala bear prompted a delicate dance of large bears jockeying about for position so that they could look though the tiny window. There was no way that any of them would be able to fit inside the underground home. Mr. Dave was last to get a look, and chirped when he saw Heather owl inside and wiggling her tail feathers playfully at him. “Hey, that is not fair … Heather fits inside the house!” The former human man whimpered, which drew more looks from the bears, and then loud laughter.
As the time passed, more residents of the town were awakened and peeked out at the group of large bears sitting outside of Pudgy’s home. They had never seen these animals before, and it took every bit of effort by Mr. and Mrs. Bunny to restrain their children back and not hop over to see them. There were majorly pouting bunnies forced back to rest, and protests occurring with the bunny burrow. Bo Panda noticed the peeking animals in the low light conditions, but could see the earliest traces of twilight dawn appearing in the distant skies. Smiling widely, the panda looked at Ivan who was busy pawing at the river flowing past. The grizzly bear was intently studying the water, and with a lightning quick jab, was able to catch a small silver fish. He popped it into his mouth, “mmm … now …to find twenty more of those.”
Eventually tiny cups of a uniquely tasting tea was served through the round kitchen window of the underground home. The newcomers did what every animal did when they first arrived, and downed the beverage in one gulp. Blood Honey yawned while giggling at their expectant looks, “I know what you are thinking. I thought the same when I first came here. I love coming over for tea at Pudgy’s house. You must remember; he is a little hedgehog. It takes time to produce things to eat and drink.” As the larger animals nodded, Mister Dave chirped happily as the unique taste of the spice bush was still in his mouth. The tigress continued, “Dave …do you remember the easy bake ovens?” The eagle rubbed his beak with his wing tip, “was that toy you can bake a cake with a light bulb?” The tigress nodded, “yes that is the toy. Pudgy’s kitchen is just like that … it tastes great, but you only get a little piece.”
As the morning sun appeared on the eastern horizon, another round of tea and light refreshments to tiny muffins were provided. Snortapoopus tried his best to make it last, but was unsuccessful, and gulped the food down. The other bears had similar results, but all were happy and excited as soon the various animals of the town came across a wooden bridge that spanned the river. The bunnies were first, and started bouncing happily around the new comers. Introductions were made, and the bears from distant lands were the center of attention. Each one told stories of their homelands, of the bear mother on Kodiak Island, of the huge party on the island, and the epic voyage across the ocean on the fishing boat. Bill made sure to tease Ivan again, but the grizzly was tired of it, and tossed the koala bear into the river.
Round after round of tea was made, served, drunk, until the full light of morning returned. The tigress had fallen asleep, and when the large polar bear peeked inside of Pudgy’s home, he saw that both the owl and hedgehog inside had fallen asleep as well. Chuckling to himself, a red panda appeared and waved his paws at the visiting bears and eagle. After Drew’s introduction was completed, he waved his paws at the group, “how about we head to Mr. Bear’s cabin? It is not very far from here, and he can offer some drinks, of an adult variety. We should let Pudgy rest.” The group nodded, and started to follow slowly behind the red panda bear, with the sea eagle following at the rear of the parade. “I wonder what sorts of things happen here in Pudgy’s forest?” The former human remarked out loud, as he walked past the area where the Determined ship was built. One thing was for certain, he was far away from his homeland, and would enjoy every moment of this trip.
The group was gone for most of the day, and returned with Mr. Bear and Grandpa Bear in the evening. The various animals of the town gathered around the stage, and cheered as Drew approached the stage. Mr. Elk and his daughters stomped their hooves, while Cobalt and Dave sat on a sturdy oak tree branch and chirped loudly. “Welcome all animals of Friendship Town to the season finale of …. who stole the bologna. Let the show …. begin!” As the red panda backed away, the field mice ran out and were dressed in brightly colored clothes, and started to act out the play. The large polar bear looked confused, but that was fixed when Mr. Bear pawed over a large clay jug of a bear strength liquor. As the play wrapped up, it the townsfolk cheered and the mice took a bow. Ivan looked confused, “wait …so what happened to the Bologna?” Snortapoopus passed the jug, “I do not know. But this stuff helps ….” The bears clapped their paws, and cheered on the actors. Friendship Town was indeed an interesting place, and they looked forward to many days of fun and silliness.
Pudgy's Adventures 