Chapter 4
Goldie stood in frozen in panic as Junior Gorg eagerly ran towards her.
“I’ll get you, you pesky widdul fwaggle!"
She could only watch as the gorg jumped down to the ground and wrapped his huge hairy hand around Goldie, lifting her from where she stood.
“Hahaha! I got you now!"
The quivering, whimpering fraggle was beginning to see her life flashing before her now-watering eyes. After a long hard moment staring into the eyes of certain doom, she couldn’t help but start bawling like a baby.
This confused Junior, because he’d never seen a fraggle cry before. He tipped his head, watching the tiny creature crying its eyes out.
“Hey...” he said in a softer tone, “H-h-hey c’mon. Don’t cwy.”
“Juuuuuniooor!" Another gorg sing-songed from inside the castle.
“Ohhh," Junior groaned and turned his head around, “Yeah, Ma!"
“I hope you’re getting those rutabagas I asked you for.”
“Ugh! Yes, Ma! I’m getting dem.”
“Junior!" a third voice bellowed from inside the castle, this one loud and gritty. “You’d better not be out there catching fraggles again!"
“No, Pa!"
“Then hurry up an’ git yer mother those rutabagas!"
“Yes, Pa!"
He turned his gaze back to the horrified fraggle in his fist, still crying rather loudly. He also noticed that two other fraggles had climbed up on his hand to try and pry her free.
“What? Hey!"
“Let ‘er go, you big ugly gorg!" Red grunted as she pulled on Junior’s thumb.
“B-b-but--”
“Junior! Where are my rutabagas?"
“I’m coming, Mommy, but---”
“Grrr! Let go!"
“JUNIOR!"
“But, Pa! I--”
“AAAAAHHHH! I DON’T WANNA DIIIIIIIE!"
“Let ‘er go!"
“Alwight! Alwight! Alwight! I’ll wet you go! Just pwease stop making dat howible noise!"
Junior finally released his grip on Goldie and backed away. Red and Mokey wasted no time yanking Goldie away immediately afterward. The poor confused Junior was left scratching his head as the three fraggles disappeared back into the large rock from whence they came.
“And what was DAT aw about? Eh. Oh well. Bettuh get dose wutabagas for Ma.”
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Red, Mokey, and Goldie made it safely back into the rock, all three panting from the sprint. Goldie was still wide-eyed with shock. Red grabbed her by the shoulder and started shaking her.
“Hey, Goldie. Snap out of it.”
“There, there, Goldie," Mokey added, rubbing her shoulder, “The gorg’s gone. You’re safe now.”
Slowly, Goldie regained her composure, although she still couldn’t stop crying. Seeing a gorg like that was quite possibly the most horrible thing she’d ever experienced in her life. She looked to Red and Mokey, not really sure what to say.
“Are you alright?" Mokey asked.
“I... I think so.”
“What happened out there, Goldie?" Red asked. “Why didn’t you run from the gorg?"
“I don’t know. I just froze. Then when that thing had me in his big, nasty, hairy hand.... I just...”
Mokey stepped up and hugged Goldie as she started crying again.
“Shhh, there now, Goldie. It’s alright. It’s all over. Let’s get you back to your cave, okay?"
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(Later)
“I cannot believe how bad she freaked out at the Trash Heap.”
After getting back from the gorgs’ garden, Red and Mokey had brought Goldie back to her room so she could rest for the evening.
Red was lying on her hammock, softly swinging left and right on it as she thought out loud. Mokey was busy watering her night-blooming yellow-leaved deathwort, who eagerly waited with its big toothy mouth wide open.
“There you go, Lanford," Mokey said, and then started singing to herself as she watered.
“And the way she froze with that gorg! I mean how hard is it to just run away? Gorgs aren’t that hard to get away from.”
“There, now. Isn’t that good?"
Lanford purred in response.
“Mokey, are you listening?"
“Oh, I’m sorry, Red.”
She put down her watering can and walked over to Red’s hammock.
“You really shouldn’t be so hard on Goldie. She’s lived in Outer Space her whole life, after all. She’s probably never seen a gorg before.”
“So?"
“Don’t you remember your first time seeing Junior Gorg coming at you?"
“No. It was a long time ago. I was too little to remember it.”
“Well, I remember my first encounter with him. I was so frightened, I couldn’t move. Just like Goldie was today. So you see, Red, it’s perfectly normal. She’ll probably feel better in the morning.”
“If she can sleep after all that. Her first day in Fraggle Rock and she gets caught by a gorg. I don’t think I could sleep after something like that.”
“Well, yes. There’s that too. I suppose that means we’ll just have to be extra accommodating so she feels extra welcome.”
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Goldie stared at the rocky ceiling above her as she lay quietly on the futon she’d rolled out on one of the large rocks in the room. Her thoughts were keeping her awake.
“This place is so weird," she thought to herself, “Talking trash heaps, and tiny construction workers, and hairy giants? What’s next?"
She lifted her aching tail and held it in her hand for a moment, looking at the bite marks left by Philo and Gunge.
“Ugh, and those nasty little rat things LIVE in that trash heap. No wonder it hurts so much. It’s probably infected.”
She got up from her makeshift bed and walked over to her suitcase lying on the rock table. She took out her first aid kit and began work bandaging her tail, sitting on the hard rocky floor.
“This is really going to take some getting used to. I need to try not to be surprised at everything I see. The Trash Heap said to expect the unexpected.”
She got back up to put her first aid kit away when she noticed a picture frame sticking out from the various items she’d packed in her suitcase. She pulled it out and smiled at the photograph encased in it.
As she caressed the image of the two silly creatures in the photo, a strange feeling came over her. It was feeling she’d felt once before, when she first entered the Rock. The feeling that could only be satisfied with a song. She resisted it for a brief moment, but she quickly found that it was a futile effort.
Day after day, I must face a world of strangers
Where I don’t belong, I’m not that strong.
Its nice to know that there’s someone I can turn to
Who will always care. You’re always there.
When there’s no getting’ over that rainbow,
When my smallest of dreams wont come true,
I can take all the madness the world has to give,
But I wont last a day without you.
She held the frame close to her for a moment. Then she looked up and found a shelf hanging on the far wall. She walked up to it and stood her picture frame up at the center. As she continued singing she pulled other objects from her suitcase to place on the shelf.
So many times when the whole world seems to be
Without a friendly face, a lonely place.
It’s nice to know that you’ll be there if I need you,
And you’ll always smile. It’s all worthwhile.
When there’s no getting’ over that rainbow,
When my smallest of dreams wont come true,
I can take all the madness the world has to give,
But I wont last a day without you.
When there’s no getting’ over that rainbow,
When my smallest of dreams wont come true,
I can take all the madness the world has to give,
But I wont last a day without you.
As she finished singing, she sat down on the rock table and looked up at the shelf. She waited to see if there was any more to the song left. There wasn’t any, much to her relief. So she was able to take a moment to think of the family she left behind. She looked up and smiled.
“Grandma... Grandpa...” She said to the photograph on the shelf, “Don’t you worry about me. I’ll find a way to fit in here. I promise I won’t let you down.”
Her hand shifted on the rock and bumped into something. She looked back and noticed the paper bag sitting on the table beside her suitcase. She picked it up and sighed.
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Gobo sat in his bed, which wasn’t much more than a hole in the rock wall, strumming on his two-stringed guitar. Wembley’s bed, the hole that was higher up and to the right of Gobo’s, was empty. Wembley wasn’t even in the room. Gobo wasn’t worried, though. He just strummed away.
Goldie appeared in the doorway just in time to hear Gobo finish his jam session.
“Wow, that’s really nice.”
“Well, thank you. It’s nothin’ special, really. Just a few chords to pass the time before bed.”
“Still, I still think it sounds really nice.”
“Thanks.”
He got up from his bed and put his guitar away.
“You don’t have to wait for an invitation, eh.”
“Huh?"
“Come on in. If you stay in the doorway, you’ll likely get plowed over by Wembley if he gets back from wherever it was he went. We’re all friends here, Goldie. If you wanna talk to us about something, just come on in and talk.”
“Oh, okay.”
She walked down the small stairway into the room. She looked around at the collage of postcards pinned to the cave wall. No doubt, she thought, all from his uncle, Traveling Matt.
“I heard about what happened in the Gorgs’ Garden. How are you holding up?"
She blushed, rather embarrassed of what happened. She began to wonder if everyone in the Rock knew about it.
“Um, yeah, I’m... I’m fine now.”
“That’s good. Hey, don’t worry about it. It happens to all of us when we first go out into the garden.”
“How can you go out there with those hairy mountains ready to attack?"
“Easy. The Trash Heap’s on the other side. And radishes. The gorgs are pretty easy to handle once you’ve been out there a few times. They may be big and scary, but they’re not very fast. You can usually get away by just running.”
“And if you can’t?"
“They’re not very smart, either. So if you get caught, you have to outsmart them. And usually, that’ll be pretty easy.”
“I see.”
“I hope that makes it a lot easier for you.”
“It does. Thanks.”
“Hey, no problem, eh. Say, what’s in the bag?"
Goldie looked at the paper bag in her hand.
“Oh, that. It belongs to that blue fraggle that ran away from me. I’m trying to find him so I can give it back to him.”
“Oh, you mean Boober. He’s barricaded himself in his cave. If you go around the corner out there and down the next tunnel, you should see it. It’s the one with the door and window blocked off with blankets. You can’t miss it. Good luck getting to him, though. He’s a pretty stubborn fraggle.”
“Thanks. I’ll remember that.”
She turned back around and started up the stairs again.
“And Goldie?"
“Yeah, Gobo?"
“If you see Wembley out there, let him know it’s getting late.”
She nodded and continued on her way out. After she left, Gobo climbed back into his bed, pulling the covers over himself as he made himself comfortable. He wondered if it was a good idea sending Goldie to Boober’s room, especially given Boober’s extreme fear of germs. And ontop of that, he wasn’t sure whether or not Goldie knew about it. After a moment or two of thinking about it, he shok his head and brushed it off.
“Bah, nothing’s gonna happen.”
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“BooberBooberBooberBoober! PLEEEEEASE let me in!"
Wembley bounced outside of Boober’s room as he begged. Boober pulled a small section aside from the door and peeked out at the bouncing green fraggle.
“Well, you don’t look infected.”
“Uh, well, I don’t feel infected.”
Boober placed a hand on Wembley’s nose. To his relief, his temperature was normal. He backed up and unpinned a section of the blanket big enough to walk through.
“Okay, come in. We’ll both be safe.”
“Great!"
Wembley stepped inside and walked past Boober as he pinned the section of blanket back up.
“I knew you, of all fraggles, would understand the dangers we’re facing here, Wembley.”
“Yeah, well.”
“Who knows what hordes of horrible incurable diseases she could’ve carried in with her from Outer Space?"
“Well, yeah, Boober, but she seems like a really nice fraggle.”
“Oh, I have nothing against her, personally. I just don’t want to catch her germs.”
“But... But what if she doesn’t actually HAVE any?"
“Wembley, don’t be ridiculous! Of course she does!"
“But Gobo’s Uncle Matt’s been out in Outer Space a long time, and he hasn’t brought any germs back with him yet.”
“Yes, but he’s not here long enough for anyone to catch anything. I’m telling you, Wembley. My plan is foolproof. We stay here until she leaves Fraggle Rock. We’ll be safe from all her horrible foreign germs.”
Then there was a rustling noise coming from the window, followed by the thud of a heavy paper bag full of rocks hitting the floor. The two fraggles slowly approached the bag as loud footsteps could be heard outside, stomping away.
“Hey, there’s a note on it," Wembley pointed out.
Boober picked up the bag and read the note that was attached.
“Here are your stupid slippery rocks," he read aloud, “You’re welcome, you jerk. Signed, Goldie.”
“Gosh...”
“P.S. To Wembley, Gobo said to tell you it’s getting late.”
Boober let out a loud sigh and used his free hand to scratch his head. He was at a loss. He didn’t mean to hurt anyone. He realized right then that he had once again let his fear of germs get the better of him.
He opened the bag and took out one of the pieces of rock soap.
“Gee, Boober, I think you hurt her feelings.”
“Yeah... I think so, too.”
“So, uh..... I guess I’ll just go back to my place, then.”
“Yeah...”
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Goldie stomped along down the tunnel, grumbling almost incoherently as she went. Anyone passing by could hear the words “stupid” and “jerk” among her grumblings.
She stomped into her room and paced around for a few moments, still grumbling to herself.
“That stupid jerk! Ugh! It’s making my fur friz just thinking about it! And why does my tail still hurt so much?"
After a while of further grumbling, she started to feel dizzy. She walked over and practically dropped all her weight onto the bed. For some reason, it felt especially good to be lying down. She was again staring at the ceiling, and again she would be unable to sleep. But this time it would be for a different reason.
“Stupid jerk. I’ll tell him off later. Oy, my head hurts.”
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