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Down a long tunnel where the wind from above whipped , the tiny kingdom of the gorg's castle and garden was frosted over, the deep grey clouds threatening an even heavier downpour of snow.
Jr. Gorg whined, kneeing, as he got a tighter grip on the radish top he had been pulling at for the last half hour, digging his toes into the crunchy rock solid ground.
Suddenly, the wretched green top of the radish came apart from it's bulb, sending the giant tumbling head over heels.
"Ooo, You've done it now you frozen radishes you! I'm gettn' my club for this job!"
He fumed, retreating back into the castle.
"At least if I'm not thumpn' fraggles I can use it for somethin'…"
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"Hey, let up already would ya?"
"Yah, have a heart!"
In a adjoining corner to the garden two mole rats where sitting around what looked like a small hill of hand knitted laundry in dismay, as a tall lilac colored fraggle, dressed in a blue hat and cheerful white sweater, talked quietly to herself, adding a new item from an invisible checklist to the mound with each passing word.
"Let's see now..one tarplain, four scarves, six blankets, and one extra cozy poncho!" She finished with a heave of bright blue fabric and gave a nod of satisfaction. "There!"
"Cozy ain't the word." …whispered.
"Sufficatiatin's more like it." Gunge agreed.
"There now!" Mokey said with a grin, patting the pile. "How do you feel Madam Heap?"
"How do you think she feels?" Philo said with a sniff, pulling on the edge of a blanket with his two sharp teeth. "You got her tied up tighter than doozer gift warpin'!"
Mokey put a hand to her mouth and leaned forward with interest at the grey and pink rats' overreacting.
"Marjory, can you hear me? Aw, breathe! Give us a sign!" Gunge yelled tapping on the side of the bundle.
"Oh dear..I was only trying to help." Mokey said quietly
"I remembered how much trouble my forgetting to cover her up caused last year…"
"There's cover'n and then there's smothering…" Philo sniffed with an annoyed sounding sneeze.
"Yeah, thanks but no thanks for all yer…" Gunge began.
At the moment both rats caught sight of a small hole in the front of the frost proof armor that covered their seragent mother, who just happened to be giving them the dirtiest, most telling glare a trash heap was able to in her condition.
"Ah, what Gunge means is, we're real grateful for yer help…'
Philo elbowed Gunge sharply.
"Oh yeah, real grateful, couldn't be better!" Gunge said catching on quickly
"Oh good, I'm so glad! I really really tried to focus this time and make…Oh, there's a hole! I'll just have to go straight back home and get…"
"No!" Both shouted, sending Mokey falling with a yelp.
"Ah…what we mean to say is a little hole provides our beloved oracle with a certain important atmosphere in the mystic all frozen months." Gunge said in a more mellow tone.
"Yay, air." Philo whispered.
"Ooo.." Mokey nodded.
" 'N besides...Marjory wants you should... go and have fun with all your fraggle buddies."
Philo said quickly, pulling off the edge of a little white lie with a grin.
"Yay, live it up!" Gunge agreed.
"Well..if you're sure she'll be okay…" Mokey said, glancing at the small uncovered spot.
"Sure we're sure! See?" Philo said with a fake smile.
Slowly, pitifully, one of the Trash Heaps fingers poked out of the side of her countless layers of blankets, wiggling up and down.
"The Trash Heap has motioned! Nah!" Both rats chorused.
"Okay then..stay warm and.." Mokey stopped, a small tremor and the sound of muffled voices coming from under her feet, braking that line of thought.
"Oh, that's the thumping song! Pardon me! Goodbye!"
"Stay warm she says, it must be hot enough to fry an egg inside that cocoon of her's…"
Philo said, looking at the many coverings in distaste, but starting to slowly and steadily edge closer to the warm fuzzy yarn weaves.
"Maybe so.. Marjory? We got any eggs in there?" Gunge asked.
"Better yet, any that's turn'n into eggnog?" Philo added as they both began to edge their way into the gap between where the ground around the Trash Heap ended and the blankets began.
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Mokey whipped around into the entry to Fraggle Rock just in time to run and catch her friends as they were going into the Radish tunnel.
Since the discovery of the new tunnel to Outer Space some months ago, and the learning of the true link fraggles and doozers shared with the radishes, there had been many new explorations of the rock by even the most everyday of fraggles.
One discovery, that had been made by a fraggle playing a spirited game of rock high, was a long unused tunnel that ran level with the doozer radish mine along one wall, and made a shortcut to the northern lake, which normally took an hour to get to otherwise.
The five fraggles sang in a line, three of them now wearing a large outfit that looked like a cross between a dancing lion and a dragon, as Mokey joined them under it to make up the tail.
Have you heard the rhythm? Have you sang the song?
The ringing of the bells here, loud and true and strong!
Boober walked ahead of them, not singing, as Wembley drummed Gobo's hockey stick on the top if the ceiling, making up the beat.
The start of a great feast!
The strong and mighty flippers
Of the Weeba beast!
Weeba weba!
Boom boom boom!
The beast will be here soon.
Boober winced at the loud yelling song in back of his head as he poked at each of the radishes hanging overhead in turn.
Weeba weeba
Ding dong ding!
I wonder what the spring well bring? !
Weeba weeba,
Weebadedoo
Boober wandered ahead, coming to the last giant radish and the beginning of the shore of the northern lake at the same time. He grumbled softly to himself and looked just about ready to tell her friends to pipe down when his gaze fell on something over the side of the bulb.
May your bells ring loudly and proudly and true!
Weeba weeba... weeba?...
The song was stopped short and replaced by the not so nice melody of each fraggle running into the one in front of them as Wembley suddenly stopped, taking the head of the Weeba beast off from over his head and pointing.
"Hey, look at Boober! I didn't know you could ice skate without skates!"
"You can't!" Red said, looking over Wembley.
"Well, can't or not, he's sure doing it!" Gobo added. "And there's something else out there..I wonder what?"
Boober, for all his short frame and stick in the muddish habits, was making very good time as he rushed in long almost graceful slides across the frozen over sweetwater.
The water shone like a metallic hot pink mirror, reflecting Boober's green form as he kneed down to put the whatever it was' head in his lap.
Red, huffing and puffing in an effort to finally catch up came to a sliding stop before him, the blades of her skates spraying flakes of pink into the air.
"Boober ? ! What in the rock.. are you.. crazy?..how did you?..."
Red looked down then, her eyes widening at the darkened whatever-it-was.
"It's..a..fraggle!..Who?..."
"Her name is Bimsy..." Boober began, his voice an empty shadow of it's normal sound. "She's my....sister."