Little Lost Soul

[GroovyMuppet6]

So now since I'm finally able to use my account, I'm now going to upload this Muppet fanfiction that I had been working on.

Here's the summary: A runaway Muppet child ends up at the Muppet Boarding House, where she is taken in by the Muppets. They help her adjust to her apparently new surroundings and at the same time try to figure out who she is, where she came from and what she's been through prior to meeting them. However, this proves difficult since the girl seems to be unable to speak.

Little Lost Soul

Prologue:

It was a dark and cold night, as a large old building creaked due to age. Almost all the lights in the building were out, all the windows dark. Except for one little light from a window that lead into the cellar.

Inside the cellar, a little girl was stuffing some things into a little backpack. The girl was rather small...and rather odd-looking. She was half the size of other children her age, had lavender hair and a little pink nose. Her skin was a natural tan color, but some people have compared its texture to that of foam, so it still stuck out.

Her clothes were very dirty, her shirt looking like it hasn't been cleaned for months and having a few tears at the bottom and on the edges of the sleeves, her pants with a few holes in the legs, her shoes worn out to the point that the soles were starting to tear off, and her jacket, which had lost most of the cotton filling, was thinner than when she originally got it. She also had a pair of square glasses on that had tape on the bridge and one of the temples to keep it from falling apart and an old hat that had pieces of dust stuck to it.

The little girl zipped her little backpack shut and made her way to a stack of boxes that led up to the cellar window. She climbed the boxes with the little strength she had, becoming really tired when she got to the top. After resting for a few minutes, she grabbed the rusty latch on the window and pulled on it with all her might, until it finally clicked back. The small child pushed on the window with as much force as she could muster, until she heard a loud squeak from the hinges, showing signs that it hadn't been opened for a long time.

She stopped and sat on the stack of boxes and waited to see if anyone else in the building had heard the noise. When she didn't hear the sound of someone walking down the hall to the cellar to investigate the sound, she proceeded with opening the window until it was wide open enough for her to crawl through.

She slipped through the window and crawled onto the sidewalk on the outside, where she looked at her dark surroundings. Part of her wanted to go back inside the cellar, where it was safe, but she knew she'd never have another chance like this to get away, so she shut the little window behind her has gently as she could so it wouldn't slam and catch someone's attention.

Then, the little girl stood up on her tiny legs and started to walk down the street, looking warily back at the old building she had come from. After a few minutes of waiting to see if anyone would storm outside and yell at her to return, she broke into a run.

Her destination: she didn't know but she was going to find out.

Okay, so this is just the prologue of the story. Tell me what you think so far and I'll see about adding more to the story soon!

 

[ConsummateVs]

Great start! I'm already interested in this little girl character and the story behind her. Is she an orphan? Does she have an abusive family? Hope to see more of this!

 

[GroovyMuppet6]

Great start! I'm already interested in this little girl character and the story behind her. Is she an orphan? Does she have an abusive family? Hope to see more of this!

I can't say much about her without spoiling some of the story, but I can confirm that she is an orphan.

 

[GroovyMuppet6]

Here's the next part of my story!

Chapter 1:

A morning at the Muppet Theater was alive with activity as usual, everyone going around trying to prep for their upcoming show.

Kermit and Scooter were going over the schedule for the acts; Fozzie was preparing some new jokes; Gonzo was gathering whatever he needed for his next stunt, most notably a great deal of tapioca pudding; Miss Piggy was rehearsing her musical number with Rowlf; Bunsen and Beaker were prepping up their latest invention for their part in the show; Hilda was mending costumes to be used on the show; and Swedish Chef was busy trying to track down a chicken to use for his sketch.

At one point, Robin the Frog ran up to Kermit and asked, "Hey Uncle Kermit, will the Electric Mayhem be home in time for the show this week?"

The Electric Mayhem was busy with a gig in another city. They've been gone for three days so far.

"I'm not sure, Robin. I'm hoping they will be. Dr. Teeth forgot to specify exactly how long they'd be in this other city," Kermit explained. "If they're not back by Friday night, then I'll have to call up Solid Foam to take their place for the show."

"Solid Foam!" Gonzo exclaimed, dropping a large carton of oatmeal in surprise. "Oh, that takes me back! Remember that time I pre-recorded myself for an episode because I was judging a poultry show on the other side of town?"

"Yes Gonzo, I remember," Kermit said.

"I always thought it was such a shame that Jim Henson Hour only had one season," Scooter said. "Say, will the rest of Solid Foam ever move into the Muppet Boarding House like Clifford did?"

"As much as I'd like them too, I think the house might be a little too crowded to house four more people," Kermit explained. "Besides, they're happy with where they're living now; Flash and Charlie have an apartment in San Francisco, Beard is living in Las Vegas, and Digit is in Portland with Vicki."

"Vicki and Digit are living together?" Robin asked.

"Oh yeah, they started dating sometime after Jim Henson Hour ended," Kermit explained.

Scooter smiled, "I knew they'd start dating at some point. They have quite a lot in common."

"It's been awhile since I've seen Solid Foam," Robin said. "It'd be nice to have them drop by."

Scooter then made a note on his clipboard, saying, "I'll call Dr. Teeth and ask him when he thinks the Electric Mayhem will be home so we can plan ahead in case they won't be home in time to perform for the show. I'm sure some Muppet fans that are familiar with the Jim Henson Hour will appreciate the appearance of Solid Foam."

Kermit nodded and observed what everyone else was doing in the theater. Since the show has started back up again, things have been pretty good. Characters that haven't appeared in the two recent Muppet films have returned to participate in the new Muppet Show.

Clifford was chatting it up with Rizzo as he tuned his bass. Since there was a chance Floyd would still be absent by the next show, Kermit planned to have Clifford take his place temporarily in the orchestra pit so Clifford wanted to be ready should the problem arise;

Pepe was busy flirting with Spamela Hamderson, who seemed oblivious to his romantic advances and compliments. She mostly worked as a backup dancer or singer for Miss Piggy's numbers, which is honestly how Piggy preferred it to be. No way was she going to let Spamela's presence in the show upstage her like it did on Muppets Tonight.

Darci was scrolling through her phone with her guitar set nearby, appearing to be really bored of everything going on around her. Kermit was actually really surprised that she came back, especially since the last time she was seen she revealed to have some sort of dislike towards bears and rats, which the Muppet Theater had plenty of each. Maybe she got over her hatred for them, but Kermit could never tell what she was thinking. Then again, nobody could. Nowadays, she tends to have a bit of a negative and maybe somewhat bitter attitude.

Johnny Fiama was rehearsing his own songs, while Sal stood nearby, holding a CD player that had the music for Johnny's song playing. From what Kermit could tell, it was one of Tony Bennett's. It usually was. At some point, Sal accidentally dropped the player on Johnny's foot, causing him to hit a very high note and then scream out in pain.

Kermit then heard little excited squeals and turned around to see Betina and Belinda running around onstage with Bean Bunny, seeming to play tag. Robin saw them having fun so he ran over to join them.

Kermit smiled. Everything at the Muppet Theater was as excitable as it always was and everyone was happy. Just like how it was back then.

"So Kermit, does everything in the schedule look good for the upcoming show?" Scooter asked.

"Everything looks great. Now all we have to do is run through it with everyone. Gather everyone in the auditorium and we'll get started," Kermit said, before heading onstage to inform the kids that they had to get off for rehearsal.

Later that evening, everyone was back in the Muppet Boarding House, discussing how they think the rehearsals went, whether it was their own sketch or someone else's, while the Swedish Chef prepared dinner.

Kermit was sitting at the head of the table, listening to everyone's thoughts and opinions on all the acts and making a few mental notes on what some people said in case it could help improve certain sketches more.

Scooter then walked into the room, having finished talking to Dr. Teeth on the phone and said, "Well, the Electric Mayhem says they won't be back until AFTER the show, so we'll have to call the rest of Solid Foam and get them up here before Friday."

"This must be some gig the band got," Clifford said. "Usually when they got a performance somewhere, they're usually gone for about a day or two, but a week? That's pretty incredible."

"Well, ever since their Outside Lands and Macy's Thanksgiving Day performances, they've been gaining a lot of new popularity and a lot of cities have been eager to get them to perform at their local venues," Kermit explained.

"Wow!" Gonzo exclaimed, his jaw dropping. "At this rate, they might become more famous than the rest of us. I've got to step up my daredevil stunts if I'm going to catch up to them!"

The whatever then whipped out his cell phone and called someone, "Dave, it's Gonzo. Cancel the piranhas and get great white sharks for my next live stunt instead. Thanks!"

Kermit grimaced, not even wanting to guess what Gonzo's latest live stunt was going to be. No doubt, it'll be insanely dangerous. He'd have to check to see if the Muppets' insurance has been paid for, in case the situation that Gonzo could get seriously injured might arise...again.

Then, Yolanda stated, "Maybe with the Electric Mayhem's paycheck we can buy a bigger house. This one is getting kind of crowded."

The rat was right; with a great deal of the Muppet cast in the small house, it was getting pretty packed, and a lot of people have been having to share rooms with other people.

Robin and Bean Bunny used to have separate bedrooms, but with Betina and Belinda moving in, Bean has had to move into Robin's room so the girls could have their room; The Electric Mayhem are all in one room, with Lips and Animal sleeping on mattresses on the floor; Walter has moved into Gonzo and Rizzo's room; Clifford was roommates with Pepe like he was in the 90s; Darci was roommates with Annie Sue and Spamela, much to the Gothic Muppet's dislike since the two pigs' personalities were a complete 180 from hers; Thankfully, some Muppet employees, such as Johnny Fiama, the rest of Solid Foam and a few others had their own houses so Kermit didn't have to worry about them.

Kermit was one of the few to not have a roommate, but that could change at some point. He couldn't imagine what would happen to the roommate system should there be a new resident in the house.

"A bigger house would make things more comfortable, but I don't know if we'd be able to go house-hunting right now, Yolanda," Kermit said. "Not with the show going on right now that is. Maybe we'll wait till summer to see how much money we have and then go looking around."

"Hopefully this summer. Do you know how difficult it is for everyone in the house to get ready in the morning with just one bathroom?!" Yolanda snapped. "You have to be really lucky to get first dibs on the shower!"

"And don't get us started on using the toilet!" Rizzo added.

At this point, almost all the other Muppets began to complain to the point where Kermit was worried he'd get a migraine from it. Lucky for him, it didn't last long enough to cause one because at that point, Swedish Chef had announced that dinner was ready...at least that's what Kermit thought he said.

After a couple of hours, it was finally time for everyone to go to bed and get some rest for the new day tomorrow.

The moon had already risen into the sky when a train pulled up into an LA station. Several people unboarded, many greeted by friends and loved ones who had been waiting for them. One small figure hopped out of a car and started walking through the station until they reached outside.

The little runaway girl looked at her surroundings. Los Angeles looked a lot different than it did in the magazines, but then again, those pictures were in the daytime. It was now night, a little bit past her bedtime she was guessing.

She walked through the dark empty streets, jumping at every loud noise that she couldn't figure out the source of, and for every crash, screech, and bark, she moved faster through the city, until she got to the suburbs. Most of the house windows were dark, showing no sign of activity by a person who could help the poor lost child.

After a while, the little girl's pace began to slow and she became very weary. Soon, she'd have to find a place to sleep for the night before proceeding on her journey the next day. She came across a house that had a bench set on the porch that had an old cushion on it. Not exactly an ideal place to spend the night, but the kid didn't really have any other choice.

As she crossed the path leading up to the house, she noticed some farm animals sleeping in the yard outside, which was kind of odd since this was after all the suburbs, but she was too tired to question it. She slipped off her backpack and opened it up, pulling out a little stuffed toy raccoon. It was very dusty and there were a few holes in it where some bits of cotton were starting to fall out, but it was the child's most beloved toy.

She zipped her backpack closed and positioned it on the bench like a pillow, where she laid down on the bench, holding her little raccoon close to her heart and watched the night sky until her eyelids grew heavy and she eventually drifted off to sleep.

 

[ConsummateVs]

This is pretty good so far. I like the whole idea of the Muppets all having to share one small house, and I also like that you included a lot of obscure characters. And man, I can't wait to see what Gonzo's big stunt will be!

 

[GroovyMuppet6]

Finally have the next chapter ready!

Chapter 2:

The next morning, the Muppets were all up and about at the usual time of 7:30, getting ready for the day.

Swedish Chef was busy making breakfast for everyone, while Beauregard, Pepe and some of the rats set the table.

Sam the Eagle and the chickens were all doing their morning exercises in the living room.

Statler and Waldorf were sitting in their armchairs in the living room, drinking their morning coffee.

Miss Piggy was busy digging through her wardrobe for the perfect outfit to wear for the day.

A good handful of the Muppets were waiting in line for their turn in the bathroom, and those that were in it, were either in the tub, the shower, or one of the two sinks.

Kermit walked down the stairs to the dining area and observed everyone going around. It was kind of weird to not see the Electric Mayhem sitting at the table as usual for the last three days, but the frog had gotten used to it.

Before Kermit would sit down at the table, he went to grab the house phone so he could call the rest of Solid Foam to inform them that they were needed for the Muppet Show that week. He dialed and waited.

Meanwhile, Robin and Bean Bunny were pouring themselves some cereal. "Boy, there are so many people in the Boarding House nowadays. You have to be really careful not to get stepped on here," Robin said.

"Us especially, since we're smaller than everyone else!" Bean added, as he went to grab the milk and got into the path of some Muppet cattle. Bean quickly jumped back to avoid getting trampled. "See what I mean!" he shouted.

Betina and Belinda made their way to the table and waited for their turn to get some cereal.

"You better not eat what's left of the Captain Alphabits!" Betina snapped. "I don't want to eat whatever it is that Swedish Chef is making!"

"Relax, Betina. It's a new box. There'll be plenty for all four of us," Robin assured the pig.

"Really, Betina," Belinda told her twin sister. "You have no reason to get agitated over a bowl of cereal. Besides, there's plenty of other cereals in the house to choose from."

"Yeah, yeah," Betina said, grabbing the box and heading into the kitchen to grab her own bowl.

Betina and Belinda look exactly the same, just as they did in Muppet Christmas Carol, except Betina wore blue and Belinda wore pink. Also, Betina tends to be a little more intimidating and gets irritated with others really easy, while Belinda is more tolerant to the chaos that goes on around her and is usually very perky.

Belinda looked over at Robin and asked, "Do you think we will end up getting a bigger house when summer comes?"

"Who knows? I hope so. If we had a bigger house, we'd have more space to move around and less risk of any of the smaller Muppets getting squished by one of the bigger ones," Robin said.

"I bet Betina wants to live in a bigger house. That means she won't have to share a room with me anymore," Belinda stated. "I mean, we get along pretty well, since we're sisters, and I don't mind sharing, but I know Betina would rather have her own room."

"I'm surprised she hasn't tried moving into the attic. As far as I know, nobody lives up there," Robin said.

"That's what I said to her! But she said 'there are worse things than having no privacy'," Belinda said. "I think she was talking about how dusty it is up there, or how we saw a bat up there once."

Bean snickered, "You mean on Halloween? I remember how me and Robin got a bunch of fake bats before that night and scattered them all over the house and scared anyone that found them. That was so fun!"

On Halloween night, Betina had gone up to the attic to get something, when she saw a bat sitting on one of the boxes. Assuming it was one of Robin and Bean's fake ones, she went to grab it when it came to life and started flying around the room.

The poor pig screamed so loudly that the Muppets were sure that the glass on the windows would probably shatter (fortunately, that didn't happen). Kermit and Fozzie went up to see what had happened and saw Betina hiding under an old table as the bat circled above her, screeching out of fear of the pig. Kermit threw open a window and got the bat to leave the attic, but Betina had vowed to never go up there again.

Robin laughed, "Yeah, then afterwards, Uncle Kermit gave everyone a lecture on what to do when we find a non-Muppet animal in the house: Don't scream, leave the room quickly and quietly and tell an adult immediately."

Belinda giggled, "I forgot about that last rule when I found that newt in the bathtub one morning before Miss Piggy took her evening bath. I had gotten distracted by a cartoon on TV and didn't remember until I heard her shriek!"

Bean burst out laughing, "Oh yeah! And she thought you didn't warn her about it on purpose! Oh that was horrible!"

At that moment, the three kids had heard Clifford say, "Let me take the phone, Kerm. I'm the only one around here who can understand Flash."

"Thank you," Kermit said, thankful that the purple Muppet was taking his place in the phone conversation. Flash had been the one to pick up the phone when he called him and Charlie, and as usual, Kermit had a difficult time understanding what Flash was saying due to his accent and mumbling. He's not sure how Clifford could understand him, but he's grateful for it.

Kermit let out a sigh and walked into the dining room. He scanned the table before asking Robin, "Has anyone gotten the newspaper yet?"

"Not yet, I don't think," Robin said. "A lot of people are busy this morning."

Usually the task to bring in the newspaper was done by Animal, which usually resulted in the paper having a few holes in it and feeling a little soggy but due to his absence, the other Muppets have neglected to take over the job.

Kermit was heading out the door when one of the chickens had just run in, apparently late to the morning exercise with Sam.

"Ah-ha! I thought a chicken was missing," Sam said. "Don't you realize how important morning exercise is?"

The chicken clucked frantically, motioning it's wings to the door, as if trying to tell Sam something, but Sam didn't seem the get the message. "I will not hear any excuses as to why you were late...mainly because I can't understand your tongue," the eagle said. "Just pick up from where we are and I'll forget it."

But the chicken still seemed to be a little upset about something, still pointing towards the door. Kermit shrugged it off as he headed out the door just when Gonzo walked over to the bird to figure out what the big issue was.

Kermit stepped onto the porch and picked up the morning paper, then was about to turn around and head back inside when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

He turned towards the bench and gasped, dropping the newspaper. He saw a little Muppet girl lying on the bench, sleeping it seemed. She had very dirty and worn-out clothing, clutched a battered toy raccoon, and seemed to be shaking a little.

At that moment, Gonzo stuck his head out the door and looked at the bench as well, his eyes widening, "Oh, that must be the kid Ethel was telling me about!" he exclaimed.

"What?" Kermit asked.

"Oh, Ethel, one of the chickens, decided to sleep outside last night and when she woke up this morning, she saw this kid sleeping outside. She's been trying to get someone to follow her outside to see it all morning, but nobody would listen to her...then again, not everyone here can speak chicken. I'm starting to think I should teach classes," Gonzo said.

Kermit observed the small kid. "She's so dirty. I wonder how long she's been on the streets," he said.

"Probably a while. What should we do?" Gonzo asked.

Kermit thought for a couple of seconds before saying, "Well, we can't just leave her out here. You take the newspaper and her little backpack, and I'll carry her inside. Get the couch cleared out so she'll have a place to lie down until she wakes up."

Kermit handed the newspaper to the whatever and carefully lifted the small child off of the bench, allowing Gonzo to retrieve her little backpack.

As he carried the little girl into the house, Kermit thought to himself, "I wonder who this kid is? Whoever she is, she must've been through a lot. Hopefully we'll get answers soon."

 

[LipsGF4Life]

I can't wait to read more

 

[GroovyMuppet6]

Sorry that I haven't updated this story as much as I should. I just got motivated to write this original story that I've had going in my head for years. I promise that as soon as I'm finished with that, I'll get back to this fanfic.

 

[LipsGF4Life]

Sorry that I haven't updated this story as much as I should. I just got motivated to write this original story that I've had going in my head for years. I promise that as soon as I'm finished with that, I'll get back to this fanfic.

I really wanted to see what happens when you wrote this story on fan fiction. Net

 

[GroovyMuppet6]

Sorry for the long wait, I was caught up in other things!

Chapter 3:
As soon as Kermit carried the little lost girl into the house, Miss Piggy was coming down the stairs to grab her breakfast. She had just retrieved a muffin from a basket on the table when she saw Kermit re-entering the house out of the corner of her eye.

She turned towards him, ready to wish him a good morning, when she saw what he was carrying inside. She dropped her muffin and her jaw dropped.

Annie Sue took notice of Miss Piggy's expression and asked, "Miss Piggy, what's the matter?" The young pig looked over to where Piggy's attention was to see Kermit carrying the dirty little girl. She gasped, catching everyone in the house's attention.

At that moment, everyone's attention was on the little girl Kermit had in his arms.

"Kermit! Who is that?!"

"Where'd she come from?"

"Was she outside on the porch?!"

"Oh that poor little thing! She's shaking!"

"Is she homeless?!"

"Is she sick?!"

"Who is she, Kermit?!"

"Everyone, please settle down! We'll get the answers to all those questions as soon as she wakes up. For now, let's just let her sleep on the couch and help her in any way we can," Kermit said.

"Clear the couch!" Gonzo shouted at the people currently occupying the couch, prompting them to scatter, allowing Kermit to lay the little girl on the cushions.

Statler and Waldorf looked over at the kid, where Statler shook his head, "Oh what a horrible and cruel thing to do to a child that young."

"I know," Kermit said, nodding. "Whoever neglected her like this deserves jail time."

"No, I mean letting her stay in a house with all these freaks," Statler stated.

"Yeah, can't you see she's suffered enough!" Waldorf added before he and Statler started laughing at their latest heckle.

Kermit groaned and ran into the kitchen to get Swedish Chef to prepare some oatmeal for the new guest.

Robin, Annie Sue, Hilda, Rowlf and Gonzo stood around her.

Robin had a sad look on his face as he said, "I can't believe she was sleeping on our front porch. Where do you think she came from?"

"Wherever she's from, they must have treated her very poorly," Annie Sue said. "Look at how her clothes are. They're so dirty and worn."

Hilda shook her head sorrowfully, "Oh, the poor little dear. She must've been so scared being out on her own for so long," she said.

"She wasn't completely alone; look she has a little raccoon toy with her," Robin said, pointing at the girl's stuffed toy.

Hilda observed it, "Why, it's in just as bad shape as her clothes. Perhaps I can fix it for her." The elderly Muppet then carefully took the stuffed animal from the little girl's arms and started walking to the room where her sewing machine was.

Before leaving the room completely, Hilda turn towards Annie Sue and said, "Annie Sue, there are some old quilts in the closet down the hall. Go grab one and cover the little girl with it so she doesn't catch a chill."

"Yes mam," Annie Sue said, running down to the hall.

Rowlf sighed, "It always saddens me to see kids in such bad shape. I wonder what kind of person would treat a child like this."

"Whoever it was, we're not returning her to them, that's for sure!" Gonzo exclaimed.

"So, what are we going to do with her?" Robin asked.

"We'll worry about that later," Rowlf said. "For now, let's just wait for her to wake up and maybe try to figure out who she is."

Robin ran off and grabbed his bowl of cereal before sitting on the couch near the little girl. "I'll keep her company until she wakes up," he said.

"Good idea, Robin. I'm sure if anyone else stayed with her, she might be a little startled when she woke up. She might feel more comfortable around another kid," Rowlf said, before he and Gonzo returned to the dining table.

At that moment, Clifford re-entered the room, having finished calling up the rest of Solid Foam to inform them that they would be needed on the Muppet Show that week.

He went up to Scooter and said, "Well, Flash and Charlie said they will take a train down here later today so they could rehearse the Muppet Show theme with the orchestra, and Beard and Digit will be here tomorrow to prep for Solid Foam's performance."

"Great, I'll tell Kermit when he's done talking with the Swedish Chef," Scooter said.

Before the orange Muppet had a chance to leave, Clifford asked, "What was that commotion I heard from this room a few minutes ago? It was so loud, Digit heard it over the phone."

"The answer is lying on that couch over there," Scooter said, pointing at the living room couch. "But don't make any loud noises. You might scare her awake."

Clifford approached the sofa, at first only seeing Robin sitting on it, eating his cereal, looking at something with great curiosity in his eyes. Then, Clifford spotted the small child sleeping on the couch in it's dirty clothing. His jaw dropped and he raised up his sunglasses, checking to be sure he was really seeing it.

"Where'd that kid come from?" he asked.

"She was out on the porch, sleeping in the bench," Robin said. "So far, we know nothing about her."

"Man, I wonder what she was doing out there," Clifford said. "Do you think she's a runaway?"

"It's kind of hard to tell, but I wouldn't be surprised," Scooter said.

"Why would a kid run away from home?" Robin asked.

Clifford was silent for a few moments before saying in a tad serious tone, "Robin, I just need to warn you before I explain the answer to your question: There are a LOT of bad people in the world."

"I know that. I've read books and seen movies that have bad people in it," Robin said, nodding.

Clifford took a deep breath before explaining, "Well, there are some people out there, whether it's the kid's parents or someone in charge of caring for them, who don't treat kids with the love and care they need. Sometimes they're very cruel to kids by hurting them physically or emotionally, or ignoring them all together. Some kids who can't handle the abuse anymore try to find a way to get away from the cruelty, such as running away to find a better home. Though, there are other paths kids have taken to escape…"

At that moment, Clifford went silent, staring into nothing for a second, as if remembering something at that moment. Not long after doing this, he shook his head and quickly added, "But those other paths don't matter in this situation. What I'm saying is that this kid probably ran away from a place that treated her very badly. I mean, look at her. I wouldn't let a kid get that dirty. Wherever she came from probably neglected her, so she ran away to find someplace better."

Robin looked at the girl thoughtfully, then back at Clifford, "Do you think our house could be that better home?" the little frog asked.

"I don't know. That depends on Kermit. Remember, he said last night that the house was getting kind of crowded. We'll probably have to figure out where she'll stay," Clifford said.

"I know, but we can't send her back out there. Who knows what'll happen to her," Robin said.

"Too true, Robin, too true," Clifford said as Annie Sue re-entered the living room holding a quilt.

"It took a while, but I think I found a quilt that's just her size," she said, unfolding a small pink and purple patch quilt and covering the little girl with it.

Not long after, the small Muppet child started to stir in her sleep and open her eyes.

"Oh! She's waking up!" Annie Sue exclaimed.