The White Monster

[ErinAardvark]

I wrote this in October of 2016, when I started getting into the Fraggle Rock fandom. This was also the inspiration for my avatar. Not to mention my first attempt at a Fraggle Rock fanfic, so please be kind.

The White Monster​

It was a normal day in outer space. The Silly Creature and the Hairy Monster didn't seem to be around, so Gobo walked out of the hole in order to pick up the postcard from his uncle, Traveling Matt. Just as he picked it up, however, he heard something outside, trying to get in.

"Uh oh," Gobo said. "That might be the Hairy Monster! I'd better get back now before it catches me!"

And with that, the orange Fraggle dashed to the hole, just as a small door at the bottom of the large one opened, and in crawled a strange creature, one that Gobo had never seen before. It was furry, and white, and it had short, pointed ears, a long tail, yellow eyes, and a pink nose. It began sniffing around the room.

"What kind of creature is that?" Gobo wondered.

The white creature stopped at the hole, looked right at Gobo and sniffed. Gobo decided to turn around, and go, but he was jerked back, as he felt something fall on his tail. He turned around, and saw that this new monster had his tail pinned to the ground with it's paw. Then the monster took it's paw off, and began tapping Gobo's baloobius (for those of you who don't know, that's the puff of hair on the end of a Fraggle's tail).

"Oh brother," Gobo groaned. He started to walk away, but the monster kept swatting at his tail.

"Hey, now, stop that!" he shouted. "Quit playing with my tail, eh?!"

The monster didn't listen. It just kept swatting Gobo's tail. Every time Gobo made a move, the monster would swat. It was starting to drive him crazy. Finally, he turned around, stormed up to the monster's face, and hit it in the nose as hard as he could.

"Reow!" the monster shouted, backing up a little.

"I said stop that!" Gobo shouted, giving the monster another hard swat in it's pink nose. "When I say stop, I mean stop! You understand that?!"

The monster did not like that one bit. It's back arched. It's fur seemed to stand on it's end, and it's tail puffed out. It's ears went flat, and it opened it's mouth. A strange hissing noise came from the creature, and Gobo saw that it had fangs, and claws.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to attack a strange monster," he said.

The monster hissed again, and took a swipe at Gobo, missing him by mere inches.

"Yiiiiiii!" the orange Fraggle shouted, and he ran off down the tunnel, just as the creature made another swipe at it with it's paw. The creature managed to squeeze it's way into the hole, and it began sniffing around again. Then it began to go down the tunnel itself, curious to see where it led.

When Gobo came back to the Great Hall, he was telling his friends about the new creature he saw in outer space.

"It wasn't like the Hairy Monster that's usually up there," he said. "This one was smaller, but still bigger than us, and it had claws, and fangs!"

"Claws and fangs?!" Boober shouted, nervously, and he began to shake.

"Yeah, and it hissed!" Gobo shouted. "And it was able to move it's ears!"

"Oooh, it sounds awful!" Mokey shouted.

"It's probably loaded with germs, too," Boober said.

"What else?" Red asked. "What did it look like?"

"It was all white," Gobo said. "Except for it's eyes and nose, and the inside of it's ears. It's eyes were yellow, and it's nose was pink. And it had a long tail and pointed ears."

"Pink?!" Red asked, incredulously. "That's a weird color to be on a monster!"

"All white?" Boober asked. "It must have been an abominable snow monster!"

"Yeah, an abdominal snow monster!" Wembley shouted, somewhat excitedly.

"It couldn't have been an abominable snow monster, Boober," Mokey said. "It's not snowing."

"No, it couldn't have been an abdominal snow monster," Wembley said.

"Besides, the storyteller's told us stories about abominable snow monsters," Red pointed out. "And she said they're kind of like a cross between the Gorgs and the Silly Creatures, and that they walk on two legs, like us."

"Yeah, and this monster walked on four legs," Gobo said. "Like the Hairy Monster that usually lives in outer space."

"You think you'll see it again, Gobo?" Wembley asked.

"I don't know," Gobo said with a shrug. "You never know what you're going to find out there in outer space."

"Well, I think I'll go paint a picture of this white monster," Mokey said. "I've become inspired by your story, Gobo!"

And with that, the Fraggles went their separate ways, for the time being, with Mokey off to paint, Red to practice her diving, Gobo and Wembley to their room, and Boober to his hole, cowering under his blanket at the thought of this new White Monster.


Part 2 coming soon (I don't want to put all five chapters into one thread, you know)

 

[ErinAardvark]

Here's Part 2

A little while later, Gobo and Wembley were out in the caves, doing a little exploring.

"Gee, Gobo, I've never been to this part of the caves before," Wembley said.

"Neither have I," Gobo admitted. "But that's what exploring is all about. We better be careful, though. I heard rumors about poison cacklers living in here."

"Poison cacklers?" Wembley repeated, nervously.

"Yeah, but I don't know if it's true. After all, it's just a rumor. Come on, let's see where this tunnel leads, eh?"

Wembley nodded, and he and Gobo went down a dimly lit tunnel. It was difficult for the two Fraggles to see where they were going, but they figured they were near a river, since they heard rushing water.

"Maybe we should turn back, Gobo," Wembley said, nervously. "It's getting too dark in here."

"Relax, Wembley," Gobo said. "It'll be okay. I can still see where we're going."

"Okay, if you're sure . . . ."

Wembley didn't like arguing, but this time, he wasn't so sure if he agreed with Gobo about going further down this tunnel.

The two Fraggles continued walking along, and they noticed that the path they were on was getting narrower, and it was starting to give away.

"Hey, Gobo, I think we should start heading back," Wembley said, getting more and more nervous by the second.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Gobo said. "Looks like there's nothing up ahead but a dead end."

The two Fraggles turned around, but just as they were about to leave, the ground beneath them gave away, and they plunged into the river below, screaming all the way. They were immediately caught in the current, and swept downstream. It was too strong for them to swim against it. Immediately, Wembley began panicking. He was screaming and flailing about, trying not to drown, all the while searching for Gobo.

"Gobo! Gobo!" he yelled. "Where are you?!"

"I'm right here, Wembley!" Gobo shouted. "Relax a little, eh?"

"Gobo!" Wembley shouted, and he latched onto his friend like a barnacle on a rock. "What are we gonna do now, Gobo? What are we gonna dooooo?!"

"First of all, don't panic!" Gobo shouted. "We'll just ride down the river until we can get to shore. Besides, it might be fun."

"Yeah, right. Fun. Ha, ha."

"Yeah, just whatever you do, don't panic!"

"Right. Don't panic."

That was not going to be easy, and Gobo knew it. He was scared to death at that moment, considering he and Wembley were being swept away from Fraggle Rock, and neither one of them knew where they would end up. But he knew he had to keep a cool head for Wembley's sake. He knew if he kept calm, Wembley wouldn't panic.

I'm just glad Boober's not here, he thought to himself. He'd be going on and on about us being doomed if he was, and there'd be no way to keep calm then!

It seemed to take forever, but the river's current was beginning to slow down, making it safe for the two Fraggles to swim to shore.

"Well, we made it," Gobo said, as he crawled onto land. Then he stood up, and helped Wembley too his feet. "You okay, Wembley?"

"Yeah," the younger Fraggle said. "I think so. You okay, Gobo?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Come on, let's find our way back home."

Gobo and Wembley began walking around, trying to find their way back to Fraggle Rock. As they were walking, they passed a large cave, and from inside the cave, came a growl. The two Fraggles stopped immediately.

"Uhhh, Wembley . . . ." Gobo said, nervously. "What's that noise?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," Wembley said, just as nervous as Gobo.

The two Fraggles turned around, and looked into the cave. Something was coming out of it. It was dark red in color, had long, sharp teeth, four long, gangly legs, and a long tail, similar to a scorpion's stinger.

"POISON CACKLER!" both Gobo and Wembley screamed, in perfect unison, and they took off like a shot. The cackler followed them.

Gobo and Wembley managed to outrun the cackler for the moment, but they knew it wouldn't be for long. As they were running, they came to a fork in the path.

"Which way should we go?" Gobo asked.

"Uhhhhh . . . . ." Wembley said, thinking. "Left! No, no, maybe right . . . . no, definitely left! I think. Or maybe . . . ."

"Wembley!" Gobo shouted, frustratedly. "Now's not the time to start wembling!"

"I can't help it, Gobo!" Wembley shouted. "You know it's not easy for me to make decisions!"

Before either Fraggle could say anything more, the poison cackler caught up with them. Both screamed, and ran off, with Gobo running to the right and Wembley running to the left. The cackler was a bit confused, trying to decide which Fraggle to follow. It at least gave Gobo and Wembley some time to get away. Unfortunately, neither of them realized they had separated.

Gobo ran along his path, and it led him to a stairway. He went up, and came out on the ledge where he and Wembley had fallen into the river in the first place.

"Hey, that wasn't a dead end after all!" he shouted. "We just couldn't see the turn in the path because it was so dark! All we have to do is avoid where we fell in the river, and we'll be home in no time, Wembley!"

When Gobo didn't get an answer, he turned around to see if Wembley was behind him. He even started going back down the stairway.

"Wembley!" he called. "Hey, Wembley, where are you, eh?"

Gobo listened for an answer. He got one, but not what he expected.

Meeeeooooowwwwww!

"Yikes!" Gobo shouted, and he began running. "I don't know what that was, but it sure wasn't Wembley! I'd better go get the others!"

And with that Gobo ran off (jumping over the hole in the path) to get his friends to help him look for Wembley.

Wembley, in the meantime, had finally stopped running when he didn't hear the poison cackler behind him anymore. He looked around, and realized Gobo wasn't around, either.

"Uh oh," he said. "Gobo! Gobo, where are you?! I hope the poison cackler didn't get him!"

Wembley began running around, not quite sure what to do, until he bumped into something. He groaned, and got a good look at what he bumped into. It was a large creature with white fur, a long tail, pointed ears, yellow eyes, and a pink nose.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Wembley shrieked at the top of his voice. "IT'S THE WHITE MONSTER!"

With that, Wembley took off like a shot. The White Monster just sat there, and watched as the green Fraggle ran off.

"Meow," it said.

Wembley looked over his shoulder to see if the White Monster was chasing him, and he relaxed when he realized it wasn't. It was just sitting there, licking it's paws. He walked over to it, curious.

"Hey, aren't you going to chase me?" he asked.

"Meow," the White Monster said.

"Meow?" Wembley repeated. "What does that mean?"

Wembley decided to get a little closer. That was when the monster opened it's mouth in a huge yawn, showing it's fangs. It also stretched, exposing it's claws. Wembley let out a yelp and ducked behind a rock. He peeked out from behind it, and saw the White Monster just sitting there.

"Does this mean you're not going to eat me?" he asked, coming closer.

The White Monster didn't answer. It bent down and began to sniff at Wembley. Then it began to swat at the green Fraggle's baloobius, like it did with Gobo.

"What are you doing?" Wembley asked. The monster didn't answer. It just continued batting at Wembley's tail.

"Oh, I think I get it," Wembley said. "You want to play!"

Wembley sat down, and swung his tail back and forth while the White Monster tried to catch his baloobius. The monster did catch it once or twice, and began chewing on it, but to Wembley's surprise, it didn't hurt.

"Gee, you're a nice monster," he said.

"Meow," the White Monster replied.

The monster then sat up, and began licking it's paw. Once it was done licking it's paw, it began rubbing it against the side of it's face. Then it started licking it's paw again, and rubbing it on it's face again, over and over. Suddenly, it stopped, and began to stare into the shadows. Wembley looked into the same direction, wondering what it was doing. The monster began to move toward the shadows, slowly. It began to make funny growling noises, which made Wembley nervous. Suddenly, the White Monster arched it's back. It's ears flattened, it's tail puffed up, and it hissed.

"Yiiiiiikes!" Wembley shouted, and he ran off. "Maybe it wasn't such a nice monster after all!"

Wembley ran off without even a second look at the White Monster, especially if it had gone from calm and collected to frightening in that short period of time. Unfortunately, he wasn't out of the woods yet. As he was running away from the White Monster, he came across the poison cackler again. He tried to stop before the cackler could see him, but wound up skidding, and he collided right into it.

"Oh no . . . ." he groaned.

The poison cackler lunged, and Wembley got out of the way just in time. He took off like a shot with the poison cackler hot on his heels. Unfortunately, he ran right into a dead end, and with the poison cackler right behind him, there was no way out. Wembley tried to climb the wall, but it was too slick. He was backed up against the wall, with the cackler closing in on him. There was only one alternative now.

"HEEEEELLLLLLP" Wembley shrieked at the top of his voice. "GOBO MOKEY BOOBER RED ANYBODY HEEEEELLLLP!"

The poison cackler snickered and was about to grab Wembley, when something tackled him from the side, and a loud screech was heard.

"Rrreeeeeeeoooooowwww!"

Wembley dared to look, and there was the White Monster on top off the poison cackler. It's front legs were wrapped around the cackler's head, while it's hind feet were rapidly kicking and clawing at the cackler's body. It was also biting the cackler, hissing, and shrieking. The cackler fought back, though. It rolled over, and managed to free itself from the White Monster. The White Monster stood firm, growling and hissing at the cackler, and swatting at it with it's paw every time it tried to come near. The poison cackler hissed as well, and tried to make a move, but the White Monster shrieked, and latched itself onto the cackler, biting, clawing, kicking, and screaming. The two monsters were rolling around, dishing out everything they had, but the White Monster was really giving the poison cackler a run for it's money. Every time the cackler managed to get free of the White Monster, the White Monster would jump onto him again with that loud shriek, and practically scratch the living daylights out of it. Finally, the poison cackler gave up, and crawled away on it's belly. It wasn't going to go anywhere near the White Monster again! The White Monster growled and hissed until it was out of sight. Once it was, the White Monster began licking it's paw, and rubbing it's ears. Wembley just stared at it, like he couldn't believe it. He'd never seen anything take on a poison cackler, and win!

"How'd you . . . . you just . . . . and then you . . . and . . . . and . . . ." he stammered. Then his eyes rolled around, and he fainted. It was all too much for him.

The White Monster walked up to Wembley, and sniffed at him. It tapped him with it's paw, but Wembley didn't respond. The White Monster then picked up the green Fraggle by the back of his shirt collar, and walked off.

 

[ErinAardvark]

Sorry this took so long to get to. There have been other things on my mind as of late. Anyway, June 2nd is my cat's 10th birthday (man, I'm pathetic) so here's her prestent. Part 3 of the fanfic I put her in.

Gobo, Mokey, Boober, and Red were walking along the path Gobo and Wembley were on earlier. All four of them were carrying lanterns so they could see better. Gobo had also fashioned a helmet with a light attached to it.

"I still don't get what that dumb thing is on your head, Gobo," Red said.

"It's a head lamp," Gobo said. "Uncle Traveling Matt wrote me a postcard explaining about it. And we're going to need all the light we can get down here!"

"I'll say we are," Boober said, looking around nervously. "The dark is just a hotbed for impending doom. No telling what kind of danger awaits us. Poison cacklers, hairy monsters, giant globs, or worse yet, germs! Let's get out of here!"

"We can't leave yet, Boober," Mokey said. "We haven't found Wembley!"

"Yeah, we can't leave him alone in here with a poison cackler and who knows what else, eh?" Gobo said.

"Who knows what else?" Boober repeated, and he began to shake, and whimper.

"Yeah, I think there's another monster in here somewhere," Gobo said. "It goes, meeeeooooowwwwww!"

"Aaah!" Boober yelped, and jumped into Mokey's arms for protection.

"You think maybe it's the White Monster you told us about?" Mokey asked, as she put Boober down.

"I don't know," Gobo said. "All I do know is that Wembley may be in for trouble if we don't find him!"

The other Fraggles agreed, and they kept on walking.

Meanwhile, Wembley was just starting to come to his senses. He was laying against something soft and warm, and he could hear a soft, rumbling sound nearby, too. It was very soothing. He felt so comfortable, he didn't want to get up! Then he felt another strange sensation, like someone was running sandpaper along his body.

"Hey!" he shouted, laughing. "That tickles!"

Wembley laughed, and rolled onto his back. His tail began wiggling against something, and the rumbling sound started up again. He looked up, and saw that his tail was tickling the chin of none other than the White Monster.

"Ack!" he shouted, and he tried to jump away, but the White Monster managed to pin him down with it's paw, and began licking him with it's tongue. That's what that sandpaper feel was.

"Help, help!" Wembley yelled. "The White Monster's eating me!"

Wembley tried to get away from the White Monster, but the monster kept holding him down with it's paw, licking him. Finally, it let him up, and sat up. Then it began licking it's back, and positioning itself in order to lick the rest of it's body. This confused Wembley. He thought for sure the White Monster was going to eat him.

"How come you didn't eat me?" he asked.

The White Monster didn't answer. It just continued licking itself. Wembley was about to run off, when he remembered about the poison cackler. He realized the White Monster saved his life, and went back toward it.

"Hey, I forgot to mention," he said. "Thanks for saving me from the poison cackler."

Wembley gave the White Monster a gentle pat on the chest. The White Monster then began rubbing it's head against the little green Fraggle.

"Prrrrrrrrrr," it said, making that rumbling noise Wembley heard earlier.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Wembley asked.

The White Monster continued purring. Wembley looked at it, and saw that it looked like it was smiling.

"This must be the noise the monster makes when it's happy," he said, and he began to pet the White Monster's chin. The purring noise became louder.

"I think I get it now," Wembley said. "You weren't trying to eat me after all. You were licking me because you like me. Kind of gross, actually. But you are a nice monster!"

The White Monster yawned, curled up into a ball, and closed it's eyes. Wembley laid down next to it, and snuggled against it's fur.

"You're so soft and warm," he said, stifling a yawn. "And snuggly."

Wembley closed his eyes. The White Monster's purring lulled him into a nice, peaceful sleep. The White Monster stretched it's front leg over the green Fraggle's chest, gently, licked his hair, and then went to sleep itself.

Meanwhile, the other four Fraggles had just made it down the steps to the fork in the path Gobo and Wembley had found earlier. They went down the path to the left this time.

"Weeeemmmmbleeeyyyyyy!" Mokey called out. "Where arrrrrrrrre yooooooouuuuu?"

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Red sang.

"I hope this isn't some kind of joke he's playing on us," Boober said.

"I'm sure it isn't, Boober," Gobo said. "He wouldn't be playing a joke in a place where poison cacklers hang out."

"Besides, if it is a joke," Red said, "I'll kill him!"

The four Fraggles continued along, calling out Wembley's name, but they weren't having much luck finding him. Finally, Red found something in the sand.

"Look at this!" she shouted.

"Looks like a weird triangle with four ovals on top of it," Boober said. "And there are a lot more of them."

"Not only that," Gobo said, "but I think we've found Wembley's footprints, too. Come on! If we follow them, we might just find him!"

"If whatever made the other footprints didn't find him first," Boober said, nervously.

The Fraggles followed the footprints closely. A little while later, they came across another set of footprints, and there was no doubt who they belonged to.

"Poison cackler prints!" Mokey gasped.

"Oh no!" Boober shouted. "Wembley was eaten by a poison cackler! I know it, I just know it!"

"Would you relax, Boober?" Red asked, frustratedly. "There are more footprints up ahead!"

The foursome followed the Fraggle footprints until they came to the cliff. Gobo looked around for more, but there weren't any. The only prints left in the sand were the weird triangle-oval ones, and the poison cackler's, and they were all over the place.

"Looks like the poison cackler got into a fight with whatever left the triangle prints," Gobo said. "And the cackler lost."

"How can you tell?" Red asked.

"The prints it left over this way," Gobo said. "It looks like it was sliding on it's belly."

"But what about Wembley?" Mokey asked. "His footprints just stop here."

"Maybe that thing that fought the cackler got him!" Boober shouted. "He's doomed! Doomed, I tell you! Doomed!"

"Maybe not," Gobo said. "There are some more of those triangle footprints that go this way! Come on!"

The four Fraggles followed the mystery footprints down a tunnel. Gobo held up his lantern, and skidded to a halt. Red ran into him, Mokey ran into Red, and Boober ran into Mokey. All four of them fell to the ground in a domino effect.

"What did you stop for?" Red asked.

"I saw something . . . ." Gobo said, then he gulped, "glowing in there!"

Gobo held up his lantern, and sure enough, there were two glowing lights right in front of the four Fraggles. All four of them began to shake in fear.

"It's a monster!" Boober shouted. "A horrible, glowing-eyed monster! Let's get out of here!"

The blue Fraggle ran in the opposite direction, but Gobo grabbed his tail to stop him.

"We're not leaving until we find Wembley!" he shouted.

"But we don't know what's down there!" Boober shouted. "It might be a horrible, vicious, Fraggle-eating, germ-carrying monster!"

"And it could also be two Doozers wearing Gobo's stupid head lamp," Red said.

"There's only one way to find out," Gobo said. "Come on!"

The four Fraggles slowly made their way down the tunnel, nervously. Once again, Gobo made a sudden stop, and the other three Fraggles crashed into him.

"Now what?" Red asked.

"It's . . . . it's . . . ." Gobo said, nervously. "It's the White Monster!"

"Oh my goodness!" Mokey gasped. Then she saw the White Monster appeared to be holding something under one of it's paws. "And it's got Wembley!"

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Boober shouted. "It's going to eat him, I just know it! He's doomed!"

"Not if I can help it!" Gobo shouted. "CHAAAAARRRRRRGE!"

Gobo, Mokey, and Red charged forward, while Boober stood back, cowering. The glowing the Fraggles had seen were the eyes of the White Monster when the light from their lanterns hit them. Now the Fraggles were doing some hitting of their own, at the White Monster. And the White Monster didn't like it one bit.

"Let Wembley go, you big, white, fur ball!" Red shouted. She ran around the back of the White Monster, grabbed it's tail, and pulled.

"Reeeoooowwww!" the White Monster shrieked. It sat up quickly, and began licking it's tail. Red gave it a kick in the side. The White Monster hissed, and tried to take a swipe at the pigtailed Fraggle.

"You missed me!" Red taunted.

While Red was keeping the White Monster busy, Mokey and Gobo got Wembley, who had been sleeping peacefully, to his feet.

"What's going on?" Wembley asked, drowsily.

"Don't worry, Wembley," Gobo said. "We'll save you from that monster!"

"Huh?" Wembley asked, confused. He shook his head out to regain his composure, and saw the White Monster taking swipes at Red.

"Yaaaahhh!" Red teased, as she got close enough to the White Monster to pull it's whiskers. "You couldn't hit the broad side of a Gorg!"

"Red, wait!" Wembley shouted. "Stop!"

"Huh?" Red asked, looking over at her friends. While her attention was diverted, the White Monster slammed it's paw down right on top of her, nearly squashing her.

WHAM!

"Ooof!" Red groaned.

"Oh no!" Wembley shouted, and he ran over to Red and the White Monster. Gobo and Mokey followed him.

"Come on, Monster, let Red up," Wembley said, petting the White Monster's paw, gently. "She didn't mean to pull your tail. She didn't know you're a nice monster."

"A nice monster?!" Red repeated, crawling out from under the monster's paw. "That thing could've killed me!"

"Well, it wouldn't have if you guys weren't pulling it's tail," Wembley said. "But really, it's a nice monster."

"Meow," the White Monster said, and it began to lick Wembley again.

"Aaaahhhh!" Boober shouted. "It's getting ready to eat us all!"

Boober then ran over to the group, and gave the White Monster a bop in the nose with his fist.

"Row!" the White Monster shouted, and backed away for a moment. Then it gave the blue Fraggle a swat with it's paw.

"Aaaahhh!" Boober screamed, as he went flying across the tunnel, and right into the wall.

CRASH!

"Boober, what did you do that for?" Wembley asked, gently stroking the White Monster's chest. "I told you already, it's a nice monster!"

"But . . . . but it was tasting you, Wembley!" Boober shouted, as Mokey helped him up.

"No, it wasn't!" Wembley shouted. "It likes me! Watch this!"

Wembley then began tickling underneath the White Monster's chin. The White Monster closed it's eyes, and began purring.

"If I didn't know better," Gobo said, "I'd say that thing was smiling!"

"It does look happy," Mokey said.

"Yeah, and it's really soft, too," Wembley said. "Come on and pet it."

Gobo gulped, and cautiously stepped forward first. Nervously, he began to pet the White Monster. He found that his friend was right. The White Monster was really soft. Red and Mokey tried next, and they had to agree. The White Monster closed it's eyes, and began purring again as the Fraggles were petting it.

"Oh, it's so warm!" Mokey sighed, as she snuggled into the White Monster's fur. "And that noise it's making is so soothing!"

The White Monster then sniffed at Mokey, and began licking her hair. Mokey began laughing.

"Stop it!" she shouted. "That tickles!"

"Watch this," Wembley said. He stood in front of the White Monster and began wiggling his tail. The White Monster began swatting at it, trying to catch Wembley's baloobius. When it caught it, it began chewing.

"Doesn't that hurt, Wembley?" Red asked.

"Nah," Wembley said. "It's not biting hard."

"Then, why did it hiss at me up in outer space?" Gobo asked.

"Maybe you hit it like you guys did just now," Wembley said, "and it thought you weren't nice. I mean, if something hit you in the nose, would you think it was nice?"

"I see your point," Gobo said. "So when it was hitting my tail, it just wanted to play?"

"Right!" Wembley shouted. "And if it wasn't a nice monster, it wouldn't have saved me from the poison cackler!"

"This monster fought a poison cackler?" Red asked.

"And lived to tell about it?!" Boober asked.

"It sure did!" Wembley shouted. "So, can I keep it?"

"I don't know," Red said. "What does it eat?"

"Most likely a Fraggle if we're not careful," Boober muttered.

"With those sharp teeth, I doubt it eats radishes," Gobo said, ignoring Boober.

While the Fraggles were thinking this one over, the White Monster began walking away from them. The five Fraggles followed it, to see where it was going. It stopped at the edge of the river where Gobo and Wembley had washed up, and sat there, staring out at it.

"What's it doing?" Mokey asked.

"I don't know," Wembley said, shrugging. "I didn't see it do this before."

The White Monster stared into the river, and began batting at it with it's paw. Then, in a lightning quick move, it grabbed something in it's mouth, and carried it back to the shore. It was a fish. Once it got back to dry land, the White Monster put the fish down and began eating it.

"Well, at least we know what it eats now," Gobo said. "And that's fish."

"Now that we know what it eats, can I keep it, please?" Wembley asked.

"I still don't know," Gobo said.

"I think we should just leave it here," Boober said. "It might be carrying germs and it'll give us all a horrible disease that will cause a slow, agonizing death!"

"Oh Boober, don't be silly!" Mokey shouted, stroking the White Monster's side. "It's too nice and snuggly to be dangerous! And it's so cute!"

"Besides, we could use this monster," Red said. "Think about it! If we hook a wagon to it's back, we can carry lots more radishes from the Gorg's garden in one trip!"

"And if we gather more radishes in one trip," Mokey said, "we won't have to go up there as often."

"Come on, Gobo!" Wembley shouted. "Please, can we keep it?"

"Well, it is kinda cute, and all . . . ." Gobo said, as the White Monster came over, and began rubbing it's head against Gobo, purring.

"Awww, look!" Mokey shouted. "It likes you, Gobo!"

"I'll tell you what," Gobo said, giving the monster a gentle push so it would stop rubbing up on him, "we'll vote on it. All in favor of bringing the White Monster to Fraggle Rock, say aye!"

"Aye!" Wembley, Mokey, and Red shouted.

"All opposed, say nay," Gobo said.

"Nay!" Boober shouted.

Unfortunately for Boober, the ayes had it, and the five Fraggles and the White Monster were soon on their way back to Fraggle Rock.

 

[ErinAardvark]

Happy 10th Birthday to my cat Snowball!

Chapter 4

The White Monster looked around Fraggle Rock once it arrived. There were so many things to see there, from more Fraggles to Doozer towers. The White Monster walked over to a Doozer construction, sniffed it, and then began rubbing it's head against it. As it was rubbing against it, the construction began to shake a little, and it collapsed.

CRASH!

The White Monster jumped back, startled, looking at the mess it made. It wound up backing into another construction, knocking it over, too. Again, the White Monster was startled, and it began unintentionally knocking over all the Doozer constructions around.

"What the . . . ." one of the Doozers asked.

"What is that big, white thing?" another asked.

"Whatever it is, I like it!" another shouted. "If it's gonna go knocking down our buildings, it'll give us more space to build!"

"Hooray!" the other Doozers cheered.

"Looks like the White Monster is a big hit with the Doozers," Gobo said, as he and the others picked up some of the knocked over Doozer sticks to munch on.

"Yeah, but I think the noise scared it," Wembley said, petting the White Monster.

"I just had a thought," Mokey said. "Where's it going to sleep?"

"In our room, of course!" Wembley shouted. "Right, Gobo?"

"Ummm, I don't know about that, Wembley," Gobo said. "I don't think it'll fit in our room."

"Sure it will!" Wembley shouted. "At least, I think it will."

Gobo sighed, and he and Wembley went to their cave. The White Monster followed, trying to catch the two Fraggles' baloobiuses.

"Come on now, Monster, that's enough of that," Gobo said, grabbing his tail and holding it so the monster would stop playing with it.

"Here we are, Monster," Wembley said, as he climbed up the ladder to his bunk. "Come on in!"

"Wembley, I'm not sure the monster can fit through the door," Gobo said. "It's too big! And even if it could fit through the door, how would we get in and out? There's no room!"

"I guess you're right, Gobo," Wembley said. "I guess we'll have to find another place for it to sleep."

"How about the Great Hall?" Mokey suggested. "There's lots of room there."

"But what will the other Fraggles think?" Boober asked.

"Oh, I think just one look at that cute little face, and they'll fall in love with it," Mokey said.

"Meow," the White Monster said, and it began to rub it's head against the mauve-colored Fraggle.

"Yeah, it really is cute," Red said, as she sat between the White Monster's front legs, and wiggled her pigtails underneath it's chin. The White Monster began purring loudly.

"It's the cutest monster I've ever seen!" Wembley shouted.

"Cuter than a Rock Clinger?" Gobo asked.

"Well, maybe not cuter than a Rock Clinger," Wembley said, shrugging, as he climbed on the White Monster's back. "But not as disgustingly cute. Maybe just the right amount of cute not to be disgustingly cute."

"I don't care how cute it is," Boober said. "I still say it's dangerous! Look at those teeth!"

The others ignored Boober. They were too distracted by the White Monster's cute face, it's soft fur, and it's purring. Soon, the other Fraggles came over to see what this thing was. And they seemed to be in favor of it hanging around, after Wembley told them how it fought a poison cackler, and won. After all, not many creatures in the rock could say they tangled with a poison cackler and lived!

That night, when all the Fraggles were asleep, the White Monster was wide awake. It was crawling around, investigating everything. Then it would start howling. Suddenly, it began running around like a maniac, knocking over Doozer constructions, and swatting the pieces into the cave walls. Then it began howling again. It was driving Gobo crazy.

"There goes that meowing monster again," he groaned. "Hey, Wembley, how's a Fraggle supposed to get any sleep with all that noise, eh?!"

"I'm sure it'll stop soon, Gobo," Wembley said.

"Well, I hope so, because if that thing doesn't stop, it's gonna wake up the whole rock!"

By the next morning, every single one of the Fraggles was drowsy. Nobody got much sleep the night before, thanks to the White Monster's antics.

"I hope that monster of yours behaves itself tonight, Wembley," Red said. "All that running around, and knocking over Doozer stuff, and howling . . . . sheesh!"

"Sorry, Red," Wembley said. "I don't know why it did that."

"Just make sure it doesn't do it again!"

"Right, Red."

"Where is that monster, anyway?"

"I don't know, it must've wandered off or something."

Wembley and Red began looking around for the White Monster. They found it in Red and Mokey's cave, sniffing at Red's things, and knocking over her sports equipment. It was also trying to catch Mokey's baloobius as she was trying to clean up.

"Oh, hi, Wembley," she said. "Your monster's come to pay a visit, apparently. Hi, Red."

"It's making a mess of my stuff!" Red shouted. "What's it going to ruin next?"

The White Monster then took it's paw, and pushed a gold trophy off the shelf and onto the floor.

CRASH!

"Oh no!" Red shouted. "My Tug-A-Tails trophy!"

Red ran to the trophy, picked it up, and inspected it for dents. It was free of any damage, but that didn't make Red any calmer.

"Wembley, get that one-monster wrecking crew out of here!" she shouted.

"Now, Red, calm down," Mokey said. "I'm sure it didn't mean any harm. After all, it's just a nice, cute, snuggly monster, and anything that adorable doesn't do things like that on purpose!"

Before Red could respond, the three Fraggles heard another crash. When they turned to look, they found Mokey's pet night-blooming yellow-leaved deathwort, Lanford, laying on the floor, his pot smashed to pieces. The White Monster was batting at his head. Mokey's eyes grew wide, and she just stood there in shock. Red and Wembley looked at her.

"Mokey?" Wembley asked, a bit nervously. "Are you okay?"

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Mokey shrieked at the top of her lungs. Red and Wembley jumped in surprise. Mokey's scream was so loud, it echoed through the entire rock. Every single Fraggle heard it.

The White Monster looked over at the mauve Fraggle, so startled, that it's back arched, and it's tail puffed up. Mokey ran over, pushed away the White Monster's paw, picked up Lanford, and cradled him in her arms.

"Oh, Lanford!" she wailed. "My poor, poor little plant! Oooohhh, you poor thing! Oooohhhh!"

The White Monster leaned in and began sniffing, but Mokey whirled around, and began pushing it away.

"YOU BEAST!" she screamed. "YOU HORRIBLE BRUTE! GET AWAY FROM MY LANFORD!"

"Now, Mokey, calm down," Red said, in a patronizing tone. "I'm sure it didn't mean any harm. After all, it's just a nice, cute, snuggly monster, and anything that adorable doesn't do things like that on purpose, remember?"

"SHUT UP, RED!" Mokey screamed. "WEMBLEY! GET THIS BEAST OUT OF THIS CAVE AND AWAY FROM MY LANFORD RIGHT THIS MINUTE!"

"Uhhh, right, Mokey!" Wembley said. "Here, monster, monster, monster!"

Wembley began wiggling his tail to attract the White Monster, and led it out of Red and Mokey's cave.

"Boy, you sure made a mess of things back there," he said. "Now don't do it again, okay?"

The White Monster purred, and rubbed it's head against Wembley. The green Fraggle laughed, and began petting the White Monster.

"It's so hard to stay mad at you," he said. "You're just so cute!"

Later in the day, the White Monster had made itself scarce. Nobody knew where it went.

"I heard Mokey yelling about that plant of hers," Boober said, as he was carrying a pile of laundry to his hole.

"Yeah, the White Monster knocked it over," Wembley explained.

"I knew that thing was trouble. I'd seriously consider getting it out of here before it does some major damage! Like bring disease and pestilence!"

"I can't do that, Boober! Where else is it gonna go?"

Before Boober could answer, he and Wembley heard a strange noise coming from Boober's hole. It sounded like a clicking noise of some kind. When they got to Boober's room, they saw the White Monster sitting on a pile of clean laundry, and it was lurching back and forth. Then, a strange, wet clump of something came out of it's mouth, all over the clean laundry. Boober began shaking.

"Aaaahhhh . . . . ." he said, nervously. Then he lost it completely. "AAAAAARRRGGGHHH! NO! NOT IN MY LAUNDRY!"

"What's wrong, Boober?" Gobo asked, as he came over. "That scream was almost as loud as Mokey's was a minute ago. Oh, the White Monster's in here. Should've guessed."

"It just coughed up this . . . . this thing into my laundry!" Boober shouted. "I'll have to do it all over again!"

"I thought you liked doing laundry," Wembley said, petting the White Monster.

"Not when gross, slimy projectiles come shooting out of a strange creature's mouth!" Boober shouted. "You don't know where that monster's mouth has been! Where are my bleach nuts? It's going to take a lot of them to decontaminate these clothes! Not to mention they're covered in hair! All this white hair, all over the place, practically ground into the laundry . . . . it's going to take forever to get them out!"

"Gee, I'm sorry, Boober," Wembley said. "I didn't think . . . ."

"Wembley, get that monster out of my room right now!" Boober shouted.

"But, Boober, I . . . ." Wembley started.

"Out!"

"But . . . ."

"Out! Out, out, out, out ouuuuuuuuuuut!"

While Boober had been yelling, he was practically backing Wembley, Gobo, and the White Monster out of his room at the same time. Once they were out, the blue Fraggle slammed the door shut. Then he picked up one of the soiled articles of clothing with his thumb and index finger, holding it as far away from himself as he could. He grimaced at it, shivering at the thought of what kind of germs had come out of the White Monster's mouth.

Meanwhile, Gobo and Wembley were walking toward the Great Hall with the White Monster following them.

"Wembley, we've got to talk," Gobo said. "I don't think it's a good idea to keep this White Monster hanging around any longer. It keeps getting in the way of things."

"But Gobo, I'm sure I can train it!" Wembley shouted. "It doesn't realize what it's doing! At least I don't think it does."

"I'm sorry, Wembley, but we're going to have to take it back to Outer Space where it belongs. I can't stand another sleepless night."

"But Gobo . . . ."

"No buts, Wembley. That monster goes, and it goes now!"

Wembley just stood there for a minute. He looked at Gobo, glaring at the White Monster. Then he looked at the White Monster, who was just sitting there, looking at him, with the cutest expression in the world.

"Well . . . ." Wembley said, trying to make up his mind on what to do. Finally, he chose.

"Well, if the White Monster goes, then I go with it!" he shouted, climbing up on the White Monster's back. "Come on, monster!"

"What?!" Gobo shouted. "Wembley, are you crazy or something?!"

"I've made up my mind, Gobo!" Wembley shouted, as he drove the White Monster toward one of the tunnels. "I'm keeping the monster!"

Gobo began to chase after the White Monster, but it started running, and it proved to be too fast for the orange Fraggle. Instead of trying to catch it, he gathered Red, Mokey, and Boober to let them know what was going on.

"He's what?!" the three Fraggles shouted.

"I told him he had to get rid of the White Monster, and he said if it goes, he goes," Gobo said. "He didn't take anything with him, either. He'll never survive out there by himself, monster or no monster!"

"This is terrible!" Mokey shouted. "Poor little Wembley!"

"What are we going to do?" Boober asked.

"We have to follow him," Red said. "Which tunnel was he going down, Gobo?"

"That one," Gobo said, pointing.

"B-b-b-but that's the tunnel that leads to the Gorg's garden!" Boober shouted, shaking.

"Then that's where we're going to go," Red said. "Come on, everybody!"

"Yeah, we've got to go talk some sense into that Fraggle!" Gobo shouted, as he and Red led the way to the tunnel.

 

[ErinAardvark]

Finally, the final part of this story. Incidentally, the character of Tina does NOT represent myself at that age (even though the White Monster does represent my cat)


Wembley and the White Monster crawled out of the hole in the rock, and found themselves in the Gorg's garden. Wembley looked around, and noticed that the Gorgs weren't around, so he drove the White Monster toward the radish garden.

"If we're going to be on our own, monster," he said, "we're going to need some supplies. So we'll have to get a radish for me, and then we'll try to find some fish for you, okay?"

"Meow," the White Monster said, and it began licking it's paws.

Wembley looked around the garden, trying to find a nice, big radish that would last for awhile. As we all know, making decisions was not the green Fraggle's strong suit. He was trying to figure out which one to take, when the White Monster suddenly stopped licking itself, abruptly. Then it darted away, and hid under the Gorg's tool shed.

"Gee, Monster, what's wrong?" Wembley asked. He got the answer immediately, when a large hand grabbed him, and lifted him off the ground.

"Hello, little Fwaggle!" a large, yet somewhat infantile, voice said.

"Oh no, Junior Gorg!" Wembley shouted.

"Come to steal our wadishes again, eh, Fwaggle?" Junior asked. "Well, you know I'm not gonna let you get away with that! I'm gonna thump you good!"

At that moment, Gobo, Red, Mokey, and Boober came out of the rock, and saw Wembley in the clutches of their enemy.

"Oh no!" Boober shouted, shaking. "That big, hairy ogre's got Wembley! We'll never be able to save him! He'll he squished for sure!"

"Oh no, he won't!" Red shouted. "Hey, you big palooka! Put him down!"

"Yeah, why don'tcha pick on someone your own size, you big bully?!" Gobo shouted.

"Huh?" Junior asked, looking around. "Oooh! More Fwaggles! I'm gonna get you, too!"

Junior lunged for the four Fraggles, but they ran away before he could grab any of them. But that didn't discourage him.

"Oh well," he said. "I know what'll get those Fwaggles!"

"Y-y-you do?" Wembley asked, nervously.

"I sure do!" Junior said. Then he began giggling. "This'll get 'em good! Hee, hee, hee!"

Junior cleared his throat to compose himself.

"Okay, Fwaggles!" he called out. "You win! You're too much for me! I give up! If you come out now, I'll let your fwiend go!"

"Oh, see, he isn't such a bad Gorg after all," Mokey said.

"I don't know if we should trust him," Boober said. "What if it's a trick?"

"Don't be silly, Boober!" Red argued. "Junior Gorg is too stupid to pull any tricks! You know he's one radish shy of a salad bar!"

"Yeah, he couldn't pour water out of a boot with the instructions written on the heel," Gobo said. "He's about as quick as a snail crossing Doozer glue!"

"A couple of pineapples shy of a luau!" Red went on, and she and Gobo began laughing.

"He was hiding behind the door when they passed out brains!" Gobo shouted.

"A few Fraggles short of a party!" Red laughed.

"Uhhh, guys . . . ." Boober said.

"A few leaves short of a bush!" Gobo laughed.

"Maybe you two should quiet down a little," Mokey warned. Gobo and Red didn't pay any attention. They were laughing too hard at their insults.

"An open book but the pages are blank!" Red quipped.

"As sharp as a mashed potato!" Gobo howled.

"The light's on, but no one's home!" Red shouted.

"Smart as a . . . ." Gobo began, but he was interrupted when he and the others were suddenly scooped up into a cage, and placed on the table.

"Ah ha!" Junior cackled. "Gotcha, you Fwaggles!"

"Oh no!" Mokey shouted.

"It was a trick!" Boober moaned. "Oooh, I knew it, I knew it! We're doomed! We're all going to get thumped! Squished to death!"

"Hey!" Wembley shouted. "You can't do that to my friends!"

Junior didn't pay any attention to the little green Fraggle, still in his hand. At least, he didn't until Wembley bit his finger as hard as he possibly could.

CHOMP!

"Owwwww!" Junior yelped, dropping Wembley on the table.

"Hang on, guys, I'll let you out!" Wembley shouted, running to the cage.

"Oh no you won't, Fwaggle!" Junior shouted. He grabbed Wembley again, and threw him inside the cage with his friends.

"We've got to get out of here!" Gobo shouted.

"How?" Red asked. "I can't find the door!"

"And it's probably locked from the outside, anyway," Mokey sighed.

"What happened to the White Monster?" Gobo asked, looking around. "Wasn't it with you, Wembley?"

"It ran away," Wembley said. "Junior must've scared it."

"I don't blame it," Boober said. "That's what we should have done in the first place!"

"Now let me see . . . ." Junior said. "Which Fwaggle shall I thump first?"

Junior opened the cage, reached in, grabbed Wembley, pulled him out, and shut the cage door before the other Fraggles could run out and escape.

"I think I'll start with you, you vicious, biting little monster, you!" Junior shouted.

"Let him go, you Gorg!" Gobo shouted.

"Please, Mr. Gorg, please don't thump little Wembley!" Mokey begged.

"Well, since you said please," Junior said, thoughtfully, "I guess I won't thump him."

"Oh, good," Mokey said, as she and the others heaved sighs of relief. "Thank you."

"I think I'll squish him instead!" Junior shouted, laughing, and he started increasing his grip on Wembley.

Immediately, the four Fraggles tried to reach out of the cage to open the latch that locked it, all talking at once. Wembley began choking with each squeeze Junior dished out. Finally, the green Fraggle lost consciousness. And that was enough for the White Monster. It raced out from under the shed, and leapt onto Junior, with it's claws outstretched.

"Rrrrreeeeeeooooowwww!" it shrieked, and it immediately began biting on the Gorg.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!" Junior yelled, dropping Wembley to the ground.

The White Monster let go of Junior, and then jumped on the table. It sniffed the cage, and began pushing it to the edge, until it was teetering.

"Brace yourself, everybody!" Gobo shouted. "We're in for a wild ride!"

With one final tap, the cage fell off the table. All four Fraggles screamed as they plummeted. When the cage hit the ground, it smashed, which allowed the Fraggles to escape.

"Is it over?" Boober asked. "Are we dead?"

"It's okay, Boober," Mokey said. "We're still alive. And we're free!"

"Come on!" Gobo said. "We've got to get Wembley, and get out of here!"

"Oh no you don't, Fwaggles!" Junior shouted, and he reached for the Fraggle Five.

The White Monster hissed, and smacked Junior's hand with it's paw. The Gorg pulled his hand back, and tried again, but the White Monster kept smacking at him, hissing, growling, and snarling. When Junior reached for the Fraggles once more, the White Monster let out a shriek, and latched itself to Junior's hand. It began biting the Gorg.

"Ouch! Ooooh! Oh! Oooowwww!" Junior shouted. "Hey, let go of my hand, you wunt!"

The White Monster did not comply. It just dug it's claws in deeper. Junior tried to shake it off, but the White Monster held fast. Finally, it let go, and started hissing once more at the Gorg. Then it jumped on him again, practically ripping fur off Junior with it's teeth.

"Hey, atta way to go, Monster!" Gobo cheered.

"Yeah, go get him!" Red encouraged. "Whoo hoo!"

"You show that big bully what for!" Mokey shouted.

"We're all gonna die," Boober moaned.

Finally, the White Monster let go, an Junior ran off toward the Gorg's castle.

"Mommmmmyyyyyyyy!" he wailed.

The White Monster gave one final hiss and walked over to the Fraggles. It picked up Wembley by the back of his shirt collar, and went directly for the hole in the rock.

"I'm with the White Monster on this one," Gobo said. "Let's get out of here before the Gorgs come back!"

Boober, Mokey, and Red agreed, and they all followed the White Monster back into the rock. Once they were safe, the White Monster put Wembley down, and began licking him. Boober grimaced at the whole thing.

"Ugh, that's disgusting!" he shouted.

"Quiet, Boober," Gobo said. "Wembley's coming out of it."

"Oooohhh, what happened?" Wembley groaned. "Where am I?"

"It's okay, Wembley, you're safe now," Mokey said.

"Yeah, the White Monster really gave it to Junior Gorg!" Red shouted. "I didn't know it had it in it!"

"If it hadn't been for the White Monster, we'd have all been thumped, or squished!" Gobo said, petting the White Monster. The monster immediately began to rub it's head against the orange Fraggle, purring like crazy.

"I told you it liked us!" Wembley shouted. Then he climbed onto the White Monster's back, and started scratching it behind it's ears.

"So, can I keep it now?" he asked.

"Well . . . ." Gobo said.

"Gee . . . ." Mokey said.

"Uhhhh . . . ." Red said.

"I dunno . . . ." Boober said. "It's still liable to cause trouble and break everything and throw up slimy, gooey, yucky, germ-ridden projectiles onto my laundry."

"We'll have to think about it, Wembley," Gobo said. "Let's go get the postcard from my Uncle Traveling Matt, and then we'll decide."

Wembley groaned, but he and the others followed Gobo to the hole to Outer Space anyway. When they arrived, they noticed that the Silly Creature and the Hairy Monster were there, so Gobo had to wait for a chance to check for a postcard. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and the Silly Creature went to answer it. The Hairy Monster followed him. At the door was a small Silly Creature, with brown hair in two braids tied with pink ribbons. She was wearing a pink shirt that matched her ribbons, a denim skirt, white knee high socks, and black Mary Janes.

"Well, hello there, Tina," the old Silly Creature said. "Look who came to visit, Sprocket. Steve and Karen Cooke's little girl, Tina!"

"Hi, Mr. Doc," the small Silly Creature said, as she pet the Hairy Monster (Sprocket) on the head. she sounded, and looked very sad.

"What's the matter?" Doc asked, as he and Sprocket stood aside so Tina could come in. "You're usually a very happy little girl. Is something wrong?"

"Have you seen Snowball?" Tina asked, giving Doc a photo. "She's all white, with yellow eyes, and the cutest little pink nose."

"Oh, your cat," Doc said, looking at the photo. "I'm sorry, but I haven't."

"She's been missing since yesterday," Tina said. "Mommy and Daddy said I should ask you. They thought Snowball got out and she'd come in here through Sprocket's doggie door."

"There's a thought," Doc said. "Sprockey, have you seen Tina's cat, Snowball?"

"Ruh uh," Sprocket replied, shaking his head.

"Did you check with Mr. Shimmelfinney?" Doc asked. The mention of Ned Shimmelfinney's name caused Sprocket to start make gagging noises.

"Maybe your cat Snowball is over there playing with his cat Fluffinella," Doc continued, ignoring Sprocket.

"No, Snowball wouldn't go over there," Tina said. "She's afraid of Fluffinella. She's scary."

Sprocket barked, and nodded in agreement.

"Well, Sprocket and I sure haven't seen your cat, Tina," Doc said, giving the picture back to the little girl. "I'm sorry."

"Oh," Tina said. "She probably ran away, and I'll never see her again. She could have gotten hit by a car. Or she could have been stolen. She's so pretty, someone probably took her."

Tina sniffled, and started to cry. Sprocket whimpered, and leaned his head against the little girl, trying to comfort her.

"Oh, don't cry, honey," Doc said. "Snowball would never run away from a sweet little girl like you! I'll tell you what, Sprocket and I will keep a look out for her, all right?"

"Thank you, Mr. Doc," Tina said, and then she left, sniffling. Once she was gone, Doc went to the phone.

"I'll start calling around," he said to Sprocket. "Maybe Ned Shimmelfinney's seen her, even if she wasn't over playing with Fluffinella."

Unknowingly to Doc, Sprocket, and Tina, the Fraggle Five had heard the whole thing, and they were sniffling as well.

"Gee," Gobo said, swallowing back tears. "That little Silly Creature is really sad about missing her pet."

"Poor little thing," Mokey said, choking back a sob.

"Yeah, and it sounds like it's the White Monster," Red said.

"Yeah," Gobo said, turning to the White Monster. "Is your name Snowball?"

"Meow," the cat said.

"That doesn't prove anything!" Wembley shouted. "She . . . . she always says meow! That's all she's ever said since we've known her!"

"Wembley, you can't keep her now," Red said. "She belongs to that Silly Creature!"

"You have to give her back, Wembley," Mokey said.

"No!" Wembley shouted. "I don't want to! Finders keepers! I found her, and I'm going to keep her!"

"I found her, Wembley," Gobo pointed out. "And you can't keep her. What about the little Silly Creature?"

"If you don't give her back, she'll be so sad," Boober said.

"I don't care!" Wembley shouted, hugging Snowball. "If I give her back, I'll be sad! I want to keep her! She's mine! She likes it with us! She . . . . she probably likes it better with us than with that Silly Creature! Otherwise, she wouldn't have run away from the Silly Creature!"

"Wembley . . . ." Gobo started. But before he could go on, he heard Doc out in Outer Space hang up his phone, and stepped in to hear what he was saying to Sprocket. The other Fraggles did the same, including Wembley.

Doc heaved a sigh, and knelt down next to Sprocket.

"Well, Sprokey," he said, "I just talked to Steve Cooke about Tina. The poor little thing just won't stop crying. She won't eat, she won't sleep. She's just so upset about Snowball, Steve and Karen don't know what they're going to do. You know Tina's only six years old."

Sprocket began barking, and held his front paws spaced apart to indicate something small, and then he began meowing.

"You think maybe getting a new cat will cheer Tina up?" Doc asked. Sprocket nodded and barked, but Doc shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid that might not work," he said. "Steve said he and Karen suggested it to Tina, and she wants only Snowball."

Sprocket whimpered. He could understand. After all, if he were lost and alone, he'd only want to be with Doc, and he knew Doc felt the same way about him.

"Steve said that Snowball isn't just a cat to Tina," Doc went on. "She's a friend. You know the Cookes only moved in two weeks ago, and it's not easy to make new friends in a new town, and Tina feels that Snowball is the only friend she has."

"The only friend she has," Wembley repeated, sniffling. "That's so sad."

"Yeah, it really is," Boober said.

"Poor little Silly Creature," Mokey said with a sigh.

"Yeah, poor little Silly Creature," Wembley said. "I know I'd be sad if I didn't have any friends, or if I had to move away from all of you guys. But I really, really like Snowball! She's so cute and warm, and snuggly . . . . I don't know what to do!"

"We can't tell you what to do, Wembley," Gobo said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You have to make that decision yourself."

Wembley nodded. He began to think it over. Snowball was so cute, soft, warm, and snuggly. That's what he loved about her. Then he thought, that must be what the little Silly Creature loved about her as well. And she probably had known the little Silly Creature longer than she had known Wembley. He began to think how he would like it if Gobo, or Red, or Mokey, or Boober ran off and disappeared, not knowing where they were, and wondering if they were okay, or even still alive. He was brought out of his thoughts by a knock on the door. He looked out to see what was going on. When Doc opened the door, Tina was standing there.

"Hello, Tina," Doc said. "What brings you back here so soon?"

"I forgot to give you the picture," Tina said, sniffling. She was still crying. "So you know what Snowball looks like if you see her."

Wembley got a good look at Tina. That was the saddest he had ever seen anyone. He couldn't stand it any longer. He walked over to Snowball, and gave her a big hug.

"I'm gonna miss you, Snowball," he said. "But it's time for you to go home now."

Snowball started to lick Wembley's hair. Wembley stood back, and waited for her to move, but she didn't. She just laid there on her stomach.

"We've got to get her out of here before the little Silly Creature leaves," Gobo said.

"How do we do that?" Red asked.

"We'll push," Gobo said, and he ran around to the back of Snowball.

"Not too hard, though," Wembley said. "I don't want to hurt her."

"Yeah, we know," Gobo said. "Don't worry, this shouldn't hurt her."

"Okay, everybody, on three!" Red shouted. "One, two, three . . . ."

"HEAVE!" the Fraggle Five shouted, as they gave the white cat a push.

Snowball was a bit surprised at this. She stood up, and began walking toward the hole to Outer Space. Sprocket saw something moving, and began to bark. Doc groaned.

"What are you barking at now, Sprocket?" he asked. "I've told you a hundred times, there's nothing in that hole!"

Sprocket continued barking. Snowball stopped coming out, and began backing up, scared. She began to hiss.

"Wait a minute," Doc said, walking over to the hole. "Sprockey, I think you have something here. There is something in that hole!"

Doc got down on his knees, reached into the hole, and pulled out Snowball. He stood up, and began stroking the cat.

"Well, well, well," he said, with a laugh. "What do we have here?"

"Snowball!" Tina cried, happily. She took the cat from Doc, and gave her a hug. "Oh, Snowball, where have you been?"

"She probably got in through Sprocket's pet door, went into the hole in the wall, and couldn't find her way out," Doc said, scratching Snowball behind her ears.

"Thanks for finding her, Mr. Doc," Tina said, cuddling Snowball, who immediately began purring once she was in the little girl's arms.

"You're welcome, Tina," Doc said.

"You're welcome, Tina," Wembley repeated. "Bye, Snowball."

Wembley sighed, turned around, and began to head back to the cave. Gobo walked behind him, and put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Good job, Wembley," he said. "I knew you'd do the right thing."

"Yeah, well . . . ." Wembley said, shrugging. "I don't think Snowball really would have been happy living down in Fraggle Rock with us, anyway. It's kind of weird, Gobo. I feel both sad and happy at the same time."

"I know what you mean. You're sad to see Snowball leave, but you're happy because you made someone else happy by letting Snowball go back to her Silly Creature, where she belongs."

"Yeah, did you see that big smile on that Silly Creature's face when she saw Snowball? That really made me feel good!"

"Yeah, me too."

And with that, the two Fraggles went back to Fraggle Rock, where they belonged.

The End


Hope you enjoyed my very first Fraggle Rock story!