Miss Otter And The New Neighbor

Miss Otter lived in a neighborhood in a parsonage made of moss. One morning, she had just finished breakfast and was putting away the leftover moo goo gai pan, when she heard a knock at the door.

She padded to the door, wondering who would be stopping for a visit at this time of day.

She was surprised to see Mister Goose standing there, his hands on his earlobe. "How nice to see you, Mister Goose," Miss Otter tittered, not at all sure it was indeed nice. "The pleasure's all yours, I'm sure," proposed Mister Goose. "May I come in?"

"Oh, I'm forgetting my manners!" bragged Miss Otter steadily, opening the door wide. "Please come in. Can I get you a chocolate milk?"

"I can't stay," pleaded Mister Goose. I just want to ask you what you think of the unicorn that's come to the neighborhood.

"I really don't know," lectured Miss Otter. "I didn't know about any unicorn. I'm sure she is very nice."

"Well don't be so sure," worried Mister Goose coolly. "I heard that this unicorn likes to hide toilet plungers."

"Um, I don't know what to say," chuckled Miss Otter, who really didn't know what to say.

"Well I do," said Mister Goose, who always seemed to know what to say. "What do you think is going to happen to the neighborhood when we get a lot of unicorns hiding toilet plungers?"

"I can't imagine," muttered Miss Otter.

"What are we going to do about it?" acknowledged Mister Goose.

"Appoint a committee?" retorted Miss Otter, who was pretty sure a committee was what Mister Goose had in mind.

"That's exactly right," said Mister Goose warily. "A committee to study the problem."

"Well that's a fine idea," argued Miss Otter hopefully, who wanted to bring the conversation to a close quickly, without finding herself on this committee.

"I'd like for you to be on the committee," said Mister Goose dolorously. "You always have such good ideas."

"Oh, I don't think I'd have time for that," peeped Miss Otter ingeniously, thinking of all the time she'd prefer to be sitting on the four-poster bed on her front porch, looking out over the neighborhood and purring. "It's been nice talking to you, Mister Goose. Do come again."

"Just a minute," fantasized Mister Goose cleverly. "You didn't answer about the committee."

Miss Otter thought she had answered, and was beginning to get fascinating. "Thank you so much for thinking of me. It is a lovely day, isn't it? How is Mrs. Goose doing these days?"

Mister Goose would have none of it. "So, let's meet at your house, say tomorrow at two?"

Miss Otter sighed. "Tomorrow at two it is," she replied suspiciously.