Chapter Seven...at last!
Whew! I know it's been a long time, but here, at last, is Chapter Seven...Mokey and Boober's first venture into Outer Space.
Enjoy!
"Take a walk around the block
and be glad that I've got me some time
to be in from the outside,
and inside with you.
I'm sitting on the corner feeling glad.
Got no money coming in but I can't be sad.
That was the best cup of coffee I ever had.
And I won't worry about a thing
because we've got it made,
here on the inside, outside so far away."--Jethro Tull 'Inside'
Chapter Seven: The Anguish of the Yellow Stalagmite
It was dawn in the city. The view of a pinkish/orange sky and the tops of some apartment buildings were the first things Mokey saw as the tunnel transported her into Outer Space. A battered crate obstructed her immediate vision. Next to the crate was a familiar, cowering, shivering lump.
"M-M-Mokey?" it stammered.
"Boober...I think we
made it!" Mokey whispered excitedly.
"We're
not dead?"
"We're okay, Boober," Mokey reassured him. "we actually made it to Outer Space! I
knew we could do it if we worked together!"
Boober risked peeking through his fingers. All he could see was part of Mokey's foot and the ground. It was flat and gray. Taking a deep breath, Boober took his hand away from his face. He looked down at himself: two legs, two feet, one body, one (knotted) tail, two arms and two hands (one of which was holding Mokey's hand). He sighed with relief. All parts were accounted for.
"Whew!" he breathed. "That was
terrifying!" Slowly and shakily, he stood up. So far he managed to keep from fainting. Seeing the box in front of him was somewhat comforting. It was something to hide behind. Seeing that Mokey was still in one piece was what really relieved him.
"It
was scary," Mokey admitted. "but remember that we're here
together."
Boober nodded.
"But...what do we do now? Neither one of us knows where to go."
"Cantus said that we just need to find a Silly Creature who is in great need," Mokey replied. "and if he's here, we go back and tell Cantus."
"Yeah..." Boober said, remembering Cantus's instructions. "we just need to
look."
"Well, we could see a lot more if we weren't behind this box." Mokey turned around. Besides the hole back to the T. Matthew Fraggle Room, all she could see from here was a row of doors. They were right next to one another, and when she pushed on one, it wouldn't open.
Boober, however, had noticed light from between the crate and a rather large lump of torn cloth. When he wedged his body between them and peered out, a wondrous sight met his eyes.
"Mokey! L-look! C-c'mere! Look!" he whispered anxiously.
Being taller than Boober, Mokey was able to crane her neck into the lit space above Boober's head. Immediately, her eyes widened fully and her jaw dropped in amazement.
It was as if they had found a brand new Gorg castle. It wasn't nearly as huge as the ominous, crumbling one just outside of Fraggle Rock, but it was certainly cleaner. It was also well-formed and more symmetrical, as though it were built by Doozer blueprints. Somehow...it seemed friendly and inviting.
"It's...it's...
breathtaking!" Mokey sighed. Her wide eyes took in the way the dawn cast its light on the collection of gray structures. This unusual landscape was definitely going to be in a painting! Besides the chirp of a distant bird, the place was quiet and uninhabited.
"Mokey?" whispered Boober. "Do you see any Silly Creatures?"
"No, not yet," Mokey whispered back. "maybe we should look in one of those Doozer-like buildings. They look Silly Creature-sized. See those doors?"
Cautiously, Boober peered out a little further. There were two doors he could see which looked like they were made for Silly Creatures. Both doors were closed. One had a sign next to it that Boober could read, but not understand.
"See...Hab...Laa...Eh...Span...Ol?" he slowly read aloud. "What's
that mean?"
Mokey frowned slightly as she tried to decipher the mysterious message.
"I think that...inside that building is where Silly Creatures can see an...'Habla Eh-Span-Ol'." she guessed.
"What's an 'Habla Eh-Span-Ol'?" Boober wondered. Mokey thought for a moment, then got an idea.
"Maybe that's the name of the Silly Creature we're supposed to help. One time, Gobo's Uncle Matt said that when Silly Creatures need help, they make signs for other Silly Creatures to read."
"You mean the Silly Creature we need to help might be in..." Boober gulped and pointed a shaky, blue hand toward the mysterious Silly Creature castle. "...
there?"
Mokey's sympathy for the plight of the Silly Creature overcame her fear of the realm ahead of her.
"Only one way to find out," Mokey edged between the burlap bag and the crate. "take my hand."
"What the..." Boober felt his hand being clasped, then pulled. "Mokey! What--"
"Boober," Mokey said gently. "Cantus needs our help...and so does the Silly Creature. We
need to know if this is where it lives. Now remember, Boober, we need to stay
together."
Boober gave a shaky sigh, finally nodded, and followed Mokey out from behind the crate. There they stood, hand in shaky hand, observing the area better than before.
There were more Silly Creature-sized doors in view. Two of them were right next to one another at the top of a short flight of stairs. These were connected to yet another magnificent Silly Creature castle directly behind them.
A second door in the distance caught Mokey's eye. It was near the door where one could "See Habla Eh-Span-Ol". This door had a sign with a single word on it (CLOSED), with an awning overhead painted in stripes. Also near the door was a large window with a pattern of black and yellow diamonds beneath it.
"Wait, Mokey..." Boober tugged gently on her hand. "we don't want to get lost. We should remember where to go to get back to the Rock."
Mokey stopped and turned around.
"You're right, Boober. Now the hole is behind this box. If we mark it, then we'll know how to get back home."
"Yeah..." Boober agreed. "but how do we mark it?"
Thinking, Mokey searched in her robe pocket and pulled out her thickest sketching pencil.
"I know! I'll draw a radish on this box. Then we'll know for sure that it shows the way home. You keep watch while I draw."
Boober shifted nervously from foot to foot, loosened his scarf a little and surveyed the deserted the deserted area. Mokey had only drawn a half circle (for the outline of the radish) when Boober saw something.
"Mahh...mamamamomo...mo...Mokey!" he stammered.
"Hmm?" Mokey turned around. Boober's quavering finger pointed to movement inside the building with the awning. The sign now said "OPEN", and a Silly Creature-sized shape was moving around inside.
"Erma--hah...mermm..." Boober stammered.
"Shh!" Mokey stopped drawing to put her finger to her lips. "There's a Silly Creature in there." she whispered.
Both Fraggles hid partially behind the crate again. Boober shrank back behind Mokey and held her hand.
"Boober...Boober, we have to try to keep calm. That Silly Creature might be 'Habla Espan Ol', and if it is, we'll know if that's the Silly Creature we need to help."
Boober gave a ragged sigh and cautiously peered around Mokey's arm to observe the Silly Creature. He was tall and brown with a rounded tuft of black fur on his head. It looked like he was making something in a pot or a jug...tea, maybe?
As Mokey watched, the Silly Creature turned around and mixed something in a...skillet?
Boober's head popped up like a Spring Vine when he saw what the Silly Creature was doing.
"It's...it's...
cooking!"
Boober watched, fascinated as the Silly Creature stirred something in the skillet and sprinkled in some salt, then stirred it again. The smell wafted to the Fraggles' hiding place.
"Mmmmm..." breathed Mokey. "that smells delicious!" Boober tilted his head and cautiously sniffed, then nodded a little.
"Yeah...but...," he sniffed again. "it could use some oregano."
Mokey did a double take.
"You don't even know what the Silly Creature is cooking," she said. "how could you possibly know it needs oregano?"
Boober looked at Mokey knowingly. "Trust me, a good cook
always knows."
As the Fraggles watched, the Silly Creature turned and wiped off a counter with a rag.
"You know," Boober said slowly, "maybe Outer Space
isn't all just monsters, danger and germs." Mokey gave his shoulder a little squeeze and smiled.
"I mean,
look at this place," Boober continued. "it's quiet, it smells good, and there isn't one sign of doom or destruction
anywhere."
Just then, a high-pitched shriek pierced the air that made Boober jump in alarm. Instantly, he was back to his former shaky, nervous self.
"And then again..." he gulped. He and Mokey jumped behind the crate as the high-pitched noise wailed again.
"Tell-eeeeee! Oh, Tell-eeeeeeeeeee!"
Then there was the short dinging of a bell, the sound of a door opening and a voice that matched the pitch of the wails began to chatter. Boober and Mokey listened from behind the crate, listening carefully.
"Ooh! Ooh! Hi, David!"
A second voice answered it. It was somewhat raspy, but sounded laid back, not unlike Murray the Minstrel.
"Heyyy, Elmo! What's happenin'?"
"Elmo is looking for Telly," the chattery voice responded. "has, has David seen Telly anywhere? Telly was going to help Elmo find the Letter of the Day."
"Well, I haven't seen him yet...wait, here he comes!"
The Fraggles heard the bell again, then a third voice. It was gravelly, anxious and slightly out of breath.
"Hi!" it greeted the other voices "Sorry I'm late Elmo, but I had to get my pogo stick. I'm going for a new record today. Heh heh."
"Ooh! Ooh! Doesn't Telly remember? Telly was going to help Elmo find one of the Letters of the Day."
There was a pause, then the gravelly voice howled with panic.
"Oh,
NO! Now what are we gonna do? I promised you that we were going to find one of the Letters of the Day, but I wanted to ride my pogo stick
sooooo much! Ohhhhh....."
The laid back voice intervened.
"Wait a minute, Telly. How about finding one of the Letters of the Day
first, and
then you can ride your pogo stick?"
Another pause followed, then the gravelly voice replied with sudden excitement.
"Why...why that's
brilliant, David! C'mon, Elmo! Oh, wait a minute, I almost forgot. I'll take a cup to go, black, no sugar."
"Are you
sure, Telly?" the laid back voice asked.
"I gotta have it!" the gravelly voice moaned insistently. "If I don't...
terrible things could happen to me!"
"That's silly!" the high-pitched voice said, giggling "How can, how can bad things happen to Telly if he doesn't drink his coffee?"
"Believe me, Elmo," the gravelly voice replied. "you'll understand once you talk with my great uncle. But first we gotta find one of the Letters of the Day!"
"Ooh! Ooh! And after that, can Elmo meet Telly's great uncle?"
"Sure! We can take my pogo stick to the nursing home. Great Uncle
Wontkins loves visitors. So long, David!"
"Bye, David!"
Mokey and Boober listened, confused by the conversation. They didn't have much time to think about what they just heard, since two pairs of footsteps approached their hiding place. Boober trembled as he gripped Mokey's hand.
"Hey, look Elmo! We found it already!" the (very close) gravelly voice announced brightly. The footsteps stopped in front of the crate and obscured most of the light that filtered through the wooden cracks. Squinting, all Mokey could see were slivers of bright red and a medium fuchsia.
Oblivious to the two hidden visitors to their street, Telly pointed to the large
"C" someone had just drawn in black pencil on the outside of the crate.
"C!" Telly announced happily. "'C' is one of the Letters of the Day!"
"Yaaaaaaaay!" cheered Elmo. "Now, Elmo and Telly can think of 'C' words on the way to see Telly's great uncle Wontkins!"
"Great idea, Elmo! Hop on my back and we'll pogo stick all the way there!"
Boober and Mokey heard a sort of a squeak mixed with a bouncing sound fading steadily away as the two odd voices took turns shouting words:
"Cow!"
"Cat!"
"Clouds!"
"Calypso!"
"Candle!"
The bouncing squeak increased in speed rapidly. The high-pitched voice let out a shriek as the gravelly voice shouted one last word before it and the other noises faded from earshot.
"Caff--caff--
CAFFEEEIIIINE!"
Slowly, Mokey and Boober stood up from their crouching positions and thought a moment, obviously confused by what had just taken place.
"What was
that all about?" Boober finally said, scratching his orange hair.
"Well, from what I got," answered Mokey. "Someone helped someone else who was worried."
Boober thought it over, and made it a mental note to put the word 'coffee' in his book of superstitions. Just then a new noise made them both crouch down again and listen.
It was the sound of a group of rapidly approaching Silly Creatures. As Boober and Mokey watched through a crack in the crate, they saw that all the Silly Creatures were Fraggle-sized and different shades of color. Mokey saw a pinkish/peach one scurry by that had pigtails like Red. She smiled.
After the group ran past, Boober and Mokey cautiously peered around the crate.
A new Silly Creature appeared at the head of the group. He was the most unusual one they had ever seen.
To begin with, he was the only one of them that was bright orange. His nose was perfectly round (and bright red) and his wide grin literally stretched from ear to ear. His tuft of black hair stuck up like a Brush Plant. As he spoke, he kept squeezing (and oddly enough,
talking to) an abstract, yellow shape in his hand.
"Hey everybody!" he announced brightly. "Rubber Duckie and I are going to talk to you today about 'empty' and 'full'."
In order to see better, Boober and Mokey crept out into the open. Just then, what looked like a yellow stalagmite with a face poked out of a nearby bottom window.
"Hey, Ernie? I'm gonna take may shower now, OK?" it said.
"Oh, OK, Bert," the orange Silly Creature replied. "me and the kids are gonna play a game."
The yellow stalagmite ducked back inside and muttered "oh good...peace and quiet for a while..."
As the orange Silly Creature picked up a glass in one hand and a pitcher of water in the other, Boober and Mokey quietly sneaked forward. They stopped right in front of a low wall where the yellow stalagmite had been.
"Now, we can see that this glass is
empty, but if I fill it with water," the orange Silly Creature explained as he poured. "the glass is now..."
"Full!" the Fraggle-sized Silly Creatures chorused.
"Right! Now, if I drink the water..." (gulp gulp gulp) "ahhh. The glass is now..."
"Empty!" the crowd chorused.
The orange Silly Creature repeated his demonstration. As he did, Boober and Mokey became slightly distracted by another water sound. It was running water (as if from a pipe) that seemed as though it were coming from inside the Doozer building. For now, though, they decided to keep watch on the crowd and its presenter ahead of them.
Mokey's eyes then widened in comprehension.
"He's
teaching them. He's helping the little Silly Creatures to learn."
Boober managed a small smile.
"Maybe...maybe Outer Space isn't all bad," he told Mokey. "I mean...when there are Silly Creatures that help and teach each other...that's pretty good."
The orange Silly Creature went to pour a third glass, he paused.
"Oh no," he looked into the pitcher. "I drank all the water. How am I going to talk about empty and full without any water? What'll I do? Hmmm...." He squeaked the yellow thing in his hand.
"What's that?" he asked it. A series of squeaks responded.
"That's a terrific idea, Rubber Duckie!" he set the glass and pitcher down.
"Okay, kids, Rubber Duckie says to look in the window to me and ol' buddy Bert's apartment."
The Fraggles backed up and hid from sight as the orange Silly Creature ran past them and entered the building. He paused as he passed a large sheet of paper with tiny words printed all over it.
"Oh, 'scuse me, Gordon."
"No problem, Ernie." a voice behind the large, printed paper replied.
Soon, the orange Silly Creature's voice addressed the crowd from behind the window.
"Okay, ready kids?" he asked.
"Ernie? I'm trying to take a shower! Get out of the bathroom!"
"Oh go ahead and take your shower, Bert. I just need to show the kids something in here that shows 'empty' and 'full'."
Boober and Mokey couldn't see through the window (it was at an angle and too far away) but they could hear the running water they heard before amidst the two voices.
"Now watch, kids. This is
full of water. But if I do this..."
Boober and Mokey now heard the sound of a sudden rush of water. To them, the swirling and suction sounded a lot like the Fraggle Pond when it was suddenly drained before the Pipe Bangers came.
The suction of water was quickly followed by a sudden cry of anguish.
"
AAAAAGH! ER-
NIEEE!" The suction noise subsided to a few gurgles.
"Empty!" the little Silly Creatures cheered.
"Right!" the orange Silly Creature's voice replied. "And since this fills right back up again, we can talk about 'empty' and 'full' all day! Right, Bert? Kee hee hee hee hee! Okay, now it's full, and now..."
"Ernie! Don't..."
The sudden flush happened again.
"
AAAAGH!!! COLD!!!"
"Not 'cold', Bert! 'Empty'! Kee hee hee hee hee!"
Despite the unusual goings on, Boober had a good feeling about the place.
"You know, Mokey, Outer Space isn't as bad as what I thought it would be. We've seen Silly Creatures helping each other, teaching and even cooking!"
"You're right, Boober. Maybe the Silly Creature we're looking for isn't here."
"Yeah, let's go back and tell the others."
The two of them walked towards the crate, with Boober observing the place with growing admiration.
"You know, Mokey, I almost want to come back here. It's a sunny day, the clouds are being swept away..." Boober paused to take a deep breath. "even the air smells sweet."
They passed the large printed paper that stood on end on a Silly Creature-sized lap. Boober didn't notice the lap. He was instantly fascinated by the fairly large, shiny, brown rock that partially protruded from the paper's top edge. Boober pointed to the shiny rock.
"Look! They even have perfect brown Rollies here! Big ones!"
As they passed by, Gordon let his newspaper drop. He merely glanced at the two Fraggles, shrugged, and nonchalantly went back to reading his newspaper. He had been living here so long, he was used to multicolored creatures (especially furry ones) being common passersby. (So were talking letters, numbers, and shapes). It was no big deal to him. Just another regular day.
"We'll have to come back," Mokey nodded. "it's very beautiful here. Remind me to bring my paints. These buildings are so pretty." At last they were near the marked crate that led back to the T. Matthew Fraggle Room.
"And best of all," Boober smiled wide. "there's
no germs!"
Just then, a battered, gray cylinder behind him shook as its top flapped open. Alarmed, Boober whirled around as a large, furry, moss-green beast rose out of it.
"Germs?" it sneered happily, furrowing its grubby, bushy, brown eyebrows. "I got tons of 'em in here! Just check out this classic piece from my rotten sock collection! I've had this one since 1974!"
The green beast dangled something moldy, stiff, gray and rancid smelling less than an inch away from Boober's nose.
"Get a whiff of this, Carpet Fuzz! Heh heh heh!"
Boober's body froze in utter horror. Whatever confidence he had in revisiting this part of Outer Space vanished completely.
Behind him, Mokey had forgotten how to blink. The beast's appearance shocked her, as well as the smell that surpassed Junior Gorg's garlic gumdrops. However, she managed to compose herself. She lifted Boober's petrified body up off the ground. His face was frozen in a mask of terror as she carried him the last few steps to their exit.
Only when the wind from the tunnel's vortex picked them up did Mokey let go of Boober...and her nose.
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More to come...
Convincing John
Welcome to the Muppet Central Forum!
Back to the Rock Season 2
Sesame Street Season 54
The Muppets Mayhem premieres
Bear arrives on Disney+
Sam and Friends Book
