A Spin on a Typical Day

It began as a typical day at the Laborastory. At 1:00 PM, Horatio woke up with his sketch pad under his wing, flew onto his branch, squinted into the blazing afternoon light and crowed a hearty, "Morphadoodle doo!  Goooood morning one and all!"  Dr. Stalk threw open a window, checked his watch, tilted his large green head up to look at the misinformed timekeeper, and said, "A hearty good doodle day to you, too, my friend."  Checking his timepiece again, he asked, "Horatio, from up there on your perch, is there any sign of Electra and the hot air balloon?"  Horatio drew a paint spattered wing to his forehead, craned his neck, looked from east to west, and shook his head, slowly at first and then faster and faster.  "No -n-n-n- no balloon, Doc.  But -b-b-b-but there's something coming this way!"  With that, he spread his wings, squeezed his now bulging beady eyes shut and dropped gingerly to the ground.  As he raced inside the Lab, he squawked for all to hear, "It's a twister- a tornado.  What's a rooster to doodle doo??"

"A twister... A twister is heading this way?  Scientifically impossible," said Stalk.  "Why there's always a storm before a twister: wild winds, pelting rain, crashing hail, the sound of a freight train barreling down a track..  Look around you.  The air is still, the sky is blue, and the only sound I hear is..."  Stalk paused and lifted a leafy hand to his ear, "What is that sound- a whirr-like...like a helicopter propelling our way."  Horatio popped his head out the door, and a smile crept across his face.  "Could it be she who comes from Inka Dinkah Land?  She, who is sweet and shy and oh so funny and loves to draw almost as much as I doodle doo?"  Stalk nodded, "It certainly sounds like Mimi to me.  I must ask Chef Poire to whip up her favorite pasta and meat sauce recipe immediately.  She adores that dish and is always ravenous after a good whirl."

Within moments, pots and pans were clanging about inside the Laborastory, and soon the air in the forest was filled with delectable aromas.  "Don't forget the ice cream for dessert, Horatio.  Make several gallons.  You know how I favor the flavor of cookies and cream."  "Will doodle doo," crowed the rooster.  "And I will make a separate sampling for her pet, Frankie the Cat.  He's the only feline I know who doesn't want to give a chicken a licken'." 

Preparations were underway for a feast to celebrate Mimi's arrival.  Zoey gathered flowers, Dancin' Daisy practiced her jetes, and Cook E. Monster dashed off to Florida to pick the most flavorful oranges for Mimi's favorite thirst quencher.  All was well, and then something unexpected happened.  Instead of landing, Mimi continued to spin right past the Lab.  The shocked Morphadoodles shouted up into the sky, "Mimi, Mimi, come back!"  "I can't!" she called out .  "I'm in the clutches of Zookah and his Zanies.  He's taking me to the Arctic Circle where it's always winter.  I despise the winter.  Call Mr. Puff Puff.  He'll know what to doooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Mr. Puff Puff was on stage, as usual.  He had just performed his latest gravity defying trick- juggling elephants and the peanuts they love.  The audience was in an uproar for more.  He picked up his topper and reached in, intending to pull a rabbit out of his hat.  But there was no hare there!  When he looked inside, he saw nothing but heard the voice of invisible Isabella, "Mimi's in the clutches of Zookah and his Zanies.  She needs you NOW!"  With a nod and an abracadabra, Mr. Puff Puff was gone with the wind.  When he saw the funnel cloud, he knew what trick would do.

"Morph that funnel into a tunnel

That leads back to the ground

Send Mimi spinning through it

And have her make no sound

Then morph the funnel back again

With Zookah spinning madly

And launch him into outer space

For treating our girl badly"

With a flash, it was done.  Mimi crawled out from the tunnel into the light.  As she approached her anxious friends, they saw that she was covered with kernels of  uneaten rice and bits of cheese and that her lovely propellor was askew.  "I was dancing on a hill when Zookah saw me.  He ordered me to stop, but I wouldn't.  He was taking me to the Arctic where the temperature would be so low that my feet would freeze so that I could never dance again."  She began to cry.  "It was like being on a perpetual rollercoaster ride.  And he even tried to make me eat this dreadful stuff,"  she said looking down at her clothes, "and now I'm covered in it.  Chef Poire made his way through the concerned morphadoodles.  "C'est affreux, ma petite!  How awful my little one," he said, wiping her tears with his apron.  "That Zookah knows nothing about food.  Horatio, bring out the pasta with meat sauce and let the feast begin!"  With that, the morphadoodles celebrated Mimi's safe arrival, and the party lasted for days and days.