Puppy Problems, Chapter 3 (Part 2 of 2)

The next day came, and it was now Saturday. The temperature was a little warmer today than it was yesterday, but the chill of winter could still be felt in the air...

Today, Michael Raccoon found himself at Sneer Mansion for the day. His parents usually took Saturdays off from work...but not on this weekend. As such, they decided to leave him with Cedric and Sophia for the day, and as thus, he had spent most of the day playing with his friends, Cecil and Sylvia. It had been a while since Michael had last visited Sneer Mansion; he always liked staying with the Sneers...

The three young friends had asked Sophia if they could play outside by themselves, and she agreed. And that was how they had been playing a game of hide and seek together. Michael was "it", and he had already found Cecil. Cecil had tried to hide in a bush, but it had been to no avail; his ears stuck out and gave him away. Now Michael was trying hard to find Sylvia, too. But he wasn't having much luck in finding her...

"I've looked all over the place, but I can't find Sylvia anywhere," Michael shook his head. "Where could she be?"

"Search me, Mikey," Cecil shrugged. "Sylvia's really good at hiding. She always wins when I play with her!"

Then Cecil spotted a small, stubby pink tail poking out from behind a tree. He knew what that was. "Hey, Michael," he whispered. "Look over there..."

Michael glanced towards the tree Cecil pointed at, and sure enough, he could see Sylvia's tail just poking out from behind it. "Ah-ha!" the young kit called out. "I found you, Sylvia!"

"Hey, no fair!" Sylvia protested as she stepped out from behind the tree. "You told him where I was, Cecil. Mikey would have never found me if you didn't tell him!" she glared at her twin.

"Well, you should have done a better job of hiding, sis," Cecil innocently grinned.

"That's not playing fair..." Sylvia was cross, but she quickly put it behind her. "Today has been a lot of fun, hasn't it, Mikey?"

"It sure has!" Michael beamed cheerfully.

"It's nice to see you having fun again, Mikey," Cecil patted his friend on the back. "After what happened to Peanut last week, we were wondering if you were ever gonna be happy again!"

"I do feel a lot better," Michael smiled. He really did. The little talk that his mother had with him yesterday had really helped him; although it was his fault that Peanut had run away and had ended up getting snatched by someone unknown, he knew he couldn't dwell on it forever, and that life would go on.

"We're glad to see you feeling better," Sylvia smiled at her younger friend. "It wasn't quite the same at school when you were sad!"

"Yeah, it feels nice to have fun once again," Michael continued to fondly smile. "Okay, guys, we played hide and seek. Now what do you want to do?"

It was at that moment that Cecil happened to glance at his wristwatch. "Woah, look at the time! Almost 3:30. Your parents should be here any minute, shouldn't they?"

"Yeah, that's right," Michael nodded. "They told me when they dropped me off, they would come back after they got off work to pick me up and take me home," he informed his friends.

"Well, I guess that's all the fun we'll have for today," Sylvia sighed. "Maybe we should just wait until your parents show u-"

Sylvia didn't get to finish her sentence, because at that she was interrupted by a rather loud whining sound. "Uhhhhhhhhhh..."

"W-w-what was that?" Michael shivered, feeling rather spooked.

"I-I-I don't know," Cecil shuddered as well.

"Oh, don't be scared, you guys," Sylvia scoffed. "I'm sure it was nothin-"

Once again, Sylvia was interrupted by the strange sound. "Uhhhhhh..."

"I don't like the sound of it," Cecil groaned as his teeth began to chatter.

"It sounds like it's coming from...over there," Michael remarked as he pointed to a house not too far off in the distance.

"That's the Pigs' house," Sylvia replied. "You're right, Michael. It does sound like it's coming from their house."

"What could be making that noise?" Michael asked quizzically.

"I don't know," Cecil shrugged. "But the Pigs have been acting pretty weird this past week..."

"We've seen them sneaking things in and out of their house every day for the past week," Sylvia added. "It looks like they don't want anyone to know what they're up to."

"Papa thinks they're up to something," Cecil spoke again. "He doesn't know what, though...he said when he went to visit their house yesterday, nothing seemed to be wrong..."

"Well, what could be making that noise?" Michael was a genuinely nice and kind young kit, but he was also very curious. He reminded his mother a lot of herself when he was younger...if something intrigued him, he always wanted to know more about it. "Maybe we should go over to the Pigs' house and see what's going on...?"

"No, Mikey!" Sylvia protested. "Papa said we're not supposed to go near the Pigs' house...that's their private living quarters! He told us that if we went over there without permission, we'd get in a lot of trouble!"

"But I want to know what's making that noise," Michael stubbornly replied. "It's going to bother me all day until I find out."

"I think we should go check out, sis," Cecil tried to encourage his sister. "What could go wrong if we just go have a look? I'm sure Mama and Papa won't find out!"

"Well...okay," Sylvia relented, knowing she was going to be drawn into this whether she liked it or not. "But if we get in trouble because of this, I'm not speaking to you for a whole week..."

"C'mon, guys," Michael gestured to his friends. "Let's go check it out!"

Soon, the three young friends had reached the Pigs' house. It was a small cottage; not too big, but more than cozy enough to safely accommodate the pork trio.

The strange sound came once again. "Uhhhhhhhh...! Uhhhhhh..."

"Yeah, it's definitely coming from in there," Cecil remarked.

"Where are the Pigs, anyways?" Michael wondered.

"They have Saturdays off, remember?" Sylvia filled in her younger friend. "They're probably out doing something. Maybe they went hiking or something. I don't know, but I know they're not home right now..."

"Maybe you should take a peak in the window, Mikey!" Cecil encouraged his raccoon friend.

"Okay, I'll have a look and see if I can see anything..." Michael pressed his snout up to the window, which was just low enough to the ground for him to be able to peer through. The window was a bit hazy, so he quickly wiped the glass with his green shirt so he could have a better look.

Michael quickly recognized the room he was gazing into. "This must be their bedroom..." he said to himself. It looked about like you would expect; quite messy. Pizza boxes, soda cans, comic books, bits of newspaper, and other miscellaneous junk were strewn all about the pork trio's bedroom. Though they were supposed to help keep the Mansion clean, they certainly didn't do a very good job keeping their own home tidy...

"Wow, what a mess!" Michael exclaimed. Then his young eyes caught a glimpse of something in the corner, by Lloyd's bed. "Hey, I see something!"

"What is it, Mikey?" Cecil asked, wondering just what his friend might have seen.

"It looks like...a cage," Michael replied. "And it looks like there's a dog inside of it!"

"A dog?" Cecil brought his head to the window and gazed into the bedroom as well. "Huh, you're right, Mikey. There's a cage with a dog in it. When did the Pigs get a dog...?"

"Let me see," Sylvia spoke up as she brought her face to the window. Sure enough, she saw the dog in the cage...but she immediately recognized the dog upon getting a good look. "Mikey...you're not going to believe this..."

"Not going to believe what?" Michael asked.

"That dog in the cage...Mikey...that's your dog. That's Peanut!" Sylvia exclaimed.

"What?!" Michael took a closer look. Sure enough, Sylvia was right. There, in the cage...was Peanut, looking rather sad and lonely.

"PEANUT!" Michael exclaimed in a frenzied manner. He felt a combination of delight and horror at the same time. Delighted to be able to see Peanut again, especially since he thought he never would...but horrified, nonetheless; what on Earth were the Pigs doing with his puppy? "Why is she in there?!"

"I don't know," Cecil shrugged.

"I think the Pigs must have kidnapped your puppy, Mikey," Sylvia realized. "That must be why they've been behaving so strangely this past week. They don't want anyone to know they've got Peanut..."

"But why would they take Peanut?" Michael spluttered.

"I don't know why," Sylvia shrugged.

"What should we do, Sis?" Cecil turned to his twin for help.

"We should go find Mama and Papa and tell them about this," Sylvia answered her brother. "They'll be able to sort this out."

Sylvia was right; finding Cedric and Sophia and telling them about what he'd seen would have been the logical thing for Michael to do. But at the moment...Michael was so excited that common sense escaped him. He had to get Peanut out of there...right now.

"I have to save my puppy!" Michael frantically shouted. He then noticed that the window to the Pigs' bedroom wasn't locked. "Hey, I think I can get through the window! Cecil! Can you help me get in there?"

"Why are you going in there, Mikey?" a confused Cecil replied.

"I have to get Peanut out of there, before the Pigs get back!" With that, Michael opened up the Pigs' bedroom window. "Help me get in there, please!"

"Michael, are you crazy?!" Sylvia gasped. "You can't go in there! You'll get in a lot of trouble if the Pigs come back and find you!"

"I don't care!" Michael retorted. "Peanut is counting on me to save her!"

"I'll help you, Mikey!" Cecil replied emphatically as he stooped down so Michael could climb onto his shoulders. With a little bit of a boost from Cecil, Michael was able to climb into the Pigs' bedroom.

"Alright, I'm in!" the little kit exclaimed. "Now I can save Peanut!"

"Be careful, Mikey!" Sylvia warned. "The Pigs could be back any minute!"

"I will!" Michael replied as he walked over to the cage in the corner. "Hi, Peanut. Do you remember me? It's me...Mikey! Your owner! I'm here to save you!"

Peanut had been looking down at the floor of her cage, but when she heard her little master's voice, she immediately glanced up at him as her stubby tail wiggled frantically back and forth. She had been muzzled by the pork trio so as to limit the amount of noise she could make, so she couldn't greet Michael with a kiss like she wanted to. But all the same, she felt excited to be reunited with her young owner.

"What have they been doing to you, Peanut?" Michael solemnly asked. "They haven't fed you very often, have they?"

Peanut whined once again. It was rather clear the Pigs hadn't fed her as much as they should have been...

"They keep you locked in this cage all the time...don't they?" Michael could tell the Pigs kept her locked up for hours and hours on end..."Don't worry, Peanut. You'll be out of here really soon, and then we can be together again!"

Peanut whined excitedly. But at that moment, the happy reunion between puppy and master was rudely interrupted.

"Michael! Michael!" came the frantic voice of Sylvia from outside. "The Pigs are coming! I see them off in the distance! They're coming back, and they'll be here any second!"

Michael was alarmed. "Oh no!" the little kit cried out. "NO! What am I going to do now? I don't have enough time to get back out of here! They'll find me if I do!"

"Hide, Michael! Don't let them find you!" Sylvia hollered out.

"What about you two?"

"We'll hide right here in the bushes, Mikey...Just find some place to hide!" Cecil called out.

Michael frantically looked around for a place to hide from the Pigs. However, he was unable to find any good hiding places. He felt sure he was going to be caught...

"Oh no, what do I do? What do I do?" Michael panicked. Then, he noticed Lloyd's bed..."Maybe I can hide under here..."

With that, Michael proceeded to dive underneath Lloyd's bed, nestling himself firmly under it. Michael was a small child, even for his age, so he was easily able to fit underneath the bed. It was rather cramped, seeing as there was more old junk stashed away beneath the bed, and there was quite a lot of dust gathered under there, but the little kit was able to peer out from underneath the bed.

Soon, he heard the Pigs' voices and saw their feet from beneath the bed. It was lucky the Pigs weren't looking down, for they would have seen his eyes peeking out at them...

"Hey," Boyd wondered aloud, "why is the window open? I don't remember leaving it open when we left for the Blue Spruce Cafe..."

"I must have forgotten to close it," Floyd shrugged.

"You boob!" Lloyd growled at his identical sibling. "Do you know what could have happened while we were gone? Someone could have snuck in and taken our future prize winner over here away! You ought to be more careful next time, Floyd..."

"I'm sorry..." Floyd meekly said as he quickly shut the window. Michael was now trapped in the cottage...with the Pigs and his puppy. He hoped they wouldn't discover him.

"Oh no!" Sylvia quietly whispered to her twin in the bushes outside. "The Pigs shut the window. I hope they didn't discover Michael...I don't know what they'll do if they find him..."

"What do we do now, Sis?" Cecil worriedly asked his sister.

"We need to go tell Mama orPapa about this...now," Sylvia urgently remarked. "Michael could be in a lot of trouble and we need to help him! Hopefully they can sort all this out..."

"...For once, I agree!" Cecil nodded his head. "Let's find Mama and Papa..." And with that, the little Sneers hurriedly ran off in search of their parents...

"I don't know how much longer we'll be able to hide her here," Floyd shook his head, glancing at Peanut's cage. "The Boss is already suspicious. He thinks we're up to something!"

"I know," Boyd agreed. "I remember we had to hide the cage in the closet when the Boss came over to visit us the other day. I don't know how he didn't discover her!"

"They hid Peanut in the closet?!" an aghast Michael thought to himself. "They really have been treating her badly...I have to save her...somehow!"

"We were lucky that Champion here kept quiet the whole time," Lloyd chuckled. Michael quickly deduced that the Pigs called Peanut "Champion".

"I just wonder how much longer we can keep this a secret..." Floyd uttered nervously. Of the three siblings, Floyd was the only one who actually felt guilty over kidnapping Michael's puppy. He was terrified of what might happen were they to be discovered..."I mean, the kid's parents are really protective of him; if they find out, it won't be pretty..."

"They'll never find out," Lloyd chuckled confidently. "You wait. As soon as those posters Ralph and Melissa put up come down, people will forget all about the missing puppy. Then if we're discovered, nobody will know. We could always tell the Boss that we just found a stray and decided to keep her out of the kindness of our hearts. No one would suspect a thing!" he continued to chuckle.

"I don't know if that'll work out..." Floyd continued to be nervous.

"Sure it will!" Lloyd continued to laugh. "Just wait until next weekend, boys...then we'll be rolling in the big bucks! Haha!"

"What's next weekend?" Boyd wondered.

"You really don't remember?!" Lloyd exalted in surprise. "The Evergreen Dog Show is being held at Mr. Knox and Lady Baden-Baden's estate next weekend. We'll enter Champion here in the puppy class. She's a sure-fire winner! They'll give us the trophy and the money, and from there it'll be on to greener pastures!"

"Oh boy!" Boyd and Floyd exclaimed, with stars practically in their eyes. They couldn't wait to earn big money.

"They kidnapped Peanut...to make money off her?" Michael almost gasped from beneath the bed. "That's so mean! They can't do that to her!"

"Hey, d'you think I ought to let Champion out to run around a little bit?" Boyd asked his brother.

"Sure thing," Lloyd nodded. "She's got to get out for at least a few minutes a day!"

With that, Boyd let Peanut out of her cage to wander around their bedroom. Michael was happy to see Peanut out of her cage, but he still felt sad knowing the Pigs had captured his puppy and were planning to use her to make money.

But at that moment, Michael suddenly felt the urge to sneeze. The heavy amount of dust beneath Lloyd's bed was tickling his little nose and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold the oncoming sneeze back..."NO!" Michael mentally cried out. "I can't sneeze...they'll find me! I can't!"

But it was too late. Michael wasn't able to hold back his sneeze. "Aaaaa...aaaaahh...aaaaaatttcccc-CHOOOO!"

Lloyd, Boyd, and Floyd all jumped up, started. "W-w-what was that?!" Floyd gasped.

"Somebody just sneezed!" Boyd exclaimed. "Who was it?!"

"It wasn't any of us..." Lloyd realized what was going on. "Boys, there's an intruder in our house! Somebody snuck in while we were gone and they're hiding somewhere here in our bedroom!"

"So that's why the window was open..." Boyd realized. "I could have sworn it was closed when we left! I must not have locked it..."

"What are we gonna do now?" Floyd asked nervously.

"We're going to search this room until we find the intruder, boys!" Lloyd remarked in a determined voice. "They'll wish they hadn't broken into our house!" With that, the pork trio began to search their bedroom for the intruder.

"Oh NO!" Michael shivered from beneath the bed. "They're going to find me now..." And he was right. No sooner had he thought that, the bed skirt was lifted up. Michael found himself face to face with Lloyd Pig.

"YOU!" an angered Lloyd exclaimed. "You snuck into our house, you little scamp!"

"Well, well, well," Boyd glared at the little kit. "If it isn't little Michael Raccoon!"

"Uh..." Michael nervously searched for words. "Um...hi?"

"You have a lot of explaining to do, mister," Lloyd glared ominously at the kit. "Get out from under my bed and explain yourself!"

Michael did as Lloyd told him, standing before the pigs.

"What are you doing in our house?!" Floyd interrogated him.

"I heard a strange noise coming from over here, and me and Cecil and Sylvia went to see what it was..." Michael tried his best to explain. "Cecil helped me get in here...and...and..."

"Didn't the Boss tell you that you're not supposed to sneak around?" Boyd yelled at him. "Didn't your parents teach you that?"

"You know you're not supposed to come near our house," Lloyd added.

"You three stole my puppy!" Michael angrily shot back at them.

"Yes," Floyd answered. "We found her by the lake last weekend. We decided we would take her in and keep her for ourselves."

"That's not right!" Michael hollered at them. "I want Peanut back! Give her back to me!"

"Too bad, kid," Lloyd scoffed. "You're not gonna get her back. Peanut is our dog now."

"And her name's not Peanut anymore," Boyd answered. "It's Champion. She's going to make us a lot of money, you see!"

"You three are so mean!" Michael continued to protest. "Peanut isn't a show dog! She's my pet! Please give her back!"

"You should have thought about that before you lost her," Lloyd rudely replied. "You shouldn't have been so careless..."

"Besides, it serves you right," Boyd chimed in. "You always tell the Boss whenever you see us doing something we shouldn't be doing! We've gotten in enough trouble thanks to you!"

"Nobody likes a tattle-tale," Floyd added.

"This will teach you a lesson," Lloyd finished. "To not be so careless, and to not be so nosy!"

"But that's not fair..." Michael pleaded. "How can you three be so mean? I've been sad this whole week...I just want Peanut back..."

"Well, you can forget about that," Lloyd growled. "Now get out of here, kid. Or we'll tell the Boss and your parents that you were sneaking around our house when you weren't supposed to."

"And you're sure to get punished for that," Boyd sneered.

"Now beat it, kid!" Floyd pointed out towards the front door of their cottage.

Michael sighed. He couldn't believe the Pigs could be so mean and rude to him, and he couldn't believe they wouldn't let him have his puppy back. Suddenly, an idea came to him..

"Okay," Michael sighed. Suddenly..."Uhhhhhhhh!" Peanut let out a loud whine as Michael stooped down and scooped her up in his arms. She was a pretty heavy puppy, but not too heavy for Michael to be unable to carry. "But not without Peanut!" Michael took off and raced out the front door with the little bulldog perched in his arms...before the Pigs had any time to react.

"HEY!" Boyd burst out. "What the-?"

"He's running off with our meal ticket!" Floyd gasped as Michael ran off.

"Now that was a big mistake," Lloyd growled. He was determined to not let Michael get away with this..."That little hellion is going to wish he didn't pull something like that! C'mon, boys! After him! Let's get Champion back!"

Immediately, the pork trio ran out of their cottage after the young kit...

---------------------------------

Meanwhile, a certain prominent raccoon couple was approaching the grounds of Sneer Mansion...

Ralph and Melissa Raccoon had just recently gotten off work, and had finished closing up the Standard's office for the day. Now they were walking towards Sneer Mansion so they could pick up their little son and bring him home with them. As they approached the mansion paw in paw, the two were busy discussing their son's mood...

"I wonder how Michael did today with the Sneers?" Ralph wondered.

"I think he probably had a good day," Melissa smiled at her husband.

"Well, I hope so," Ralph replied. "He was in a good mood this morning when we dropped him off..."

"I'm sure he had a good time with his little friends Cecil and Sylvia," Melissa remarked hopefully.

"Here's hoping," Ralph agreed. "You know, honey, I think that little talk you had with him yesterday really helped him out. I was glad to see him feeling a lot better yesterday when I came home from Bert and Maxie's..."

"Oh, I know," his wife beamed. "It's been a while since I've seen him smile; I was glad that I could help him out a little and see him smile again."

"I think he had fun at the restaurant last night, too," Ralph added. The previous night, Ralph decided to take his wife and his son out to dinner for the evening at his brother George's restaurant. He thought it was a nice idea to have a nice evening out with his lovely woman and their sweet little son, and he hoped that maybe time out with his parents would lift Michael's spirits. It seemed to have helped some, for Michael had definitely seemed to have a good time out with his parents..."I know it's been really hard for him losing Peanut, but I think in a while, he'll be back to his old self."

"That's what I'm hoping, too," Melissa winked at her hubby. "I don't like seeing him sad like that..." It was at that moment that the two arrived at Sneer Mansion. "Well, here we are, Ralph. Let's go in and say hello to Cedric and Sophia, shall we?"

"Okay, honey," Ralph smiled as they headed towards the front door. But they were soon interrupted by a sudden commotion...

"What on Earth...?" Ralph remarked, surprised to hear such a clatter.

"What's going on...?" a confused Melissa wondered. They didn't have to wait long to see what was causing all the commotion...

They saw their little kit running past them at a rapid rate, obviously frantic and in a hurry. In his arms was a young bulldog puppy...As Michael ran past, Ralph and Melissa saw the Pigs chasing after him as fast as they could go. They were trying their hardest to keep up with him, but they weren't having any luck; Michael wasn't the most athletic child, but even so, he was still able to outrun with relative ease.

"Get back here with our Champion, you little twerp!" Lloyd angrily shouted, shaking his hand at Michael. "You can't outrun us forever!"

"I won't do that!" Michael cried out as he ran off. "I won't let you have her!"

Ralph and Melissa, needless to say, were very confused. They weren't sure what to make of what they had just seen.

"What on Earth was that, Ralph?!" an exasperated Melissa commented.

"I don't know, honey," Ralph shook his head. "How did Michael get himself in trouble with the Pigs...?"

"I can only wonder..." Melissa remarked. Then, she realized what her son had been carrying..."Ralph...was that...Was that Peanut in his arms?"

"I...I think so..." Ralph realized as well. "But...Peanut...was missing...How does he have her?!"

"And what do the Pigs want with her...?" Melissa was just as baffled as her hubby.

At that moment, Michael suddenly lost his footing and tripped. He promptly dropped Peanut, who fell to the ground with a thud. The little bulldog was stunned for a moment, but she soon gathered her senses. She was quite frightened by what was going on and tried to run away. But the Pigs, who had been hot on Michael's heels, quickly caught her and Lloyd scooped her up in his arms.

"Gotcha!" he laughed. "You thought you could get away with her, didn't you?!" he snarled at Michael. "Well, you'll never get her back now!"

"We got her! We got her!" Boyd cheered triumphantly.

"NO!" Michael cried, realizing he had failed in his desperate attempt to save his puppy. "N-no...NO!"

"C'mon, boys!" Lloyd called to his brothers. "Let's get her back to the cottage before the Boss finds out!"

"What in the world is going on here?!" Melissa shouted out.

It was at that very moment that Cedric stepped out of the front door of his mansion. His twins had managed to find him and told him what was going on; that Michael was in trouble and needed help. He told his kids to stay put while he handled things, and so, here he was. Needless to say, the aardvark was also baffled by what he saw.

"What is the meaning of all this nonsense?!" Cedric shouted.

Needless to say, the Pigs heard Ralph, Melissa, and Cedric...

"Uh-oh..." Boyd murmured. They knew they were about to be in a whole heap of trouble. "Guys...we've been busted..." he whispered.

Lloyd was panicking. "U-uh...H-hi, Boss!" he nervously laughed.

"Hello," Cedric glared at the three. "Now, Cecil and Sylvia have told me you three have been the cause of a great deal of trouble for Michael..."

"Yes," Ralph added, stepping towards the Pigs. "What are you three doing with our son's dog?"

"Mommy! Daddy!" Michael cried out as he got to his feet. "Uncle Cedric! The Pigs stole Peanut!"

"Well! Do you three have an explanation for all this?" Cedric continued to glare at them.

"Uh, heheh...Well, Boss," Lloyd nervously began. "You see, this is all a big misunderstanding. This isn't Peanut, sir..."

"Yeah!" Boyd piped up, coming to his brother's aid. "This is a stray we found the other day! We didn't tell you about because we didn't know if you would be okay with us keeping a dog...heheh!"

"And Michael just tried to steal her from us!" Floyd added. "That wasn't right of him, was it...Boss?"

"That's no stray..." Melissa growled, a large frown appearing on her face. "I would recognize this dog anywhere..."

"I can tell you three are trying to play truant," Cedric shook his head. "It's not going to work, you know. You might as well come clean..."

"I'm telling you, Boss! This is a stray!" Lloyd croaked out, sweat streaming down his face as his body quivered.

"They're lying, Uncle Cedric! They stole Peanut!"

Floyd was feeling terribly guilty as his conscience had gotten to him. He was the only one of the three who felt bad about kidnapping a young child's pet, and he couldn't hold his guilt in any longer. "ALRIGHT, BOSS! I ADMIT IT!" Floyd burst out into tears. "WE DID IT! WE KIDNAPPED PEANUT!"

"FLOYD!" Lloyd gasped. "How can you-"

But Ralph interrupted them. "You kidnapped my son's pet?!" To say he and Melissa were furious would be an understatement. It took every ounce of fiber in Ralph's being to prevent himself from strangling the pork trio right on the spot. He was well aware they had done many dim-witted and ill-advised things before, but he could hardly believe they could do something this awful.

"Y-yes!" Floyd spluttered between his tears.

"How could you do such a thing?!" Melissa fumed. "How could you kidnap a little boy's pet?"

"We took her because we wanted to make money off of her..." Boyd admitted. He figured he might as well tell the truth.

"We were going to enter her in the Evergreen Dog Show and enter her in the puppy class in the hopes that she might win," Floyd continued to cry, feeling quite remorseful for what he had done. "We were hoping maybe we could hit the big time with her..."

"Have you three lost your minds?" an agitated Ralph hissed at them. "Lady Baden-Baden doesn't give out any prize money at the dog show!"

"She...she doesn't?!" Lloyd gasped. He could have sworn she did...Had he really been that ignorant?

"No, you three," Cedric shook his head again, disappointed in the three of them. "She used to back when we still had Snag, but she stopped giving out cash prizes at the dog show years ago. You three wouldn't have won anything if you'd entered Peanut..."

"Oh..." Lloyd gasped as he slapped himself in the forehead. He had forgotten all about that...

"Most dog shows don't give money to the winning dog owners, anyways," Melissa scowled. "I know Westminster doesn't...There's no way you would have made big bucks off of Peanut. Besides, if you had just given Peanut back when you found her, we would have probably given you a reward for doing so. You could have gotten some money just for doing the right thing."

"Oh my goodness..." Lloyd realized. "Wow...How...How could I have been such an idiot?!"

"Did you three really think you could get away with this?" Cedric continued to glare ominously at his employees, as he took Peanut away from them.

"We did, Boss..." Boyd cried out. By now he and Lloyd were crying too, but not because they felt guilty; rather, it was because they were ashamed that they'd been busted..."We knew you were suspicious of our behavior..."

"So when you paid us a visit the other day, we hid her in the closet..." Lloyd finished.

"You hid Peanut in your closet?!" Ralph could not believe what he was hearing.

"Yes," Lloyd nodded.

"You three know better than to treat a dog like that!" Cedric shook his head yet again.

"I don't understand how you three thought you were going to pull this off," Melissa continued scowling at the pork trio. "Peanut hasn't even had all her shots and vaccinations yet. What were you going to do about those?"

"We never even thought of that..." Boyd sadly admitted. "We didn't even think our plan through that well..."

"Michael, can you explain what all...that was? Why were the Pigs chasing after you?" Melissa turned to her son. She was trying her best to keep her cool (despite the fact that she was clearly ticked off), and she wanted to know what had been the cause of all that commotion.

"Okay, Mommy..." Michael sighed. "Cecil, Sylvia and I heard a strange noise coming from the Pigs' house. I was curious, so we went over to see what it was. And we saw Peanut was in there."

"Then what happened?" Ralph asked his son.

"Cecil helped me crawl through the window. Then the Pigs came in and I hid under the bed..."

"Why did you sneak into the Pigs' house, Michael?" Cedric asked him.

"I wasn't thinking..." Michael sighed. "I just couldn't stand seeing Peanut locked in that cage like that...she looked so lonely and sad..."

"You should have gone and told me what you'd seen," Cedric explained to the young raccoon. "You know I would have been glad to sort all this out..."

"I know that now..." Michael sighed again as he turned to his parents. "I hope you're not mad at me..."

"No, son," Ralph said. "We're not mad at you; we're mad at the Pigs for snatching Peanut," he explained.

"But you shouldn't be sneaking around like that, honey," Melissa warned the little kit. "There's nothing wrong with being a little curious, but it has gotten you into trouble before...Promise you won't do anything like that again?"

"Okay, Mommy...I promise," Michael cracked a smile. "I just wanted Peanut back...that's all..."

"You will get her back, don't worry," Cedric smiled at him.

"Can you tell us what happened next, honey?" Melissa tried to encourage her son.

"Well, I hid under the bed when Cecil and Sylvia told me the Pigs were coming. But I sneezed and they found me..." Michael explained. "I asked them to give her back, but they were mean to me..."

"Mean to you?" Melissa asked sympathetically. "How were they mean to you?"

"They said that Peanut belonged to them now and that I deserved this for getting them in trouble..." Michael solemnly answered her.

"Is that true?" Melissa glared at the Pigs again. "You said my son deserved this?"

Lloyd wiped his eyes. "Y-yes," he hesitantly answered.

"Your son has told our Boss on us when he's seen us doing things wrong," Floyd explained as he calmed down.

"We thought it would serve him right for tattling on us..." Boyd finished.

"I can't believe you three," a disgusted Ralph snorted at them. "Michael is just a child. He's only seven! How could you say such horrible things to him?""

"I understand why you would be upset at him," Melissa added. "But that's no excuse to abduct a child's pet and then try to keep it from him. He's only a little boy. He doesn't deserve that!"

"You three would never get in trouble if you just did as you were told," Cedric glared at them as well.

"We know..." Floyd hung his head down.

"To be honest..." Lloyd admitted, "we didn't think anyone would miss Peanut that much."

Ralph and Melissa were astonished. "You thought no one would miss her?!" Ralph spluttered.

"My son has been miserable this whole past week and my husband and I have been trying our best to cheer him up and make him feel better. How's that for nobody missing Peanut?!" Melissa snapped at them.

"What you three did was disgraceful," scolded Ralph. "Do you three even have hearts?!"

"We're sorry...we're sorry..." Floyd moaned. He really did feel guilty about what he had done and wished he could make up for it somehow. But Ralph and Melissa didn't want to hear any of it right now.

"I hope someday you three will gain some common sense," Ralph huffed.

"I think we've heard enough," Melissa finished. "I think we should take Michael home while you deal with these triple terrors," she spoke to Cedric.

"Uncle Cedric?" Michael turned to the wealthy aardvark. "Can I please have Peanut back?"

"Of course," Cedric smiled. He took off the muzzle the Pigs had put over Peanut's face, and then handed the little bulldog to Michael. "Here you go, Michael! I bet you're happy to have her back, aren't you?"

"Oh, I am, I am, Uncle Cedric!" Michael grinned. "Peanut has been through a lot this past week; I think she'll be happy to go home again!"

"We'll see you later, Cedric," Ralph said to his friend. "I hope you can straighten these three out..."

"We'll see, Ralph! You and Melissa take care!" he waved to the raccoon family as they headed off.

"Goodbye, Cedric," Melissa waved back. "After all this, I think we'll all be glad to go home!"

"Haha, I'm sure of it!" Cedric chuckled. "I will see you around!" With that, he turned his attention back to the Pigs...

"I know you're going to punish us now, Boss..." Lloyd sighed, dreading to hear what his boss would say to him.

"Yes, I am, you three," Cedric frowned at them. "You three really should have known better than to try pulling something like this. It never ceases to amaze me how much trouble the three of you can find sometimes..."

"Are we going to be fired, Boss?" Boyd asked nervously.

"Are we gonna go to jail?!" Floyd squeaked.

"No," Cedric chuckled. "I know the three of you would have a hard time finding another job...plus I don't know if you could handle prison," he shook his head. He tried his best to think of a suitable punishment for them, and soon, it came to him..."Ah, I know! You three wanted to earn extra money, didn't you?" the aardvark queried the pork trio.

"Yes..." Lloyd nodded. "That's why we snatched Peanut..."

"Well, I'll give you your extra money," Cedric chuckled.

"Really, Boss?!" Boyd gasped.

"You're going to pay us more money?! After what we did?"

"I will, but only one one condition..." Cedric smirked. "Do you remember how I told you earlier this week that Miss McKenna was looking for three volunteers to help her out at the Evergreen Animal Shelter?"

"Yes, you did," Lloyd replied. "You showed us that in the Standard..."

"Well," Cedric smiled. "I think I found three good volunteers! I'll pay you extra, but only if you help out at the animal shelter every Saturday for the next six months. I hope that will teach you to have respect for pets and other animals..."

Lloyd groaned. "The animal shelter? But...but that place is probably filthy!" he protested.

"There'll be so much dog waste to clean up," Boyd shrieked. "We can't do that!"

"But it'll be for a good cause!" Floyd tried to look on the bright sight of things.

"You hush!" Lloyd growled. Those three would probably never fully mature...

------------------------------------------------

It was later that evening. It had been a very long day for the raccoon family and for Peanut as well. They certainly couldn't wait until tomorrow came along...Things had wound down at the Raccoondominum, and now Ralph and Melissa were putting their little kit to bed together.

"Michael, you're very lucky you got Peanut back again, you know," Melissa smiled at her son as she tucked him into bed.

"I know, Mommy!" Michael smiled. "I thought I was never going to see her again..."

"I still can't believe the Pigs snatched her," Ralph growled as he shook his head. "I shouldn't be surprised seeing all the things they've done over the years, but I just can't believe it."

"I can't believe they'd do something so mean either, Daddy..." Michael agreed. "I wonder what Uncle Cedric did to them?"

"Oh, Cedric called me earlier this evening," Ralph explained, "he said that they were going to work at the animal shelter on Saturdays for the next six months. He said he hoped it would teach them to be nicer to animals..."

"Do you think the Pigs will learn their lesson, Mommy?" the little kit hopefully asked his mother.

"With them, who knows?" Melissa shrugged. "I would like to hope so, but knowing them, I wouldn't be surprised if they learned nothing from the experience..." She quickly decided to change the subject. "I just hope poor Peanut will be okay after what she went through for the past week...it had to be really stressful for her..."

"I think she'll be alright, honey," Ralph flashed a smile at his wife. "She seemed to be just fine when we brought her back home. Remember? She and Michael were having fun playing together this afternoon."

"Yeah, Mommy!" Michael chirped happily. "Peanut will be okay. I know she will!" It was at that moment that Peanut came into the kit's bedroom and leaped up onto his bed. Next thing Michael knew, the little bulldog began to lick his face, making him giggle. "Hehehe, stop it! Stop it!" Peanut proceeded to lie down next to her young master as he scratched her behind her ears. "I think she'll be fine, Mom..."

"Well, I sure hope she will..." Melissa soon changed the subject again. "Now Michael, I know you're glad you got Peanut back, but I hope you don't forget those things I told you yesterday..."

"That everyone makes mistakes and it's okay to feel upset when something bad happens?" her son asked.

"Yes," his mother nodded. "Those are still words I would like you to keep in mind, and I hope you won't forget them..."

"Don't worry, Mommy," Michael flashed a grin at his mother. "I won't forget! Those words did make me feel better!" he chuckled. Those had been good lessons his mother had taught him.

"And like we said, if something is wrong, I can understand you wanting to solve things on your own, but sometimes it's better to tell an adult and have them help you," Ralph explained to his son. "You should have gone and told Cedric about what you saw in the Pigs' cottage rather than sneaking in and trying to take her back on your own."

"There's nothing wrong with being curious, Mikey," Melissa added, "but there is a big difference between being just a little curious and sneaking into someone's house."

"As we said earlier, we won't seriously punish you this time due to the circumstances. You can expect to do more chores around the house next week, but we won't punish you any more than that. But if something like this should happen again, I guarantee we will not be so nice..." Ralph warned his son. Michael couldn't help but gulp a little hearing those words. "Do you understand me, son?"

"I understand," Michael nodded. "I promise I won't do anything like that again, Daddy..."

"That's good," Ralph smiled as he patted his son's head. "You're young, and you do make mistakes, but I'm sure you'll learn from them as you grow older." Ralph then turned his attention to the now sleeping Peanut. "Now, son, we know you are glad to have Peanut back again, and we're happy to see her home again. But you have to promise us that you'll do a better job of looking after her and being more attentive," he stated firmly. "Michael, if you can't take care of Peanut, I'm afraid we will probably have to give her up..."

Michael didn't want that to happen. "Don't worry, Dad! I promise I will do better...I promise!" he beamed. It was at that moment the little kit let out a huge yawn.

"Good night, my precious little Mikey," Melissa smiled at her son as she leaned in to kiss his little cheek. "We know you've had a long day today, but I'm happy to see that you were able to get Peanut back. I love you..."

"I love you too, Mommy," Michael beamed as he outstretched his small arms for a hug. "I'm so glad she's home again..."

"Night, son," Ralph smiled as well as he leaned down and tussled with his son's hair. "Remember what your mother and I said, alright? And remember, we'll always love you, no matter what happens."

"I will, Daddy!" Michael exclaimed as he proceeded to give his father a hug as well. "I'm glad I have you and Mommy..."

"And we're glad we have you too, sweetie," Melissa gave her son a tender grin as she and Ralph headed for the door. "Good night, my little one..."

"Pleasant dreams, little guy," Ralph warmly remarked.

"Good night, Mommy and Daddy," Michael whispered softly as he laid back and closed his eyes as he continued to scratch the sleeping bulldog puppy behind her ears, thinking of all the things the two of them might experience together in the years to come...

As Ralph and Melissa headed out of their son's bedroom, Melissa lingered for a few moments before she left, looking on as her son drifted off to dreamland. "How sweet," she thought to herself, as she couldn't help but smile fondly seeing her child happily scratching his puppy behind her ears. Little moments like these were why she treasured being a mother so dearly...Melissa slowly closed the door to Michael's bedroom and then joined her husband.

"I hope this will be a good learning experience for Michael, sweetie," Melissa smiled as the couple slowly made their way down the hallway, heading for the stairs. "Maybe he'll be more responsible than ever before."

"I hope so, I would hate to have to give Peanut away after she went through all that because he can't take care of her," Ralph remarked. "Who knows? Perhaps our son will have many good memories with her ahead of him..."

"I'm sure he will, dear," Melissa beamed as she draped her arm around her husband. "I hope they'll have many good years together to come..."

Ralph and Melissa would be proven right. Over the years, Michael and Peanut would closely bond and have many happy years together ahead of them...

But most importantly, Peanut never ran away again...

THE END