I have been informed by people that my story seems similar to another story. I think that story could be Ony You Know, byt Summermisteddragon, a freind of mine. She knows I'm writing this story and has given me the goahead.

Hope that clears this up.

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"You know what I want, more than anything in the world?"

"A brain?"

The cowboy pushed his friend playfully before looking out the window again. "Naw, I want one of them little acorn helmets..."

"Acorn helmets?"

"Yeah. Yah know, the ones you made for your men last April, April Fools..."

"Oh those. Funny, I thought you would want something a bit more...extreme..."

"No. That was some mighty fine craftin' ya did. I think one of those would be perfect."

The Roman had shrugged. "If that is what you wish..."

And now, thanks to his "fine craftsmanship," the Roman general Octavius was trekking through the snow in search of the perfect acorn. In the warmer months it was easy to find the brown tree seeds, as they were always scattered around the bushes in the landscaping. But in the cold winter months such a thing was hard to find. The squirrels had ran off with most of them; Octavius knew this as he spent most of his free time observing the creatures and their habits. He hoped to train them one day.

As he walked on, he kicked at the frozen ground, hoping to hear the hollow bump of a hole beneath him. It would surely hold the seeds he sought. He prodded a suspicious looking mound and hit the jackpot. He spotted the rough brown top of an acorn and began to dig. He dug deeper and deeper until he freed the nut. It was rather large, larger than most, but it was the perfect specimen.

With a smile he began to pry the top loose with his sword. He grinned victoriously as it popped off, and he removed it from the main shell. He turned back to the museum and prepared for the trek back. Suddenly, he heard an angry chittering sound behind him. Before he could react he felt a powerful mass slam into him. The breath was driven from his lungs, and the acorn hat flew from his hand. He tried to reach for his sword, but was pounced on by two furry paws before he could. The last he saw was a flash of grey fur, then everything went black.

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"Aw, man, ya shouldn't have," Jedediah said, marveling at the brightly painted, remote controlled convertible.

"It was nothing," Larry said, smiling at his miniature friend's obvious liking of the new toy.

"Alright, alright my turn." Teddy said, pushing to the front. He handed the tiny cowboy a rather small object, intricately wrapped with a stripe-designed Band Aid.

"No way!" He said with excitement, his eyes gleaming at the wonderful little object. "No way!" He repeated, lifting it to the light. Teddy and the others smiled.

"What is it?" Sacagawea asked, craning to see over the heads of the other exhibits.

"I got him an earing." The president replied.

"Earing?" Larry questioned, confused. "Why..."

But the night guard needed no further explanation as he watched the cowboy rush over to his new car, and proceed to attach his new hood ornament the front. He took a step back. "It's beautiful..."

"Cake time!" Said a voice from the other side of the room. Everyone turned and watched Ahkmenrah as the pharaoh carried over the three layer, vanilla with chocolate frosting cake to the table. Jedediah's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but jump childishly at the sight of his cake. At the top sat a little plastic cactus, and neatly written words that read Happy Birthday Jed.

"First slice goes to the birthday cowboy!" Teddy said, cutting a small piece from the top. Small to him, but massive to the tiny cowboy.

"Dang golly," He said, holding it in his hands. "How 'm I s'posed 'ta eat this?"

"Very slowly," Said Will, coming up beside his leader. "You know what happens when you eat cake to fast."

"Aw, shush up now. I don't get sick eatin' cake."

"Not that you get sick. Ya just get a heck of a sugar rush."

Jedediah smirked, and took a mouthful of cake. He whipped the frosting from his face with a piece of napkin, and looked out at his partying friends. And his eyes landed on each and every one of them, he got the feeling someone was missing...

"Hey Marcus," The cowboy said, looking at the Roman off to his right. Marcus looked up. "Where's Octavius got to?"

"Oh. He asked me to tell you that he would be late getting here." Marcus replied, going back to eating his piece of cake.

"What's takin' him so long? He's already missed gifts. Now he's missin' cake!"

"He will be here," Marcus said reassuringly. "In the meantime, let us continue the celebration of your special day."

With a small smile Jedediah nodded, and continued to party well into the night. As the clock struck 5:00 am he and the others were fast asleep, all partied out. Larry had let them crash where they were, since the next day was an off day. The only one he had go back to his place was Ahkmenrah, since it was just a little creepy having his mummy lying on the floor. No one realized that the Roman general still lay just beyond the walls.

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The next evening the exhibits woke up tired and groggy. They slowly disentangle themselves from the pile on the floor, and stretched their tired limbs as Larry flipped on the artificial lights. Many of them groaned as the light met their eyes. But they knew it was time to carry out their nightly activities, and cleaning up Larry's office was one of them.

Jedediah yawned as he awoke from the day's sleep, and glanced out the window of his new car. He'd fallen asleep inside of it, on the new leather seats, and had slept rather well. He'd enjoyed that new car smell all day as he rested, and he was not ready to bundle his gifts away back in his exhibit. He stepped out of his car and saw Larry walking over to him.

"Ey! Gigantor!" He shouted, waving his arms. "Can ya give me a lift?"

"Sure." Larry replied, scooping up the tiny cowboy. Jedediah climbed onto his shoulder and watched as Larry picked up his gifts, making sure he was as careful as possible. Larry began walking back to the hall. "So, did you like your party?"

"It was awesome." Jedediah said, smiling. There was gratitude in his voice, but his tiredness had worn out his excitement.

"Did you like your gift?"

"You betcha. The one thing that got me irritated was the fact that Octavius didn't show up."

The night guard glanced at his small friend and frowned. "He didn't?"

Jedediah shook his head. "Nope. Didn't even drop by 'ta say hi. Marcus said he just runnin' late. I think he forgot."

The night guard's frown deepened. "It's not like Octavius to forget something like that."

Jedediah thought for a moment before nodding slowly. "Yeah...it ain't." Then, his expression turned to fear.

"Jed?" Larry asked, slightly concerned. "Something wrong?"

But the cowboy didn't appear to hear. He was muttering quietly to himself. "The other day I'd asked him for an acorn helmet. Marcus said he was running late. Acorns are found outside..."

Larry froze mid stride. "You think he...went outside?"

Jedediah didn't answer. Instead he climbed down the night guard and ran as fast as he could for the door. Larry followed, eventually able to snatch up the tiny cowboy and make the rest of the way to the door much faster. Once outside, both pairs of eyes looked around anxiously; cowboy and night guard alike calling for their missing friend. After just minutes of searching, Jedediah's tiny eyes spotted a acorn top lying upside down by Larry's foot. He called for the night guard to stop.

"What is it?" Larry asked, slowly lowering the cowboy to the ground.

"Acorn top," He said, picking it up. He studied it carefully. "Acorns don't just show up this time of year..." Jedediah took a few steps forwards, and felt something crunch beneath his feet. At first he thought it was freshly fallen snow, but when he looked down he saw that it was not snow. It was dust. He gasped and stumbled back, numbing into Larry's palm.

"Oh..." The night guard whispered, shocked by the discovery. He didn't know what to say.

Jedediah crept forwards. He slowly sank to his knees beside the pile. With both hands he scooped up some of the dust, completely silent as he watched it run through his fingers. His breathing became forceful and deep as he blinked quickly, choking back a cry. He felt Larry's hand gently pick him up, and he cried, burying his face in the night guard's jacket. No gift could replace what he had just lost.

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With a loving smile the young woman looked down at her newborn son. She gently rubbed his head, admiring his dark brown hair. It matched his eyes, which was a curious thing, since both her and his father were both red heads. But he was her child all the same, and as she cradled him in the hospital bed she could sense the special spark that resided within him. He was a special one.