Wembley and the White Monster crawled out of the hole in the rock, and found themselves in the Gorg's garden. Wembley looked around, and noticed that the Gorgs weren't around, so he drove the White Monster toward the radish garden.

"If we're going to be on our own, monster," he said, "we're going to need some supplies. So we'll have to get a radish for me, and then we'll try to find some fish for you, okay?"

"Meow," the White Monster said, and it began licking it's paws.

Wembley looked around the garden, trying to find a nice, big radish that would last for awhile. As we all know, making decisions was not the green Fraggle's strong suit. He was trying to figure out which one to take, when the White Monster suddenly stopped licking itself, abruptly. Then it darted away, and hid under the Gorg's tool shed.

"Gee, Monster, what's wrong?" Wembley asked. He got the answer immediately, when a large hand grabbed him, and lifted him off the ground.

"Hello, little Fwaggle!" a large, yet somewhat infantile, voice said.

"Oh no, Junior Gorg!" Wembley shouted.

"Come to steal our wadishes again, eh, Fwaggle?" Junior asked. "Well, you know I'm not gonna let you get away with that! I'm gonna thump you good!"

At that moment, Gobo, Red, Mokey, and Boober came out of the rock, and saw Wembley in the clutches of their enemy.

"Oh no!" Boober shouted, shaking. "That big, hairy ogre's got Wembley! We'll never be able to save him! He'll he squished for sure!"

"Oh no, he won't!" Red shouted. "Hey, you big palooka! Put him down!"

"Yeah, why don'tcha pick on someone your own size, you big bully?!" Gobo shouted.

"Huh?" Junior asked, looking around. "Oooh! More Fwaggles! I'm gonna get you, too!"

Junior lunged for the four Fraggles, but they ran away before he could grab any of them. But that didn't discourage him.

"Oh well," he said. "I know what'll get those Fwaggles!"

"Y-y-you do?" Wembley asked, nervously.

"I sure do!" Junior said. Then he began giggling. "This'll get 'em good! Hee, hee, hee!"

Junior cleared his throat to compose himself.

"Okay, Fwaggles!" he called out. "You win! You're too much for me! I give up! If you come out now, I'll let your fwiend go!"

"Oh, see, he isn't such a bad Gorg after all," Mokey said.

"I don't know if we should trust him," Boober said. "What if it's a trick?"

"Don't be silly, Boober!" Red argued. "Junior Gorg is too stupid to pull any tricks! You know he's one radish shy of a salad bar!"

"Yeah, he couldn't pour water out of a boot with the instructions written on the heel," Gobo said. "He's about as quick as a snail crossing Doozer glue!"

"A couple of pineapples shy of a luau!" Red went on, and she and Gobo began laughing.

"He was hiding behind the door when they passed out brains!" Gobo shouted.

"A few Fraggles short of a party!" Red laughed.

"Uhhh, guys . . . ." Boober said.

"A few leaves short of a bush!" Gobo laughed.

"Maybe you two should quiet down a little," Mokey warned. Gobo and Red didn't pay any attention. They were laughing too hard at their insults.

"An open book but the pages are blank!" Red quipped.

"As sharp as a mashed potato!" Gobo howled.

"The light's on, but no one's home!" Red shouted.

"Smart as a . . . ." Gobo began, but he was interrupted when he and the others were suddenly scooped up into a cage, and placed on the table.

"Ah ha!" Junior cackled. "Gotcha, you Fwaggles!"

"Oh no!" Mokey shouted.

"It was a trick!" Boober moaned. "Oooh, I knew it, I knew it! We're doomed! We're all going to get thumped! Squished to death!"

"Hey!" Wembley shouted. "You can't do that to my friends!"

Junior didn't pay any attention to the little green Fraggle, still in his hand. At least, he didn't until Wembley bit his finger as hard as he possibly could.

CHOMP!

"Owwwww!" Junior yelped, dropping Wembley on the table.

"Hang on, guys, I'll let you out!" Wembley shouted, running to the cage.

"Oh no you won't, Fwaggle!" Junior shouted. He grabbed Wembley again, and threw him inside the cage with his friends.

"We've got to get out of here!" Gobo shouted.

"How?" Red asked. "I can't find the door!"

"And it's probably locked from the outside, anyway," Mokey sighed.

"What happened to the White Monster?" Gobo asked, looking around. "Wasn't it with you, Wembley?"

"It ran away," Wembley said. "Junior must've scared it."

"I don't blame it," Boober said. "That's what we should have done in the first place!"

"Now let me see . . . ." Junior said. "Which Fwaggle shall I thump first?"

Junior opened the cage, reached in, grabbed Wembley, pulled him out, and shut the cage door before the other Fraggles could run out and escape.

"I think I'll start with you, you vicious, biting little monster, you!" Junior shouted.

"Let him go, you Gorg!" Gobo shouted.

"Please, Mr. Gorg, please don't thump little Wembley!" Mokey begged.

"Well, since you said please," Junior said, thoughtfully, "I guess I won't thump him."

"Oh, good," Mokey said, as she and the others heaved sighs of relief. "Thank you."

"I think I'll squish him instead!" Junior shouted, laughing, and he started increasing his grip on Wembley.

Immediately, the four Fraggles tried to reach out of the cage to open the latch that locked it, all talking at once. Wembley began choking with each squeeze Junior dished out. Finally, the green Fraggle lost consciousness. And that was enough for the White Monster. It raced out from under the shed, and leapt onto Junior, with it's claws outstretched.

"Rrrrreeeeeeooooowwww!" it shrieked, and it immediately began biting on the Gorg.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!" Junior yelled, dropping Wembley to the ground.

The White Monster let go of Junior, and then jumped on the table. It sniffed the cage, and began pushing it to the edge, until it was teetering.

"Brace yourself, everybody!" Gobo shouted. "We're in for a wild ride!"

With one final tap, the cage fell off the table. All four Fraggles screamed as they plummeted. When the cage hit the ground, it smashed, which allowed the Fraggles to escape.

"Is it over?" Boober asked. "Are we dead?"

"It's okay, Boober," Mokey said. "We're still alive. And we're free!"

"Come on!" Gobo said. "We've got to get Wembley, and get out of here!"

"Oh no you don't, Fwaggles!" Junior shouted, and he reached for the Fraggle Five.

The White Monster hissed, and smacked Junior's hand with it's paw. The Gorg pulled his hand back, and tried again, but the White Monster kept smacking at him, hissing, growling, and snarling. When Junior reached for the Fraggles once more, the White Monster let out a shriek, and latched itself to Junior's hand. It began biting the Gorg.

"Ouch! Ooooh! Oh! Oooowwww!" Junior shouted. "Hey, let go of my hand, you wunt!"

The White Monster did not comply. It just dug it's claws in deeper. Junior tried to shake it off, but the White Monster held fast. Finally, it let go, and started hissing once more at the Gorg. Then it jumped on him again, practically ripping fur off Junior with it's teeth.

"Hey, atta way to go, Monster!" Gobo cheered.

"Yeah, go get him!" Red encouraged. "Whoo hoo!"

"You show that big bully what for!" Mokey shouted.

"We're all gonna die," Boober moaned.

Finally, the White Monster let go, an Junior ran off toward the Gorg's castle.

"Mommmmmyyyyyyyy!" he wailed.

The White Monster gave one final hiss and walked over to the Fraggles. It picked up Wembley by the back of his shirt collar, and went directly for the hole in the rock.

"I'm with the White Monster on this one," Gobo said. "Let's get out of here before the Gorgs come back!"

Boober, Mokey, and Red agreed, and they all followed the White Monster back into the rock. Once they were safe, the White Monster put Wembley down, and began licking him. Boober grimaced at the whole thing.

"Ugh, that's disgusting!" he shouted.

"Quiet, Boober," Gobo said. "Wembley's coming out of it."

"Oooohhh, what happened?" Wembley groaned. "Where am I?"

"It's okay, Wembley, you're safe now," Mokey said.

"Yeah, the White Monster really gave it to Junior Gorg!" Red shouted. "I didn't know it had it in it!"

"If it hadn't been for the White Monster, we'd have all been thumped, or squished!" Gobo said, petting the White Monster. The monster immediately began to rub it's head against the orange Fraggle, purring like crazy.

"I told you it liked us!" Wembley shouted. Then he climbed onto the White Monster's back, and started scratching it behind it's ears.

"So, can I keep it now?" he asked.

"Well . . . ." Gobo said.

"Gee . . . ." Mokey said.

"Uhhhh . . . ." Red said.

"I dunno . . . ." Boober said. "It's still liable to cause trouble and break everything and throw up slimy, gooey, yucky, germ-ridden projectiles onto my laundry."

"We'll have to think about it, Wembley," Gobo said. "Let's go get the postcard from my Uncle Traveling Matt, and then we'll decide."

Wembley groaned, but he and the others followed Gobo to the hole to Outer Space anyway. When they arrived, they noticed that the Silly Creature and the Hairy Monster were there, so Gobo had to wait for a chance to check for a postcard. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and the Silly Creature went to answer it. The Hairy Monster followed him. At the door was a small Silly Creature, with brown hair in two braids tied with pink ribbons. She was wearing a pink shirt that matched her ribbons, a denim skirt, white knee high socks, and black Mary Janes.

"Well, hello there, Tina," the old Silly Creature said. "Look who came to visit, Sprocket. Steve and Karen Cooke's little girl, Tina!"

"Hi, Mr. Doc," the small Silly Creature said, as she pet the Hairy Monster (Sprocket) on the head. she sounded, and looked very sad.

"What's the matter?" Doc asked, as he and Sprocket stood aside so Tina could come in. "You're usually a very happy little girl. Is something wrong?"

"Have you seen Snowball?" Tina asked, giving Doc a photo. "She's all white, with yellow eyes, and the cutest little pink nose."

"Oh, your cat," Doc said, looking at the photo. "I'm sorry, but I haven't."

"She's been missing since yesterday," Tina said. "Mommy and Daddy said I should ask you. They thought Snowball got out and she'd come in here through Sprocket's doggie door."

"There's a thought," Doc said. "Sprockey, have you seen Tina's cat, Snowball?"

"Ruh uh," Sprocket replied, shaking his head.

"Did you check with Mr. Shimmelfinney?" Doc asked. The mention of Ned Shimmelfinney's name caused Sprocket to start make gagging noises.

"Maybe your cat Snowball is over there playing with his cat Fluffinella," Doc continued, ignoring Sprocket.

"No, Snowball wouldn't go over there," Tina said. "She's afraid of Fluffinella. She's scary."

Sprocket barked, and nodded in agreement.

"Well, Sprocket and I sure haven't seen your cat, Tina," Doc said, giving the picture back to the little girl. "I'm sorry."

"Oh," Tina said. "She probably ran away, and I'll never see her again. She could have gotten hit by a car. Or she could have been stolen. She's so pretty, someone probably took her."

Tina sniffled, and started to cry. Sprocket whimpered, and leaned his head against the little girl, trying to comfort her.

"Oh, don't cry, honey," Doc said. "Snowball would never run away from a sweet little girl like you! I'll tell you what, Sprocket and I will keep a look out for her, all right?"

"Thank you, Mr. Doc," Tina said, and then she left, sniffling. Once she was gone, Doc went to the phone.

"I'll start calling around," he said to Sprocket. "Maybe Ned Shimmelfinney's seen her, even if she wasn't over playing with Fluffinella."

Unknowingly to Doc, Sprocket, and Tina, the Fraggle Five had heard the whole thing, and they were sniffling as well.

"Gee," Gobo said, swallowing back tears. "That little Silly Creature is really sad about missing her pet."

"Poor little thing," Mokey said, choking back a sob.

"Yeah, and it sounds like it's the White Monster," Red said.

"Yeah," Gobo said, turning to the White Monster. "Is your name Snowball?"

"Meow," the cat said.

"That doesn't prove anything!" Wembley shouted. "She . . . . she always says meow! That's all she's ever said since we've known her!"

"Wembley, you can't keep her now," Red said. "She belongs to that Silly Creature!"

"You have to give her back, Wembley," Mokey said.

"No!" Wembley shouted. "I don't want to! Finders keepers! I found her, and I'm going to keep her!"

"I found her, Wembley," Gobo pointed out. "And you can't keep her. What about the little Silly Creature?"

"If you don't give her back, she'll be so sad," Boober said.

"I don't care!" Wembley shouted, hugging Snowball. "If I give her back, I'll be sad! I want to keep her! She's mine! She likes it with us! She . . . . she probably likes it better with us than with that Silly Creature! Otherwise, she wouldn't have run away from the Silly Creature!"

"Wembley . . . ." Gobo started. But before he could go on, he heard Doc out in Outer Space hang up his phone, and stepped in to hear what he was saying to Sprocket. The other Fraggles did the same, including Wembley.

Doc heaved a sigh, and knelt down next to Sprocket.

"Well, Sprokey," he said, "I just talked to Steve Cooke about Tina. The poor little thing just won't stop crying. She won't eat, she won't sleep. She's just so upset about Snowball, Steve and Karen don't know what they're going to do. You know Tina's only six years old."

Sprocket began barking, and held his front paws spaced apart to indicate something small, and then he began meowing.

"You think maybe getting a new cat will cheer Tina up?" Doc asked. Sprocket nodded and barked, but Doc shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid that might not work," he said. "Steve said he and Karen suggested it to Tina, and she wants only Snowball."

Sprocket whimpered. He could understand. After all, if he were lost and alone, he'd only want to be with Doc, and he knew Doc felt the same way about him.

"Steve said that Snowball isn't just a cat to Tina," Doc went on. "She's a friend. You know the Cookes only moved in two weeks ago, and it's not easy to make new friends in a new town, and Tina feels that Snowball is the only friend she has."

"The only friend she has," Wembley repeated, sniffling. "That's so sad."

"Yeah, it really is," Boober said.

"Poor little Silly Creature," Mokey said with a sigh.

"Yeah, poor little Silly Creature," Wembley said. "I know I'd be sad if I didn't have any friends, or if I had to move away from all of you guys. But I really, really like Snowball! She's so cute and warm, and snuggly . . . . I don't know what to do!"

"We can't tell you what to do, Wembley," Gobo said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You have to make that decision yourself."

Wembley nodded. He began to think it over. Snowball was so cute, soft, warm, and snuggly. That's what he loved about her. Then he thought, that must be what the little Silly Creature loved about her as well. And she probably had known the little Silly Creature longer than she had known Wembley. He began to think how he would like it if Gobo, or Red, or Mokey, or Boober ran off and disappeared, not knowing where they were, and wondering if they were okay, or even still alive. He was brought out of his thoughts by a knock on the door. He looked out to see what was going on. When Doc opened the door, Tina was standing there.

"Hello, Tina," Doc said. "What brings you back here so soon?"

"I forgot to give you the picture," Tina said, sniffling. She was still crying. "So you know what Snowball looks like if you see her."

Wembley got a good look at Tina. That was the saddest he had ever seen anyone. He couldn't stand it any longer. He walked over to Snowball, and gave her a big hug.

"I'm gonna miss you, Snowball," he said. "But it's time for you to go home now."

Snowball started to lick Wembley's hair. Wembley stood back, and waited for her to move, but she didn't. She just laid there on her stomach.

"We've got to get her out of here before the little Silly Creature leaves," Gobo said.

"How do we do that?" Red asked.

"We'll push," Gobo said, and he ran around to the back of Snowball.

"Not too hard, though," Wembley said. "I don't want to hurt her."

"Yeah, we know," Gobo said. "Don't worry, this shouldn't hurt her."

"Okay, everybody, on three!" Red shouted. "One, two, three . . . ."

"HEAVE!" the Fraggle Five shouted, as they gave the white cat a push.

Snowball was a bit surprised at this. She stood up, and began walking toward the hole to Outer Space. Sprocket saw something moving, and began to bark. Doc groaned.

"What are you barking at now, Sprocket?" he asked. "I've told you a hundred times, there's nothing in that hole!"

Sprocket continued barking. Snowball stopped coming out, and began backing up, scared. She began to hiss.

"Wait a minute," Doc said, walking over to the hole. "Sprockey, I think you have something here. There is something in that hole!"

Doc got down on his knees, reached into the hole, and pulled out Snowball. He stood up, and began stroking the cat.

"Well, well, well," he said, with a laugh. "What do we have here?"

"Snowball!" Tina cried, happily. She took the cat from Doc, and gave her a hug. "Oh, Snowball, where have you been?"

"She probably got in through Sprocket's pet door, went into the hole in the wall, and couldn't find her way out," Doc said, scratching Snowball behind her ears.

"Thanks for finding her, Mr. Doc," Tina said, cuddling Snowball, who immediately began purring once she was in the little girl's arms.

"You're welcome, Tina," Doc said.

"You're welcome, Tina," Wembley repeated. "Bye, Snowball."

Wembley sighed, turned around, and began to head back to the cave. Gobo walked behind him, and put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Good job, Wembley," he said. "I knew you'd do the right thing."

"Yeah, well . . . ." Wembley said, shrugging. "I don't think Snowball really would have been happy living down in Fraggle Rock with us, anyway. It's kind of weird, Gobo. I feel both sad and happy at the same time."

"I know what you mean. You're sad to see Snowball leave, but you're happy because you made someone else happy by letting Snowball go back to her Silly Creature, where she belongs."

"Yeah, did you see that big smile on that Silly Creature's face when she saw Snowball? That really made me feel good!"

"Yeah, me too."

And with that, the two Fraggles went back to Fraggle Rock, where they belonged.

The End

AUTHOR'S NOTE: And for those of you who haven't guessed it already, the White Monster *is* in fact, based on my cat, Snowball. However, Tina is NOT based on me at that age.