Outside Stalag 13

Spring 1943

Andrew Carter was wandering around the forest, hunting for some herbs and mushrooms for LeBeau. He was also on the lookout for bugs for Clementine, his latest acquisition, because the toad wasn't quite able to fend for herself just yet. She was the latest in a long line of critters he had rescued. In fact, he had become sort of the unofficial one-man animal rescue station for the camp.

Colonel Hogan and his barracks-mates weren't always appreciative of his efforts, but they understood the need their farm boy turned demolitions expert had to try to save lives instead of taking them. Even Newkirk, who was not always the most patient of men, went out of his way to try to be supportive of his best friend.

At the moment, Andrew was nearly ready to head back to the barracks, having found enough bounty to satisfy both chef and toad. He was quite pleased with himself. Had he been back home in Bullfrog, he would have likely been whistling cheerfully, He knew doing that here could wind up getting him shot.

He heard a rustling in the nearby bushes and froze after crouching down, hiding just in case whatever was making the noise wasn't friendly. After a minute or so, Andrew realized it wasn't a person, and was still moving around fairly vigorously, as if it were trying to escape, but couldn't. He approached the spot slowly and parted the brush carefully. Staring up at him, with its paw caught in a snare, was a small brown and white ferret.

Andrew blinked in surprise, because while ferrets were common enough in the wild in Germany, this one was wearing a collar. Apparently, it belonged to someone… but what was it doing out here this far from town? He bent down and carefully reached out for the creature. He realized it was scared, and would bite, so he was glad he had on his gloves. Sure enough, as he checked the little fellow over for injury, its sharp teeth sank into the leather of the right index finger of his glove. Andrew chuckled quietly. "It's okay, little guy. I won't hurt you."

He untangled the snare from the ferret's back leg, and gently manipulated the limb, earning an angry hiss for his troubles. He was pretty sure there was no break, but it was likely quite sore. Also, the creature was very thin and dirty. On a hunch, Andrew ran his hand under the collar. It was a bit tight, and that confirmed his suspicion. It was likely the ferret had either been dumped or gotten away from his owner somehow, and been out on his own for a while now.

He sighed. A new addition to his menagerie was not likely to go over too well with the colonel, but he was not about to leave this little fellow out on his own either. There were too many predators in the forest, and looking into the ferret's golden brown eyes and soulful expression, Andrew realized he had been given the chance to save another life. He was not about to let this little creature down. He gazed back at his new friend. He tucked him into his jacket and grinned as he hiked back to the barracks, wondering how in the world he was going to explain things to Colonel Hogan and the others.

Suddenly he was hit with a brilliant idea. The barracks needed a mascot, and this little critter was perfect. He just needed a name to sell the idea. And Andrew was hit with the perfect name. He lifted the collar of his jacket, where the ferret was now comfortably wrapped around his neck. "Hey, Hero, welcome to Stalag 13!"

~The End~

A/N: This story is dedicated to the memory of my own furbaby, my ferret, Hero, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge last night. Her brother, Hogan and I will be waiting to meet her when we get there. I miss you already...