"Aw, come on Beaver! Cheer up! It's been two weeks already!"

Beaver sat on the edge of his bed unable to look at his big brother. Instead, he looked down at the floor. "Yeah."

"What do you mean, yeah?"

"I mean I know it's been two weeks, Wally! You don't gotta remind me!"

"Look, I'm only saying it because… well because it's true. It has been two weeks and heck, everyone's probably forgotten about it by now!"

"Well, I'll never forget about it. I don't think I can… ever." Beaver sighed and then looked up. "Hey Wally?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever wished that you could just dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it?"

"Well sure. Lots of times."

"That's the way I feel. Only I want to dig a hole all the way to China. Nobody knows me there."

"Aw come on, Beaver. Cut it out! So you fell in a bowl of steam on a billboard. It could happen to anybody."

"I don't think so, Wally. The dumb stuff only happens to me."

"Beaver-."

"It's true! They laughed at me Wally!"

"Who? Eddie and Lumpy? Forget about them! They're just a bunch of creeps anyway!"

"No, I mean the fireman. He didn't laugh out loud, but I know he was thinking about it in his head. And I saw him snickering anyway, like he was trying real hard not to

laugh."

Wally couldn't believe it. "No foolin'?"

"Nope. But wouldn't you? Laugh I mean? Cuz firemen are always getting cats out of trees, but I bet they've never gotten a kid out of a billboard soup bowl."

"Gee, I'm sorry, Beav. I had no idea."

"It's okay."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why'd you do it?"

"Well… Whitey and I were walking over to his house and Whitey said there was soup in the bowl. I said there wasn't. Whitey said there was. I said there wasn't. And

then he told me to prove it. When I told him no, he said I was chicken. And the next thing I knew, I fell in the bowl and there was nothing in it but steam!"

Wally looked at his brother for a few seconds, which clearly made Beaver uncomfortable.

"What is it? Are you thinking about how dumb I am?"

"No, um actually I was thinking that you're pretty brave, Beaver."

"Brave? How can you say that?"

"Well, think about it. Most people wouldn't have been brave enough to climb up that big billboard. Whitey sure wasn't. But you did. Weren't you scared?"

"Heck, yeah I was scared Wally! It's a lot higher than it looks!"

"I'll bet."

"Wally?"

"Yeah?"

"How was your party?"

"Oh, it was real neat. The girls and everybody really enjoyed themselves. Mom outdid herself with the snacks and stuff. Hey, how was your night at Whitey's?"

Beaver shrugged. "Okay, I guess. But all I could think of was about what I'd done. And Dad really yelled at me when we got home. So it wasn't much fun at all."

"Gee, I'm sorry Beav. I guess he thought you had it coming to ya."

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"But Dad was just glad that you weren't hurt or anything." And so am I he added silently.

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes and then Wally said. "Hey Beaver?"

"Yeah, Wally?"

"You know, I was thinking, since I gave you the money for the movies and all-"

Beaver jumped off the bed and reached into his pocket. "Oh, you want your money back? All right. Here you go, Wally-."

"Nah, keep it. Actually I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies. Just you and me?"

"Honest? You mean it?"

"Well, sure."

"Gee, Thanks Wally."

"Oh and Beaver?"

"Yeah, Wally?"

"Since you didn't bother us during the party, I'll tell Mom not to buy any Zesto Soup, on account of you getting stuck in their soup bowl on the billboard."

Beaver grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks Wally. You're a swell brother."

Wally couldn't help smiling as well. "So are you, Beaver."

THE END