pseudofable
WRITTEN:
1986, 19 years
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This is something whimiscal I wrote for Fen, a former penpal (1983-88). It concerns the fictional antics of my non-fictional friend Samm and her family - the Flooby is their cat, by the way. Samm would talk about her family like this (those sorts of nicknames, those sorts of dramatified exploits) and I found it all very endearing. There was also a dog called Katasha but I've never been very good with dogs and couldn't find a way to work her into the story. The fact that I still have the letter probably means it was never sent to Fen (unless I transcribed it in another letter - such things happened sometimes) and I am quite sure no-one other than our once mutual friend Cathy has ever seen it. At the time I thought that Samm might like it, but I never showed it to her. We had a falling-out a couple of years later and I haven't spoken to her since.
Once upon a time there was a little girl who had long blonde hair and long blue fingernails and long purple dresses.
One day the little girl woke up and saw that there was a big white Flooby on the end of her bed. She screamed for her mother.
Her mother, whose name was Hurdy-Gurdy, ran into the room.
"What's wrong, Sammie-Jo?"
"Oh, Mummy, there's a great big Flooby on the end of my bed!"
The Flooby yawned, showing its sharp white teeth. Both Sammie-Jo and Hurdy-Gurdy screamed.
Poppa Bill, father to Sammie-Jo and wife to Hurdy-Gurdy, ran into the room.
"What's the matter, Sammie-Jo and Hurdy-Gurdy?"
"Look! There's a Flooby on the bed!" screamed Sammie-Jo and Hurdy-Gurdy together. The Flooby stretched, its claws extending deep into the quilt. Poppa Bill cried out in fright and fainted on the floor.
Ness-Wahla, sister to Sammie-Jo and middle daughter of Hurdy-Gurdy and Poppa Bill, ran into the room.
"Oh, mother, father, sister, what is wrong?"
Hurdy-Gurdy, while dragging Poppa Bill to safety, screamed, "Save Sammie-Jo! There's a big white Flooby on her bed and it's gonna eat her all up!"
Ness-Wahla turned and saw the big white Flooby with its long claws extended. She screamed, then jumped out of the bedroom window.
Stevie, son of Hurdy-Gurdy and Poppa Bill, brother to Sammie-Jo and Ness-Wahla, ran into the room.
"Oh mother, oh father, oh sisters, whyever do you scream?"
"They scream at me." said the Flooby calmly, stroking its whiskers with its tail.
"And just who are you?" asked Stevie, for he was a brave boy.
"I am the terrible Flooby, with long white fur and long white teeth and long white claws. Who are you?"
"I am Stevie the Brave, son of Hurdy-Gurdy and Poppa Bill, brother to Sammie-Jo and Ness-Wahla, and brother also to Heidi-Hi and Johnny-Boy, whom you have not yet met."
"I am not interested in your vanity." said the Flooby, languidly stretching out on the bed and nibbling Sammie-Jo's toes.
"Save me, Stevie!" cried Sammie-Jo, and fainted dead away.
Stevie the Brave called to his brother Johnny-Boy, and between them they captured the vainly struggling Flooby and threw it into the study, where no-one ever went.
When Heidi-Hi came home from school, she heard the story of the terrible Flooby, but she didn't think it sounded so terrible. Late that night, when everyone had gone to bed, she crept into the study and tamed the Flooby.
And they all lived happily ever after.