MarthaDecision

Jane Marie proudly presents

Part 3 of The Idea:
The Decision

Part 1 The Idea Part 2 The Game Plan

Martha Bear® was more confused than frightened, but still, a disoriented bear is not a pretty sight - especially when that bear is trying to untwist her arms and legs after having been through a four-minute clothes washer spin cycle to get clean. A bear with no eyes who sees only with her heart has no business scrambling her senses, Martha decided as she listened and tried to make out just what was going on.

Warning and Disclaimer: Do not try this at home. All people and many stuffed animals would be harmed or otherwise injured by attempting to wash themselves in a washing machine.

Remember, this is fiction.

"Now children,” came a high pitched, but soft feminine voice. When said children continued their jabbering, there came a clapping. "Children!” This time the voice was more firm and the clapping more crisp.

Martha Bear's whirling senses left some doubt in her mind as to what she was witnessing, but as the seconds passed, the commotion ceased and clarity dawned. She was quite surprised to discover a mother mouse and three mouselings in their teens, all having very large ears with lovely pink centers.

"Y'all know it isn't polite to laugh at someone in distress, particularly a large white bear we don't know. Come away, everyone, before she bites off your tails!”

Martha Bear® could tell by the mouselings' interesting fashion sense that the mother mouse was speaking to two girls and one boy. And she began to chuckle.

The mice stopped their evacuation of the area. The girl mouse in a white dress covered in orange flowers said, "Look, Mama. I think that bear is laughing at us!”

"Just take a gander at all those sharp fangs!” said the boy.

"They do appear very sharp,” said the mother mouse, "but it seems a strange circumstance to think a bear would try and eat us if she's giggling.”

Reaching out with her damp right paw, Martha Bear® introduced herself. "Please don't be afraid. I won't harm you. Mercy Maude! The very thought of doing ill to fellow critter sends waves of queasiness right through me.”

Bravely, the mother mouse took three tiny mouse steps forward to say cautiously, "I-I'm Mrs. Taffy Whickers and these are my mouselings, Satin, Suede and Harry Whickers.”

"So pleased to know you. My name is Martha Bear®.” Martha felt a sudden fluttering against her ear. "Oh, excuse me. May I introduce my dear friend, Airborne?”

"Howdy do,” said the grasshopper, satisfied he'd been remembered. He settled on Martha Bear's left shoulder.

Mother Whickers curtsied and nodded in the direction of her tribe, indicating that they should do likewise. Satin and Suede obliged, but Harry rolled his eyes. Being a boy mouse, he threw out a crisp salute, adding, "Everybody calls me 'Little Cheese'.”

"That's a fascinating nickname,” commented Martha Bear®. "Is there a Big Cheese?”

From around the corner came the almost, but not quite, booming voice of an older male mouse with a rotund tummy. He was wearing a plaid jacket and bowtie. His posture could be referred to as regal. "I am the Big Cheese,” he said. "However, I prefer to be called Mr. Whickers. That's E. A. Whickers. The E. A. stands for Eat Anything,” he explained proudly.

"How do you do?” Martha Bear® inquired sincerely for Mr. Whickers seemed to be a most particular mouse.

"Just fine and furry. Thank you for asking. I see you've met my family.” He leaned over and kissed his little wife on her whiskers.

"Yes, and a fine family it is.”

"We're recently new to the area ourselves. What brings you here?” asked the patriarch.

"Airborne and I have come to Oklahoma City from Florida to find a general manager for MarthaBear.com's General Store & Online Emporium.

"You don't say,” said Mr. Whickers, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"And where do you hail from Mr. Whickers?” questioned Airborne.

"From Pennsylvania. As a matter of fact, if you and Martha Bear® will have a seat outside at the table with Nancy and the rest of the crew, I will tell you about it.”

Martha Bear® was sure listening to the tale of a new acquaintance would be a better thing, but first better things first. "I'd love to hear all, sir, but if you'll excuse me, I need to dry myself. Airborne, would you come with me and help me work the switch on the hairdryer?”

"May we help, too, Martha Bear®?” Satin, the mouse with the short polka dot top and slacks asked. "I've never groomed a bear before. It would be great experience to determine if bear grooming might make for a noteworthy career move.”

"Certainly. I appreciate all the help I can get.”

"May I hold the mirror?” asked Suede.

"Can I hold the dryer?” asked Little Cheese.

"May I fluff with a towel?” asked Mother Whickers, getting in the spirit.

"And I'll supervise,” determined Airborne.

In short order, Martha Bear® was white and free from stain again.

Back outside, Martha Bear® and Airborne rejoined Nancy's family. Nancy had found five of the six missing needles misplaced earlier while making jewelry. "Come sit by me Martha Bear® and I'll stitch up your knees. We're still looking for one more needle, so watch out.”

"Thank you, Nancy. Listen, you'll never guess who we just met.”

"Who is that?” wondered Nancy because she knew Martha Bear® hadn't gone out of the yard since her arrival in Oklahoma.

"Mr. Whickers and his family.”

Hmm, thought Nancy, never having met any such person named Mr. Whickers - or his family, for that matter. "Who is that?” she said out loud.

All conversation ceased when a semi-loud clearing of a throat was heard. "If you all will excuse me, I'd like to introduce my family and myself to everyone.” With that, Mr. Whickers did so.

Eyes of all species went wide at the sight and sound of the handsome mouse clan. "Yes, and after careful observation and consideration,” Mr. Whickers stated directly, "we've decided to take up residence in your laundry room, Nancy, if I may be so bold as to call you Nancy.”

Dumbfounded and pleased that she had passed this impeccable mouse's inspection, Nancy readily agreed because she would never turn away a critter needing a home.

She leaned over and whispered to her husband, the Unconscious Tyrannosaurus Defacer [our UTD (scroll down when you click)], "If we can put up with Teddy O™, we can endure anything.”

"I heard that!” called out the very bear about whom they were speaking.

Yes, Teddy O™ was quite pleased to have the fact that he presented a challenge confirmed. He'd decided long ago it was his duty to keep Nancy on her toes lest she grow stale or stodgy.

Once the people and dog families touched, sniffed and patted the new mouse family, Mr. Whickers again spoke. "Thank you for that warm welcome. If you will all return to your seats beside Martha Bear® and Airborne, I will briefly tell you our tale.”

They did, and he began. "My loved ones and I have traveled from Erie, Pennsylvania. Why would we come all this way to Oklahoma, you might wonder. Well, Mother Whickers and I felt it was time for an adventure before our mouselings got any older and went out to forage on their own. How did we end up here? You see, the house we lived in was the home in which Nancy and Jane Marie were raised. When we told our other mouse friends living there of our plans, they recommended we move to Florida to be with Jane Marie or Oklahoma to be with Nancy since they are both respectable adults who are known to love all animals.”

Curiosity crossed all faces but that of General Dogsbody, who was gnawing on his favorite place to gnaw, that area just above his tail.

Mr. Whickers continued, "You see, mice have a fine tuned network where we rate the better places to stay, not unlike your finest guidebook. Instead of using diamonds as some of them do, we rank by tails. I am pleased to say the homes of both Jane Marie and Nancy are four-tail establishments. Of course, we followed their lives closely from the dryer vent in their basement, and watched their transformation to grown ups over the years.”

In astonishment, Nancy asked him, "But Mr. Whickers, how is it that Jane Marie and I never realized we had mice back home?”

"It was our choice to remain hidden. Hard though it may be to believe, some people don't appreciate the idea of mice living in their dryer vents or anywhere for that matter. Your mother, Marie, was a wonderful woman, but she was just silly enough to be one of those people. Personally, none of our kind will ever understand it. We are quite a well-behaved group. Now, if we were talking rats, well, that's a whole other animal, but I digress. So, we kept to ourselves, running The Mouse's Ear, a general store for the whole neighborhood.”

"Ha! And some humans think they know it all when they never even had a clue there was a whole other culture thriving right under, over and beside their noses!” Teddy O™ interjected with a sarcastic smirk.

Peering up at the small bear, the even smaller Mr. Whickers appreciated the support, but not the interruption. "In any case, we left Pennsylvania and began our expedition here to Okalahoma because the children grew up sledding and ice skating, and Florida just doesn't get cold enough for those outdoor activities. I'll save the story of our transport here for another time.

"Now, to the point. I have been getting on your computer at night, Nancy, and studying your website. It must be fate because I've read Martha Bear's Fancy Fable, The Idea, and how she's looking for a general manager. I spoke to her inside the house earlier, and she verified that fact. I will make the perfect general manager for your MarthaBear.com's General Store & Online Emporium."

He paused, considered and then added, "Although I prefer my title to be Proprietor. It has a friendlier ring to it, I think, more personal, more in the period the name would suggest.”

"There is no need to waste any more time on interviews because you must hire me. Since I ran The Mouse's Ear in Pennsylvania, I have experience. I supervised 24 other mice, four rabbits and seventeen squirrels. Your rag-tag group of rowdies you call the Critter Staff will be a piece of cake to whip into shape.” His last comment reminded him to halt momentarily. "Excuse me.” He reached into his plaid pocket and pulled out several cake crumbs, gave one to each of his immediate family members and, then, ate his own.

Meanwhile, the birds and hamster who had joined the group had the same thought as most of the others. This mouse would be a tough taskmaster.

Sensing he might have overstated his case a bit, Mr. Whickers brushed his teeny paws together to remove any excess crumbage and offered, "Let me add that I believe in frequent food breaks, say one every 22 minutes, double treats for a job well done, and early, mid and late morning and afternoon rest periods. A relaxed team is a cooperative team.”

Dogs barked, birds chirped, bears grinned, the hamster squeaked and humans laughed in a cacophony of delight at the wonderful possibilities to come, but it was Martha Bear's decision to make.

"And don't worry about a thing,” Mr. Whickers told everyone. "My mouselings will not be slothful whelps and get used to a lazy life of nesting in the sofa springs or the toilet tissue rolls. No, siree. Not my family. I have already discussed matters with them. They will be pleased to accept the following positions so long as they do a good job or until they decide to seek employment elsewhere.” Mr. Whickers turned to his family. "As I announce your duty, raise your paw to make sure everyone knows who will be doing what,” he instructed.

"Suede Whickers, Communications Expert, Switchboard Operator and Dispatcher. Suede's extensive experience of endless hours of telephone conversation puts her in good stead for this position."

"Satin Whickers, Webmaster. Satin can type 437 words a minute if you don't count her mistakes."

"Then we have my number one son, Harry Whickers, who prefers to be called Little Cheese. Little Cheese will handle all Shipping and Delivery. A fitness buff, he is capable of single-handedly lifting 17 paperclips per paw while balancing on one foot! He's come by his extraordinary strength naturally.”

As he spoke, Mr. Whickers sucked in his extra round tummy, threw his narrow mouse shoulders back and tipped back his head slightly, which decreased his triple chins to double chins. It was a stance clearly meant to charm his wife. And indeed, Mr. Whickers was so pleased with himself, he winked broadly at his and grinned.

Referring to her husband and son, Mother Whickers said, "They're made from the same cheddar, those two.” And then she winked back.

Mr. Whickers smiled happily. "And finally, Taffy Whickers. My dear wife will be our official Windows™ Dresser," and here Mr. Whickers paused for laughter at what he was sure was a great pun. He continued, "Er, Window Dresser. That is, she'll be responsible for the design of the pages of MarthaBear.com. It will be up to her to set up the general store departments the very best way, Martha Bear. Of course, any suggestions from Nancy or Jane Marie will be carefully considered in most matters. Now, are there any questions?”

Except for a lone frog croaking two back yards away and the rustle of Airborne's wings as he flew from the center of a red rose blossom where he'd been observing to Martha Bear's left shoulder, there wasn't a sound. All heads turned to look at the large white bear who sees with her heart.

Without flourish, Martha Bear said simply, "I believe our decision has been made for us. Ladies and gentleman, skinned, furred and feathered, may I reintroduce Mr. E. A. Whickers, the new proprietor of MarthaBear.com's MarthaBear.com's General Store & Online Emporium.”

click on the picture to enlarge it.

Enthusiastic applause and whistles shot to high heaven, catching the ear of the Man in the Moon. Noting that all but Teddy O™ were participating, he peered down at the rascally bear, caught the glint of mischievous mischief in his bright orange eyes and wondered what complications might develop in this new online business. The Man looked to a nearby constellation and called out, "Hey there, Ursa* Major.”

*Ursine = Bear. Martha Bear likes to think of herself as an ursine because she uses Bear as her last name. Ursa Major is the Latin name for the Big or Great Bear constellation, which is also known as The Big Dipper.

The Big Bear star cluster replied, "Hey, Man.”

"Did you happen to notice the goings-on below in Nancy Kamp's back yard?”

"Sure did,” confirmed Big Bear. "I'd better be prepared to defend the honor of bears everywhere once that Teddy O™ starts his shenanigans 'cause you just know, it's acomin'!”

From up high in the sky the Man in the Moon and Ursa Major heard a loud howl. "Looks like someone found that last missing beading needle,” they commented in unison.

This can't be The End of this adventure - a shopkeeper's work is never done.

Part 1 The Idea Part 2 The Game Plan

Our Bear Stories