*
The following morning, Gertrude awoke with a jump, wincing in pain when Agabus attacked his nose. He snatched his assailant and held him firmly. Gertrude lay in bed savoring the warmth, and thinking of the previous night. He heard his mother come into the kitchen. Agabus purred loudly. “You almost purr as loudly as my mother snores.”
“Excuse me? Ladies breathe heavy. We do not snore!” Winifred said indignantly. “You mind your manners, hopper, or your mother will not make you breakfast!”
Gertrude came out from behind the curtain that separated his bedroom and the kitchen, dressed in his night shirt and holding the purring Agabus. “A thousand pardons, Mother. It must have been someone sawing wood outside my window last night.” With an impish grin, he went over and gave his mother a kiss on her cheek.
Winifred looked at Gertrude and fought back a smile. “I hope that the neighbors don’t see you out collecting wood for me dressed like that. Our standing in the community would surely plummet.”
I imagine that we don’t have much of a standing in the community anyways with your loud snoring. Gertrude let forth with a mock snore. “Ughzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...”
Winifred snarled at her son playfully. Agabus looked at her and hissed back. “Now I have two of you badgering me. Where is my broom?”
Raising his arm in front of him, Gertrude feigned mock horror. “Please, not your mighty broom…!” He looked at Agabus. “We promise to behave.”
A knock sounded at the door. Gertrude opened it. Derry barged through, carrying an oversized satchel. She looked quickly at Gertrude in his nightshirt and Winifred in her nightgown. “Oh! I didn’t realize that I was that early.” She thumped her satchel down onto the floor and walked over to the blog pot. Seeing that it was empty, she immediately set forth to making a pot. “I was hoping that maybe you could help me with a problem I am having with my ball gown. I haven’t the foggiest idea what I did wrong, but the hem doesn’t lay properly.”
Gertrude smiled. “I am sorry, Derry, but I do not know anything about sewing.”
Derry stood silent for a moment with a puzzled look. “My goodness! No! I wasn’t asking you, Gertrude. I was asking your mother.”
“Don’t mind my son, Derry. He fell out of bed onto his head this morning, and he’s not quite right. I will be right back. Join us for breakfast, and then we will see where you went wrong with your hem.” Winifred disappeared into her bedchamber.
“What is all the noise out here? Can’t a body get some sleep in his own home?” Grumps came into the kitchen with his shirt on backwards and his hair sticking up in all different directions. “What in wooly worms are all of you people doing in my kitchen?”
Derry looked at Grumps and smiled. She walked over to him and started to pull off his shirt. “Here let me help you straighten this up.” Derry pulled off one sleeve and then Grumps pulled it back on. “Well, I guess if you don’t dress right, you won’t be able to have breakfast.”
“Breakfast? I want some ham and eggs with some ant jelly on a beetle-bran muffin.” Grumps let Derry help right his shirt and then he sat down at the table. “What kind of inn are you trolls running here? Where is my blog that I ordered?”
While Derry was busy helping Grumps, Gertrude ducked behind the curtain and changed into his clothing. He was out the door in no time to fetch the wood. When he came back in, his mother and Derry were busy with breakfast preparations, babbling away about the approaching ball. Agabus had made himself comfortable in Grumps’ lap while Grumps sipped on a cup of blog.