The Guardians of the Refrigerator

The other night, Ben had a headache. A terrible headache that made it impossible to sleep but impossible to keep his eyes open. After he took a shower to alleviate the pain, he decided he was hungry. He looked at the Blonde Duck, who was drooling and snoring. Obviously, she wouldn't want to join him.

Ben started down the hallway, rubbing his eyes and cursing his pounding head. He climbed over the baby gate and stumbled to the refrigerator, not bothering to turn out the light. As he scratched his arm pits and yawned, he reached for the door handle.

And saw four little eyes staring at him. The whimpers assaulted his ears and little paws scraped against his shins.

"No, no, no!" he hissed, clutching his skull. "Go back to sleep! I'm just going to eat real quick and go back to bed. It's not time to get up!"

The whimpers grew louder as two tails thumped against the refrigerator door.

"Fine," Ben huffed. He flipped on the light and closed the refrigerator door. Bending down, he gave each dog a quick pat. After they had licked and nipped him to their satisfaction, he set them back down and returned to the fridge. He took out a bag of shredded cheese and got some crackers from the pantry. As he turned to get a plate, he saw this face peering up at him.

"What?" he said, self conscious about the crackers and cheese in his hands. "I'm hungry."

A tiny wuffle and sigh came from the small black nose. The puppy cast his eyes downward, a forlorn expression on his face.

"What?" Ben said, exasperation creeping into his voice. "It's just cheese and crackers! I'm only going to have a few!"

15 crackers and a glass of milk later, Ben still felt hungry. He moseyed over to the pantry and pulled out a loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter. He turned to grab a knife and saw a tiny white head cocked upwards at him.

"What?" he cried. "I'm still hungry."

The tiny white head cocked to the other side, nearly twisted around. Indigently, Ben slammed the knife drawer and slapped a large glob of peanut butter on a slice of bread. He folded it in half and bit into it, frowning as four brown little eyes never left his move. After downing another glass of milk, he scowled and put his dishes in the sink. Little paws followed him as he hurried across the kitchen floor. He patted the dogs and placed them back in the bed. Flipping off the light, he was halfway over the baby gate in the kitchen doorway when the cries began again. Ben began to retreat down the hallway back to his bedroom as fast as he could.

"I give up!" he cried, diving back into bed. "I give up! I'll never eat at night again!"

The little ears strained, listening to his words. Satisfied by his speech, they stopped crying and curled up into bed. For they were the guardians of the refrigerator.