Miss Pickles knows how to make a dramatic entrance

Before we read our new Miss Pickles, it's time to announce the winner of my 500 post giveaway!

Well, I have to confess. There's two winners. You see, I made Ben and the Babies the judge of the contest. I just couldn't choose. You all had such wonderful memories.


It was a hard and long deliberation. They were torn between Marie and Cowboy's Wife.

So, we threw a tube of Little Mermaid chapstick off the bed. If it came up Ariel, Marie won. If not, Barb would win.

It had half Ariel, half turquoise. So you both win! Congratulations! E-mail me your address and I'll send you your sussy!

And now, onto Miss Pickles.... To read the previous entry, go here: http://aduckinherpond.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html
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Mason looked up in awe at the sphere around him. It was humming slightly, the clear wrap pulsating like an extra thin layer of jello. He pressed his hand to it and jerked it away, biting his lip to keep from crying out. It was hot. It was very hot.

"Are you ready?" the Queen Firefly asked.

"This is a stupid idea," Beatrice muttered. "We're like sugar in a ball of butter sizzling in a frying pan."

"Butter," Ralph moaned, clutching his face. "My mother smells like butter and sugar! She said when I was a baby I ate sticks of it, just gumming away!"

Don looked at Ralph, then at Mason and shrugged. "It's just too easy. It's not fun anymore."

"We're ready!" Miss Pickles called out.

"Begin!" The Queen Firefly demanded, flinging her red arms into the air.

Burrowing his clawed hands into the rocky sky, Jasper began to dig. The concentrated laser strapped to his forehead heated the rock. Chunks began to fall from the sky and sizzle into the lava below. Cracks of light began to beam into the glass castle. The Fireflies watched in fascination. They had never seen sunlight, only fire.

"It's so soft!" Jasper called down. "It's like digging in mud!"

"We better get them ready," the Queen Firefly said. She signaled to a few Fireflies, who rolled the glass sphere over a circular rock. Mason looked down through the sphere.

"Uh, Miss Pickles," he piped up, "What's that orange goo beneath us?"

"Lava, duckie," Miss Pickles replied.

Mason felt beads of sweat roll down his face. "That means this is a"-- he stuttered in horror.

"I'm through!" Jasper called, pounding his fist through the rock. A chunk the size of a small car crashed into the lava below.

"Fire!" the Queen yelled. Two Fireflies slammed into a giant red button on the wall. A blast of hot air whooshed from the orange lava below, blowing the glass sphere in the air like a ping pong ball in a lotto game. Mason watched in awe as the sky grew closer and closer. The lava seemed so far away as the sphere slid easily through the rocky hole and shot into the blue sky above. He reached out his hand and gingerly touched the side of the sphere. It was as cold as ice.

Miss Pickles whooped as the wind carried the glass sphere over the neighborhoods they had walked down before. "Just think duckies," she cried, checking her watch, "It's not even four! Plenty of time for a snack!"

"How can that be?" Beatrice cried.

"Underground time," Miss Pickles informed her. "Three hours behind." Beatrice blinked at her, but never said a word. She was beginning to become accustomed to Miss Pickles.

The glass sphere floated neatly over the sidewalks, down the street and carried the class of Ordinary Elementary to the front of the school. The second it touched concrete, it dissolved into a shimmer of light. The class stood staring at one another, grins creeping over their faces.

"We did it!" Mason cried.

"We made it for snack!" Ralph rejoiced.

"I don't get to sue anyone," Don muttered, disappointed.

Beatrice said nothing. She had no intentions of admitting Mason was right.

Miss Pickles beamed and held out her arms. Before she could say a word, a familiar sharp voice pierced through their joy.

"Principal! Come see what Miss Pickles has done!"