The Search for Shiny Things: Part 11

The squirrel let the teddy go first over the bridge, because, it said, if it held for the teddy, it would hold for the squirrel. The teddy did not particularly like the reasoning, but had to get across the river anyway, so off they went.

On the other side of the river, the teddy accompanied the new friend to the sail boat. It was a fairly large boat, neat and clean and with a fancy looking weapon up front. It could probably hold many soldiers, but at the moment there was only one. A plush dog, or at least the teddy thought it was a dog, sat alone on deck. It was gray and had fluffy ears and tail, and was clearly not a fleshy dog but the kind with stuffing, like the teddy. Glad to find another of its very very extended family of vaguely related creatures, the teddy waved and climbed on board, beaten to it by the squirrel that excitedly looked around.

The dog straightened with a serious face as they came, and hid something behind its back.

"Who goes there!"

"I want to become a soldier!" exclaimed the squirrel. "Probably in your army, too."

The dog gave the squirrel a sideways glance. "You're tiny," it said.

"Now, now," said the teddy. Although it agreed.

"Well, it doesn't matter," said the dog. "I am left in charge here while my squad is gone, but I do not have the authority to enlist new soldiers." It spoke a little deliberately, like it was trying very hard to say all the words right.

"Where have they all gone?" asked the squirrel.

"To investigate a hole in the ground," said the dog and gestured to the side of the boat.

"Why?"

"Because there is no wind."

The teddy and the squirrel looked at each other trying to figure out how a hole in the ground was related to the wind. It was, the teddy thought quietly, as strange as how a panda bear was related to a squirrel.

"When will they get back?"

"I don't..." the dog straightened again. "I am the one asking questions!" it barked. "Who goes there!"

"We aren't going anywhere, we're just standing," said the teddy.

The dog shot him an angry look. "Who are you?" it said.

"I am the teddy bear, and this is the squirrel," said the teddy. "And who are you?"

"I am the greyhound."

"Greyhound?" wondered the squirrel.

"Greyhounds are proud and fast," said the greyhound and stretched its neck. "Tall and excellent soldiers."

The teddy thought the plushie greyhound looked a little more plushie than greyhound, but every one were what they were, and if it was a greyhound then it was, plushie or not. "When will your friends be back? The squirrel much wants to be a soldier," it said.

"I do not know," said the greyhound. It weighed them up and slumped a little. "In all honesty," it said and held out what it had hidden behind its back, "I am the chef, not a proper guard at all. I was left here to make dinner, while they got bored and went to play in the caves." It set the chef's hat on its head.

So that was what the wind had to do with the hole.

"Could you show us this hole?" asked the squirrel.

"What good would that do?"

"None at all, but you are not making dinner, so aren't you bored too?"

They went. The hole was not very far from the boat. It was indeed just a hole in the ground, deep and dark, so dark one could not see what was on the bottom. The greyhound stayed some distance from the hole and looked at it with a sad tint to its button eyes, while the squirrel ran right up to the edge and peered into the emptiness.

"Hello?"

Only the echo answered.

"They won't hear you," said the greyhound. "In fact, I believe they are lost. You see, they all went in the hole, but they forgot the matches, so they can't see anything. They're all gone and I'll never see them again. I'll just have to wait for the wind and go back and report them all gone."

"Can't you bring the matches into the hole?" asked the teddy.

The greyhound shook its head insistently. "I cannot."

"What about you?" the teddy asked the squirrel.

"It's too deep," said the squirrel. "It's fine for plushies to fall so far, but if I jumped into that hole I would die."

"What if you toss the matches in?"

"They will all have wandered off," said the greyhound. "Ah," it sighed. "You see, it's that I'm scared of the dark. I don't dare go down there, or I would this instant. I would come rescue them with the matches, and they would all call me their hero, and I would get the best food for a week. Maybe several weeks." It got something dreamy in the button eye plastic. "There's nothing dangerous down there, I know. So if only I dared jump."

"I will help," said the teddy.

"Really?" asked the greyhound, coming closer to them by the hole. "Will you go down with the matches?"

"Hm," said the teddy, "that was not quite what I meant." With that it gave the greyhound a helping pat on the back, and pushed it firmly forward. And with a tiny little slip, and a tiny little yelp, the greyhound fell into the hole.