Saving John Steinbeck

Chaper 1

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a little turtle. Her name was Maggie and she was a pretty little turtle with a smooth shell and quick feet. She lived in a forest filled with evergreens and woodland creatures. She was happy in her little woodland home and she never wanted to leave. Until one day, that is.
One day her friend, Elaine, came to visit her. Elaine was the prettiest of all the bunnies in the forest. She had soft white fur and a pink button nose. She did have a propensity for getting in trouble, though. She particularly liked to trail the humans who sometimes moved through the forest. It was rumored that she liked to nick cans of Coors Light from the coolers of the humans but no one had actually seen her do this.
“Maggie,” said Elaine, crinkling her bunny nose, “We haven’t seen you at choir rehearsal lately. What’s going on?”
Maggie was sitting on a favorite log. It was covered in velvet green moss and was the perfect spot for thinking. Maggie laid her turtle head down and sighed.
“I just don’t get any pleasure out of choir rehearsal anymore,” she said and sighed again.
Elaine hopped around to sit next to Maggie. She poked Maggie with her foot, “Maggie, you know that you have to be there. All the woodland creatures are required to be there. I will not let you quit the choir just because you get into a bad mood every so often. That’s just not right and I won’t stand for it…”
Elaine continued to rant but Maggie stopped listening. Instead she drew her head back into her shiny shell and tried to sleep. After a moment she heard a loud, echoing knock. She poked her head out again, “What, Elaine?”
Elaine hopped around Maggie, becoming more agitated as she did, “Don’t you dare ignore me, you…turtle!”
Maggie realized it was better to go to choir practice than to have Elaine hopping around being mad. Every time Elaine hopped on the log it vibrated and made a terrible sound inside Maggie’s shell. She’d never get any sleep if she had to do so with Elaine hopping around.
“Okay, okay, I’ll go,” Maggie concedes and they head off to choir practice.
They hadn’t gotten far when they heard a terrible roar. They stopped and looked around. Maggie craned her neck as far as she could and Elaine sat up on her back legs, sniffing the air.
“Elaine, what is that?”
Elaine answered Maggie, “I don’t know. I have never heard that kind of sound before and I’ve lived in the forest for a long time.”
“So have I. I’m a turtle. I will live a lot longer than you.”
Elaine sat down and looked at Maggie. Her ears twitched and she nibbled on a piece of grass for a moment. Then she hopped over to Maggie and said, very gently, “Maggie, you’re just a turtle. Tortoises live a long time. Turtles, not so much.”
“Of course I’ll live a long time,” Maggie exclaimed, “You’re just a bunny. You won’t live very long at all.”
“Maggie, I’ve been a bunny in this forest for a very long time and I will be here long after you’re gone. You must accept that. That is the way of life,” Elaine said and then hopped off again.
Maggie turned to the left, determined to never talk to Elaine again. After a few moments of trudging through unfamiliar territory Maggie felt a tremendous shaking of the earth and hid in her shell.
“Maggie! Get out of there! Maggie!” It was only Elaine, hopping up and down on Maggie’s delicate shell.
Maggie stuck her head out and gingerly looked around, “What are you doing?”
“Where do you think you are going?”
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
Elaine hopped in front of her and sat up on her back legs, “You can never go that way, Maggie. Never.”
“Why?” Maggie asked, her turtle eyes big and round.
“That’s where the people come from,” Elaine’s eyes got big, “They come in big metals animals with flashing eyes. No one has been able to ever kill one of them. Not the hunters, not the mountain lions. Rich calls them ‘cars.’”
“Really?” Maggie asked, inching back a bit.
Elaine sat back on all four feet, “Really. Once in a while these ‘cars’ gets stuck in the mud. The people get out and push the animals, rather, the ‘cars’ out and then they take off again in a big roar.”
“Wow.”
Elaine led Maggie away. They started off in the direction of the choir.
“Maggie, you must listen to me. I know what I’m talking about. It’s a long story and one you’re too young to hear, but I know how dangerous these cars can be,” Elaine said, not looking Maggie in the eye.
Maggie knew enough to not ask more questions but she was full of them.
By the time they reached choir practice everyone was in place. The birds who sang soprano were twittering above the treetops. The rabbits who sang alto were huddled in a corner, sharing a green leaf of lettace. Buddy, the chipmunk, was tuning up his voice on the tree stump which doubled as a stage. Skunks who sing bass were skulking about.
“I hate the skunks,” Maggie said to Elaine in a low voice.
“Just keep your distance,” said Elaine.
A few assorted woodland creatures milled about, waiting for things to get started.
A small field mouse walked up and climbed to the top of a thick, leafy fern. It was time to begin.
“Let’s start,” said Becky, the field mouse. Everyone fell into position; the birds flew down to perch on a low limb above the tree stump. The skunks made a row in front. Elaine made her way to the rest of the bunnies in back of the skunks. Maggie took her seat on the left.
Becky picked up a tiny twig to direct the choir. She taped the twig on the side of a tree. Just before beginning she looked around.
“Where’s Craig?” she asked. Everyone ducked their heads and refused to look at her, “Where is he?” she repeated.
Beatrice, the most responsible of the trio of baby chipmunks raised her hand.
“Yes, Bea?”
“I heard that he was at the swamp again.”
A low sort of murmur swept the singers. Craig was known to spend a lot of time at the swamp, filling up on the dusky, swampy water, frolicking in the water with any number of young frogs. It wasn’t the first time he’d been late to rehearsal but it would be the last.
A great snowy owl swept down to sit next to the fern. “Becky,” said the owl, “He is on his way, I just saw him headed up from the creek. He isn’t jumping very steady though.”
“Thanks, Rich,” said Becky, sighing in exasperation.
In a moment a loud croak erupted from the distance. Then a wobbly toad with green eyes came up to the group.
“Hey, gang,” he said with a long grin which swept his face.
Becky climbed off her fern and ran over to him, “What do you think you’re doing? It’s bad enough that you spend all your time at that swamp but now you’ve come to rehearsal full of swamp water?”
“Hey, hey, calm down. It was just a thimbleful,” he said, “or maybe two.”
Becky was fuming. Her pink ears turned red in anger, “We were going to start on Barry White today and we needed your deep voice. We can’t do it with just Buddy.”
“I’m up to the challenge,” said Buddy.
“No,” said Rich, “Becky is right. Your voice is not low enough,” Rich flew up a few branches above the fern and cleared his throat. A baby chipmunk named Emma started to scoot away. Rich turned his head all the way around and shot her a look. Emma scurried back into place.
Rich started his speech, “Now, as producer of the Woodland Creature Choir, let me be the first to explain what’s going on. We are in charge of adding glamour to the forest. We add that extra bit of oomph that brings the people here. And when the people come here they leave food for us to scrounge. They leave wrappers the birds use in their nests. They start small fires that warm us at night…”
“They leave open coolers with cans of Coors Light,” said a voice from the back.
Elaine turned around, “Who said that? Who said that?”
Rich calmed her, “It’s not important right now. What’s important is that we have a job to do. When the people come into the forest they do so to get away from their regular lives. They come for peace. They come to see a chipmunk scurry across the path. They want to point out a snowy white owl to their Harry Potter obsessed children. But a lot of them come to fall in love. That’s where the choir comes in,” Rich paced back and forth on his branch, “When people in love come to the forest we follow them and burst into song. So many of these people were raised on Disney movies. That’s what they expect to happen while in love and walking in a forest. That’s what keeps them coming back for more!”
The entire group was mesmerized by Rich’s oratory skills. They were entranced with his passion. They each resolved to do their parts. They needed the people to keep coming.
“Burp.”
Rich turned his head to glare at Craig, “And you, young toad, you’ll have to clean up your act. You cannot gallivant at any time to drink swamp water. You need this gig. You have over four million tadpoles depending on you!”
“Hey, you can’t pin all that spawning on me!”
“Just try me!”
Craig rolled his eyes and caught a fly. He swallowed it and stepped up to the stage. He nodded and Becky climbed back on the fern. A moment later the creatures burst out in the most beautiful rendition of “My First, My Last, My Everything” ever performed.

Chapter 2

Maggie could not stop thinking about what Elaine had said about the cars. She was also consumed by worry over whether she would die soon.
Every day she would walk down to the creek and bathe, letting the cool water wash away the dirt from her shell. She sat in the cool mud and thought of all the things she’d never done.
One day she sat, thinking about how she’d never fallen in love when Elaine hopped up behind her.
“What’re you thinking about?” Elaine asked.
“I’m thinking about all the things I’ve never done.”
“Like what?” Elaine dipped her mouth into the water carefully. She hated having wet fur.
“I’ve never fallen in love,” Maggie said wistfully.
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
“Have you ever been in love, Elaine?”
“Yes, I have, Maggie. Many years ago. Her name was Gloria. She was a hare. So our love could go nowhere. I still miss her.”
Maggie cried out, “See? I’ve not had one love even. I’m all alone.”
Elaine nestled against Maggie, “No, you’re not all alone. You have all your friends and we love you very much.”
“That’s not all. I’ve never seen anything but this forest.”
Elaine laughed, “What else is there to see?”
“I don’t know. There must be something else. What does it look like where the people come from?”
“I don’t know. It can’t be good if they come here all the time.”
“I guess,” Maggie said, burying her head in the cold mud.
“Just stop that,” said Elaine, “I know what to do.”
“What?”
“We’ll go to Rich. He has to have pictures of the land where the people come from. Then you’ll see you’re not missing anything.”
Part of Maggie wanted to stay right there in the mud but part of her was curious. That’s right, she thought, Rich knows everything. So they set off to find Rich.
They hadn’t gotten three steps away when something huge knocked them over and jumped in the river, splashing them with water.
“What do you think you’re doing?” yelled Elaine. Maggie crawled inside her shell.
“Dwinkin’ water,” slurped the beast. It was big and furry and had a huge tongue which lapped up water but not without splashing everything in sight.
“Oh my god. You’re a dog,” Elaine said, with great exasperation.
“Yup,” said the dog, rolling around in the mud.
Maggie peeked out of her shell. She’d heard of dogs before. They were large beasts but not as large as mountain lions. They had lots of fur and were rumored to be rather stupid. They let the people take them away and were too dumb to live on their own.
“Live here?” said the dog.
“Yes, we live here. This is our creek. That is our mud. Please leave,” said Elaine, coming up to her full height.
Unfortunately, the dog towered over her. He had a silly grin on his face and great big eyes. One of his ears stood straight up and one was flipped over one eye. Maggie thought he’d be even bigger than he was, based on what she had heard of dogs before.
“I’m weally a puppy,” he said, shaking all over and throwing water around again.
“If you do not stop splashing me with water you’ll be sorry,” cautioned Elaine. Maggie was able to dodge the water by pulling back in her shell.
“John! John!” It was the sound of a human. Elaine hopped off to hide behind a tree. Maggie lay still. Unless Rich directed them to do otherwise they were to stay away from the humans.
“Blah!” yelled John.
“Roof, roof!!” said the girl, coming over to John, “You’re supposed to say ‘roof, roof’.”
“Blah!” yelled John.
“Oh, what a pretty turtle,” the girl cried, “I just love turtles. Don’t I, Johnny, don’t I? I just love them. I want to hold them and kiss them. Just like I kiss my John, right, boy?”
“Blah!” yelled John.
Maggie felt a whoosh of air in her shell and a great pressure from all around. She peeked out and snapped. There were too great big brown eyes in front of her and a pair of puckered lips.
“Give me kisses, turtle, give me kisses,” said the girl.
“Blah!” yelled John.
Elaine hopped over and tried to knock the girl over. Instead the girl dropped Maggie and scooped up Elaine.
“A bunny! Mommy! I found a bunny!” the girl took off in the opposite direction with Elaine clutched in her hands.
John and Maggie looked at each other. John scooped up Maggie in his mouth gently and ran to catch up with the girl. Maggie felt his spit drip down into her shell. It smelled like mud and water. She could hear Elaine yelling, “Put me down this instant. Who do you think you are?”
“Mommy, can I keep it? Can I keep it? I love it. I love it. I want it to be with me always. I want to hold it and kiss it and love it,” said the girl, trying to kiss Elaine. Elaine moved away and tried to kick at the girl.
“I don’t know, Angie. You already have a pet. Is it fair to John to get a new one?” said the Mommy.
“It’s okay. He won’t mind. He’s no fun anyway. When I got him I wanted to love him and kiss him and make him sleep with me at night but he’s retarded,” said Angie as she hopped into the car with Elaine.
“John! John!” yelled the man in the front of the car.
John jumped in fast so they wouldn’t see Maggie in his mouth. Then the doors shut and the car took off, sending mud flying. John tucked Maggie in the back, underneath a towel. He put his feet on the back of the back seat and tried to lick Angie.
“Ick. I hate that. Stop, John, I hate that,” she cried.
He continued to lick until she swatted at him. He dodged her hand and sat down in the back, grinning contentedly.
John laid down and whispered in Maggie’s ear, “I’m not really retarded. I’m just good at playing retarded. It keeps her from bugging me. She used to have a lizard named Walter. He couldn’t take it. One night he busted out and went to live in the desert. I have tried to run away twice; he said I could live with him if I ever made it, but they always bring me back.”
“Stop panting, John. God, you’re retarded,” said Angie, still trying to kiss a kicking Elaine.
A moment later the car stopped.
“Here we are,” said the man in front.
Angie hopped out, leaving Elaine in the backseat, “Stay, bunny, stay. I love you, bunny. You’re my bunny forever,” then slammed the door.
“I am going to kill that brat,” said Elaine, “She held me so tight I thought I was going to explode. If she tries to pick me up by my ears there’s no telling what I’ll do.”
“Hi, I’m John.”
Elaine stopped and leaned over the seat, “You sound different.”
“Well, I was telling your friend here…”
Elaine interrupted, “Maggie.”
“Yes, Maggie. I was telling her that I pretend to be retarded so Angie leaves me alone.”
“Angie. Angie. I’ll remember that. I don’t forget anything. I will get her one day for this.”
“What’s your name?” John asked.
“Elaine.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“I’d say the same but I am not happy right now.”
“Elaine,” said Maggie, “What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know. John, do you know how to get us out of here?”
John laughed sadly, “I may not be retarded but it’s not like I’m a genius. I am, after all, only a puppy.”
“Hmmm,” thought Elaine, pacing back and forth in the seat, “I guess we’ll have to make a break for it. You have to be the diversion, John.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Can you play really retarded?”
“Yup.”
“Then you distract her and we’ll jump out the window.”
“Elaine?” said Maggie.
“Yes?”
“I can’t jump out the window.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Elaine went back to thinking.
John’s face lighted up, “I know. Angie’s mom hates reptiles. She was happy when Walter ran away. If I get her to open the back and she sees Maggie she’ll throw her out.”
“I’m not a reptile, I’m a turtle!” Maggie protested.
“You know what I mean,” said John.
“Okay, guys, it’s worth a shot,” said Elaine, “They’re headed back. First, let me get out the window and then make sure you get Maggie out, okay?”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
As soon as Angie got back in the car John started to lick on her. He wouldn’t stop.
“Quit, idiot, quit!” yelled Angie. In the split second that she dropped Elaine, Elaine hopped up on the seat and right out the window.
“Mommy!!! My bunny! My bunny is gone!” Angie cried.
“Angie, settle down. You can’t take the bunny with you. John, sit. Sit John,” said the Mommy.
John started to panic. How could he get Mommy back here. Then he hit on a brilliant idea. He started to tear things up. He pulled out shoes and knocked over bags and started eating everything.
“John!” cried Mommy.
He chewed faster, harder and started to growl. The man up front stopped the car and went around to the back. In the meantime John picked up Maggie and set her in the back, in plain view.
When the man opened the window he saw Maggie and put her back on the ground, “We’re not taking turtles either, young lady. Stop crying. John, be good. Stop messing with things.”
“My bunny!”
John leaned out the window and yelled at Elaine and Maggie, “I’m John Steinbeck, look me up sometime!”
“Thanks!” called out Elaine and Maggie.

Chapter 3

For a week after their big adventure Elaine and Maggie were the most popular creatures in the forest. Everyone wanted to hear about their daring escape.
But something still troubled Maggie. She couldn’t put her finger on it.
“What’s bugging you now?” said Elaine. She was drinking out of an upturned tulip. Someone had filched a can of Coors Light and left it on her doorstep. Not one to question good luck, Elaine took to having a tulip’s worth every once in a while.
“I just feel like I should do something more.”
“Like what? Remember the last time you thought like this we almost got stuck living with a drooling dog and an incorrigible brat.”
“Hey, John Steinbeck was very nice to us. We’d still be there if not for him,” said Maggie.
“Yes, I guess you’re right,” conceded Elaine. Her whiskers were feeling rather light and airy after a few sips of her Coors.
“I wish we could’ve done something for him,” said Maggie.
“He can get away if he wants. He’s just a dog. They don’t know how to live on their own. That’s why we call them stupid.”
“But we couldn’t get away on our own and he helped us. If we’re so smart why did we need help?”
“Because we’re smaller.”
“So?” said Maggie.
“What’s your point?”
“Elaine, we need to rescue John Steinbeck. Then he can come live here with us. We can teach him how to live on his own. We can help him like he helped us,” Maggie said, excited and ready to leave that instant.
“Hold on, Maggie, hold on,” cautioned Elaine, “We don’t know where he lives or how to find him or how to get him back here or anything. You have to understand that we live in the forest because we can’t live in the human world.”
Maggie started walking away as fast as her small legs could carry her, “I’m going to go ask Rich.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll go with you.”

Chapter 4

Rich lived in the tallest tree in the forest. No one had ever been in his home and it was rumored that he had things no one else did. It was also rumored that Rich knew everything. That was one rumor everyone in the forest believed and knew to be true.
“Rich!” called Elaine from the bottom of Rich’s tree, “Rich!”
Rich was tucked in home, sleeping as was his custom during the day. It was at night, when the mountain lions prowled that Rich was awake, keeping watch over everyone, calling out a warning if anyone needed to hide.
“Rich! Rich!” yelled Maggie.
“Maggie, that was right in my ear!” said Elaine.
“Oops, sorry.”
“Yes?” called out a deep voice.
“We need help.”
Rich flew down from his perch and shook his feathers. He was not in a good mood now, “What is it?”
“We need to find someone,” said Maggie.
“Who?”
Maggie and Elaine started to find a place to hide as ‘who’ was Rich’s warning call.
“No, no, I meant what person are you trying to find,” Rich said, rolling his amber eyes.
“Oh, we need to find a dog, actually,” said Elaine, “It’s for Maggie.”
“You want a dog?” asked Rich.
“No,” said Maggie, I need to find the dog that saved us. I think he needs help, too.”
“Maggie, you are very young but I will tell you, you can’t go find anyone. The human world is very different. I’ve flown over it and it can’t be done. Not by you.”
“If you won’t help me I’ll have to do it on my own,” Maggie said, walking away.
“Stop, stop,” said Rich, “if you are really serious I’ll give you the information I have but it will still be very hard to do.
“Yes, please, anything.”
“Now, what’s the name?”
“Maggie.”
“Elaine.”
Rich looked at them and sighed, “I meant the name of the dog.”
“Oh,” laughed Maggie, “John Steinbeck.”
Rich paused, “Really?”
“Yes, why?” said Elaine.
“Wait a minute,” said Rich and he flew back home. A moment later he returned with a scrap of paper.
“See,” he said, “John Steinbeck.”
Elaine and Maggie looked at it carefully. It was paper with colors and symbols but no picture of a dog. They looked up at Rich.
“The name. That says John Steinbeck.”
“Oh,” said Elaine and Maggie.
“What now?” said Maggie.
Rich sighed again and pointed out the different symbols with the tip of his wing, “It says here: ‘of Salinas, Calfornia.’”
“Where’s that?” said Elaine.
“Very far away. It takes me three days to fly there. It would take you weeks to walk. You had better forget it,” and he started to fly away, “Now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to get back to my nap.”
“Rich, don’t you dare go away. We’re going to do this either with you or without you. So you might as well help,” Maggie said, craning her neck out as far as she could and rising as far as she could on her small legs. Even Elaine stepped back and looked at her.
“Yeah,” said Elaine, “We’d be the private pets of some spoiled brat named Angie if it weren’t for John Steinbeck so you are going to help us.”
Rich looked at both of them and realized there was little he could do to dissuade them from their quest. He came forward, looked around to make sure no one was listening and then started to speak.
“Okay, first of all, you’re going to have to get across the roads. I know that Salinas is west of us. I don’t know how you’re going to get across the roads,” he turned to Elaine, “It might not be so hard for you but it will be impossible for Maggie to do on her own. She isn’t as fast as you.”
“I can make it,” said Maggie.
Elaine looked from Rich to Maggie, “I wasn’t going to tell you about the roads, Maggie. I figured that as long as you always lived in the forest you’d never have to know about them but the truth is, the road kills more of us than do hunters or mountain lions.”
Maggie looked worried, “Worse than mountain lions?”
“Yes,” Elaine sat back, her ears back as well, “I had a brother once named Tony. He was fun and always looked out for me. But one day he decided he wanted to see the roads. Mom and Dad had told him to stay away but he was too curious,” Elaine turned away, “Tony never came back.”
“Oh, Elaine, what happened?”
Elaine sniffled and moved off a few inches. Rich
moved closer to Maggie, “Remember the car? The cars go really fast on the road. Faster than the mountain lions. Faster than I can fly. And sometimes they drive over us and we die.”
Maggie was so scared she drew back into her shell. She started to shake. She had no idea it would be that bad. Maybe she was wrong to think that she could find and help John Steinbeck. But then a thought struck her and she peeked out a bit from her shell, “Do dogs get run over by the cars?”
Rich sighed, “More than any other animal. I see them out there all the time. Well, dogs and deer. But the deer are even dumber than dogs. The deer actually jump out in front of the cars. God, I hate the deer.”
“Elaine, Elaine, we have to go now. We can’t leave John out there to be run over by the cars. If that girl gets sick of him she’ll throw him out and you said he can’t take of himself. What if he tries to go find Walter and gets run over?”
Elaine considered Maggie for a moment, “You’re right. Let’s do it.”
“Stay here,” said Rich. In a flash he took off again, rising fast amongst the trees. A few minutes later he was back. “I had an idea,” he said, “Let’s go down to the swamp.”

Chapter 5

Craig was sitting on the edge of the swamp, whispering with a particularly pretty frog. She batted her big frog eyes at him and he was catching flies for her, showing off.
“Craig, we need your help,” said Rich as he alighted next to Craig.
“I’m busy, man,” Craig turned back to the frog but she had already left, “What was that about? Why are you messing with my game?”
Rich rolled his eyes, “This is important.”
“What?”
Elaine and Maggie kept quiet and let Rich handle Craig. Craig was notoriously independent and it would take a lot of sweet talking from Rich to get Craig to agree to help.
“Look, Craig, we all know how busy you are and I know you have a lot of better things to do, but this is a matter of life and death and you’re the only one who can help.”
Craig looked at Rich warily, “What do I have to do?”
“All you have to do is help Elaine and Maggie across the roads.”
“What? Are you joking? I’m not going anywhere near the roads. Forget it,” and Craig moved away.
Rich moved in front of him, “Come off it, I know you know the roads. You’re the only one who does. I know there’s a frog over in Smith’s Field pond you go see every Tuesday. You hop across that road without any problem at all. I watch you every Tuesday.”
“How dare you keep tabs on me! My life is my own, man. I don’t have to answer to you. Everyone else might think you’re the crème de la crème but I don’t have…”
Rich touched Craig with his wingtip, “I’m trying to watch over you, Craig. What would happen if something happened to you? We’d never know. Who would look after your millions of tadpoles?”
Craig looked down and the ground and let out a big sigh, “I guess you’re right. Okay. How am I supposed to get them across the road?”
“Well, Elaine can do it. You just have to teach her your tricks. Maggie is harder. You’ll have to carry her. She’s a small turtle and you are strong, you can do it.”
Craig hopped around Maggie, checking her out, figuring out if he could support across the road.
“I’ll have to practice first. There can’t be any mistakes once we’re on the pavement,” Craig declared.
“Of course,” said Rich with a smile.

Chapter 6

It took two weeks of work to get ready. Every night after everyone went to sleep Maggie, Elaine, Rich and Craig met by the lake on the north side of the forest. Rich had made a deal with the fireflies to come around and lend their light.
Craig explained his technique for watching traffic and how he dodged the cars. It would be harder for Elaine because Craig often blended in with the pavement. It was decided that before they took off Elaine would have to roll around in the mud to look darker. She didn’t like that idea much as it later involved taking a bath and wetting her fur, but it was not to be avoided.
Craig practiced at the same time did Elaine, only with Maggie on his back. After the first night he put Maggie on a diet and she was forced to give up the Payday candy bar bites she’d been working on for the last few months. It had been left behind by a careless camper and she was surprised at how delicious nougat was.
“Again, again,” said Rich. By the time they got home every night they were exhausted. Rich suspended choir practice, saying that he needed time to research a new program. Usually he stalked the couples that sat on Lookout Mountain and gleamed information from the sounds coming out of their car radios.
One day Maggie was struck with a new worry. “Rich, what happens when we hit the second road? Craig won’t be there to get me across!”
Rich had already asked Craig to accompany them but Craig had been unable to do so. It was spawning season and the banks of the pond were strewn with bathing beauties in every shade of green. Besides, said Rich, he needed Craig to stay and help with the choir. He was a founder of the choir and without his deep bass voice the choir would be out of balance.
Rich stared into Maggie’s eyes, “Elaine will carry you. That’s what we are working on tomorrow.”
Elaine took a deep breath and lay her head on the top of Maggie’s shell, “I promise to take care of you, Maggie.”
Maggie smiled up at Elaine but she was scared.

Chapter 7

The night before they left Rich told Maggie and Elaine to get a good night’s sleep. Craig was already tucked in under a mossy hollow log under Rich’s tree. Rich feared that if he didn’t keep an eye on Craig then the young toad would be sprawled out on the banks of the swamp, drinking courage and flirting with the young, nubile frogs who had heard rumors that he was going to attempt the most daring of feats: crossing the road.
In fact, everyone in the forest seemed to be aware of the upcoming day. The squirrels had hoarded twice as many nuts in order to be able to take a day off to see Maggie and Elaine off. The two old garden snakes returned from their home at McDaffy’s farm in order to witness what everyone had said was impossible. The skunks had even been spraying along the edge of the forest trail to keep the people out for the last few days; no one had time to do their normal people-pleasing jobs. The whole forest was instead focused on Maggie and Elaine’s upcoming adventure.
Maggie was in her shell, trying to sleep but every sound that had once lulled her to sleep now did nothing but keep her awake. She heard every twitch of the branches, every rustle of the leaves and she couldn’t seem to get the sound of the cars out of her ears. She screwed her little eyes shut but sleep would not come.
Elaine had burrowed far back into her bunny hole. She nestled her nose into her fur and tried to keep her breathing steady but sleep never came. Instead her ears were attuned to every sound around her and she wished she had kept the last of her Coors Light for such a night. Unfortunately she had tipped back the rest from her overturned tulip. Now she had nothing but honeysuckle juice and that just didn’t have the same kick to it.
Rich flew overhead, keeping watch over all three. Well, he mostly was making sure that Craig stayed put. But he was worried that Elaine and Maggie would feel the pressure of tomorrow and perhaps not be able to go through with it. Yes, the first trial run across the old creek bridge had gone well but the cars there went very, very slow. Everyone seemed elated, but he had noticed the way Craig took off straight to the swamp and returned the next morning with blurred eyes. Maggie had scurried away to her own home and plopped down so hard her shell seemed ready to crack. Elaine had licked her clandestine tulip dry. He knew they were scared. So was he.
He flew in large circles around the forest. He prayed that he hadn’t missed anything in his planning. He even allowed himself to pray that they’d give up. But mostly, he prayed that they’d be safe. He dipped his wings and closed his eyes, letting the wind rush over him, letting the dusk settle around them all.

Chapter 8

Maggie woke up first. She poked her head out of her shell, surprised that the sun had come up. She couldn’t remember falling asleep, only that she feared she never would. But she wasn’t tired. Instead she felt wired and stiff. She stuck her legs out and shook each one, trying to shake some energy into them. She craned her neck out far and twisted it, trying to get out all the kinks. Then she walked over to Elaine’s slowly.
“Elaine?” she called. She heard a slight snore from the back of the burrow, “Elaine?” she repeated.
“Hummphh.”
“Wake up,” Maggie said in her brightest voice, “It’s time to go.”
“’Kay,” said Elaine in a voice that sounded quite grumpy. Elaine was famous for being grumpy in the morning but today Maggie needed Elaine to be strong and happy. Maggie was as scared as she’d ever been.
Elaine came out and stretched up high, her long ears standing straight up, “What time is it?”
“I don’t know,” said Maggie, licking at the soft, dewy underside of a fern, “Early, I guess.”
“Too early. Rich probably just went to sleep,” Elaine sat down and crinkled her nose, sniffing the air, as if that would tell her how early it was.
“I dunno,” said Maggie.
“You’re not going to be whiny the whole say to Salinas, are you?” Elaine asked, her paws on her waist.
“No, I’m not. I’m just nervous, that’s all,” said Maggie.
Elaine patted Maggie’s shell, “I am, too.” Maggie felt a lot better.
They walked to the creek in silence. Maggie listened to the sounds of the forest and already started to feel homesick. The squirrels were scurrying up the trees and the birds had started their morning songs. They were the songs she had heard her whole life.
“Elaine?” said Maggie.
Elaine had stopped to rub against a tall pussywillow. She had not slept well and her back ached, “Yes?”
“Are you afraid?” Maggie rubbed her nose in the cool mud.
Elaine paused, “Yes, a little.”
“Me, too.”
Elaine continued to rub her back against the pussywillow’s velvet softness. Maggie watched the dragonflies hover above the creekwater, the morning sun glowing through the gossamer of their wings.
“Elaine? Maggie?” said Rich, high above them. They looked up at the same time to see him drift down from the sky to land in front of them, “Are you ready to go?”
They looked at each other and nodded.
“Alright,” said Rich, walking in slow steps in front of them, “It’s time. Let’s go.”
Rich walked with them, his feathers brushing the ground. Elaine hopped behind him, her ears alert and bright pink. Maggie followed with measured steps.
Maggie noticed that the dragonflies left the creek to flutter in their wake. The birds’ songs seemed to rise as they reached Rich’s tree. Small flutters of leaves announced the presence of other of the woodland creatures. By the time they reached Rich’s tree there seemed to be a flurry of activity. Rich flew up to his perch and when he did Maggie lifted her head to watch.
Hanging from Rich’s tree branch was a banner made of interlocking twigs that spelled out “Good Luck.” Tucked into the letters were blossoms of honeysuckle and wildflowers. Elaine sat back on her legs and perked up her ears. Two small bags made of folded maple leaves tied with string filched from errant campers were sitting side by side. Ahead of them were squirrels using their bushy tails to clean the trail headed towards the road. Large contingents of woodland creatures were gathered behind them.
“Hurry, hurry. They haven’t any time to waste,” Rich called out. All the woodland creatures who sang in the choir rushed up around them. Even the porcupine, Brumus, who hated everyone and everything was standing behind them. He had a small acorn leaf applied to his back like bandage, where a quill had been pulled out. It had been tucked through the maple leaves to make the bundles easier to carry.
“It’s time to see Maggie and Elaine off on their adventure. We have all gathered here this morning to wish them good luck and godspeed. What they are about to do is dangerous but very, very brave. None of us has ever traveled into the cities for any reason. Those who have tried to cross the roads have often never returned. We mus…”
Rich was interrupted by a loud yawn from Craig, who was emerging from his space under the log, “My god, do we have to be awoken so early?”
Rich flew down to Craig and discreetly sniffed his breath. He was thankful that it smelled of old flies and not old swamp water, “Craig, you were already supposed to be up. It’s time to go.”
Craig jumped around a few times, showing off for the contingent of light green frogs which stood to the side, whispering together. Rich rolled his eyes but allowed Craig his moment of glory. Besides, his legs need to be well warmed up for the task at hand, thought Rich. When Craig started to make eyes at one little frog named Sarah, Rich stood between them.
“And now we’re all ready to go. Craig here is going to handle the first part of their journey, crossing the first road into Smith’s Grove’s farm. If it weren’t for him and his strong legs Maggie and Elaine could not start their long trek. It will be up to him to keep them safe,” Rich said, laying it on thick to get Craig’s pride up. He knew that the more he praised Craig the harder Craig would work to prove him right. Sometimes a big ego is a plus, thought Rich.
The songbirds gathered in a long row on Rich’s branch. At his nod they started singing “Happy Trails.” The dragonflies darted around the twig banner, casting reflected light around it and making it so beautiful.
Maggie’s eyes started to tear and she was sure she saw Elaine quickly wipe a tear from her own wide eyes. Rich came over and wrapped his wings around Elaine and whispered in her ear. Then he reached down and patted Maggie’s head with the tip of his wing. He motioned towards the maple leaves and the squirrels hoisted them up and balanced them on Elaine’s shoulders.
“The squirrels took some extra of their stash of food and made these bundles for you. There’s an acorn apiece as well as some fern leaves and a blossom or two of honeysuckle and a blackberry,” said Rich. Maggie looked at the small group of squirrels and smiled. She was very touched as it was well known that the squirrels were the stingiest creatures of the forest. Elaine also smiled at the squirrels, who nodded back, their bushy tails bouncing with their movements.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” said Craig, who was ready to get going. He flipped out his tongue, caught an errant fly and swallowed, rubbing his belly in contentment.
Craig hopped off first, Elaine followed. Maggie started off with a determined step and Rich followed up the rear. All the other creatures followed Rich. The skunks brought up the rear; Dylan, the youngest skunk had been eating elderberries all night and had ended up spraying everyone that morning when he stumbled over his feet. Rich relegated them to the back after having scolded Dylan for his lapse in judgment.
The birds left their branch and dropped violets down on Maggie, Craig and Elaine. Maggie walked as tall as she could, her head proudly craning from her shell. Elaine hopped determinedly and saluted the other bunnies as she passed them lined up on the side of the trail. Craig hopped ahead and then hopped backwards, warming up his hopping legs and making the frogs in back of Rich swoon.
Once they reached the end of the forest, with the sound of the road a very short distance away, they all stopped. Craig still stretched his long legs and Elaine did the same. Maggie shivered inside her shell but tried to keep anyone from noticing. Rich came over and lifted Maggie up, setting her on Craig’s waiting back. She held on best she could while Rich tied a long piece of ragweed around her, securing her to Craig.
The woodland creatures all gathered up, eager to watch but afraid to see them go. The birds alighted to the lowest tree branches and quieted. Rich looked at them and nodded.
“See ya later!” called out Craig, “We’re off!”
The creatures burst into song at the dip of Rich’s wing and so they started off, the sound of the Woodland Creatures Choir singing “Life in the Fast Lane.” They weren’t sure if the words fit but the title sure did.

Chapter 9

It had gone by in such a blur. One minute they were standing on the edge of the road and Maggie could feel the whoosh of the wind flowing through her shell as the cars flew by. Then she felt Craig tense beneath her and they were off. She tried to will the sound of the cars to stop and she tried to remind herself that it was just like all those days they spent practicing. But no matter how hard she tried she could only hear the whrring sound of the tires and the flup-flup of the tires against the pavement. She wanted to see where Elaine was but Rich had cautioned Maggie to keep her head inside her shell. He was afraid that if she screamed in terror that she’d break Craig’s concentration.
Elaine, however, had an easier time than she thought. She simply waited until there was a spot and jumped into what Craig called the “safe zone.” Apparently there’s enough room underneath the cars for a woodland creature and as long as they could drive over top you’d be safe. It was just getting from one safe zone to another that was the problem. But her eyes were sharp and her focus clear. She took her time, judging the motion of the cars. Back in the forest the birds had sometimes played the cars, flying in straight lines as fast as they could and it was up to Elaine to dodge them. She had gotten pretty good and pretty soon few of the birds had been able to knock her over. But the cars were larger and there were a lot more of them.
Wait, wait, she thought. Jump, now! And she did. Safe again. Wait, wait. Now. Jump. Safe again. The yellow lines were for a short break, she remembered. By the time she got to the yellow line her fur was damp with sweat and her nose hurt from sniffing the fumes. Cars sure smell bad, she thought, even skunks smell better than this. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to remember the smell of dew on a field strawberry when she heard Craig yell.
“Elaine! Now!” she heard him yell.
She opened her eyes to see a car that was driving almost on top of the yellow lines. She quickly looked over and made another jump, just in time to miss being smushed.
“Never close your eyes,” yelled Craig from under the cars in the next lane. One of Maggie’s legs was poking out from her shell and Elaine knew Maggie was too afraid to move lest she distract Craig. So it lay there, limp yet slightly shaking. She wanted to assure Maggie she’d be okay but she had to focus on getting to the next safe zone.
“One more, Elaine,” called Craig. Without her seeing it he had made it to the other side. Behind him was now only soft rolling hills of green and tall cornstalks.
Elaine took a deep breath, concentrated on the tires and made a final leap. As soon as she leapt she closed her eyes, willing herself to be safe. She felt her front legs hit something soft and her back legs brushed the pavement before yielding to softness. She froze, panting and wishing. Then she slowly opened her eyes to reveal that she was safely on the grass. She hopped around Craig and Maggie in delight.
“We made it! We made it! Oh, wow, Craig, that was fun. Man, those cars didn’t know what hit ‘em, did they? We really did it! Whoo hoo! We are an unbeatable team, eh, Maggie?” Elaine hopped around, standing to wiggle her tail in the air before abounding again.
“Elaine! Elaine!” yelled Craig, “Help me!”
Elaine hopped over to Craig, ‘Wasn’t I great? Man, I bet you never saw a bunny do that before, did you?”
“Elaine, get Maggie off me!”
“Oh, sorry, I forgot,” Elaine said and helped to break through the ragweed tie, letting Maggie roll off of Craig into the sweet grass.
“Did I die? Am I dead?” called out Maggie, stricken with fear in her shell, as she had landed upside down. Craig went to push her over and Elaine tried to catch her so she didn’t fall over on her back again, “Elaine, am I in heaven? What’s happened?”
“Oh, Maggie, you’re fine. You’re just upside down, that’s all. Hold on,” Elaine said and she and Craig enjoyed a giggle at Maggie’s expense. Now that they were safe it was okay to make fun of Maggie again.
“Whew, that was a close call,” said Maggie, poking her head out and shaking it about.
“Oh, yeah, we thought we’d lost you,” said Elaine, her little eyes sparkling.
“It must have been hard on you,” said Craig with a smirk.
“It was horrible. It smelled so bad and it was so loud and hot and it was so scary,” Maggie said, her eyes wide.
“Try doing it with a whiny turtle strapped to you!” said Craig with a chortle as he hopped down towards the pond.
“Hey! It isn’t my fault…where are you going?” said Maggie indignantly.
“Mag, we’re just teasing you,” said Elaine, nuzzling Maggie with her nose, “We’re all safe.”
“Be careful, see ya later,” called out Craig before he jumped over a small hill out of sight.
“Hey!” called out Maggie towards him.
“Let him go. He’s just being a toad, that’s all. He knows we appreciate it and he did a lot of work getting you across. I thought you were supposed to lose weight,” said Elaine, hopping around Maggie, teasing her.
“I did,” protested Maggie, “I gave my payday candy bar to the squirrels and I didn’t even have any buttercups last Friday like I usually do. I can’t help it if my shell is heavy.”
Elaine laughed, “Maggie, I’m just giving you a hard time. We’re safe. Let’s just relax for a moment and then head off. The next one will be harder.”
Maggie watched Elaine hop off, happy to be in the safe grasses. Maggie glanced back at the road of whizzing cars. She shuddered and then took off towards Elaine.

Chapter 10

“Elaine, I’m hungry,” said Maggie. Her feet were tired and her shell felt heavy. To her it seemed like they had been walking forever. Elaine stopped and looked at Maggie. Maybe it was too much for a little turtle to keep up with a bunny, thought Elaine.
“Let’s stop and have a bite. I still have the acorns,” said Elaine.
Maggie flopped down on the grass, panting, her little legs splayed out on either side of her. Elaine started to chide her, to tell her that she ought to suck it up, that this journey was Maggie’s idea in the first place .But the moment Elaine sat down next to her she felt a weary fatigue seep into her as well.
“Elaine?” whined Maggie, “How much farther?”
Elaine thought for a moment before answering, “Maggie, we’ve only been walking for an hour. We have a long way to go.”
Maggie sighed and closed her eyes, intending to rest just a moment. Within seconds she felt a pull on her leg.
“What?” Maggie said, startled and irritated.
“You were snoring,” said Elaine.
“Oh,” Maggie said, turning pink with a blush. She hadn’t meant to fall sleep but the softness of the grass and the warm sun on her shell led her into one of her favorite dreams: she was flying through the forrest. Being a turtle, she had never seen the forest from any point but the ground and so she wanted so much to see it from above.
“Here,” said Elaine, “Have an acorn.”
Maggie nibbled on the outside of the acorn, happy to be eating though wishing she had tucked a stray honeysuckle blossom into her shell before they left. But the acorn was pretty good. The squirrels had even seasoned them with rosewater so they tasted pretty sweet.
She thought of John Steinbeck and how happy he’d be to see them. She thought of home and felt wistful. She thought of how her little legs ached already and how she wanted to curl up in her shell and sleep until her legs were ready to go again.
“Maggie!” yelled Elaine.
“What?”
“You fell asleep again.”
“Oh.”
Elaine stretched and then shook her bunny tail, trying to gain more energy. She picked up the remaining food and said to Maggie, “Okay. Let’s go. We’ll never get to Salinas if we just sit here all day.”
Maggie twisted inside her shell, pulling out all the kinks, “Okay, okay, you’re right.”
Full of rosewater acorns and newly resolved to make good time, they set off again.

Chapter 11

Jo was perched up in the highest level of the hay barn, her ginger fur in sharp relief to the blond strands of straw around her. She was a ginger cat with thick fur, gossamer soft from her habit of constantly scratching against the poles of the hay barn. She knew she should be catching the field mice that populate the barn, chewing on the valuable hay, making mess. But it was much better to lay in a soft spot, feeling the cool breeze filter through the top openings of the barn and listening to the hooves of the horses outside in the pasture.
“Jo? Jo? Jo?”
Jo opened one green eye and saw the leaping figure of a black and white cat, leaping between the bales, tucking her head into any crevice, looking for Jo. Jo sighed, knowing that Figaro could have news of great import or, more likely, wanted to tell her some piece of meaningless trivia. Figaro was a pretty cat and the favorite of the family who owned the barn, but she was insane nevertheless.
“Jo? Jo? JO!”
Jo closed her eyes and willed herself not to breathe. She had had a long night and couldn’t be bothered listening to the Fiagro’s ramblings. Just when she thought she was safe a great pile of damp straw fell upon her head.
“What the hell?” Jo screamed, her voice reaching those high octaves she strove to avoid. Those screeches annoyed even her.
Figaro was perched on the rafter above her, a crazy gleam in her wonky eyes and another fistful of damp, green straw in her paws, ready to shower it down on Jo. Figaro held the straw above her head, menacingly.
“You better get up!” Figaro said, in a surprisingly deep voice. Figaro was always a study in contrasts: crazy as a junebug but more courageous than any other animal on the farm. In fact, the two bloodhounds who hunted and were considered ill tempered were scared of Figaro. The one time Clyde decided to teach Figaro a lesson he ended up with a black eye
“What is it?” Jo asked, stretching up and shaking off the moldy straw, “And by the way, do not EVER throw moldy straw on me again.”
“Then get up,” said Figaro, with a smile that showed off her 10 remaining teeth.
“I’m up, I’m up,” Jo said, trying to pick a particularly stubborn strand of straw from her tail.
“I think we’re being invaded by monsters!” screeched Figaro, who ended her proclamation with a terrifying sneeze that caused her to lose grip on her weapons of destruction. The straw fell right on top of Jo’s head.
“For god’s sake, Fig, stop it! I just cleaned myself this morning!”
Figaro stayed in position, even though her hay was gone. She looked like she was ready to execute a swan dive off the rafter, “Don’t call me Fig. I hate that.”
“Don’t throw hay on me. I hate that.”
“I hate that you sleep all the time.”
“I hate that you wake me up.”
“I hate that you steal the kidneys from my bowl.”
“I hate that you leave them there to rot before you eat them,” Jo screamed.
“I hate that you are ginger colored.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” hissed Figaro.
“You’re crazy!” Jo pronounced, staring in Figaro’s eyes. With nary another word Figaro leaped off the rafter onto Jo, sinking non-existent claws into Jo’s fur.
“Take that back! Take it back!”
“No, never,” cried Jo, spinning around in a circle trying to loosen Figaro. Two of the horses, Frances and Lily, tucked their heads in on the other side of barn and watched. They were tickled and laughed heartily. Charles the bullsnake stuck his head out from under a bale of hay and whispered to Frances, “Jo will win, she’s too strong for Figaro.”
Frances tossed her chestnut mane to one side and shook her head, “Nope, it will be Figaro because she’ll never give up.”
“Take it back!” screamed Figaro.
“Get off of me!” screamed Jo.
The two hound dogs came to peek in. When Clyde saw Figaro on Jo’s back, bashing her about the head with her floppy little paws he let out a high-pitched whine and ran away. He couldn’t afford another black eye. The other hound dog, Roy, started to laugh. And laugh. And laugh. He laughed so hard he fell over and his big ears spread out on the ground and he held his tummy with his paws. Instantly the cats stopped fighting.
“What’re you looking at?” demanded Figaro.
“Yeah? What’s your problem,” asked Jo.
But Roy couldn’t stop laughing. Then Lily started laughing. Then Charles. Pretty soon Frances joined in. The field mice twins, Bob and Blair, popped up from their nest and joined in.
Jo stalked over to Roy and Figaro sat up on Jo’s back like Washington crossing the Delaware. She looked down at the drooling dog and asked in a tight voice, “May I ask what is wrong with you?”
Roy sputtered, “You with her…running…crazy…whoo whoo…hee hee hee.”
Figaro leaned down to whisper in Jo’s ear. Jo nodded and then hunkered down. Figaro pulled her paw back slowly and then whapped Roy across the nose. He jumped up, started to growl until he saw Figaro rise up like the Karate Kid into the crane stance. He cocked his head to one side, confused. Then WHAP. Figaro kicked him in the nose. Roy burst into tears and ran away. The other animals could here Clyde in the distance saying, “Yep, told you to stay away from her.”
“Excuse me?” called a thin little voice from the north doorway of the barn. Everyone spun around and found a tiny white bunny and a small round turtle standing in the doorway, framed by the sun, looking rather scared.
Jo bounded up to them, Figaro still bobbing up and down on her back.
“You wanna piece of me? You talking to me?” cried Figaro. Maggie shrieked and tucked back into her shell. It shook as she hid. Elaine hid behind Maggie, holding up the porcupine quill with the rest of their foods up like a spear.
“No, just leave us alone,” declared Elaine.
“Fig, stop it. It’s over with,” said Jo, with a roll of her eyes in Figaro’s direction. Figaro jumped of Jo and then did her best John Wayne imitation up to Elaine.
“What business have you here?”
“Hey!” said Elaine, “Back off!” With that Figaro took a step back. The rest of the barnyard animals gasped. No one had ever, ever talked back to Figaro and got away with it. To their surprise Figaro met Elaine’s flaming red eyes and then retreated.
“I have better things to do to mess with a ridiculous rabbit,” and with that Figaro walked away towards the creek.
“I’m a bunny!” called Elaine to Figaro’s back.
Jo was busy cleaning her fur but told Elaine, “Don’t worry about her, she’s nuts.”
“Is it safe? Are we going to be killed?” cried Maggie.
“Come on out, it’s okay,” Elaine said.
Maggie peeked out from her shell and looked around. No one was there to kill her. She sighed in relief. First the road and now crazy cats. What was next?
Charles slithered down to Maggie, “What do you need?”
“We’re trying to get to Salinas and we’re tired. It’s going to rain so we thought you’d let us stay here for the night,” said Elaine. Maggie batted her eyes to look tired and sweet, hoping to win them over.
Jo yawned and stretched, “Sure, but you can’t stay on the top level. That’s mine.”
“And not under the bales, that’s where I live,” said Charles.
“Not in our nest,” cried out Bob and Blair, the field mice. Jo spun her head around and the mice babies ran back to their nest. They weren’t really afraid that Jo would get them but Jo could call Figaro and they’d be in trouble so better to just disappear.
“We can stay over there,” pointed Elaine to a tiny dip between bales, “Is that okay?”
“Sure,” said Jo, bored with the conversation.
All of a sudden the ground began to shake. Thick footsteps echoed in the barn. Elaine and Maggie scurried to hide. The rest of the animals began to preen.
“Bet you guys are hungry,” said the human. It was a woman with dark hair and soft brown eyes. She wore tall boots and a plaid jacket. In her hands were a multitude of pails. She sat them down and started handing out food. Sweet feed for Lily and Frances. Two metal bowls were filled with kidneys and tuna for Figaro and Jo. She ruffled Frances’ forelock and scratched Jo behind her ears. Then she retreated.
“Hey, do you want…” Jo started and then looked around for Maggie and Elaine, “Where did you guys go?”
“They’re in the hay,” said Lily between bites.
“Come out, Vicky’s gone,” Jo said, licking a bit of tuna juice from her whiskers.
Elaine and Maggie came out and looked around, “Who’s Vicky?”
“She’s our owner. She feeds us and all of that,” said Jo.
“Owner?” said Maggie.
“Yeah, we’re her pets,” Jo spit out a bit of tuna bone.
“Are you guys like dogs?” asked Maggie.
“What? Dogs? Us?” Jo cried. Frances snorted and Lily turned her back in disgust.
“What? I just thought…”
“Look, you can stay here but be polite enough not to lump us in with those half-wits. They have to live near the house because they’re so dumb. We live out here in our own barn. Dogs. Really,” said Jo and with that she leaped up to the highest level and settled down for another nap.
Elaine and Maggie looked at each other and shrugged. What did they know?
The sun was setting and a deep orange glow filled the sky and a dusky twilight filled the barn. Maggie and Elaine sat in the doorway to the barn and watched the night fall about them. It was different than watching the sunset as diffused by the forest. It was beautiful.

Chapter 12

In the night Elaine was awakened by the sounds of whispered arguing.
“It won’t work.”
“Oh, it will. I know what I’m doing.”
“Remember what happened last time?”
“It will be different, I swear.”
“Just be quiet. I don’t want Fig coming around here. She’ll beat us up.”
“I can take Figaro…”
“Yeah, sure, just like last time? She bit you! And she only has 10 teeth and she still managed to bite you..”
“Shut up and let me concentrate.”
Elaine tried to close her eyes but she couldn’t get back to sleep. Maggie snored away. Finally, Elaine got up and followed the sound of the voices.
“Just hold it here.”
“Where?”
“Here.”
“This won’t work.”
“Quit, dude.”
Bob and Blair were in the corner, in the well of a hole they had dug out of the straw. Elaine peered over the edge, her bunny tail twitching in the cold of the night. These two mice had been building some odd contraption all night. She couldn’t tell what it was supposed to be but it resembled a car.
“You’re going to lop off my finger if you don’t watch it.”
“Then be careful.”
Blair sighed in resignation and held what looked like a big button in place. Bob was trying to push thumbtacks through the center of the button to keep it in place.
“Whatcha doing?” whispered Elaine.
“Ah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Bob and Blair cried out.
“Shh! Everyone’s asleep.”
“Why are you spying on us?” asked Bob.
“I wasn’t. I was asleep and I just heard…”
Blair put his hand on Bob’s arm, “It’s all good, dude.”
Bob sighed and put down his thumbtack and whispered to Elaine, “We’re building a car.”
“Trying to.”
“Really, Blair, why do you have to be so negative. The last one worked.”
“Yeah, until we got stuck at the rest area.”
“Was that my fault? The car got smushed.”
“Because you parked it in a regular space instead of by a tree.”
“I am not going to drive and park like some animal. My car is as good as anyone else’s.”
“Excuse me,” interrupted Elaine, “But what is a rest area?”
Bob looked at Elaine, “Geez, you’re just as stupid as Becky.”
“Whose Becky? And who are you calling stupid?” Elaine’s fur stood up.
“Becky is our sister. She stayed in the forrest when Mom and Dad moved to the city. Well, if you can call the farm the city. To Becky it’s the city. And she…”
“I know her!” cried Elaine.
“Shhhh!”
“I know her!” whispered Elaine.
“Yeah, sure,” said Bob, bending over to try and thread a thick reed through a hole in the bottom on the cigar box that was being used as a car bed.
“I do. She directs our choir.”
“Huh?”
“Our Woodland Creatures Choir. You see…”
Blair interrupted, “Becky can’t sing.”
Elaine looked him straight in the eye, her bunny paws on her waist, “That’s why she directs. Duh.”
“Oh. Go on.”
“We’re friends with her. Really. I swear.”
“Okay, that’s cool. What does that have to do with anything?” Blair asked.
“I thought you’d tell me what a rest area is.”
Blair sighed, turned away from his work and said, “A rest area is where people stop when they’re traveling. Bob likes to go there and get potato chips. We’ve been working on a car to travel from rest area to rest area. He thinks he can travel Route 66 in it. You know what Route 66 is, don’t you? It goes from here to California.”
“I can!” cried Bob. The reed broke in his hand, “Darn it. I need a gearshift.”
Elaine watched him while he pondered his broken “gearshift.” Then she had an idea. She scurried away though the mice didn’t notice. She returned with the porcupine quill. She offered it to Bob, “Will this work for your shifty thing?”
“Gearshift. God, girls don’t know anything.” Bob said.
“I’m not a girl, I’m a bunny!”
“Okay, okay.”
“Will this work?”
Bob looked over the porcupine quill. It was sturdy sharp. It would definitely work, “Yes, thanks.”
Elaine pulled it back. Bob made an angry face. She said, “You can have it if you take Maggie and me in your little car on Route 66 to California. We have to get to Salinas.”
“What? That’s not fair. There’s only room for us.”
“Bullocks. We can put Maggie in the bottom and sit on top of her.”
Bob and Blair both cocked their heads, their ears up straight. That could work and Bob really needed a gearshift. They looked at each other and nodded. Then they looked at Elaine and nodded, “We’ll do it.”
Elaine whooped and hollered, “Yea! Yea!”
Charles hissed at her from under his bale, “Shh! Some of us are trying to sleep.”
Elaine whispered, “Yea! Yea!”
And that is how Elaine and Maggie set off in a cigar box car with two twin field mice on Route 66, on their way to California, to find John Steinbeck.

Chapter 13

It had taken three days to get the cigar box car going. Bob and Blair worked day and night, in shifts, taking just a few moments to sleep. There was a panic when it seemed that shift differential wasn’t going to work. There was concern when Elaine, who was always in fear of her fur getting wet, insisted upon some sort of top to the car in case of rain. Charles stepped up and offered some old skin of his which was shaped into a little canopy. On the hood was a little picture of a blond man and a dark haired man with the words “Route 66” above them while they lounged against a silvery car. Roy had brought it from the house. Though covered in hound dog slime, it was usable and made the perfect addition to the car. On the back of the car was a tiny license plate in blue and yellow which read California UCLA. Bob had bribed Figaro with liversnaps to filch it from the back of one of the children’s toys cars. They were ready to roll.
They didn’t drive the car at first. Bob and Blair pushed it with infinite care to the road and Maggie and Elaine followed, carrying some of the provisions.
“Elaine, do you think this will work?” asked Maggie.
“I hope so,” answered Elaine.
“But really, do you think it will work?” persisted Maggie.
“I don’t see why not.”
“Really?”
“Maggie!” Elaine snapped.
“Sorry. I just. Well, I’m just worried.”
Elaine was more gentle, “It’ll be okay.”
“Okay, dudes, here we go!” called Bob as he and Blair pulled the car onto the road. They stayed on the shoulder of the road. Blair had at least convinced Bob that they ought to stay off main section of the road. Bob took it as a slight to the integrity of his vehicle, but was smart enough to back down, especially since he had Maggie and Elaine to think of. Bob held onto the steering wheel with one hand and motioned to everyone else with the other.
“Maggie, you’re first,” he said.
“Huh?” Maggie said. She was cowered behind the car, staring with huge eyes at the huge, oversized people cars roll by.
“Time to hop in,” Bob said.
Maggie took a deep breath. She put her front legs up on the side of the cigar box and tried to pull herself in. The problem was that not only can’t turtles hop, they can’t climb that well, either.
“Time to push,” Blair said and gestured to Elaine. They got behind Maggie and pushed her up with all their might.
“Geez, Maggie, what have you been eating? You’ve really put on weight.”
“Elaine!”
Blair interjected, “Just push hard.”
With a single combined effort of all their strength they finally got Maggie situated in the cigar box. Blair leaned against the side of the car and wrung the sweat out of his whiskers. Elaine fell back on the grass by the side of the road and panted, her ears flushed a deep pink.
“Maggie, no more berries for you. Stick to nuts and leaves. Geez,” panted Elaine.
“What are you talking about? What about you? You ate as many berries as I did and no one is calling you fat!” Maggie cried.
“Because I’m not!”
“Neither am I. I can’t help it if my shell is heavy. It’s my home, after all,” with mention of home Maggie’s eyes filled with tears.
“Mag, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be mean to you.”
Maggie sniffled, “Okay.”
“Dude, what’s going on?” asked Bob. Blair quickly handed back the hollowed out walnut shell they were using as a water bag.
“Sorry, man,” said Blair, “but after hoisting up her fat ass…”
“Hey!” cried Maggie and Elaine.
“Dude,” Bob chided.
“Sorry,” said Blair.
“Let’s just get the bunny in the car, ‘k?” implored Bob.
“Okay, man,” Blair said and then tucked his head towards Maggie, “Sorry.”
Maggie turned her head back into her shell, too ashamed to look at him. She tried to suck in her stomach and tested to see if she could feel a ton of fat rolls falling out of her shell. She didn’t feel any different than she ever had before. But then again, she knew that those in the city had a different standard of beauty. Every bird from the forest who decided to go to the big city ended up trying to lose weight before they went. Maggie sighed. She felt Elaine hop up next to her. A moment later she felt Elaine’s paw creep in to softly pat her on the head.

Chapter 14

Bob was right, the car worked like a charm. It purred along the side of the road like a pro. Maggie felt a slight breeze flow into her shell and Elaine blinked against the whirl of wind hitting her eyes. Bob focused on the road while Blair slept, a loud snore rising above the sounds of the road. Maggie was still afraid of the cars and tried to block out the sound. Elaine had tried to explain to her that the cars weren’t going to smush them but Maggie wasn’t taking any chances. If one of the cars found them on the side of the road she didn’t want to see it coming.
“There’s the rest area,” Bob exclaimed.
“Maggie! Maggie! Look! We’re almost there,” Elaine knocked on Maggie’s shell excitedly.
“Elaine! Stop. I hate that,” cried Maggie. But she still poked out her turtle head a bit to check it out. She saw a plethora of cars and a small brick building ahead.
They pulled into the rest area, pulling to the back, behind the huge trucks, one of which was emblazoned with a sticker that read “It’s a Box Thing, you wouldn’t understand.”
“Hey, Blair. Wake up!” Bob shoved Blair.
Blair woke up with a start, “Dude, what’s the deal?”
“We’re here,” Bob said, jumping out of the car and running around with his ears pink and alert.
“Cool,” Blair yawned.
“Cool? That’s all you can say? This is great. The car is running like a charm! Let’s find some potato chips,” Bob answered and started towards the brick building.
“He’s so addicted, I swear,” Blair said and stretched his little legs.
Elaine helped Maggie out of the car. Maggie stuck out each leg in turn, stretching out the kinks, “Really? We really made it?” Maggie asked.
“Yep. We’re here. This is great,” Elaine said. She noticed a plastic bag with bright colors and a delicious smell wafting from it. She hopped over, feeling happy and free. It had been a long drive. She stuck her head in the bag and tasted the salty goodness of old pretzels. She had once found a bag like this in the forest. She loved pretzels.
“Elaine?”
“Hmmph,” Elaine said, her mouth chewing furiously.
“Elaine?”
“Wha?” Elaine’s mouth was full.
“Elaine!”
“Shuddup, Mag,” Elaine yelled.
“Elaine! We’re going to die!”
Elaine popped out of the bag and saw what was scaring Maggie. It was a big, fluffy ginger colored cat with dark green eyes. The cat was in pouncing mode, hunkered down with a bright gleam in her eyes. Maggie hid behind Elaine. Elaine felt a slight tremble in her ears.
“What do you want?” Elaine asked, trying to sound important.
Maggie looked around, afraid that the cat would notice Bob or Blair and take off for them, ruining their chances to get to California.
“Those are mine,” said the cat in a menacing tone.
“They were just lying on the ground,” said Elaine, trying to sound in charge.
“So what?” the cat took a step towards them.
“So they are fair game. That’s how it works in the forest.”
“We’re not in the forest, you’re on my turf,” the cat reminded them.
“Said who?” Elaine challenged and glanced around, noticing something that might come in handy in a moment. She tried to look nonchalant so the cat didn’t notice what she did.
“Elaine, be nice,” Maggie whispered.
“Shh,” Elaine whispered back out of the side of her mouth.
The cat took another long, slow step towards them. Suddenly there was the sharp sound of a car’s horn. The cat looked away and Elaine took the opportunity to take a flying leap onto a discarded water bottle and squirted the cat square in the face.
“Ahh! Stop! Oh, help! I’m drowning! I’m drowning!” the cat leapt in the air and spun around, shaking its head, still in agony. She ran and ran and all of a sudden ran smack into a tree, falling over and panting.
Maggie stuck her head out of her shell and couldn’t contain a chuckle.
“Don’t laugh at me,” the cat said plaintively. In fact, it was so sad that even Elaine felt a pang of guilt. A moment passed and finally the cat started to cry. Loud sobs escaped her. Elaine took a tentative step towards her.
“Look, I’m sorry,” Elaine offered.
“Waaa waa,” the cat answered.
“Hey, it was just some water.”
The cat sniffled, sat up and started pawing at her face.
“I just wanted you not to kill us,” Elaine explained.
“I wasn’t going to kill you. How could I?”
“With those big claws!” Elaine said, wondering if the cat was just stupid. Everyone knew that cats had big claws that could kill in an instant.
“Well, I don’t have big claws. Thanks for rubbing it in,” the cat said, still sniffling.
“Why not?”
The cat sighed and laid down, still rubbing her eyes, “Because my old owners tore them out. It’s still painful to even talk about.”
Elaine’s and Maggie’s eyes got big. They had never heard of such torture before. What kind of world were they in now?
Elaine took a few steps forward and gently patted the cat’s head, “I’m sorry. We didn’t know.”
The cat all of a sudden leaped up and threw her paws around Elaine, sobbing on her shoulder. Elaine looked scared and embarrassed. She threw Maggie a look of confusion. The cat sobbed again, her whole body shook so hard that even Elaine’s puffball tail shook.
“I’m sorry,” the cat said, pulling away and wiping off her tears.
“It’s okay, we’re just as scared as you,” Maggie said, coming forward. She couldn’t reach up to pat the cat but she felt a lot less scared.
“What’s your name?” Elaine asked.
“Alex. It’s short for Alexandra. Well, my full name is Empress Alexandra Abramowitz. Or, at least that was the name of my family who threw me out.”
“Why did they throw you out?” asked Maggie, still feeling a bit wary. She thought that humans always kept the animals they had enslaved.
“Allergies. Their human child had allergies,” Alex said and flopped over again.
“What are those?” asked Maggie.
Alex raised her head and stared at Maggie, “You’re not real sharp, are you?”
“Hey!” Maggie cried. Elaine started to giggle, “What are you giggling at?” Maggie demanded.
“I’m sorry,” Elaine said as another round of giggles consumed her. Alex looked at Elaine and started to chuckle. That only made Elaine laugh more and pretty soon they were both laughing so hard that Elaine fell over backwards. Alex saw this and started laughing even more. Maggie saw Elaine flop over on her back and started laughing, too.
“Stop laughing at me!” Elaine cried out which only made Alex and Maggie laugh even more, “I mean it!” Of course they laughed even more. Elaine got up, shook off the dirt and started back towards the car.
“Elaine! Stop. We’re sorry,” Maggie implored.
“Forget it. Laugh all you want. Stay here with the fat cat if you want,” Elaine threw back over her shoulder.
“I’m not fat, I’m fluffy,” Alex called out and started crying again.
“Elaine!” Maggie called out, “Come back.”
Elaine turned back and watched Alex bury her face in her paws, sobs escaping her yet again.
“You’ve got to stop that crying,” Elaine told her.
“I know. I’m very emotional, but I’m not fat. I just have a lot of fur.”
“I know. I’m sorry. My feelings were hurt, that’s why I said it,” Elaine explained.
“It’s okay,” Alex sniffled. Then she took a good look at the two of them, “By the way, what are you doing here?”

“We’re on our way to California,” Maggie said proudly.
“Why?”
“It’s a long story,” Elaine said, throwing a look at Maggie. The last thing they needed was for Alex to want to come with them and weigh down the car. She didn’t really believe the story about her only being fluffy.
“You should talk to Anthony then,” Alex said sadly.
“Who’s Anthony?” Elaine asked.
“He’s the tomcat who lives here. He’s always trying to get to California. There’s some other cat he’s always wanting to find,” Alex said, rather bitterly.
“What’s the big deal?” Elaine said.
“I don’t wanna say,” Alex said, turning her head away.
“Come on,” Maggie said gently.
“Well, once there was a family who stopped in a Corvette and they had a cat they called Valley Girl. She is from California and he’s always trying to get there to find her. They had an hour long fling and he’s fallen in love with her. He doesn’t even notice me,” Alex said with a long sigh.
“Oh,” Maggie and Elaine said. They knew about unrequited love. Maggie had once fallen in love with a tortoise named Sean, who spurned her for another tortoise named Dave. Elaine had always had a crush on Katie, a pretty brown bunny from the neighboring forest. They knew love that would never come to pass.
“So anyhow, that’s why I was being so mean. I thought if he saw I had some spunk then he’d like me,” Alex said.
“Well, I don’t think we have room for him anyway,” Elaine consoled her with a soft stroke to the head. Alex nuzzled against her paw. Maggie felt tears come to her eyes.
“Elaine! Maggie!” Blair called from the other side of the rest area.
“Hold on, Alex, I’ll be right back,” Elaine said and hopped away. Alex and Maggie sat together, lost in their thoughts of love gone bad.
“Bob said we have to go back,” Blair said to Elaine.
“Why?”
“Because we’re almost out of fuel. We’re almost done with the last of the dogwood leaves we burned for fuel and the dork didn’t bring more,” Blair sighed, “It’s always something with him.”
Bob raced over from the car to refute Blair, “I’m not a dork. I just forgot.”
“Well, what are we supposed to do now, Bob?” Blair asked.
“We go back and I work on it. If I can get it to burn regular leaves we’ll be okay. It should only take a few weeks to get it in shape. And in the meantime I can rev up the engine and we’ll have more power. In fact…”
Blair interrupted him, “Of course. You are never done tinkering with this thing. No matter what we do you have to make it better but that just means more work for me…”
Elaine interrupted them both before they really got carried away, “Where does that leave us?”
Bob and Blair continued to argue. Blair even started jumping up and down on the bag of potato chips Bob had found. Bob threw his acorn top driving cap at Blair and pretty soon they were wrestling on the ground. Elaine threw up her arms and hopped back to Maggie and Alex, who were both sobbing again.
“What’s wrong with you two?” Elaine said wearily.
“Sean!” cried Maggie.
“Anthony!” cried Alex.
“Oh, forget it,” Elaine said and sat down to pick at the sticks and rest a moment. How are they to ever get to California at this rate, she thought.
“How’s it going?” a deep voice asked. It belonged to a sleek black cat with flashing eyes. Alex sat up and tried to secretly wipe away her tears. She answered in a voice that tried to sound sultry but only sounded sleepy.
“Hi, Anthony, how are you?”
“Great! Just great! I’m going to California!”
“What?” Elaine, Maggie and Alex asked in unison.
“Yeah, I found…” he started, “Hey, who are they?” he asked Alex.
“A bunny and a turtle. They’re trying to get to California, too.”
“Elaine,” Elaine said in her most formal voice.
“Maggie,” Maggie said, shaking off her tears.
“You’re going to California?”
“Yes, to Salinas. We’re trying to find John Steinbeck. He’s a friend…” Maggie started.
Elaine interrupted her, “It’s a long story. But the most important point is how are you getting to California?”
“Circus van. I did a favor for one of the passengers and she said I could stay with her all the way to Calfornia.”
“Really? Look, we just met but is there any way you think we can go with you?” Elaine asked.
“Um…I don’t know. I don’t even know you.”
Maggie jumped in excitedly, “I’m Maggie and this is Elaine and we’re from the forest and we have to find John ‘cause Angie is mean and he saved our lives and…”
Elaine stopped her, “It’s a long story.”
“Yeah, I gathered that,” Anthony said, stretching out. Alex looked at him dreamily.
“So?” Elaine asked.
“Sure, why not?” he said and started off. Elaine started hopping behind him. Maggie followed, trying to keep up.
“Anthony, aren’t you going to say goodbye?” Alex called out.
“Oh, yeah, bye!” he called back. Elaine threw an apologetic look to Alex. Maggie craned around to see her wipe a tear away.

Chapter 15

The straw in the tiger’s bed poked at Elaine’s fur and Maggie kept finding pieces lodged in her shell, but they were in no position to complain. They were on their way to California and couldn’t be happier. An elephant named Gravy let her trunk hang down into the compartment and Anthony was curled up on it asleep. The tiger, who originally scared Elaine and Maggie sat in the corner nursing a sore foot. Her name was Biscuit and she was a rare white tiger all the way from India. Maggie and Elaine had bothered her for stories of the Indian forests where she came from but eventually they settled down and tried to get comfy in the straw.
The circus caravan ran smoothly but fast down the road. Every so often it would stop and Elaine, Maggie and Anthony hunkered down in the straw, careful not to be seen. Biscuit got a hunk of meat and fresh water. She had offered them a bite of meat but everyone declined. Gravy got huge barrels of peanuts and shared the nuts with everyone. Before everyone settled down to sleep again they prodded Biscuit to roar. The first time she did it Anthony jumped a thousand feet in the air, hitting his head on the top of the compartment. Elaine ran to a corner and covered her eyes with her bunny ears. Maggie shrunk into her shell. The lion, Camilla, on the other side laughed and answered with a roar of her own. Due to a sore throat her roar was quieter and more of a whisper than a roar. That loosened everyone up and even Biscuit broke out with a laugh. After that they settled into a routine, marking out their own section of the compartment, playing the license plate game using colors instead of letters and sang songs. Gravy knew every Del Shannon song ever recorded and Anthony sang Barenaked Ladies songs until everyone drifted in and out of sleep.

Chapter 16

A thick clang woke everyone up. The air was different. It smelled like an infusion of salt and dry heat. Gravy shook her trunk and Anthony fell to the floor.
“Hey, what’s the idea,” he said as he rubbed his head.
“We’re here,” Gravy said, nudging him happily with her trunk.
Biscuit yawned and whimpered again over her foot. Camilla stretched and rubbed her throat with her paw. Elaine jumped up and shook the straw off her fur and patted Maggie’s shell with her foot.
“Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, wake up!”
“Uh?” Maggie popped out of her shell, “Flying cows!”
“What?”
“Oh, I was dreaming. It was weird. There was a brown and white cow flying over the forest and big drops of milk were raining down and Craig wore a blond wig…”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Elaine said, weary of Maggie’s intricate dreams.
“Okay, let’s go. Start with the elephant. Make sure to keep her feet chained and then we’ll get the tiger. Move them to the end and get the tents started on the edge of the field. No one running down to the beach until we are settled,” a loud, human voice called out.
Humans were crawling out of vans and trucks, opening cages with thick clanks and holding leashes and ropes and one even held something Camilla called a gun. Apparently if any of the animals were difficult the gun man shot them with something that made them fall to sleep instantly and then they ended up having horrible nightmares. No one wanted the nightmares so everyone was cooperative.
“Elaine, Maggie, let’s go,” Anthony said, staying close to the wall of the compartment so the humans couldn’t see them.
“Where are we?” Maggie asked.
“Malibu,” said Biscuit, still licking her paw.
“Where’s that?”
“Duh, California,” Camilla said.
“Really? We’re in California? Seriously? We’re here? We made it? Oh my god, Elaine, we made it. We’re in California!”
Elaine covered Maggie’s mouth with her paw, “Shhh. We’re supposed to be quiet, Mag, stop shouting.”
“Uh kno, Uh wash jus esited,” Maggie answered.
“What?”
“Uh kin tal wif yur paw on muh mouf,” Maggie said, trying to speak clearly.
“Oh, sorry,” Elaine removed her paw.
Maggie scrunched up her mouth. Elaine’s paw had smelled like old peanuts, “I said I was just excited. Sorry.”
“Oh, okay.”
Anthony motioned to them and they all shrank against the wall. Biscuit’s door opened with a loud bang and she stretched up, moving her legs around and nearly whapping Elaine in the head. She ducked and Maggie suppressed a giggle.
“Let’s go, be careful guys,” one of the humans said. And with that Biscuit was led off the ramp with a thick collar and rope.
She whispered back to everyone, “Bye, take care.”
“Thanks a million,” Anthony said and the three scurried off when the humans were preoccupied with Camilla, who was limping.
“Do you think she’ll be okay?” asked Maggie.
“Yeah, it was just a burr in her fur and it irritated her paw. I got it out and that’s why she was doing me a favor,” Anthony said as they walked, hopped and waddled along.
“Now we have to get to Salinas. How far is it to there?”
“I don’t know. I know I have to go north a bit to the Valley. I can’t wait to see her. God, she’s beautiful. She has pretty blonde fur and pink ears and the cutest nose,” Anthony dreamed out loud.
“He has it bad,” Maggie whispered to Elaine.
“Shh,” Elaine said.
“What did I say?” Maggie said plaintively.
“Just shh,” Elaine said again.
“Whatever,” Maggie said.
“So, how are you guys going to get to Salinas?” Anthony asked as they stopped to get some water at the edge of a running hose. Maggie was watching to make sure no humans popped up. They were preoccupied with unloading the animals and didn’t notice them.
“We don’t know yet, but we did make it this far, right?”
“Well, this is where I take off. I’ll just walk. It’s not that far to the Valley,” Anthony said, holding out a paw. Elaine shook it firmly and smiled.
“You’ve been a lifesaver,” Elaine said.
“Ah, shucks,” Anthony said with a blush.
“Yeah, we don’t know what we would’ve done,” Maggie offered.
With that Anthony took off, trotting along and Maggie and Elaine were alone again.

Chapter 17

Salinas, California is 300 miles from Malibu and every step of the way could be wrought with danger for a little turtle and a white bunny. The drivers in California were fast, faster than any other car the two had encountered thus far.
The air, though, was wonderful. The sharp breeze of the Santa Annas kept them from getting too hot and the fresh smell of ocean air made them feel alive, energetic and optimistic. It was a wonderful time to be on the road and they felt renewed and eager to travel the distance, no matter how far.
Along with the ocean breeze there was the warm smell of food in the air. A smell of hot dogs, which they knew from the visitors to the forest who loved to grill them in the summertime. A smell of something spicy and rich also filled the air and they decided to make their way to the delicious aroma.
“What is that?” Maggie asked.
“I don’t know, but it smells wonderful,” Elaine answered, wishing she could hop faster but aware that Maggie couldn’t keep up with her if she did.
“I think it’s coming from over there,” Maggie offered.
“I think you’re right.”
Ahead of them was a little stand with the name Pup ‘n Taco. Of course, they couldn’t read this sign but they did see a picture of a hot dog, which they easily recognized and knew they were in for a treat. They whipped around the building, being careful not to be noticed and there was a full trash bin, like the ones they had seen at the rest area. A wonderful smell emanated from it and they knew they had hit paydirt.
“I’ll climb in and throw the stuff over the side, okay?” Elaine said.
“Okay, I’ll catch it, “ Maggie said, happily.
“You can’t catch, your arms are too short.”
“I can try.”
“Look, just let it fall, okay?”
Maggie sighed, “Okay. Just hurry up.”
Elaine hopped onto an old box that was sitting next to the dumpster and then dove in.
“Whoo hoo!”
“What?” Maggie asked.
“It’s wonderful! Just wonderful!” Elaine answered. Soon thick clumps of hot dogs and crispy things they didn’t know were called tacos flew over the side and fell around Maggie. She held back from digging in until Elaine hopped out and appeared next to her.
“Let’s eat!” Elaine said.
They stuffed themselves with hot dogs smeared with ketchup. They gorged themselves on hot dogs lathered with mustard. They nibbled on the inside of tacos. Not sure about whether to eat the shells, they left those alone. They were unused to California customs and didn’t want to make a mistake so when they left the parking lot was littered with uneaten tacos shells.
“Elaine, I feel heavy now.”
“I told you that when we were getting in the car.”
“You said I was fat.”
“Duh.”
Maggie whined, “Elaine, why are you so mean?”
Elaine stopped and looked at Maggie, at the tears welling in her little turtle eyes, “Mag-pie, I’m sorry. I was just teasing you.”
“Well, it hurts my feelings,” Maggie sniffled.
Elaine laid her head on Maggie’s shell and stroked her head, “I’m sorry. I won’t tease you like that anymore.”
“Okay,” Maggie said with a wry smile.
They set off again and then Maggie chuckled, “After all, I don’t drink all the beer that gives me a beer belly.”
Elaine turned back, “Hey, I don’t drink that much beer!” and then blushed because she hadn’t admitted her love of beer before.
“Yep, two can play at that game,” Maggie as she waddled along, smiling all the way.

Chapter 18

Pretty soon their feet were tired. They didn’t know it but they had only gone about 2 miles. At this rate they’d make it to Salinas in two years. A moment later their prayers were answered.
They had made it to a place called Venice Beach. Colorful people ran around the area, sheathed in bits of colored clothes and riding scooters, skateboards and bare feet. They sat in a bit of out of the way shade and watched as people with weird, oversized acorn helmets raced on a board with wheels. Elaine got an idea.
“Maggie, look. If we could get one of those things it would be like a car for us. We’d have to push it but we could do it.”
“Yeah, I see what you mean. But how do we get one?”
“See those people under the tree?”
Maggie looked up, at a palm tree, though she didn’t know that’s what it was, “What kind of tree is that?”
“A California tree.”
“Oh,” Maggie said, unsure that it was really a tree but willing to trust Elaine.
“They are asleep. We can steel their foot car now, if we’re fast.”
“Uh, Elaine? I’m a turtle. I’m not exactly known for being fast, you know,” Maggie pointed out.
“Okay. I’ll get it. You stay here.”
Elaine hopped quietly over to where the acorn hat people lay in the sand. She didn’t like the grit of sand between her bunny toes but she overlooked it for the time being. She needed the foot car. She inched up, and then pulled the end of it towards her. It didn’t move well in the sand but by using all her strength she was able to pull it all the way. She panted and sweated but soon she was next to Maggie with it.
“Wow! Elaine, that was great. I was so worried there for a moment but you really did it. You did it!” Maggie said and tried to jump with joy. Instead she got up a bit and then fell down in the sand, “I don’t like this stuff in my shell,” she said and tried to shake it out.
“Let’s go and be quiet!” Elaine instructed.
Soon they were up by a road, shaking with fear at the cars moving at breakneck speed but ready to put the foot car to test.

Chapter 19

It was slow going until Elaine got the hang of it. She finally figured that if she put Maggie on the back and then leaned down on the front she could move her back legs down against the pavement and propel them forward. Maggie kept her feet firmly on the rough surface and prayed that she’d not fall off. Soon they were going along at a good clip, keeping steady and watching the road intently.
By the end of the day they had gotten north of Los Angeles. They hid their foot car underneath a eucalyptus tree and slept in the soft shade. They scoured dumpsters for food, always on the lookout for the tasty hot dog treats. They sang the songs they had learned in the circus caravan and mapped out their plan to rescue John Steinbeck. All in all it was a good trip. They were tired but determined.
Then all of a sudden it happened. A sign read “Salinas.” Elaine stopped and prodded Maggie.
“Maggie, wake up!”
“I’m awake. I was just being quiet,” Maggie said with a yawn. She was supposed to be on the lookout for wayward cars but had fallen asleep dreaming of her mud puddle in the forest.
“You were asleep!”
“Okay, but you don’t have to yell.”
“We’re here. We made it!”
“Uh? Really? To Salinas? We made it to Salinas?”
“Look!” Elaine pointed.
Maggie looked at the green and white sign but couldn’t make out the letters.
“I memorized it at Rich’s. This is it.”
“Oh, wow, Elaine. I can’t believe we really made it,” Maggie wiggled her legs and bopped her head.
“What are you doing?”
“Dancing.”
Elaine burst out laughing, “That’s not dancing. You look like you’re having a fit like Tyrone the beetle when he has to go to the bathroom!” Tyrone was a particularly gross beetle from the forest who always announced when he had to “do his business.”
“I am dancing!”
“Okay, whatever. I’m too happy to tease you.”
“I am so happy!”
They danced around and laughed and hugged each other. Well, as well as a turtle can hug a rabbit. Then they stopped. They had the same thought at the same time.
“Elaine?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“What do we do now?”
“Uh. Let me think.”
They sank back on their haunches, in their shell and thought long and hard.
“Who are you?”
They jumped and shook and looked around and saw a small white dog with a brown spot over one ear. His ears were pink and alert and he looked like he was made of clouds and cotton candy, so soft and white and pink was he. His nose was a dark red and his eyes were full of wisdom and mischief.
“Who are you?” demanded Elaine.
“They call me Gizmo,” he said, holding out a paw. Elaine shook it and Maggie peeked out from her shell.
“What kind of name is Gizmo?” Elaine asked.
“The name of a person-dog who knows where he is,” he said with a flounce and started trotting off in a prancing manner.
“Hey,” called Elaine, “We need help,” then under her breath she said, “Not like you could help us.”
“What did you say?”
“Uh, nothing,” Maggie offered and shot Elaine a look. This dog didn’t seem like the same kind of dog that John Steinbeck had been. There was no point in being mean. He might be able to help them, after all.
“I just thought that all dogs were…you know,” said Elaine.
Gizmo raised an eyebrow and looked at Elaine. She seemed to shrink under his gaze. “Yes?” he said, “Dogs are what?”
“Well,” Elaine stammered, “not really very bright.”
“Well, you’ve obviously never met me,” and with that Gizmo took off again.
“Wait!” cried Maggie. Gizmo turned around to face her, “Why did you call yourself a person-dog?”
Gizmo walked back to her and said, gently, “Because I am more than a dog. I know everything about everything and there’s nothing a person can do that I cannot do.”
“Oh.”
Elaine went over and offered her paw, “I am sorry. It’s just that we’ve been taught that dogs aren’t very bright. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Gizmo looked down and then shook her paw, “Alright. Thanks. See you later.”
“Wait!” cried Maggie again.
Gizmo sighed, “Yes?”
“It’s just that. Well, we need. I mean if you could…” she trailed off.
“What do you need? You have a skateboard and you’re obviously very, very smart,” he taunted.
“Hey!” Elaine said, “No need to be rude.”
He sighed again, “Okay, what do you need?”
Maggie looked down and murmered, “Could you help us find John Steinbeck?”
Gizmo cocked his head, “Why?”
Maggie swallowed, “Because we want to save him.”
Gizmo took a step back, “Are you bible thumpers?”
“Uh?” Maggie and Elaine said at the same time, looking at each other, both confused.
“You know, born again Christians who want to ‘save’ him?” he asked, making quote marks in the air.
Maggie and Elaine looked at each other. Elaine answered, “We don’t know what you are ‘talking’ about,” she also made the quote marks. Gizmo sighed again and looked away, stifling a laugh.
“Nevermind,” he said, “What do you want to save John Steinbeck from?”
“An evil girl named Angie who wants to bug him all the time. She tried to kidnap us from the forest and we got away and I want to help him because he’s been so nice and he has to pretend to be retarded and I’m afraid he’ll try to go find Walter and then get smushed by the cars and then I’ll cry because we should’ve saved him like he saved us and…” she paused to take a breath and Gizmo jumped in.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. John Steinbeck hasn’t gone to any forest and why would he get smushed by a car?”
Maggie and Elaine looked at each other again. Elaine spoke, “Because that’s what happens to dumb…excuse me, some dogs.”
Gizmo burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that he fell over, rubbing his back on the ground, his legs kicking in the air. He laughed so hard that he had tears streaming out of his dark brown eyes.
“Hey! Stop laughing, this is serious,” Maggie implored.
He finally got a hold of himself, laying on his side, panting with each giggle. After a moment he stood up again and looked over at them. He cleared his throat and then said, “John Steinbeck is not a dog. He’s a man. A human. A guy. I live with him.”
“What?” Maggie and Elaine cried.
“Yes, he is a writer. In fact, he wrote about himself and me once. Of course, he changed my name because I didn’t want to be bombarded with all the publicity. I like my independence. He called me Charlie in the book. Now, I do have some issues with the book. For instance, I was more of a main character than he even wrote. And I was much more intelligent. I have actually been on my own journey. I intend to write my own book and set the record straight. The man even referred to me as a poodle!” Gizmo said vehemently.
“Okay, okay, we didn’t know,” Elaine said.
“In any case, John Steinbeck is not a dog and I don’t know how to help you. Good day,” and he took off again.
“Elaine?” Maggie implored, “What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know, Mag, I don’t know,” Elaine said and sat down.
“Are we sure he said his name was John Steinbeck?” Maggie asked.
“Yes,” Elaine said, “I thought he did. Maybe I was wrong. What are we going to do now?”
Maggie started to cry. She started to sob. Big, fat tears fell from her tiny turtle eyes. Elaine saw Maggie crying and then she started to cry. They sat next to each other, a bunny fallen over on top of a turtle, and sobbed their eyes out.
“Wait a moment,” a voice called to them in their anguish.
They sobbed louder.
“Excuse me,” Gizmo said in a loud voice yet again, “I can help you.”
“Uh?” Elaine said, still laying over Maggie and wiping at tears that wetted her white fur.
“I do know who you’re talking about.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do. You’re talking about Cal’s dog.”
“Who is Cal?” Elaine asked.
Gizmo sighed, “Cal is John Steinbeck’s older brother. They had a falling out years ago over some money. Oh, and something to do with their mother. But anyway, I remember now. Cal got a dumb dog and named him John Steinbeck in order to insult his brother. His full name is John Aron Steinbeck.”
“Are you serious?” Elaine asked, feeling like the sun was breaking through the clouds of her despair.
“Yes, I even know where he lives. Come on, come home and we’ll work it out,” and with that he trotted away. Elaine and Maggie jumped up, followed as fast as they could and felt like everything might actually work out okay.

Chapter 20

The Steinbeck house sat atop a great hill overlooking an expanse of vineyards. Purple grapes looked black from a distance and the sweetness of their aroma filled the air. The house itself was a large, rambling Victorian with gingerbread trim and a turret in front. On the front porch was a tall man with a shock of dark hair, carving a small sample of wood with an ivory handled knife. Instinctively, when Maggie and Elaine saw him they ducked behind a tree. Gizmo motioned them out.
“Come on, there’s nothing to be scared of,” he said, trotting to the house.
They gingerly made their way up to the porch, worried the whole time.
“John?” Gizmo said. The man didn’t even look up at him.
“Yep?”
“I need a favor.”
“Yep?”
“I need you to give my friends a ride to Cal’s house.”
John Steinbeck put the knife and wood down, pulled his legs off the porch railing against which they were resting and looked Gizmo in the eye. Maggie and Elaine were trembling but amazed. John Steinbeck was the first person they’d met who could hear the animals talk.
“And where have you been?” John asked.
“I told you, I went to travel. I am going to set the record straight,” Gizmo said, defiantly.
John put his legs back on the railing and chuckled, “I told you, it was just a story.”
“It defamed my character. Plus, I have no dialogue in the story.”
“Most people don’t want to read about a talking dog. They’d think I was cuckoo,” he said, shaking his head.
“I understand and we can discuss it more later, but for now we need some help.”
“Okay. Let’s at it.”
Gizmo weaved the tale of John Steinbeck the Puppy for him, introducing Maggie and Elaine. John stood up, wiped off his hands, took off his straw at and shook their paws.
“Well, I’ll be. Gizmo, did you offer your guests any refreshment. Sounds like they had a long journey.”
“I didn’t think of it,” he turned to Maggie and Elaine, “Sorry.”
“No problem,” Elaine said, still paralyzed by the odd turn of events.
“Let’s see if we have any ice cream,” John said. At the sound of ice cream Gizmo jumped up and down, pawed at John and smiled so hard his face was transformed. John chuckled at him, reached down and started scratching him right above his tail. Gizmo stretched and moaned, his face contorted with happiness.
“Okay, okay, enough for now, let’s see about that ice cream.”
Soon small white dishes were served on the front porch. Soft, creamy ice cream hit their palettes and caused their eyes to close with gastronomic pleasure. Elaine and Maggie had never had ice cream and loved every drop. Gizmo licked at his with perfect precision, never missing a drop and not smearing it on his face like the other two.
“All done?” John asked when they had licked all but the paint off the bowls. He tucked them back into the house and then came out with jingling keys, “Let’s hit the road.”

Chapter 21

Once they were ensconced in the truck Elaine finally got the courage to ask John a question.
“Sir, Mister, I mean…” she started.
“John, ma’am, just call me John.”
“Uh, John. Uh, why are you helping us?”
John laughed. Gizmo was safe in the middle, snuggled up to John, full of ice cream and happiness, though he did wish the window was up, he hated the wind on his face, said, “Why not?”
Elaine blushed, “I just mean. Well, it’s your brother’s dog.”
John answered, seriously, “My brother is a cur, if you must know. It’s a long story. He’s always been jealous of me because Pop liked me best. Though my brother got the looks. Most people think he looks like James Dean.”
“Who?” Maggie asked.
“Long before your time, dear,” John said and shifted the gearshift. This truck is a lot better than a cigar car, thought Elaine. Even the bumps in the rual road didn’t bother them much. It was a lot better than ingesting exhaust fumes on the highway. And it was less work than the foot car as well.
“Here we go,” John said, stopping at the foot a long, graveled driveway. A brick house with white trim around the windows lay at the end of a long, green expanse of yard. A stone fountain was in the middle of the lawn, spouting water out of the end of a cupid’s bow and arrow. Elaine and Maggie didn’t notice that. They just wondered how to get John Steinbeck the Puppy to go with them.
“Look, let me go,” Gizmo said, “I know where he hangs out and I can run faster than the two of you, if need be.”
John looked at Gizmo, “What do you mean you know where he hangs out? I’ve forbidden you to play with him.”
Gizmo looked straight back at John, “Look, do we want to get into this now? I can have my own friends. What is wrong between you and Cal is your business. Who I hang out with is my business. Okay?”
John grumbled a bit but said nothing. He held onto the steering wheel and shook his head. Gizmo climbed out of the truck and trotted up the grass. The gravel bit his baby feet and he didn’t want anyone to hear him coming.
Elaine and Maggie watched intently. It seemed an eternity had gone by already. John had pulled his straw hat down over his eyes and snored softly. Maggie and Elaine propped up by their hind feet, peered over the side of the door, watching for the snow white coat of Gizmo to announce his return.
All of a sudden a loud voice called out over the serene valley, followed by the shrill cry of a child.
“Daddy! Daddy! He’s leaving! My puppy is running away!”