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Melanie's games and challenges get her in hot water!

Composed from an idea by Kristin Lohnes, R.R.#1 Blockhouse.

 Melanie Mouse and Rachel Rabbit played while working in the garden. They had combined it with weeding, so the actual work hadn't seemed too bad. Before they knew it, they were done one row and then the next.

 "I spy with my little eye something that starts with "F," said Melanie.

 "Falling leaves?" asked Rachel.

 "No, you have to guess again," said Melanie.

 "I don't see anything with "F," said Rachel looking around.

 "It was the fence," laughed Melanie. "I get to do it again."

 "Let's play something else," suggested Rachel.

 "What do you want to play?" asked Melanie, who loved games or challenges more than anything.

 "I bet I can find the biggest carrot in the garden," said Rachel with both paws on her hips.

 "You're on," said Rachel.

 What happened next was that mud sprayed over each other and landed in piles as the carrots were being pulled one by one.

 Up one row and down the other they went getting covered in dirt.

 "Look at this one?" called Melanie. "Mine is the biggest!"

 "No, mine is," shouted Rachel pulling another carrot out that took all her strength.

 Rabbits had gathered all around the outside of the garden as the winter's supply of carrots were pulled up all in one day.

 Some shook their heads and others talked behind their hands, but no one stopped the action continuing up and down the rows.

 "What is going on?" yelled Morris Rabbit.

 Melanie Mouse was in the middle of pulling on a carrot and fell back on her bottom when Morris shouted. Rachel tried to hide in the few remaining carrot tops and saw that this would be impossible. There wasn't very many left standing, as the majority laid discarded on the ground.

 "Who is responsible for all this waste?" asked Morris. "Do you realize that those carrots were to stay in the ground for another two weeks and then everyone would divide them up for the winter. Some of these carrots have been broken as they were pulled out and the rows are a mess."

 "We were trying to find the biggest carrot," said both Melanie and Rachel.

 "Melanie, I know you. You were challenging each other, weren't you?" asked Morris.

 Melanie felt a blush spread up to her cheeks. "Yes!"

 "I was by this garden earlier and was so impressed of how you could play and weed at the same time," said Morris. "I was really proud of the job you were doing. I am not proud of this mess, however." Morris looked at all the damage.

 "We'll fix it," said Rachel trying to stuff one of the carrots back into the ground.

 "That won't work," said Morris.

 Rachel tried real hard to prove the rabbit wrong, but soon she saw that the carrots would not go back into the ground as they had before.

 "Challenges and dares can cause a lot of problems to others. I will get the rabbits to do up the carrots early, but I never want to see this again. You will help by gathering the carrots into piles for each family," said Morris.

 Rachel and Melanie worked all afternoon. They piled and piled. They tried to smooth down the soil where they had so damaged it before. Families came and got their carrots and trudged home with them.

 At the end of the afternoon, Rachel and Melanie were so tired they could hardly stand up. "Have you learned a lesson from this, young ladies?" asked Morris.

 "Be more considerate of other's property," said Rachel.

 "Don't make dares that will have an affect on other's property," said Melanie.

 "That is correct," said Morris. "I think you two need a bath."

 Both Melanie and Rachel made it to the end of the garden and flopped on the grass. Their eyes were shut before they hit the grass. What they needed first was a good snooze.

 Question about the story: Who was not impressed with Rachel and Melanie pulling up the carrots?

 Winners: Kendra and Tyler Schrader, R.R.#6 Bridgewater, received a prize through the mail.

 Send answers to: Storytime, c/o Verna Dunlop, R.R.# 1 Moser River, NS, BOJ 2KO, or e-mail the answer to vernadunlop@yahoo.com Prizes sent to those sending in answers. State age.