#or his ‘baloobius’ as one might call it

[artistmarchalius]

I wanted to try drawing them with tails to see what the hype was about. I get it now.

[galushanationalrailways]

The Fraggle Rock Story Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Bringing Up Beastie

Wembley had looked for Boober all the rest of the morning. He wasn’t at his house, or at Mokey’s. He didn’t seem to be anywhere. Wembley began to head home for lunch when he heard Boober screaming and hollering inside a house he didn’t recognize. “HELP! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! FIRE DEPARTMENT! THIS BEAST’S GOT A HOLD ON MEEEE--”

“Fire department?” thought Wembley. “Why, that’s me! I’m a fire departmentman.” So he ran into the house. “Don’t worry, Boober, I will save you!”

“Him of all firemen!” thought Boober. “This could result in the ruination of our entire lives! Why, he might have to fireman-carry me. That’s what firemen do, isn’t it? And if he fireman-carries me, that’ll be a little too close for comfort.” “Actually, never mind Wembley. I think I can save myself now-OW! OW!”

Wembley rushed in. “Boober! A beast’s got a hold on you!”

“I know, Wembley—OW! That’s what I said!” The Beast had him in her massive paw, and was banging his head intermittently against the wall. “OW! OW! OW!”

“Nice Beastie, gentle Beastie…” Wembley whispered as he approached Tosh’s giant pet. “Let go of my friend, nice and easy now…”

“RRRRRRGH.” Wembley tried to pet the Beast. She snapped at him, but dropped Boober while doing so.

“Quick, Wembley, make for open ground!” yelled Boober. They ran out the door and into the Great Hall, but the beast ran after them. They were finally able to climb up into a small alcove within the wall, and held each other in fear as the Beast lept at them and snapped. Icy Joe walked by and regarded them with an air of indifference.

“What the dickens are you twinks up to now?”

“Icy Joe! You have to save us from the Beast!” said Wembley.

“Oh for heaven’s sake, it’s only a little Beast. Does I have to do everything around here?”

“Well, we really would appreciate it if you did this,” said Boober.

“Don’t you all know that domesticipated beasts like that never chew, they just gum you a little?” yelled Icy Joe. “In my reckless youth I was gummed by ten feral ones at oncet, and there was still room for two or three more’n that besides. Nowadays everybody’s all soft and weak-like and can’t handle being gummed by a mudbunny. And anyway,” she said, “No way am I breaking up this happy little scene.”

“Happy little scene?” Boober yelled as she trudged away. “But we’re miserable!” He turned back to Wembley. “It’s no use,” he said, “we’ll be here until we starve.”

“Couldn’t Tosh always come get the Beast and save us?”

“Not for another few hours, I don’t think,” said Boober. “She is, I believe, preoccupied. That’s why I had to take care of the creature in the first place. Huh, that’s funny…”

Wembley started laughing hysterically, then suddenly stopped. “Wait, what’s funny?”

“Doesn’t it seem like it’s gotten brighter all of a sudden?”

“Oh, that’s just your baloobius.”

If , at that moment, a one-way portal suddenly opened up to the ninth circle of Hell, Boober would have walked through it. Of all the things to happen ten feet up in the air over a growling, thrashing beast, his baloobius glowing was surely the most embarrassing. Boober did not like being ten feet up in the air. Boober did not like growling, thrashing beasts. The only explanation was that he really liked clinging tightly to Wembley. In a panic, he let go of Wembley and leapt to the ground. “Thanks for all your help, Wembley!” he called as he and the Beast ran off into the distance. Wembley was, of course, deeply confused.

“Doesn’t that tail business mean he’s happy?” he thought. “Well, I missed my chance to confess, but at least I got to see it light up. That’s always nice… He looks so handsome…” He drifted off into a daydream.

Boober, meanwhile, was rounding the corner of the Great Hall at lightning speed and heading back for Tosh’s house. The Beast followed, gumming at his heels. At last he returned to Tosh’s house and found her standing inside her door. “Oh, there you are!” she said. “Out for a nice run, I guess?”

“Ye-es Toshie, very nice,” said Boober. The Beast ran over to Tosh in a state of elation.

“Well,” said Tosh, “We can all go back in and you can finish courting me, if you must.”

“Oh, could I sing you just one more song before I go? A less awkward one.”

“Yes, of course.” They sat down, and Boober readied himself with the mandolin and a fresh set of sheet music. He began to sing, his muttering indicated in parenthesis:

If you were the only girl in the world

and I were the only boy (Darn tricky chord, that)

Nothing else would matter in the world today

We could go on loving in the same old way

A garden of Eden just made for two

With nothing to mar our joy (That’s weird, gardens are dangerous)

I would say such wonderful things to you

There would be such wonderful things to do

If you were the only girl in the world (I never could get that note right)

and I were the only boy.

“Well, Boober,” said Tosh, “That was very nice.”

“Why, thank you!” said Boober. “That ought to sum up my feelings nicely, I’m afraid.”

“Boober,” said Tosh, “Are you really in love with me?”

“I think so,” said Boober. “I think you’re more beautiful than the moon, or the sea, or the stars, or, uh…”

“Laundry?”

“Oh, uh, probably. Yes! Well, goodbye,” he said, and he walked out the door.

“Well,” thought Tosh. “That was very odd. I really ought to nip this thing in the bud. But I wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings, why should I hurt his feelings? He’s a nice boy, just confused.” She walked out after him. “Boober, wait!” she said. “I almost forgot something.”

He turned around and walked back. “What is it?”

“Would you like me to kiss you?”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Why not? It’s all between friends—lovers! Lovers.”

She kissed him, quickly and fleetingly.

“Gee,” said Boober, “that was nice, I guess. Thanks a lot! See you later.” He ran home with a thousand thoughts running through his head. “What am I doing?” he thought. “And why can’t I stop thinking about Wembley?”

About two minutes before this, Wembley, who had come to the part of the daydream where he fireman-carried Boober and gently kissing his forehead as he strolled nobly out of a burning building, suddenly noticed that, across the Great Hall Tosh and Boober had come out of the house. “Ooh!” he thought. “There he is now!” Right after that, Tosh appeared to kiss Boober on the cheak. Boober ran off in apparent delight. “Well, isn’t that nice,” thought Wembley. “Tosh just kissed Boober. TOSH JUST KISSED BOOBER?” He began, in spite of himself, to sob. “So that’s why he was wearing that nice suit…” he thought. “He was courting her...”

“Wembley?” asked a voice from below. “What’s going on? Why are you crying?”

“L...Lou?”

“Yeah. Why are you crying, do you need any help?

“I’m sorry, Lou. Could you leave me alone for a little while?”

“Of course. Just remember that I’m always here for you.”

“Thanks…” Wembley said. “You know,” he thought, “Lou’s awfully nice. She does seem to like me. Maybe Mokey was right. Maybe I do love her. Now that Boober’s… with Tosh, maybe it’s time to get to know Lou a little better. Court her, maybe. No, that’s maybe a little too much. But then, it’s not a crime for me to show a little interest in someone. But then, it would mean having to give up any hope of Boober liking me back. But then, all hope of that is lost now… and maybe I’d learn to love her, even more than Boober.” All this wembling produced, sadly, the worst possible decision. In the closet, back in Gobo’s house, a suit from Traveling Matt’s youth was gathering dust. It was red-and-white striped.