Mr. Squeak Takes A Bath

As you may know, Mr. Squeak is Bagel's capricious toy rodent. He roams the house at will and has been found in many a stray cupboard. What you may not know is that there are actually several Mr. Squeak doppelgangers. When one would disappear and not be found for a week or so, another would mysteriously show up in a random place, like the pantry or under a bed. I've always done a pretty good job keeping track of which one was in circulation... until the original Mr. Squeak happened to show up in the church lost and found. I knew Mr. Squeak had gone missing, but I was not aware that Mr. Squeak had hitched a ride to church. I suppose I should have been excited by this development. After all, Mr. Squeak had recently been a bad influence on Sonshine's stuffed armadillo. That he might be seeking spiritual enlightenment and mending his ways should be a good thing.

Bagel came home all excited after a weeknight activity, holding Mr. Squeak in his hands. I rushed to find Mr. Squeak II and hide him posthaste, but sadly I did not move fast enough, and Bagel soon discovered that there were two of them. Thankfully we hit on a convenient cover story: the one that was found at home is Mr. Squeak's cousin, Mrs. Poah (rhymes with "Noah"; it was Bagel's idea) and she is on an extended visit.

When Mrs. Poah is done with her visit, she will conveniently disappear...