Wallace said, “Steve, Tom, I can speak for all three of us when I say we take our job seriously and don’t drink on the job. Well, today is the exception, here with you. We operate heavy machinery and know how dangerous it is without drinking involved. So that does not at all factor into what I am about to tell you. What we saw was an old man dressed in a long purple robe with a cone shaped hat, also purple. He was talking to a rabbit who was walking upright and dressed in rainbow pants and shirt. Not only that but the rabbit was talking to him. We figured the old man was mad and was throwing his voice, but then they both started talking at one time, so it was obvious the rabbit could talk.”
Steve said, “We are listening; go on.”
“Then the rabbit said some magical words and we watched the machinery shrink, one by one,” Jeff related. “I know you're not going to believe it, but It truly happened and we all three witnessed it.”
“What happened next?” Tom asked.
Arnie said, “They saw us. We ran and ran until we got out of the woods. Then we collapsed on the ground and it took us almost 20 minutes to catch our breath.”
Steve said, “I want to show you something. Now, I know you don’t need to be convinced those little hot wheels are our own equipment and they have been shrunk, but it is just jaw-dropping to me.” He lined up all of the small machinery and showed them the insignia on the side of each one. “Also, look inside this one.” And Steve showed them Tom’s gloves.
Tom said, “But I don’t believe in Wizards and rabbits dressed like people and spells and swamps appearing overnight. It is not logical. However, I have no other explanation for what has happened. What do we do now? I’m afraid Steve, we have been licked. How can we fight against magic?”
“Where there’s a will, there is a way,” Steve said. “Let’s brainstorm. I had rather not let anybody else know about this whole mess right now, so we are the team for brainstorming.”
Now, Arnie, Jeff and Wallace were excellent heavy machine operators but had never been brought into the company office and asked for their input, so they were pretty flattered. Arnie spoke up first, “Steve, I went to Safari Village with my family a couple of years ago. There were raised platform like bridges for the people to walk on throughout the place. These were made for people to be able to walk through the whole place in a safe environment but still be up high enough that the animals could not reach them.There were precautionary fences around the animals too, but that is neither here nor there.”
I’m glad you had a nice family vacation in the outdoors, but what does that have to do with our present situation?” asked Tom.
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Arnie said, “We could turn the swamp into a vacation resort. Many people have never seen a swamp, or alligators or giant spiders or herons or any number of things native to a swamp. It would be a fun, unusual place for families to come.”
Steve said, “OK that is one idea. I admit I feel hesitant to embrace this idea until we hear all of the other ideas because we would have to expand our consultation staff. Until now, we have majored in construction of apartments, houses and malls and shopping centers and this idea would require extensive knowledge of building on swampy land and the laws concerning marketing to the public. Ok, now don’t be shy about sharing your ideas; even though you think we may not go for it, it just might be the ticket we are looking for.”
Jeff said, “We could always divide the land into parcels and advertise them around the states. If the price was low enough, people would buy them sight unseen.”
Tom said, “That is an idea and has been used before. It is legal but we have been an ethical company up till now and that would ruin our good reputation. I would say we save it for a last resort.”
The other men nodded, understanding the repercussions and appreciating the company’s desire to present good quality to the public. The five men continued to exchange ideas until way past closing time, feeling the bonding they had experienced in this meeting was yielding progress they would have a hard time reaching at a later date.
Meanwhile, Lester went home, hoping to take a nap and forget about Nogdorf bossing him around. He walked into a burrow filled with smoke. “Fire!” Lester yelled.
Sniffy hopped up to him and said, “Dad. I’m cooking and you are insulting my cooking.” One of her ears flopped over to the side and she stood there looking comical.
Her dad ran to the kitchen and turned off a frying pan full of carrots burned to a crisp. “These are burnt up. Who do you think is going to eat this?”
“My boyfriend, Hoppy, said he would eat anything I cooked for him, Dad. So there.” And Sniffy burst out crying.
“Sniffy, nobody can eat this. Go get your sister, Wiggles and get her to teach you how to cook,” Lester said.
Crash, boom, shatter, tinkle. Lester shouted, “What in the world?” He ran into the living room and saw the twin babies who were in Jonny jump-ups, laying on the floor. The Jonny jump-ups had been attached to a bookshelf somehow and had pulled the bookshelf over. There were knick-knacks everywhere and as soon as the initial shock was over, two screaming bunnies. Thankfully, the bookshelf itself had missed both bunnies when it fell. He shouted for anyone who was within hearing distance, “where is your mother?”
Dolly, who came running when she heard the crash and was picking up one of the twins said, “Mom is working on the cotillion, Dad.”
Lester asked, “How can a fellow get any rest around here with all of this confusion?”
Dolly said, “You can’t, dad. You have to wait till all the bunnies are sleeping.”
Lester ran out of the house, deciding it was better to work on his invisibility spell than to take a nap. Reaching the deep woods, Lester tried to make things invisible, but quickly realized he needed Nogdorf to teach him this new spell. How was he going to get Nogdorf to teach him when he hadn’t done what Nogdorf asked him to?
