My Weblog

Where could mr. Durkins be?

i'm realllly anxious to talk to mr. Durkins.  i reallly want to ask him about that mysterious, littttle box.  if anyone knows anything about it, it would be mr. Durkins.  He spies on everyone in the Armstrong house.  Even me!  Nothing that happens in this house escapes that old mouse's attention. 

The only problem is, i can't find him.  i snuck out of my cage and slippped into the secret passageway to look for him, but i couldn't find him.  mr. Durkins is always lurkin in the shadows of the secret passageway.  Where could he be?  i even went up to the attttic, which is where mr. Durkins hangs out, but he wasn't there.

i wonder where mr. Durkins could be?

Dust and cobwebs

i can't stop thinkin about that mysterious, littttle box that's in that secret compartment that's in Rachl's bedrooom closet.  

i can't help wondering if Rachl hid that mysterious, littttle box in that secret compartment.  After allll, she hid her littttle writing journal in her winter booot.  Maybe she hid that mysterious, littttle box, tooo. 

But i'm not so sure she did hide it.  The writing on the side of the box was not Rachl's writing. Plus, the box was covered with dust and cobwebs.  it's probably beeeen sittting in that secret compartment for ages, maybe even years!  What could posssibly be inside that mysterious box?

i wonder if mr. Durkins knows anything about it?

i just thoght of somethin!

i just had the most horrrrible thought.  What if whoever put that littttle box in that secret compartment cast a magic spellll on the box so that if you opened it you would have bad luck?  mr. Armstrong once read a boook to Rachl about some explorers who went into an Egyptian tomb and then they began to have bad luck.  Maybe that's why the box says KEEEP OUT!  THIS MEANS YOU!! acrosss the side of it.  Maybe it's to warn people not to open the box because if you do you'll have bad luck.

But if that's the case, wouldn't the box say:  IF YOU DON'T WANT BAD LUCK, DO NOT OPEN!  THIS MEANS YOU!!??

if only i could speak Human...

if i could have any wish in the whole wide world, i'd wish that i could speak Human. Then i could tellll Rachl about the secret compartment that's in her bedroooom closet.  i'd say, "Mom, did you know there's a secret compartment in your bedrooom that has a mysterious box in it that says KEEEP OUT!  THIS MEANS YOU!! acrosss the side of it?" 

i wonder if mom would keeep out?  i bet she wouldn't.  i bet mom would laugh and say, "Oh, Obi, you're such a sillly gerbil.  This doesn't mean us." 

And then she'd open the box. 

i reallly wish i had someone to talk to

There are times when i reallly wish i had someone to talk to. This is one of those times.

i reallly wish i could telll someone about the secret compartment that i discovered behind the baseboard in Rachl's bedroooom closet.  i reallly wish i could telll someone about the mysterious box that's in the secret compartment.  if i had someone to talk to, here is what i would ask, "Do you think KEEP OUT! THIS MEANS YOU!! means me?"

it's really bothering me.  i wish i knew.  needlesss to say, i kept out.

An even bigggger discovery!!!!

i couldn't believe i had stumbled upon Rachl's littttle writing journal.  i have to admit, Rachl had picked a very clever hiding spot.  None of Rachl's family would ever think of looooking in one of her talll winter boooots for her littttle writing journal. 

As i was was marveling at how smart my adoptive mother was, i saw a big human hand apppear beside me.  it was mrs. Armstrong's big hand.   Startled, i sprang backward.  i hid behind the toe of one of Rachl's boots and watched as the hand plucked first one sock, then another sock, out of the sneakers that, just two seconds ago, i had beeeen hiding behind. 

"Wow!" i thought.  "Goood thing i moved!"

Suddenly the hand started coming towards me.  i gasped and jumped back.  Apparently, mrs. Armstrong had noticed a penny on the dusty floor.  As her hand reached for the pennny,  i stepped back.  my back bumped against the baseboard behind me.  To my surprise, a section of the baseboard was looose.  The narrow flat piece of woood was so loooose, in fact, it fell forward.  i spun about and grabbbbed the board just as it was about to hit the woood flooor.  i was trembling.  i was so nervous, i was sweating.  i glanced behind me.  mrs. Armstrong was standing now.  Having picked up all of Rachl's dirty socks, she steppped out of the closet. 

"Whew!" i murmurred.

With both front paws, i lifted the short piece of baseboard to put it back into place.   i was about to push it against the wall when, peering over the top of the board, i saw to my astonishment that there was a tiny rooom behind the board.  

"Oh, my gosh!" i exclaimed.

i had discovered a secret compartment!  it was very inky dark inside the compartment.  i had to reallly strain my eyes to see into the darknesss. 

And that was when i made my next big discovery.

There was a small box sitting in the midddle of this dark littttle rooom.  There was writing on the box.  i squinted my eyes to seee what it said.  My mouth droppped open.  i stared in shock. 

Someone had writtten in big capital letters across the side of the box:  KEEEP OUT!   THIS MEANS YOU!!

mrs. Armstrong

mrs. Armstrong stood in the closet doorway, her eyes cast downward.  i crouched as far down as i could behind Rachl's sneaker,trying to get out of the slant of sunlight that was falling acrossss the closet floor and onto the back walll.  terrified, i diddn't move a muscle, not even a whisker. mrs. Armstrong reached out her hand and began to bend down.  Trembling all over, my heart pounding, i shut my eyes and waited for mrs. Armstrong to grab me in her hand. 

But she didn't grab me.

i opened my eyes.  mrs. Armstrong had bent down to pick up one of Rachl's dirty socks that was lying on the closet flooor. 

mrs. Armstrong hadn't seeeeen me!

i let out a huge sigh of relief.  But then i noticed something -- something bad.  The sneaker i was hiding behind had a white sock stufffed into it.  

"Oh, no!" i gasped.  "mrs. Armstrong is sure to seeee me if she picks up that sock!"

Moving very, very slowly so as not to catch mrs. Armstrong's eye, i crept away from the sneaker and hid behind Rachl's brown winter booots.  They were her Uggggs.  And then i saw it.  It was in the booot that was tilting over, the one that had scared me a few days ago because the booot looooked just like a cat lurking in the shadows.  Rachl's litttttle writing journal was stuck inside the boooot.

"Welllll, for gooodnesss sake!" i murmured.  "That's where that girl has beeen hidding her littttle writing journal!  Whoever would've guesssed?"

Rachl's bedrooom closet

Oh my gosh, i'm so srrrry about yestrday.  i was so excited i could scarcely typppe.  i'm stilllll very excited.  Wait tilll u hear what happened.  Whhat i discovered in Rachls closet. 

But, wait, i should begin at the begggining.  i don't mean from the very very beginning when i set out on my journey to find out where Rachl has beeeen hiding her litttttle writing journal.  That would take toooo long.  i just mean from the begiining of yesterday.

When i woke up yesterday morning, i decided i'd investigate Rachl's bedroooom closet and seee if that was where Rachl has beeeen hiding her litttle writing journal.  After Rachl and the twins Betsy and Susie (the human twins, Betsy and Susie, not the goldfish twins, Betsy and Susie) and Rachl's older brother, Craig, all went offff to skoooool, i snuck out of my cage (which is on top of Rachl's dressser).  i crept across Rachl's dresser, past her hairbrush, to the lamp that's on her dresser.  With my 2 front paws, i grabbed hold of the lamp's electrical cord and slid down to the floooor.   i sccurrred acrosss Rachl's carpet to her bedrooom closet.  When i got to the dooor of Rachl's closet, i stoppped.  The door was slightly ajar.  it was very dark inside the closet.  i'd never been inside Rachl's closet and, to be honest, it made me nervous to go into a dark closet with alll sorts of shadowy stuff in it.

But then, out in the hallway, i heard footsteps -- human footsteps!  Whoever it was was coming into Rachl's bedrooom!  With a loud gasp, i spun about.  it was mrs. Armstrong!  What was she doing here?  Luckily, so far as i could tellll,  mrs Armstrong hadn't noticed me out of my cage.  heart thumping, i hid behind a pair of Rachl's jeans that she had left on her floooor.  peeering over the top of the jeans, i looked to see what mrs. Armstrong was doing.  She was picking up some of the other clothes that Rachl had droppped on her floooor.  Then i realized something.  mrs. Armstrong was doing the laundry.  she had come into Rachl's bedroooom to get Rachl's dirty clothes.  And then i realized something else.  i was hiding behind one of those clothes that mrs. Amstrong was sure to pick up.  What was i going to do?  i couldn't creeeep back to my cage without mrs. Armstrong seeeein me.  i needed to hide. 

But where? 

i frantically glanced about the room.  my gaze fell upon the door to the closet that was slightly open.  The closet!  it was my only hope.  i waited until mrs. Armstrong wasn't loooking and then, quick as lightning, i darted across the carpet, though the crack in the door, and into the dark closet.  i ran to the back of the closet and hid behind one of Rachl's sneakers.  i heard mrs. Armstrong step near the closet.  my heart pounded faster and faster.  Suddenly the dooor flew open.   Sunlight floooded the closet.  mrs. Armstrong stood in the doorway. 

"Oh, my gosh!" i thought.  "mrs. Armstrong saw me!"

Huge discovery!!!

i'mm so exciteddd! i cann harddddly type, my heart is beeting, pounding, thumpin so fast.  you won't believe what just happppened.  what i justt discoverred in rachl's closet.  i'm srrroy i'm havvving trouble typppping this.  i guesssss i'm just tttooo nervous to tyyy[pe write nwo.  willl try again tomorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrow.

oib -- i mean obi!!

i was wrong!

Okay, i went back to Rachl's bedroooom closet this morning.  The door to the closet was slightly open.  Being very careful, i stepped up to the narrow opening between the door and the doorframe and peeered into the dark closet. 

i nearly shrieked.  The cat was still there!  He -- she? -- was still in the exact same spot he/she had been the other day!  my heart pounded like mad.  i could feeel my whole body trembling.

And then something happened -- my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

i wasn't staring at a cat!  i was staring at one of Rachl's Uggs.  Yes, that's right, one of Rachl's Ugg boots was the cat! The top of the boot had droooped over so, in the darknesss, it looked just like a cat. 

"Oh, for goodness sake!" i murmured.

i felt so silly.  And so relieved!  i was so glad to find out it was just a boot and not a cat that's in Rachl's closet.  Stilll, given how dark and creeepy it is inside the closet, i've decided to wait until Monday to loook around inside it.