HICKORY HOG AND THE CHRISTMAS RASCAL, part 3

PART 3, December 3

Hickory Hog turned his attention to the barn. It was a big barn, the color of a red russet potato, with corn yellow and green doors. In the yard before it was a turnip colored tractor. Nothing seemed to be unusual. Hickory lived some ways out of town, and once the harvest season was over he didn’t get a lot of visitors. In fact, he hadn't had a visitor of any sort in over a week before Whizzer Worm had popped up his wormy head.

"What could be in my barn?" he asked.

"I don’t know," replied Whizzer Worm, "but if I was you I'd check it out to
see what could be the matter."

"I guess you're right, but I was just in there getting out my corn."

"Maybe whoever it was was quiet when you were around," offered Whizzer. "Everybody can hear you coming for at least three miles away, and if I didn't know who you were I’d sure lie low myself."

"Let's go, then," said Hickory.

Whizzer Worm got the rest of himself up out of the ground and wormed his way over to the barn door. Hickory Hog stamped over and flung open the door. Everything was silent and still inside. The December sun slanted in through the open door and you could see all sorts of flecks of dust stirred up in the light by the huge hog's entrance, but that was all. No living thing scurried around inside the barn. Hickory went to the back of the barn, while his friend began to explore the pile of corn. There were somewhere between 40 and 50 thousand ears left. It would make a lot of places for someone to hide under, especially if he piled the corn around himself just right.

While the corn pile was being investigated Hickory turned his attention to all his tools in the back. All the hoes, rakes, shovels and other implements were there where they belonged, undisturbed. Also there were all the catalogues he ordered from. True, he did save seeds from his own produce, but he liked to try out new kinds and varieties, so he needed these. There were 79 catalogues dealing with corn seeds alone, along with for potatoes, 36 for turnips and 13 devoted solely to Brussels sprouts. It was a library unique unto itself. Nothing was amiss there at all. Then he heard a cry from under the corn, "Come here, quick!"

Hickory ran over as fast as his hooves could carry him, Whizzer Worm stuck his head out of the pile of corn. "I've discovered something," he said.

"What?"

"Someone has been living under here!"

© 1989 Kevin Don Levellie