"Look at this" exclaimed Gruff as he burst through the door with a package in his hand.
"Look at what?" said Fluff as she peered up from her bunny piano.
"Look at this! I have something to improve our lives. Now I can talk to you anytime when I am out on my busy adventures" he said, yanking the lid off the box.
"What is it?" asked Fluff as she dodged the flying lid.
"Why, this is a pair of walkie talkies. I press this button and talk to you....you listen and then press your button and talk to me. Here, let's try it out."
"But I'm right here"
"I know! I know! But let's pretend I am somewhere else. Now press your button and talk to me" said Gruff as his voice followed him around the corner. He moved very fast, especially when he was exited about a new gadget.
Fluff sighed and picked up her walkie talkie and began to talk.
"Hello. Hello...can you hear me?"
"Fluff, you must press the button and then talk. I can't hear a word you're saying!"
"But I did. I must be doing something wrong. Gruff, I don't care for these things at all."
"Oh, let me see it" said Gruff as he snatched the little box from Fluff's paws.
He fussed and fussed and whipped himself into a little frenzy as he tried to figure it out. Fluff quietly went back to her piano and began to play again.
"AHA" he yelled with a triumphant tone. "I fixed it! Here Fluff....now let's try it."
But Fluff was nowhere around. She had long since gone to bed. Gruff sighed as he reached for a biscuit and shut the light off. It was very late.
The next day, Gruff burst through the door.....with another package in his arms.
"Fluff. Look at this!" he exclaimed excitedly. "This is really going to improve our lives."
The boxes and the packing material flew around the room like a little tornado.
Fluff sighed and finally asked "What is it?"
"Why, these are portable forest phones. When I am away on my important adventures, we can talk to each other....and you don't have to press a button. Isn't this great?" said Gruff as he fiddled gleefully with his new toy.
Fluff began to slip away, but Gruff insisted on trying out the new forest phones.
"Now you go over there, and I'll go over here and we'll talk."
"But I'm right here now."
"I know! I know! But let's pretend I am far away so we can practice."
Fluff reluctantly but obediently picked up her forest phone.
"Now just talk."
"Hello. Hello....."
"Oh Fluff....I can hear you! Isn't this exciting? Can you hear me? "
Gruff was chatting away as he wandered out into the forest. His voice grew weaker and fuzzier the further away he got. Soon there was nothing, and Fluff went back to her piano.
The next morning at breakfast as they were sharing their fresh hot coffee, Gruff looked very sad that his forest phone had not worked as well as he thought it might.
"I thought for sure this would work. We were so close. Oh well....hmmmm. Perhaps I will go for a trot around the pine grove. I always get great thoughts out there."
They continued to chat and talk about their upcoming day as Gruff put on his special trotting shoes. They never ran out of things to say to each other, and they never ran out of ways to say them to each other. But no sooner did they finish their little talk and Gruff was gone...lickity split.
He came back sometime later with a even bigger box in his arms. He was in such a hurry to get in the house and show Fluff that he didn't notice it wouldn't fit through the door. Kerrrunch went the box and Gruff fell on his little behind. Quickly he got up and started to open the box on the porch.
"Fluff. Look at what I got! This is it! This is the thing that will improve our lives."
The hurricane of paper tearing caused Fluff to wait before she approached to see the latest thing.
"What is it?" questioned Fluff in her controlled yet disgusted tone.
"With this gadget, we can talk to each other and see each other....even if I am far away on my important adventures."
"Oh Gruff, your adventures are so important and I admire you for doing them", she said as Gruff puffed out his little chest "but isn't this getting a bit complicated?"
His chest deflated and his voice squeaked out "Can't you see I am trying to improve our lives? Imagine being able to hear and see each other."
"But I can....right now."
"I know! I know! But I am talking about when I am far away. Now let's try this out."
Gruff put a little helmet on her and then installed the little camera and microphone. It pointed at her, and looked quite odd. Then of course, she had to be hooked up to a little TV with several cables attached. Gruff put his on and then they stood side by side.
At that moment Forkrider the frog came in.. Wise old Forkrider just looked at them, puzzled...and amused.
"Look at us! We're going to talk to each other!" said Gruff proudly.
"I think you need to" said Forkrider as he hopped away.
Gruff fumed under his helmet for a minute, but soon forgot about it. He turned to Fluff who wanted to cower away in embarrassment, but simply couldn't move.
"Now you stay here, and I will go into the forest and talk to you...and see you" .
He turned on all her buttons and dials. She watched him in her little screen as he waddled away into the woods. They did talk for a while, and she could see his proud face as he walked by all his animal friends with his electronic helmet on. But then all, of a sudden, Gruff's expression changed and the picture went blank. Fluff sat there for a minute. Actually she sat a really long time because she still couldn't move. The screen stayed blank.
Eventually, Gonnabe and Forkrider came back in and saw Fluff in her tangled dilemma.
"I say there you two...will you help me?"
"Of course we will" said Forkrider as he hopped up and began to untangle poor Fluff.
"Gruff is somewhere out in the forest. Will you go find him?" she said , finally being able to stand up. "Oh I just do not like these gadgets!"
Off they went to find Gruff.
Evening began to fall, and they had not returned yet. She began to worry...but not a lot. Soon, the trio marched in the front door. Gruff did not have his usual proud strut. He looked cold and wet and quite miserable.
"What happened?" said Fluff as she gave him a hug.
"Oh Fluff, I was walking and talking to you and having such a good time that I wasn't watching where I was going. I tripped on a log and rolled down a hill. Then I tried to stand up and got tangled in a tree branch. Then I freed myself and fell backwards into the lake. And there I laid in the mud until my friends came and saved me. Oh Fluff, I wanted so much for this to work, but everything is all ruined. Now we can't talk to each other. I'm so sad."
"But Gruff, we can talk right now. Here you are, and here I am. And here is a very fine pot of tea. Come over by the nice warm fire and let me read you a story."
She reached her little bunny paw out. Gruff smiled and felt very warm and lucky inside. Together that sat all evening and talked and hugged and looked in each others' eyes....and did so every evening after that.
The end