Fic: Duckweed: G

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Title: Duckweed
Form/Word Count: 496
Characters/Pairing: Mr Sherlock Holmes, Dr John Watson, Inky, the Sloth, the Ocelot, the Ferret
Rating: G
Warning/Content: Sending the Ferret to find some earrings has some rather unexpected results
mafief I hope you like this.

“I still say it would have been better if the Sloth had gone,” the Ocelot commented.

“The end result would have been rather different,” the Sloth agreed.

“On the other hand,” the Ocelot continued, “it wouldn’t have been nearly as funny.”

Inky waited until the Ocelot and the Sloth had stopped laughing before saying, “What exactly happened?  Mouselet was half way through telling me when she laughed so much she gave herself hiccups and had to go and get a drink.”

“How far did she get?” the Sloth asked.

“Mr Holmes had a suspicion the missing earrings were in the Serpentine in Hyde Park.  And rather than waiting until it was dark, when you could have easily swum and found them, the Ferret was given the task.”

“Yes,” the Ocelot said.  “Mr Holmes had the idea of the earrings making a dramatic entrance.”

“Which to be fair, they did,” the Sloth agreed.  “Just not quite how he had planned.”

Inky waited politely whilst the Ocelot and the Sloth once more began to laugh.

“Firstly,” the Sloth began, “you have to understand there was a lot of duckweed at that end of the lake.  The Ferret had managed to swim underneath it and find the earrings, but in the process had become disorientated.”

The Ocelot continued, “He was therefore reduced to peering out to find where he was, before going back under the weed.  He was swimming quite close to the surface, which meant the weed undulated above him.  A small boy spotted him and told his nanny he’d seen the Loch Ness Monster.”

“We were up a tree and therefore watching from an excellent vantage point,” the Sloth explained.  “However Mr Holmes and the Doctor had lost sight of the Ferret.  Until suddenly he popped up. However, he was completely covered in duckweed, and looked a little like an alien in a science fiction story.  I’m not sure how it happened, but clearly the Doctor wasn’t expecting to see him, because he squealed…”

“Rather like Mouselet,” the Ocelot added.

“Grabbed Mr Holmes’ arm …”

“And the two of them fell into the lake.  When they climbed out again, they too were covered in duckweed.”

“The nanny shrieked, accused them of being aliens …”

“And hit them both with her umbrella, before marching her charge briskly away.”

“We let them make their way back to Baker Street and followed afterwards.  From what Mouselet has told us, they were still looking rather like aliens when they arrived, because Bessie shrieked, and Mrs Hudson, who had followed them in, hit them with her umbrella.”

“What happened about the earrings?” Inky asked

“The Ferret wore them back.  He’s been admiring himself in the mirror ever since.  He says the contrast of the red from the earrings complements the green of the duckweed.”

“He’s thinking of having a sketch done to send to Mr William Morris to use for one of his patterns.”

“Not so much Strawberry Thief as Duckweed Finder.”

Comments

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

So many hilarious images here, but my favourite is of Ferret as the Loch Ness Monster. Followed by Ferret admiring himself in the mirror. After all the gem heists that he has foiled, it is no wonder he's developed a fascination for fabulous stones and the rubies would look striking with his fur. Splendid tale!

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you. In a small boy's imagination the Ferret would look like a tiny Loch Ness Monster - the Serpentine Monster, perhaps.