It was a typical Saturday morning on Sesame Street. At the Furry Arms Hotel on the 9th and top floor, Lexi was in her bedroom reading her picture books when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," said Lexi.
The door opens as her mother, Joyce comes into the room.
"Hi Lexi," said Joyce. "I'm going to Finders Keepers to find you some clothes to replace your old ones."
"But I like my clothes," said Lexi. "Especially my puzzle pieces shirt and blue overalls."
"Don't worry, Lexi," said Joyce. "I'll buy you some nice clothes so you can wear something different someday. Now while I'm gone, don't step foot out of this suite or out of the hotel. Mr. Hemlock will be here any minute to look after you."
Lexi quickly closed her picture book and widen her eyes.
"Ooooh noooo," said Lexi, a little bit worried. "He might give me weekend homework…"
Joyce leaves as Sherlock Hemlock as well as his dog, Watson enter the suite.
"Ooooooh Lexi?" said Sherlock. "I, Sherlock Hemlock, the world's greatest detective has arrived."
Lexi doesn't answer.
"Lexi, I even brought my dog, Watson here to play," said Sherlock.
"Woof woof!" barked Watson.
"Oh boy!" said Lexi, running out of her bedroom as she started to hug Watson. "Hiya Watson! I'm so glad to see you here!"
"Woof woof woof!" barked Watson, licking Lexi's face.
"A-A-Aheeeem!" said Sherlock, trying to get Lexi's attention.
"Huh?" said Lexi, looking up at Sherlock as she said, "Oh. Uhhh…You're not going to give me any homework on Saturday, are you, Sherlock?"
"Lexi, that's not the way you greet someone," said Sherlock.
"I'm sorry," said Lexi. "What I meant to say was…Hello Sherlock, how are you?"
"That's better," said Sherlock. "Now what was your question?"
"Are you going to give me homework today?" asked Lexi. "It's the weekend."
"Not at all," said Sherlock, shaking his head.
"You're not?" said Lexi, all surprised.
"Certainly not," said Sherlock, with a chuckle. "Most school teachers don't give little girls and little boys homework on Saturday or Sunday."
"Oh good," said Lexi, sighing in relief. "Whew!"
"But you do have to clean your room," said Sherlock, looking inside Lexi's bedroom. "What a mess!"
"But I don't want to clean my room right now," said Lexi, folding her arms. "Besides, who told you about my room being a mess, huh?"
"Your mother," said Sherlock. "That's why she told me to tell you so you won't forget."
"Can I clean my room later?" asked Lexi.
"No," said Sherlock. "Right now!"
"No!" shouted Lexi. "I don't wanna!"
She was about to hit him. But Sherlock quickly caught Lexi's arm before it touched him.
"Don't talk back to me, Lexi!" said Sherlock.
"You're not the boss of me!" said Lexi.
"Yes I am," said Sherlock. "Whenever your mother is out, I'm in charge. And when I'm in charge of watching you, I make the rules. Now go into your room and tidy it. It better be spotless when I come back, you understand?"
Lexi sat there.
"Well?" said Sherlock, looking straight at her.
"Y-Y-Yes Sherlock!" said Lexi. "I-I-I'll clean my room! It'll be spotless! I promise!"
"Good," said Sherlock. "Now if you need me, I'll be in the kitchen making lunch, alright?"
Lexi nodded her head.
Sherlock left Lexi's bedroom as he went into the kitchen to make some lunch for Lexi and himself. Then Lexi started to clean her room by putting her toys away.
"I really don't like cleaning up my bedroom," said Lexi, putting her building blocks in her toy box. "It takes me away from all the fun."
She picked up a small light brown teddy bear with a small blue ribbon around it's neck and said to it, "Even though I always put my toys away, you'll never be trapped in the toy box, Teddy."
She places her stuffed animal on her bed and said, "You'll always be comfy on my bed because you are my best friend. Well, even though you aren't alive. So you're my best not alive friend in the whole world."
"Thank you, Lexi," Lexi said in her teddy bear voice.
While Lexi continued to clean her bedroom, Watson came in.
"Hiya Watson," said Lexi. "What's going on?"
Watson whines.
"Awww, what's wrong, little doggie?" asked Lexi, frowning. "Did you lose something?"
Watson barked sadly.
"Did you lose a toy?" asked Lexi.
Watson nodded his head and howls in sorrow.
"Okay," said Lexi. "I'll help you look for your toy. I can clean the rest of my room when I get back. Lead the way, Watson!"
Watson ran out of Lexi's bedroom and ran out of the suite. Lexi grabbed her teddy bear, tiptoed away from Sherlock, and left the suite as well and started to follow Watson. The two took the long flight of stairs as they reached the lobby of the hotel.
"Hello there, Lexi," said Grover, who was doing one of his jobs as a bellhop.
"Huh?" said Lexi, then turning around and seeing Grover. "Oh, hi Grover."
"What are you up to right now?" asked Grover.
"Watson, Teddy, and I are looking for Watson's toy," said Lexi.
"Oh," said Grover. "Well, good luck with that. I'll be right here if you need help with anything."
"Thanks Grover," said Lexi, walking away.
A few minutes later, after going down the hall, Watson finds his toy. It was a red toy squeaky ball. He picks it up with his teeth and bites down on it as it squeaks.
"Good job, Watson!" said Lexi. "You found it! Now let's go back upstairs to the 9th floor before Sherlock finds ou-"
Lexi then stumbles upon a door in front of her that read "LOST AND FOUND" in big black-bolded letters.
"Ooooh," said Lexi. "The lost and found. But we've already found what we were looking for. Oh well! I want to go check out what's inside!"
Lexi opens the door as he and Watson stepped into the closet. But it wasn't just a small closet. It was a big room full of belongings from clothes, toys, shoes, hats, and furniture.
"Woooooooooow…" Lexi said, all amazed. "I never knew the lost and found was soooooooooo big! Usually the lost things would be in a very small closet. But since this is a hotel and a lot of people live in the Furry Arms, it's big!"
"Woof woof!" said Watson.
"Would you like to explore this place with me?" asked Lexi.
Watson jumped and barked happily.
"How about you, Teddy?" Lexi asked her toy.
She moves the teddy bear's head up and down.
"Great!" she said, happily.
Lexi looked around and said "Hmmm…What can I find in here today?"
She then sees a box.
"I wonder what's inside this box," said Lexi, picking up the box.
Lexi opens the box and sees some neckties.
"Hey, I know what I can do with these!" said Lexi.
Lexi puts the box down and ties the neckties together by the ends to make a long rope.
"You know, this could be a good jump rope if we ever don't have one!" said Lexi.
She ties one end of the line of neckties to a hat rack pole and holds the other end.
"Come on, Watson!" said Lexi. "Let's play a game!"
Watson ran in the middle of the row of neckties as Lexi began to turn it. Then Watson begins to jump over it at the right time. It was just like a game of jump rope!
"And I have a great rhyme to go with our game!" said Lexi. "Especially since we have our friend, Teddy with us!"
Lexi started to sing a skipping rope song that went:
Teddy Bear, teddy bear, turn around,
Teddy Bear, teddy bear, touch the ground,
Teddy Bear, teddy bear, show your shoe,
Teddy Bear, teddy bear, that will do!
Teddy Bear, teddy bear, go upstairs,
Teddy Bear, teddy bear, say your prayers,
Teddy Bear, teddy bear, turn out the lights,
Teddy Bear, teddy bear, say good-night!
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" said Lexi, clapping her hands. "Wasn't that fun, Watson?!"
"Woof woof!" cried Watson.
"Now let's do something else," said Lexi. "How about this?"
Lexi finds a pair of red high heels, a big summer straw hat, a green and black feather boa, and a sparkly silver masquerade mask on a stick. Then she placed those things on herself and looked into the mirror.
"Ooh la la!" said Lexi, in a lady-like voice. "How do I look, darling?"
Watson gets scared of the mask and hides behind a small children's dresser.
"Awww, don't worry, Watson," said Lexi, taking off the mask as she giggled. "It's only me. Lexi!"
Watson comes out and places his paws on Lexi's legs, which caused her to trip on the high heel shoes as she fell onto a big, fluffy expensive fur coat.
"Thank goodness I got a soft landing," said Lexi, getting relaxed. "Veeeeeeeeeeery sooooooooooft…"
She yawned and said, "Why don't we take a short nap, Watson? I'm getting tired from all the fun we are having."
Watson yawned as well and walked to Lexi. Then he lied down next to Lexi on the fur coat and curled up into a ball as he fell asleep. Lexi held her teddy bear in her arms as she fell asleep as well.
An hour later, back in the suite of Lexi and Joyce, Sherlock was finished making lunch.
"Lexi!" said Sherlock, with a plate of burgers and fries. "Ooooh Lexi! Lunch is ready! I've made you a nice meal!"
He goes to Lexi's bedroom and opens the door to find that she wasn't in there.
"Lexi?" said Sherlock, looking around the room. "Lexi, where are you?! I said it's time for lunch!"
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" said Sherlock.
Sherlock put down the food on the dining room table as he went to go answer the door. He opened the door to see Joyce with a big bag of clothes.
"Hi Mr. Hemlock," said Joyce, putting the bag down. "I'm back from Finders Keepers. I've bought so many nice clothes for Lexi. Would you like to see what I got for her?"
"Not right now, Joyce," said Sherlock. "I don't know where she is."
"Isn't she in her room cleaning it like I asked her to?" asked Joyce.
"No ma'am," said Sherlock. "Watson's not here either."
"Where do you think she went?" asked Joyce.
"I'm not sure," said Sherlock. "But I hope she is still in the hotel. Cause Watson would've told me if she wasn't."
He grabs Watson's leash and heads for the door as he said, "Come on, Joyce. Help me find my dog and your daughter."
"Okay," said Joyce.
They both step out of the suite as Joyce locks the door with the key so no one can break in while she is not there. Sherlock and Joyce then start searching for Lexi and Watson.
Back at the Lost and Found, Lexi and Watson woke up after an hour-long nap.
"Boy, that was a good nap, huh Watson?" said Lexi, rubbing her eyes.
Watson yawned and stretched himself onto the floor.
"Say Watson," said Lexi, standing up as she hung the fur coat back on the clothing rack. "To keep ourselves awake, why don't we make some noise and have fun!"
"Woof woof woof!" said Watson, standing on his hind legs.
Lexi grabs a hatbox, puts the strap around her shoulders, grabs two unopened umbrellas, tied her teddy bear to Watson's back, placed a big black top hat on her head and a small yellow hard hat on Watson's head, wrapped a pink ballet tutu around her waist, and started to beat on the hatbox like a drum with the two umbrellas as her and Watson marched around the room making a huge ruckus.
"LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!" Lexi sang loudly.
Watson howled loudly as he followed Lexi in circles.
After a few minutes, the door opened. Sherlock and Joyce finally found Lexi and Watson.
"Lexi, there you are!" said Joyce.
"There you are, Watson!" said Sherlock.
Lexi and Watson quickly froze and stopped making noise. Lexi dropped the umbrellas and placed her hands behind her back.
"Uhhhh…Hi mother," said Lexi, sweating nervously. "Hello Sherlock…Nice day today, huh? Heh heh heh…Heh heh…Heh…"
Joyce and Sherlock looked at Lexi and folded their arms.
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" said Lexi, looking down as she took everything off herself and Watson.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do, young lady," said Joyce, grabbing her daughter's wrist and pulling her. "Now back to the suite."
"Yeeeeeees motheeeeeer…" said Lexi, with a frown.
When they got back to the 9th floor suite, Lexi sat down on a chair as Joyce and Sherlock sat on the couch in front of her.
"Really guys," said Lexi. "I can explain everything!"
"I'll ground you if you tell a single lie!" said Joyce.
"Easy Joyce…" said Sherlock, patting her hand, then turning to Lexi and saying to her, "Lexi? Why did you leave the suite? I clearly told you to clean your room and not sneak out."
"Can you just listen to my story?" asked Lexi. "It goes…Once upon a time, I was cleaning my bedroom while you were making me lunch. I've put all my toys away when suddenly, Watson started to whine. He had lost his favorite toy squeaky ball that was the color red. So we went out of the suite and started to look for it. And then, we found it in the lobby and lived happily ever after! The end…"
"Where did you find it?" asked Sherlock.
"At the Lost and Found, of course," said Lexi.
"Oooh, so you just left the suite to help Watson look for his toy?" said Joyce. "Well, at least you didn't leave the Furry Arms altogether. So I won't ground you."
"Yippeeeeeeeeee!" said Lexi, happily as she climbed onto the couch and started jumping on it.
"No jumping on the furniture, Lexi!" said Joyce. "Get off!"
"Sorry mother," said Lexi, landing on the ground.
"Anyways," said Joyce. "Before I show you the clothes I got for you, Lexi. Have you cleaned your room?"
"Most of it," said Lexi. "All I need to do is make my bed. But it's hard to do it by myself. Will you help me, mother?"
"Sure honey," said Joyce. "I'll help you with anything you're having trouble with."
After Lexi's bed has been made with the help from her mother, Joyce brought the bag of clothes to Lexi's bedroom and started to show her daughter the different outfits she bought for her.
"Heeeeeelloooo you two," Sherlock said, entering the room. "I still have the lunch I've made for us. Who wants some burgers and fries?"
"Oh! Oh!" said Lexi, raising her hand. "Me, me, me!"
She quickly ran to Sherlock and almost bumped into him and the food.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" said Sherlock, keeping the food on the plate. "Take it easy, Lexi!"
Lexi giggled and grabbed herself a cheeseburger and some French fries as she started to eat it along with Joyce and Sherlock with their plateful.
"Woof woof!" said Watson, climbing onto the bed and sniffing the food.
"Nuh uh uh, Watson," said Sherlock, pulling the food away from his dog. "These aren't for you. They're for humans and Muppets only."
He gave Watson a beef-flavored bone and said, "Have this instead. This is for a dog like you."
Watson jumped and grabbed the bone with his teeth as he lied down next to Sherlock and started chewing on his bone.
"Sorry for getting lost today, mother," said Lexi.
"It's alright, sweetie," said Joyce, wrapping her arm around Lexi's shoulder. "You were just trying to help little Watson find his toy. That was a good thing you did."
"Well Lexi, you were lost for a moment along with Watson," said Sherlock. "But now, you've been found!"
Lexi giggles. Sherlock and Joyce laugh along with her. Watson just howled.
THE END