THE GIFT
A "Great Mouse Detective" Fanfiction By The Mouse Avenger
December 23, 1899
"On the first day of Cheesemas,
My mousette gave to me
A big block of tasty Brie..."
The voices of a caroling choir echoed through the chilly London air, accompanied by the rhythmic jingling of silver bells & the excited chatter of micefolk as they carried on with their holiday business. Fidget The Bat glowered in irritation as he stumbled & fell behind repeatedly while trying his doggone hardest to keep up with Cousin Timmy & the Little Women as they strolled down the snow-covered sidewalk. "Hey," Fidget griped as he got his peg-leg caught in some slush & then struggled to free himself, "I could use some help here!"
Julie McBride quickly ran back to assist Fidget, & once her step-brother had been pulled loose from the snow, she took his webbed hand in her paw & walked alongside him as they followed the others. "Gee, Fidget," Julie commented, "you're awfully grumpy today."
"I'm stressed, OK?" Fidget blurted, exasperated. "Now would you stop askin' questions, Jules!?"
But Julie, always a curious mouseling, wanted to find out what was making Fidget so "spazzed", as he would usually put it. Fidget sighed & then answered, "It's 2 days before Christmas, & I don't know what to get Livvy for a present."
"Have you tried making a list of gift ideas?" Eliza asked.
Fidget shook his head. "All da ones I could come up with stink! All da ones dat I know Livvy isn't gettin' from somebody else, anyway."
"What about Rainbow Toys?" Eliza asked with a large, coy smile. "Have you considered putting that on your list?"
Fidget stared at Eliza as though he had just caught her picking her nose. "Are you freakin' kiddin' me?!" he said. "Olivia's already got enough Rainbow Toys to stock an entire warehouse! I don't wanna give her something she already has—Olivia deserves to see at least one thing dat's totally different & brand-new under da Christmas tree dis year!"
Gadget thought for a moment, scratching her chin as her face sported a contemplative look. Then she snapped her fingers & beamed brightly as soon as an idea had come to her. "Why don't you look around the Mini-Mall while we're there today & see if there's anything you want to get for her?" she suggested to Fidget with a helpful smile.
Fidget nodded his head rapidly as he panted in excitement. "Yeah!" he replied. "I'm sure I'll be able to find da perfect gift for Olivia den!"
After taking the Mousetro speed-train across the city, Fidget, Cousin Timmy, & the Little Women got off near the London Mouse Mini-Mall & made their way inside. The entire building was filled with hundreds (if not thousands) of bustling, busy rodents, most of whom were scurrying around & trying to do their Christmas shopping. After they all agreed to meet up at the food court for lunch later on, Fidget & Cousin Timmy went to one side of the mall, & the Little Women rushed through the crowds to the opposite side.
The first stop Fidget & Timmy made to find Olivia's present was at Bleu's Books. As soon as they entered the store, Fidget started browsing through every shelf, hoping to find a good book Olivia might enjoy. While Fidget looked around, Cousin Timmy kept offering the bat his suggestions, showing the covers of the books he mentioned to Fidget. "Alice In Wonderland?" the mouseling recommended. "Barry Lyndon? The Last Days Of Pompeii?"
"I don't think Hiram wants Livvy readin' dat book," Fidget replied tersely, going back to his search. "Besides, Olivia already has a copy of Alice In Wonderland, & don't even think about me buyin' Barry Lyndon—dat book is so stupid, I want to rip up da nearest copy every time someone mentions it." Fidget was now flinging books onto the floor in his desperate frenzy to find the perfect reading material for Livvy. "Oh, freakin' gumdrops, I can't find anything!" Fidget blurted panickingly. "Help me out, Timmy!"
Timmy, however, was too busy ogling at the scantily-clad models in a Playmouse magazine nearby, & he didn't pay any attention to what was going on. Suddenly, he was startled out of his wits when a man's paw appeared right in front of him & snatched the periodical away from him. "How dare you read such nastiness, you naughty little boy?" cried the manager of the bookstore, who had been watching Timmy not too far away. With a kick to Timmy & Fidget's rumps that sent them flying out the door, the manager shook a fist & shouted, "And I don't want to see you walking in here again without parental supervision!"
Not too long afterwards, Fidget & Timmy were browsing for Olivia's present at Mousetoria's Secret, one of the many gift stores stationed at the London Mouse Mini-Mall. While Fidget was looking around for potential gifts, Timmy did his best to help his step-brother; unfortunately, the well-meaning mouseling often provided assistance by poking & peering much too closely at the store's items, many of which were labeled with a tag that said "Please do not touch".
At one point, Cousin Timmy leaned towards a large fiberglass statue of a rainbow unicorn, scrutinizing the details of it. "Hmmm," he said, "this looks like a great decoration for Livvy's room."
"Yeah, probably so," Fidget said obliviously, not quite realizing how close Timmy was to the unicorn sculpture...that is, until he turned for a moment to talk to him. The second Fidget saw Timmy standing on his tiptoes just inches away from the figurine, his eyes went up in alarm & he blurted out a cry of shock. "Timmy, not so close to dat thing!" he shouted. "Scoot back!" Startled by the suddenness of Fidget's loud voice, Cousin Timmy accidentally tumbled & fell against the unicorn statue. It fell to the floor & shattered into dozens of pieces.
Timmy & Fidget immediately tried to pick up the shards of the broken unicorn, but they were quickly caught by the store clerk, who had seen the whole scene from behind the counter. The clerk notified the manager, & after giving Fidget & Timmy a very harsh talking-to, said manager demanded that Timmy pay for the damages. Timmy, who was responsible for today's mall expenses, was forced to hand the manager most of the money in his pockets; by the time Fidget & Timmy left Mousetoria's Secret, they only had 10 pounds left to spend.
"Nice going, Timmy!" Fidget barked to the mouseling as he walked with him to the food court. "Now two-thirds of our Christmas cash is gone, thanks to you! And I'm not moochin' off of da McBride girls for money, so don't even ask!"
After Fidget & Cousin Timmy had joined the Little Women at one of the tables in the center of the dining area, Eliza went to Limburger King & ordered fast food for everyone. Fidget ate his lunch with a solemn silence & an irritated glower. "Golly, Fidget," Gadget remarked, "you don't look like you've had much luck getting a present for Olivia."
"Darn right," Fidget grumbled with a mouthful of French fries.
"Do you need any help?" Julie offered, placing her paw in her pocket & digging around inside it. "I have some extra money I can give to you, if you'd like me to."
Fidget swiftly shook his head & held out his hands in a gesture of refusal. "No thanks, Julie," he said. "I'm sure I can handle it."
Eliza took another sip of Rodent's Delight & wiped her mouth with her paw after she had placed her soda onto the table. Then she gave a warning glare at Fidget as she reminded him, "Well, Fidget, Christmas Eve is tomorrow, & the store's closing time will be early—at around 6 PM—& it won't be open for all of Christmas Day. So if you wanna get a present for Olivia, I highly suggest that you hurry up."
For the rest of the day, Fidget scouted every shop in the Mini-Mall for Olivia's Christmas present, & thankfully, Timmy wasn't there to give him any more grief, since he had to leave for afternoon piano lessons with his teacher Larry Grossmouse. Despite this, however, Fidget still failed to succeed in getting the perfect gift that he wanted to give Olivia—everything he had found was either out of his price range or failed to meet his expectations. When it was time for Fidget to head home that evening, he accompanied the Little Women on board the Mousetro train with a dejected frown & a bitter feeling of disappointment.
Even after the five rodents had exited the human's cab they took to Baker Street, Fidget was still kicking himself for not being able to complete his quest. "I can't believe it," he griped angrily. "I just can't believe it! Christmas is da day after tomorrow, & I haven't gotten a single thing for Olivia! Geez, I'm so mad about dis, I could just..."
"Fidget, calm down!" Jane said nervously, quickly placing a paw on his shoulder to calm him down. "You're scaring me!"
Not saying anything, Fidget glared up at Jane for a moment, & then tromped down the mini-staircase that led into the living room. He sat down promptly in his favorite chair, glaring at the TV as he reached for the remote & turned the appliance on. The first show that popped up on the screen was a soap opera; in the currently-playing scene, a pretty red-haired mousette was smiling & gasping in delight as her lover presented her with a glimmering engagement ring. "Oh, Jack, of course I'll marry you! I thought you'd never ask!" The mousette swept her fiancé into her arms & gave him a big hug as she kissed him underneath the mistletoe. "This is the best Christmas gift I've ever received!" Fidget immediately changed the channel, feeling embittered as the program reminded him of that present he had been so desperate to get.
The next show that Fidget flipped to was the big Christmas sale special on Telemarket that was done every year. A cheerful-looking saleslady stood at a desk, gesturing to a large set of crystal figurines that resembled a Nativity scene. "Call the number on the screen now & order the Glass Mangerie—the perfect gift for your loved one this holiday season!"
Again, Fidget switched channels; Eliza was delighted to see the next show that appeared. "Oh, my gosh," she exclaimed ecstatically, "it's the Uncle Mikey Christmas special!" With a display of speed that would make a Tasmanian devil jealous, Eliza dashed down the mini-staircase & hopped into the chair beside Fidget's, grabbing the remote from him & turning up the volume until it was practically blaring.
"Hello again, boys & girls," spoke Uncle Mikey from behind the TV screen as he gave a little wave at the audience. "Welcome back to our big holiday show! Right now, I have a story to tell you that I think you will enjoy."
"I'm all ears, Uncle Mikey!" Eliza replied, totally caught up in what she was watching.
With a jolly smile on his painted face, the clown-like entertainer sat in a comfortable chair in a faux library & held a big book in his paws, as a crowd of puppet children gathered around him. "For storytime today, I'm going to tell you a heartwarming Christmas tale." Uncle Mikey cleared his throat & began to read from the book, as lavish animated sequences illustrated the action in the story. "Once upon a time, not too long ago, there was a young mouseling who lived in a village near Mexico City. The rodents in the boy's town were very poor, & they didn't receive many presents for Christmas. But they didn't really care about that; they were just happy spending time together & enjoying the holiday season."
"You just love being a sentimental optimist, don't you, Uncle Mikey?" Fidget snapped irritatedly under his breath at the TV.
Unaware of the interaction happening outside his screen realm, Uncle Mikey carried on with the story: "One year, however, the mouseling wanted to give an offering at the local church for the annual Christmas celebration in honor of Jesus' birthday. 'I'm going to get the biggest & best gift in the world & bring it with me to the altar at the sermon!' he said in determination. For the next two weeks, the mouseling saved all the money he could find, & put it in his little satchel. When Christmas Eve finally came, though, he didn't have enough to buy a gift. This made the mouseling very, very sad.
Even though he wouldn't be able to purchase something from the market, the mouseling decided that he had to bring something to the Christmas sermon, so he took his favorite teddy bear—the only toy he had—& brought it to church that evening. When the mouseling placed the bear at the altar to make his offering, he felt even more disappointed when he saw all the other big, fancy gifts that all the other parishioners had presented. 'Look at all these jewels & painted pots & things!' he said as he began to sob. 'Everyone else's offerings are so much better than mine!'
The preacher heard the mouseling weeping & went over to comfort him. 'Why are you crying?' he asked. When the mouseling told him his story, the preacher smiled & patted his head. 'There's no need to be sad,' he said. 'Yes, all the other churchgoers offered the greatest & most luxurious gifts they had, but that was just because they were so shiny & colorful—all part of a great display. Your gift is more special than any of those put together because you gave it out of the goodness of your heart.'"
At this point, Fidget would have turned the TV off, but Eliza was clutching the remote tightly in her paws as she continued to watch in rapture at the Uncle Mikey Christmas special. So without saying a word, Fidget gave a heavy sigh as he tossed his webbed hands into the air & stomped upstairs to his room, slamming the door behind him. Now alone, Fidget paced the floor angrily as he kicked at a Rainbow Beach Ball with his peg-leg & watched it roll around. After doing this a few more times, Fidget sighed again & went over to the closet, banging his head on the door. "Dis has certainly turned out to be a terrific day," he muttered sarcastically.
The next morning, Fidget had taken note of the Mini-Mall's earlier closing time, & as soon as he had eaten breakfast & brushed his teeth, he was just about to head off across town, but when Victoria called him back into the house, he sighed & pouted—he had forgotten that Saturday was "chores day". I just hope dat I won't have to work until 6:00, he thought. Otherwise, it'll be too late for me to go to da mall!
As it turned out, Fidget ended up doing chores until 2:00 PM; his tasks were not too hard, but Fidget was not much of a bat for extensive menial labor & he wore out quite easily (which is why other members of the Baker Street Family usually assisted him). By the time Fidget had completed all of his assignments, he trudged up to his room wearily, panting for breath as he flopped onto the floor. "Need to close my eyes...just for...a little while..." In no time, Fidget was fast asleep.
When Fidget woke up later that afternoon, he rubbed his eyes for a second & then looked at Ratigan's alarm clock nearby to check the time. To his horror, the little & big hands were pointing to 5 & 9.
"Oh, Helen of freakin' Troy!" Fidget cried, opening up the window & taking off into the sky. "I hope I can make it to da mall in time!"
Once Fidget arrived at his destination, he quickly landed & scurried over to the main entrance. He was overcome with dismay & he felt his heart sink when he saw a big "Closed" sign hanging on the door. Fidget's sadness gave way to rage, & he growled as he gave a mighty kick to a pile of snow that lay at his feet. "Gosh-darn it!" he yelled. "Now I'll never be able to get Olivia da perfect Christmas gift!" With a melancholy look on his face, Fidget trudged off for home, dragging his feet across the ground as he gave a downcast stare.
Several moments later, Fidget was making his way through Regents Park, when suddenly, he stopped as he heard a voice call out his name. Fidget looked up & saw a golden-furred mouse in a velvet fur coat, gloves, & fancy clothing walking towards him, his curly tendrils of black hair blowing in the cold winter winds. "Ah, there you are, Fidget!" the mouse said in a cheerful voice, smiling cordially. "How's your Christmas holiday been so far?"
"I don't wanna talk right now, Sophocles," Fidget muttered sadly, staring at the ground with a frown.
Sophocles went over to Fidget & placed a paw on the bat's shoulder. "Is there something troubling you, my lad?" he asked in concern.
Fidget sighed & turned to face Sophocles. "It's like dis," he began. After Fidget had told his entire story, from yesterday's events at the mall up to his recent disappointment, Sophocles smiled warmly at Fidget & patted his head with a gentle chuckle. "Fidget, dear boy," he said, "have you forgotten so quickly about the importance of Christmas? It's not about presents or caroling or cocoa, as delicious as it is...Christmas is about being with the rodents you love most, about sharing & caring, & about providing the gifts that come from the innermost depths of your heart."
Fidget looked at Sophocles with a hopeful smile. "So you're sayin' Olivia doesn't need something from the mall for her Christmas present?"
"As long as she has you to love & care for her," Sophocles replied, "you are the best gift Olivia could ever have."