61.) November 6, 2009: "Which Came First?" [1G]
"Kowalski, you're a smart guy," Skipper waddled by and said, "so tell me, which came first, the penguin or the egg?"
"Well, that's easy, Skipper," Kowalski replied. "Surely the penguin."
Kowalski then thought to himself for a few moments, deciding to revise his answer.
"Now that I think about it, that penguin would have had to hatch from an egg, so the egg came first," he stated. "Then again, a penguin would have had to lay that first egg."
Kowalski then rubbed his forehead.
"Egg," he said. "No, penguin. Egg. Penguin. Egg. Penguin."
"OK, Kowalski, don't hurt yourself," Skipper chuckled.
62.) November 7, 2009: "Not Such a Noble Gas"
"Hello, smart penguin?" Julien called out upon entering the penguins' HQ, hoping Kowalski was there. "The royal me needs some of that gassy stuff that goes into balloons so my super-comfy-pamper-time-floaty-throne can get off the ground."
"Kowalski's not here, Julien, but he keeps his tank of helium over there," Private said, directing Julien to it. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
"Oh, thanks," Julien said, soon leaving with the tank.
Moments later, Kowalski returned.
"I just let Julien barrow your helium for his balloon throne," Private informed him.
"Sweet mercy!" Kowalski exclaimed. "That wasn't helium – it was hydrogen! Remember the Hindenburg?!"
63.) November 8, 2009: "King Me!"
"Ha!" Julien said joyfully, jumping one of his red checkers over one of Skipper's black ones. "The royal me has just captured another one of your men!"
"Yeah, but I've got you just where I want you," Skipper declared as he proceeded to jump three of Julien's pieces in a row, the third of which got him to Julien's back row. "Now king me, mammal!"
"Do what, you say?" Julien questioned. "Are you forgetting that I'm royalty and that you're just a flightless commoner? I shan't be kinging you, silly penguin!"
Skipper rolled his eyes and grabbed the rulebook – again.
64.) November 9, 2009: "Elite?"
Julien sat atop his throne one morning and observed the penguins practicing karate moves.
"I could do that," he said to himself as he threw a few punches in the air. "And I shall!"
Julien then leapt from his throne and walked over to the penguins' habitat.
"Hello, neighbors!" he called to them. "I shall now be joining in on your workout."
"Sorry, lemur," Skipper replied. "These sessions are reserved for elite forces only."
"But certainly I, the king, am elite," Julien countered. "After all, silly penguin, I am royal!"
"I'm afraid you're confusing 'elite' with 'elitist,' lemur," Skipper stated.
65.) November 10, 2009: "The Fly" [2G]
"OK, Skipper, I'll just–" Private began to say before something flew into his mouth. "Ahek, ahem – I think I just swallowed a fly!"
"You know, there was an old lady who swallowed a fly," Skipper chuckled. "Perhaps she'll die."
"Huh?" Private whimpered.
"I said 'perhaps she'll die,' Private," Skipper replied. "You'll be just fine."
Rico then waddled on by.
"Private swallowed a fly?" Rico mumbled as he grinned. "That's nothin'."
Rico then regurgitated a flyswatter.
"I swallowed a flyswatter!" he chuckled as he swung it around.
"There once was a penguin who swallowed a flyswatter," Skipper and Private sung together.
66.) November 11, 2009: "A Tribute to Veterans Day" [3G]
"Smile and wave, boys," Skipper instructed the other penguins as a group of visitors walked by, just like he always did. "Smile and wave."
As they all did so, the crowd watching them soon moved on to other exhibits. An elderly man then made his way to the front and began looking at them.
"Smile and–" Skipper began, but then he noticed and read the man's hat.
Proudly Served
U.S. Army – WWII
"Smile and salute, boys," Skipper revised. "Long before our time, this man before us put on a uniform and served this country so we could stand here today."
67.) November 12, 2009: "Kowalski's Drabble" [4G]
"Hey, Skipper," Kowalski called over to his commander, "any good ideas for a drabble?"
"Well, depending on how severe it is, I'd recommend either paper towels or a bucket," Skipper replied.
"No, 'drabble,' sir, not 'dribble,'" Kowalski responded as he picked up a pencil. "You know, a short little story that's exactly 100 words long."
"Kowalski, you should write about all the adventures we have around the zoo," Private waddled by and suggested after overhearing the conversation. "There are so many things to chose from, and plus, they're all real."
"Good idea," Kowalski stated.
"OK, but nothing classified," Skipper added.
68.) November 13, 2009: "Cute and Cuddly"
One morning, Skipper entered and began waiting inside Marlene's cave for her to return to show him a project she was working on. Marlene soon re-entered her enclosure by climbing over its wall, but as she did so, a small group of humans was standing out in front.
"Where did that otter come from?" one visitor asked another, which Marlene overheard. "I swear it wasn't there a second ago."
"Skipper, are you here?" Marlene then asked. "Help! I just returned, and I think the humans may be on to me."
"Cute and cuddly, Marlene," Skipper called out. "Cute and cuddly."
69.) November 14, 2009: "To Touch a Lemur's Feet" [5G]
"Absolutely disgusting!" Skipper exclaimed upon returning to the HQ with the other penguins. "I can't believe we all touched ring-tail's feet!"
"We couldn't help it, sir," Kowalski said. "It just kind of happened when our brains sort of, well, turned to mush."
"It's still disturbing, Kowalski," Skipper replied, turning then to Rico. "Rico, regurgitate me some soap or your flamethrower for decontamination – whichever you can get up first."
Rico then coughed up a bottle of antibacterial soap and handed it to Skipper.
"Operation: Rub-a-Dub-Dub is now in effect," Skipper then declared to the others. "Boys, it's time to get sanitized."
70.) November 15, 2009: "Candy and the Cabinet" [6G]
"Sorry I'm late, Skipper," Marlene, whom Skipper had recently appointed to be his first Secretary of State, apologized as she walked into the penguins' HQ for her first Cabinet meeting. "I guess being part of your policy discussions is something I'm just not used to yet."
"That's OK," Skipper smiled as Marlene took her seat alongside the other penguins, "I'm still not used to it either."
"Skipper, is it time to let Marlene in on our sweet tradition?" Kowalski then asked.
"Indeed," Skipper replied as he pulled out and passed Marlene a jar of jelly beans. "Choose wisely, and enjoy."
* * *
Drabble Notes
1G: This drabble is a penguin take on the classic question, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"
2G: This drabble was inspired in part by the children's song/rhyme "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" and in part by the brief scene in the TV episode "Penguiner Takes All" in which Private gets a bug in his mouth while flying through the air with the other penguins using jetpacks.
3G: Thank you, veterans – God bless those who serve.
4G: It's not too hard to explain why I wrote this drabble: Thinking up little stories about what goes on at the zoo, focusing most often on the penguins, is what I've been doing for the past 67 days for this drabble project, and I thought it would be fun to have Kowalski do some of the same type of writing.
5G: This drabble stems from a scene in the "Sting Operation" episode when the penguins all hugged Julien's feet in a Mort-like fashion after their brains' thoughts were transferred into a cardboard box via one of Kowalski's inventions.
6G: This drabble probably does not make a whole lot of sense, but I still wanted to write it and explain it the best that I could. First, the part about Marlene being Skipper's Secretary of State comes from the last chapter (Chapter 6) of my fanfic story "Election Day," which implied that Marlene would soon be accepting Skipper's offer from Chapter 5 to become such. Second, the "Cabinet," as used in this drabble, refers to Skipper's panel of advisors, much like that of a U.S. President (for reference, the current President's Cabinet is composed of 15 officers). And third, the mention of jelly beans is in reference to the fact that President Ronald Reagan (40th President, serving from 1981 to 1989) often passed them out at his Cabinet meetings.
