The next day was Saturday, and the sun was only partially hidden by clouds, so Skippy decided to take a walk. He scampered and jumped across trees, found various nuts and at them as snacks, and was just generally happy that he was a squirrel and he could enjoy the simple pleasures in life.

While at the park, he noticed an old wolf sitting on a park bench and eating peanuts. Skippy leaped off the tree, brushed himself off, climbed up on his hind legs, and casually strolled over to where he was. Then his eyes grew wide as he looked at the wolf. "Please sir, may I have some?"

The wolf jumped up angrily, surprising Skippy and causing him to jump back. "Listen, squirrel, I don't give food to squirrels!"

Skippy almost yelled back, "Why not?" but another question came out. "Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. This wolf looked strangely familiar.

The wolf also looked surprised. "Do I know YOU from somewhere?"

A bell sounded in Skippy's brain. "I know! You're Walter Wolf!"

"And just how do you know that?" he demanded. "The cartoons I was in are restricted, and with good reason!"

"I watched them at the library. Ha ha! You're such a pushover!"

"I am not! And even so, you're still not getting any of these peanuts!"

"Not even if I showed you this?" asked Skippy, reaching into his pocket and taking out a bomb.

"AARRGHHHH!" screamed Walter in shock. "You're just as bad as Slappy!"

"More like just as good," said Skippy, grinning. "I know how to control my enemies."

"I think that you've been watching those cartoons for too long!" cried Walter.

"Oh no!" cried Skippy, shaking his head. "If I only watched her cartoons, then I wouldn't have access to any bombs. But lets say that I lived with her… that she was my aunt…"

"Slappy's your AUNT?" cried Walter in rage.

"Uh huh," Skippy nodded. "Although I'm sorry to say that she is much more knowledged in the art of blowing wol-HEY!"

Walter grabbed Skippy and ran him straight towards his house. Once he got him there, he tied him up to a chair with strong rope and gagged him. "Well, looks like you've caught me," came Skippy's muffled reply.

"What a brilliant plan!" laughed Walter. "I'll write a ransom note to Slappy and when she comes to rescue you, I'll blow her up!" He quickly wrote a note and left the house.

~This gives me plenty of time to work up a plan,~ thought Skippy. He wasn't really frightened. He knew, both from watching the cartoons and from Slappy's brief mentions of Walter, that he was a few tacos short of a platter.


Slappy, unaware of what had just happened, was sitting in her living room, reading the paper. Three knocks sounded at the door.

Slappy sighed and got up. "Goody, I get to buy more fun-filled items from Boy Scout Troop 3179 for their fund-raiser to go to Abu Dhabi." By that time she was at the door. When she opened it, however, there was no one there. The only thing that was there was a note.

Slappy sighed, picked it up, and read it aloud. "Dear Slappy, I have taken your nephew. If you can find me, I will return him to you unharmed, as long as you don't bring any explosives. But you won't find me. You will never find me! I am untraceable! Sincerely, Walter Wolf." Slappy sighed. "Listen, Walter, even if ya hadn't signed the note I would've recognized yer ridiculous plan anyway. I guess I hafta go and get Skippy."

She went downstairs into her vault and started putting some items into her purse. "Hmm, that one's good, ooh yes, definitely that one. Hey, wait a minute, didn't I have five of these?" She looked around. "Oooh, I swear that once I rescue that kid I'm gonna kill him. I told him not ta come down here!"

She picked up some more explosives. She wasn't all that worried about Skippy. First of all, he was pretty self-reliant and could easily think of some way to foil Walter's plan. Secondly, she knew that Walter's elevator didn't reach the top floor. "Even a bozo could get out of Walter's clutches. But Skippy's new at the business. He might need some help."