When Two Nurseries Collide
Chapter 4: Scared of the Dark?
Brave Heart was the only one awake, and in his opinion the night light wasn't nearly bright enough. Since Gonzo had showed him how to use his imagination, he was seeing more scary things in the dark than ever before. One of the Muppets in the next crib gave a loud snore, and he sat up quickly. "What was that?" he whispered. He clutched his blanked and began to rock back and forth, sucking his thumb. The house settled, and he began to cry quietly. "N-Noble Heart?" he whispered brokenly, "I want Noble Heart…I want Take Care…" he sniffled, and Gentle Heart woke up and heard him.
The little green lamb crawled over to him, careful not to wake the others. She put an arm around him and asked, "Are you okaaaay?"
He sniffled again, and whispered, "Can I tell you a secret?" when she nodded, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear as quietly as he could, "I'm scared of the d-dark."
He covered his face, embarrassed, and she wrapped her blanket around both of them. "It's okaaay. I am tooo, a little biiiit."
"Yeah?" he asked, and she nodded. His expression became firm, and he said, "You can't tell anyone!"
She smiled at him and replied, "I wooon't tell if yooou won't."
"I already knew," came Swift Heart's voice, "But don't worry, I told myself I wouldn't tease you. I'm ascared of gettin' shots."
"How'd you hear me?" demanded Brave Heart, "You're two cribs over!"
"Well, these ears do more than just make me look good."
Brave Heart sniffled again, and leaned his head on Gentle Heart's shoulder as the house settled again. He was still trembling. She kissed his forehead, and for once Brave Heart didn't make a 'girls have cooties joke.' They soon fell asleep.
After nap time, Nanny brought in their snack. That day's snack was milk and animal crackers. Almost immediately, Swift Heart knocked his milk over and the lid popped off his sippie cup. "Ohh…" he groaned, disappointed, and Skeeter poured half of her milk into his cup. They clinked glasses and drank without the lids, then everyone pointed and laughed at their milk mustaches.
Scooter and Bright Heart were writing mathematical equations on their napkins with crayons, and somehow they got into a disagreement about which was better, calculus or trigonometry.
"Calculus is much more fun and useful than trig!" snapped Bright Heart, giving Scooter a shove.
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"IS NOT!"
"Hey!" Proud Heart tapped her cup on the table for silence. "Stop fighting! I'm sure they both have their good points, so stop being angry. We'll get in trouble."
Both boys looked ashamed, and Scooter held out his hand. "I'm sorry." he said, and Bright Heart shook hands with him.
"I'm sorry too."
Soon snack time was over, and Playful, Swift and Skeeter decided to have a race…or, rather, Swift and Skeeter would race while Playful sat with the camera. The picture he took would decide who won.
"Okay!" Kermit called out, waving a checkered flag over his head, "On your marks…get set…GO!" He swiped the flag downward, and Swift Heart and Skeeter surged forward. Swift Heart was by far the fastest, but he tripped three times over toys that had been left on the floor, giving Skeeter the lead throughout most of the race. During the final lap he caught up, and it was a photo finish; Playful Heart snapped the picture and waited for the polaroid to come out…but nothing happened.
"Uh-oh…" he blushed. "Um, sorry guys…I guess I kinda forgot to put the film in…"
"You did what?" Skeeter yelled, still panting. "I can't believe you did that!"
"Yeah, I twisted my ankle back there for no reason, numbskull!" shouted Swift Heart.
Playful Heart immediately began to cry, and ran to hide in Gonzo's closet.
"No, don't go in there!" Gonzo called after him, "It's not safe!"
Too late…Playful Heart had slammed the door behind him.
"What's so bad about a closet?" asked Lotsa Heart.
Kermit fidgeted. "Well, you know how we can make things happen with our imaginations?"
The cubs nodded, and Kermit continued, "Well, we try to stay out of that closet. Weird things happen in there. It's like it knows what's in our heads."
"You mean, he can really get hurt?" asked Swift, who was looking more than a little remorseful. Everyone turned to Gonzo.
"Naw, it's just real scary…and weird." Replied Gonzo, who added, "Actually, it's not all that scary to us."
"It might be for him, though." Remarked Fozzie. "Come on, let's go find him!"