Episode 2: The Case of the Raided Fridge

Tom and Jerry woke on a Friday morning just after Robyn had left for school and her father to work. They went outside for a while and Jerry let Tom chase him around the yard, but this time, it was only for some morning exercise and a little fresh air. When the fun was done, the cat and mouse headed indoors for a breakfast of milk and cheese. But when Tom opened the refrigerator door, the gray cat gave an audible gasp.

"The milk! It's gone!" he yelped.

"And my cheese blocks!" added Jerry. "They're missing too!"

"And that's not even the bad part," Tom said nervously. "Look around this thing."

Jerry did and found that the fridge had nearly been cleaned out. In fact, all that was really remaining there was day-old vegetables and basic elements of large dishes.

"Robyn's not gonna like the looks of this," he muttered nervously.

…

Jerry was right, for when Robyn came home from school, she was shocked to find the fridge barely filled and asked, "Guys, what happened here?"

"I truly have no idea," Tom said with sheer honesty.

"We just came inside this morning for milk and cheese when we found the fridge barely filled," Jerry explained.

Robyn nodded with understanding. Ever since she met Tom and Jerry, she knew the cat and mouse duo were quite honest. But the missing food had Robyn confused, and she said, "But if you guys didn't eat it all, then who…?"

"Beats me," said Tom with a shrug.

"Maybe we should try looking for them at night," suggested Jerry. "You never know. Whoever raided the fridge might come back at any time we have our backs turned."

Robyn and Tom thought this was a good idea, and so they decided to investigate by night. However, Robyn and her two pets knew better than to let the refrigerator stay nearly empty, so they phoned in a grocery delivery and soon had the refrigerator filled. With the situation handled for the moment, Robyn did her homework and then spent some time with Tom and Jerry, cracking jokes and sharing stories.

When Robyn's father came home from work, he hugged his little daughter with a smile and petted Tom and Jerry. Mr. Starling said to Robyn, "You must be starving, sweetheart. What would you say to a pasta dinner?"

"Oh, yes," Robyn said with a nod. "I'd like that very much, Daddy." Then she turned to Tom and Jerry and said, "And for my two little pets, I'll prepare an equally special dinner."

In a short while, a dinner of pasta al dente was prepared for Robyn and her father, and Robyn had prepared a special dinner for Tom and another fine dish for Jerry. She was saying, "For the kitty, I present the house specialty: pasta al dente a la Robyn con salmon-balls."

Tom was impressed with how Robyn had prepared his dinner, but he had to admit Jerry was a lucky mouse when Robyn set his dinner before him. "And for Signor Jerry, a mouse's dream dish: cheddar cheese a la Robyn con roquefort cacciatore."

Tom and Jerry were amazed at their young owner's words and Jerry said, "Robyn, you can speak Italian?"

"Sure I can," she grinned. "Daddy taught me."

And with that, Robyn joined her father at the table and they shared in their dinner, with Robyn talking about her day at school, and Mr. Starling congratulated her for a good score on a class quiz in science. Tom and Jerry ate rather quietly as they were savoring the affection between Robyn and her father. When dinner was over, Tom and Jerry handled the dishes, and then they went up to Robyn's room, where their young owner was sitting on her bed with a handful of stuffed animals around her.

Tom and Jerry just smiled to see Robyn having one of those moments to be a kid. They joined her on her bed, and then Tom said, "So, Robyn, are ya ready to try catching the fridge thief tonight?"

"Well, I'm sure you two are, but I do need to be in bed," Robyn said with a shrug.

"Then we'll do it in the early hours of the morning," suggested Tom. "The thief probably can't pull off emptying the fridge in like a minute or so."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Robyn smiled. And so the three of them spent the next hour planning to catch the fridge thief in the act. Their plans were fun to talk about even if they weren't ideal ones. A while later, Robyn was ready for bed, and her father was there to kiss her good night and took care to pet Tom and Jerry before they headed to their domestic domains.

…

Tom woke up some time later and checked the clock: 5:00 in the morning. Mr. Starling wasn't up yet, so there was a chance they could find the fridge raider. So Tom knocked on the wall over Jerry's mousehole, alerting the little brown mouse.

"You ready to find our fridge thief, Tom?" squeaked Jerry.

"Ready if you are, buddy," the cat replied.

Robyn stirred and then woke up with a yawn. "You two up already?" she said sleepily.

"We're gonna catch whoever cleaned out the fridge, Robyn!" proclaimed Jerry. "Are you coming with us?"

Robyn was still sleepy, but she managed to hop out of bed and she said, "Sure thing, Jerry."

With that, the three friends crept out of Robyn's room and headed toward the kitchen. As they had figured, someone had been in the house and was clearly eating, as they could hear the telltale sounds of chewing.

"I knew it. Whoever raided the fridge is in here," murmured Tom. "Now all we have to do is find out who."

Robyn stepped into the kitchen, felt around for the light switch, and then she turned on the light. Tom and Jerry waited for a moment, and then jumped when they heard the girl give a squeak of excitement.

"What is it, Robyn?" wondered Jerry.

"What's going on?" asked Tom.

Robyn said with wide eyes, "Take a look for yourselves."

Tom and Jerry did so, and what a surprise they got! The fridge raider was Jerry's little nephew, Nibbles Mouse, who was sitting on the floor munching away at a pile of food. When Jerry saw his little nephew, he dashed over and hugged him and asked what had brought Nibbles here to the Starling residence. Nibbles explained that he had been looking for Jerry ever since he and Tom were kicked out of their house, and then he saw them in the papers when they helped Robyn reunite with her father, and when he found Robyn's house, he simply raided the fridge because he was hungry.

Tom, Jerry, and Robyn couldn't be mad with little Nibbles. Jerry said to his nephew, "Well, you'd be welcome to stay, Nibbles. Nothing to worry about. Robyn here will love you. She's sweet and kind and so protective."

Nibbles found Jerry was right, for Robyn immediately took up the tiny mouse in the palm of her hand and nuzzled him. Tom and Jerry were smiling at this sight, since tomorrow was going to be an even better day.

…

The next morning at breakfast, Nibbles joined Tom and Jerry, and this time, Tom had Robyn fill two milk bowls as the other one was for Nibbles. The little gray mouse had all he could drink and then followed Tom and Jerry upstairs to get a look at Robyn's room.

A/N: How about Nibbles showing up to give Tom and Jerry a surprise, eh? Also, I had Robyn give Tom and Jerry's dinners Italian titles because as she is from a wealthy family, she might have had language tutoring for when she inherits her father's business.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and keep an eye out. Chapter 3 will be up soon, and this time, we'll see Robyn's father fulfilling the promise he made at the end of the film.