Guppies And Burglars
One sunny afternoon, the Bubble Guppies were playing catch with a baseball at the local baseball field.
"So, did you guys see the new trailer for Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts yet?" Gil asked his friends.
"Yeah." said Goby as he caught the ball. "It looks like it's gonna be awesome."
"Indeed." agreed Nonny. "I think it's cool that they're recycling the character designs from the Bumblebee movie. I even heard that there's going to be a brand-new trilogy coming along with it."
"Now that really is gonna be cool." said Gil. "But if it's one person who's really looking forward to seeing Rise Of The Beasts, it's Ralph, since he used to watch the original Beast Wars cartoon on TV when he was a kid. He even still has all his old Beast Wars toys."
"All of them?" Molly asked.
"That's right." said Gil. "Okay, are you guys ready?"
"You bet we are." said Deema as she and the others got ready to catch.
"Here it comes!" said Gil.
Gil then threw a screwball, and Molly, Goby, Deema, Oona, and Zooli all scrambled to get it.
"I got it, I got it, I got it!" they chanted.
But the ball flew right past the kids, over the chain link fence, and right into the open window of a police car parked nearby.
"Oops..." said Gil.
The officer inside the car, a male snail officer, approached the kids, the baseball in his hand.
"You kids lose something?" the officer asked.
"Yep." nodded Gil. "Thanks. And, sorry about that."
"Oh, that's okay." the officer chuckled. "I know it was an accident. Plus, no harm done. However, I do suggest you try to be more careful."
"We will, officer." said Zooli. "That's a promise."
Just then, the officer's car radio crackled to life.
"Calling Car 11, calling Car 11." a voice on the radio said. "We have a report of a 459 at 72 Oyster Street."
"That's a burglary." said the officer. "Sorry, kids, but I gotta go."
The officer got into his car and sped away, lights flashing and siren wailing. As the kids watched the officer leave, Oona noticed that Nonny was white as a sheet.
"What's wrong, Nonny?" she asked.
"That's my house!" Nonny cried.
"What?!" the other kids gasped.
"Come on!" said Nonny. "This way!"
And so, the kids hurried to Nonny's house. They soon found the officer they met talking to Nonny's parents, Joseph and Sandy.
"So you say that you were only gone for half an hour and didn't see anything suspicous when you got home?" the officer asked.
"Yes, officer." said Joseph. "I still can't believe this happened."
"Our next-door neighbor said that he saw two lobsters loading things into a van, but didn't think anything of it." added Sandy.
At that moment, Nonny and the other kids burst in.
"Mom! Dad!" Nonny said. "Did you hear? There was a burglary here!"
"I think they heard." said Molly, looking around.
The kids followed Molly's gaze of their surroundings. The living room of Nonny's house was a mess. Furniture had been turned over, and drawers had been pulled out and left on the floor, surrounded by their contents, which had apparently been dumped out.
"Wow." gasped Deema. "It looks like a tornado came through here."
"Kids, this is Officer Sheldon." Joseph then said, introducing his son and his friends to the officer.
"We've met." said Officer Sheldon. "Hi again, kids."
Nonny, after returning Officer Sheldon's greeting with his friends, went over to his mother.
"What'd they take, Mom?" he asked.
"Television, stereo, silverware, jewelry, anything that was valuable." Sandy explained.
At that reply, Nonny gre even more scared.
"What about my toys?!" he asked in a panicky voice. "And the money in my money jar?!"
"It's okay, son." Joseph reassured. "I already checked your room. All of your books, toys, and other belongings are accounted for, even your money jar."
Nonny breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness." he said.
Deema then looked at Officer Sheldon.
"Can't you catch the guy who did this?" she asked.
"Well, without your help, I can't." replied Officer Sheldon.
"What can we do?" Molly asked.
"I might have an idea." said Officer Sheldon as he passed out some pamphlets. "It's called "Neighborhood Watch", where you, your families, and your friends can help the police stop criminals in their tracks and protect each other."
"Thanks, officer." said Joseph.
"My pleasure." said Officer Sheldon before turning back to the kids. "If you'll excuse us, I have some more questions to ask."
"That's okay." said Molly. "I think it's time for us to go home, anyway. See you tomorrow, Nonny."
"You too." replied Nonny as his friends left.
Later that evening, when Molly and her family were having dinner, she talked to her parents about the Neighborhood Watch program, and even showed them the pamphlet Officer Sheldon had given her.
"I think this is a wonderful idea." said Kayla.
"Indeed." agreed Matthew. "I'll talk to the guys at the station about this tomorrow."
"Thanks, Dad." said Molly.
The next day at school, the kids were having lunch while talking to Nonny.
"So, how are you guys holding up?" Zooli asked.
"Very good, actually." Nonny replied. "After Officer Sheldon left the house yesterday, Dad called our insurance company to make a claim on the stolen items, and this morning, he got a call back from them saying it got approved."
"Good for him." said Gil. "Say, I'm curious, did they ever find out how the burglars got into your house?"
"They did." said Nonny. "Apparently, the burglars picked the lock on the front door."
"That's not good." frowned Oona.
"Fortunately, Dad was able to get in touch with a locksmith and arranged for him to come and put a new lock on the door this afternoon." Nonny went on. "And he's also thinking of having a burglar alarm installed."
"Now that's using the old noodle." Goby pointed out.
At that moment, Mr. Grouper approached.
"Nonny, your dad called." he said.
"He did?" replied Nonny. "What's up?"
"He wanted me to tell you and your friends to not go directly home after school today." Mr. Grouper explained.
"Why?" asked Oona. "Is something wrong?"
"No, Oona, everything's fine." Mr. Grouper said. "There's a meeting about the Neighborhood Watch program at Nonny's house this afternoon."
"Oh, yeah, that." said Nonny. "Mom told me about it at breakfast this morning."
"Your parents will be at the meeting, and they all want you to attend." Mr. Grouper went on. "I decided to attend the meeting, too, so Mr. Hutchinson suggested that I bring you kids to the meeting, and then the rest of you will go home with your parents afterwards."
"Sounds good to me." said Gil.
The rest of the kids agreed, and later, Mr. Grouper brought the kids to Nonny's house, where Officer Sheldon was waiting, along with the Guppies' parents and many other citizens. It was quite the turnout indeed.
"Thank you all for coming." said Officer Sheldon. "Now, let's get right down to business. We believe that the burglars who recently robbed this house may or may not have robbed other homes in your neighborhood. The police department has requested that you all play a part in bringing them to justice."
"What can we do?" asked Satoru, Oona's father.
"Most of you already know a lot of your friends and neighbors." said Officer Sheldon. "If there are any neighbors you don't know, now's a good time to get to know them, because if they leave their homes for whatever reason, it's your job to watch for any suspicious activity, such as people you don't recognize trying to open windows or doors from the outside or people moving items out of empty homes."
"What should we do if we do see something?" asked Sally, Deema's mother.
"It's simple." said Officer Sheldon. "If you see anyone or anything suspicious, call the police immediately. Remember, it's not a good idea to try to stop a criminal yourself unless they try to harm you."
Officer Sheldon then looked at the Guppies.
"And that goes for you kids, too." he said. "If you see any suspicious activity, tell your parents or any other adult you see right away."
"Yes, sir!" the Guppies said in unison.
"You can always count on the Bubble Guppies!" added Goby with a grin.
Everyone laughed with amusement at this comment, even Officer Sheldon, who then proceeded to give out more instructions for reporting crimes in the neighborhood and other information regarding the program, then adjourned the meeting. The next day, Gil was on his way to the ball field with Goby and Nonny to play another game of catch. Just as they were reaching the entrance to the park, Nonny saw a black cargo van with a red stripe drive by them.
"Strange." said Nonny. "I saw that van yesterday on my way to school, and again when Mr. Grouper was taking us to the Neighborhood Watch meeting at my house."
"Really?" asked Gil.
"Yeah." nodded Nonny. "As far as I'm concerned, that's the only black van with a red stripe I've seen in our area."
Just then, Nonny spotted something else.
"Hey, look!" he said. "It's stopping in front of Avi's house!"
"But aren't Avi and his mom on vacation right now?" asked Gil.
"That's my point." said Nonny. "The people in that van might be burglars! Quickly! We gotta hide before they see us!"
The boys hid behind a trio of mail collection boxes, then watched as two male lobsters wearing denim coveralls and baseball caps got out of the van, one of them holding a lock pick gun, which he used to pick the lock on the front door. Once that was done, he opened the door and went inside the house with his partner.
"You're right, Nonny." Gil whispered. "Those guys are burglars!"
"Well, you know what we have to do now." Nonny replied.
"Right." nodded Goby. "My house isn't too far away from here. Come on!"
With that, the boys scurried to Goby's house, and soon arrived.
"Mom! Dad!" Goby called as he and his friends entered the house.
Goby's father, Ryan, heard his son's cry and approached.
"What's the matter, Goby?" Ryan asked.
"Dad, we saw burglars going into Avi's house!" Goby replied.
"Yeah, two lobsters in coveralls and caps!" Gil added.
"And they were driving a black van with a red stripe." finished Nonny.
Ryan listened intently, then nodded to show he understood what the boys were saying.
"Thanks for telling me, boys." he said. "I'll call the police. Nonny, do you remember the license plate number on the van?"
"Yes, sir." Nonny replied. "BW-91696."
"Thanks." said Ryan.
Ryan then went over to the phone and dialed 9-1-1. Once the dispatcher picked up the phone on the other end, he relaid all the information the boys had given him, from the address of Avi's home to the physical description of both the suspects and their vehicle, especially the license plate number. He also gave the dispatcher his own address.
"Come on, guys!" said Goby as his father hung up the phone. "Let's go watch the cops catch the robbers!"
"Not so fast, Goby." said Ryan. "This is police business now. You boys better stay here and wait until the police come to take our statement later. In the meantime, how about some milk and cookies?"
The boys agreed. It wasn't long, however, that they heard the sounds of squealing tires and police sirens. They watched from the window as the van sped down the street followed by a police car. A second police car arrived to block the van's escape, forcing the van to stop. The first police car also stopped. Followed by Ryan, the boys rushed over to the scene just as Officer Sheldon, along with some other officers, including the Guppies' friend Officer Miranda, were placing the two lobster burglars in handcuffs.
"Officer Sheldon to dispatch." Officer Sheldon was saying into his radio. "We got 'em. I repeat, we got 'em."
Officer Sheldon then saw the boys and came over to them.
"Did you get them?" asked Gil.
"You bet we did." said Officer Sheldon with a smile. "I take it you're the boys whose father called in?"
"Yep." nodded Goby. "It was my dad."
"It was your quick thinking that really made the difference." said Officer Sheldon. "Thanks to you three, these two will be going away for quite a while."
"Thank goodness for that." said Nonny.
After getting Ryan's statement, Officer Sheldon and the other officers left while a tow truck came to pick up the van. Afterwards, the boys resumed their original course to the ball field. Later on, Nonny and his family were having dinner, and Nonny was telling his parents all about what had happened.
"I'm proud of you, son." said Joseph. "You, Gil, and Goby sure used your heads in that situation."
"And you definitely showed that you and your friends paid plenty of attention at the meeting yesterday." Sandy added.
"As a special treat, what do you say to going out for ice cream after dinner?" Joseph asked.
"Yeah, that would be nice." said Nonny with a nod.
And so, after dinner, Nonny and his family ventured out to indulge in their frozen delicacy, proud, along with Nonny's fellow Bubble Guppies and their families, to now be a part of a larger program dedicated protecting their friends and neighbors.
The End