Disclaimer: I do not own The Mr. Men Show or any of its characters. But I do own a few characters in this story and the idea that Mr. Grumpy has a brother and a niece.
Mr. Grumpy took his niece to the hobby shop to get a kite for her to fly. He was annoyed to see Mr. Scatterbrain there, but decided not to say anything to him. He must have chosen not to go with Little Miss Music and Little Miss Calamity to the library. He walked right by the counter, ignoring the magenta Mr. Man when he waved to him. He followed Little Miss Aloof to where the kites were and stood close by as she looked over her options.
She chose a kite that looked like an eagle, and they went to the counter where Mr. Scatterbrain was staring off into space. Mr. Grumpy cleared his throat to get his attention, and the scatterbrained Mr. Man jumped in surprise, like he forgot they were there even though he watched them enter the shop.
Mr. Grumpy rolled his eyes and pushed the kite toward him. "Just this," he said shortly.
"You don't want one, too, Funcle?" asked his niece, glancing at him.
He was about to say no, but the look she gave him, full of hope, made him hesitate. Finally, he sighed and said," Go pick me one. Don't matter which one," he added when she opened her mouth.
She nodded and went back to the kites. She returned, holding a rainbow butterfly kite, and Mr. Grumpy regretted not giving her some idea of a kite he wanted. But he saw the excitement on his niece's face and decided to accept it. He put it on the counter and paid for the kites. Little Miss Aloof called out a goodbye to Mr. Scatterbrain, who chuckled and waved his hand as they left the shop.
They walked to the park and Mr. Grumpy was glad to find a quiet spot just for them.
As he got the kites ready, Little Miss Aloof looked around. She didn't see anyone and she found herself looking forward to just spending time with her uncle. She was humming a song quietly to herself when Mr. Grumpy turned to her.
"Here," he said, handing her the eagle kite. She noticed the uncertain look he gave his rainbow butterfly kite, and suddenly she wished she had chosen a different one. Why did she think he would like that one? She glanced at her kite and then reached out for her uncle to take it.
"Here, you have this one," she told him, and he looked at her confused. "I can take the butterfly kite. I don't mind," she added, taking the kite from him.
He gave her a grateful look, and they flew their kites all afternoon. It was starting to get late by the time they pulled their kites down, and Mr. Grumpy said they should start heading to the fair. Little Miss Aloof felt relaxed, and she found herself looking forward to the fair.
Apparently the fairgrounds wasn't far from the park, and they placed their kites near the front gates. Little Miss Aloof stood close to her uncle as he paid for tickets for the both of them. He gestured for her to follow him and she did, stepping through the entrance and looking around. Loud music was playing and there were colorful lights all throughout the area.
Mr. Men and Little Misses walked around everywhere. She spotted several that she remembered meeting when Mr. Small introduced her on her first day here, but there were some that she never saw before. Such as a red Mr. Man who was standing beside one of the games. He had a scowl on his face and he glared at the blue Mr. Man who had bandages around his body as he picked up the hammer and slammed it back down on the target.
Something shot up and almost hit the bell, but the blue Mr. Man frowned as the ball fell back down. The red Mr. Man started laughing at him, and, seeming frustrated, the blue Mr. Man dropped the hammer which landed on his foot. Hollowering, he started hopping on his uninjured foot and launched backwards, into the booth that was selling cotton candy. He fell into the machine and spun around and around until he was shot out and hit a wall. He laid there, dazed, while the red Mr. Man laughed even harder.
Little Miss Aloof ran over to the blue Mr. Man to check on him. At the same time, someone else ran forward, and Little Miss Aloof realized that it was Little Miss Calamity, who she's met a couple of times already, when she got lost on her way to Mr. Small's house the first night she was here and when she had lunch with her and Little Miss Music and Mr. Scatterbrain earlier today.
Now Little Miss Calamity gasped and stopped in front of the blue Mr. Man. "Mr. Bump!" she exclaimed. "Are you okay?"
Groaning, the blue Mr. Man nodded and shaky stood to his feet. He peeled off some of the sticky candy. "I'm okay, Miss. Calamity." He looked over at Little Miss Aloof, looking confused for a moment, and then understanding entered his eyes. "You're Mr. Grumpy's niece, aren't you?" he asked. "We met in the park the other day, right?"
She nodded, shyly, and shifted her feet awkwardly.
Mr. Grumpy had been distracted for a moment and when he turned to his niece, he realized with a jolt of alarm that she was gone. He spun around frantically, finally spotting her not far away, talking to Little Miss Calamity and Mr. Bump, who was covered in cotton candy for some reason.
Relief washed over him and he hurried over there. "Miss. Aloof!" he called as he neared, and she turned, looking worried. "Don't run off like that!" he scolded her. Then he saw the flash of sadness in her eyes and he softened his voice as he added," Please stay near me. I don't want you getting lost."
Mr. Bump exchanged a look with Little Miss Calamity, thinking, I've never heard him sound so gentle before. He must be a great uncle.
Suddenly the blue Mr. Man heard someone calling his name and saw Mr. Tickle waving one of his long arms to get his attention. For a moment he thought about going home; he was sore and sticky from the cotton candy. But Mr. Tickle had begged him to come to the fair even though he would have liked a nice, quiet night at home. Today has been extra stressful and painful. Mr. Tickle however insisted he come out tonight.
Sighing, he said goodbye to his friends and went to join Mr. Tickle by the Dunk Tank.
Little Miss Aloof watched the blue Mr. Man go, before turning to her uncle. "Do you want to play any games, Funcle?"
He seemed to hesitate, glancing around at all the activity around them. Little Miss Aloof was worried he'd say no, but finally he sighed and nodded. "Okay," he said, and Little Miss Aloof didn't miss the surprised look Little Miss Calamity gave the grumpy Mr. Man.
"Mr. Grumpy?" she said, looking a bit shocked. "Playing games at the fair? Would never have imagined."
Mr. Grumpy shot her a look that Little Miss Aloof knew meant "Go away", and Little Miss Calamity shrugged and left them to go to another part of the fair.
Now alone with her uncle, Little Miss Aloof looked around, wondering what game she wanted to play first.
"How about we play whack-a-clown?" Mr. Grumpy suggested, pointing to the nearest game.
Little Miss Aloof nodded and followed her uncle over to the game.
For a while they played whack-a-clown until Little Miss Aloof got bored and they moved to another game. By now it was completely dark and the fairgrounds were lit up with many colorful lights. They played a couple of more games until Little Miss Aloof realized she was hungry so they got some food.
They were sitting down and eating when a very familiar looking Mr. Man walked up to them and she quickly swallowed her mouth full and jumped to her feet.
"Hey, Mr. Small!" she greeted him.
"Good tidings, Miss. Aloof. I have a surprise for you," he told her, and she widened her eyes.
"What surprise?" she asked eagerly.
Instead of answering her, the small man turned to Mr. Grumpy and asked him," Can I borrow her for a little bit?"
Mr. Grumpy wasn't sure. What did Mr. Small have plan for his niece? But he saw the hope in Little Miss Aloof's eyes and he sighed.
"Okay," he agreed. "Let's meet at the entrance. And don't be long," he called after them as Mr. Small grabbed Little Miss Aloof's hand and pulled her away. Mr. Grumpy sighed again and went back to eating, hoping his niece would be okay.
Mr. Small could barely contain himself as he pulled Little Miss Aloof with him. He hoped she liked the surprise he and Mr. Nosy came up with. They left the fair but the surprise wasn't far. They climbed a nearby hill where Mr. Nosy was waiting. Beside him stood a telescope and Little Miss Aloof stared at it in surprise.
"A telescope?" she asked, confused.
"Yes," Mr. Small said, smiling. "We thought you would want to stargaze. This hill is the best for looking at the stars and the sky."
"And also the best spot to check out what everyone else is doing," Mr. Nosy added with a chuckle.
"Yes but tonight we're stargazing," Mr. Small decided, and Mr. Nosy frowned but then smiled and said to Little Miss Aloof," Go ahead. Look through the telescope."
Stepping forward, Little Miss Aloof looked through the eyepiece. She was in awe at all the sparkling stars she saw so close up! She never saw them so clearly and it was beautiful. She stared through the telescope and suddenly she started crying. She pulled away and buried her face in her hands.
Startled, Mr. Nosy shared a look with his best friend. Why is she crying? he wondered, deeply concerned for the young Little Miss.
"Miss. Aloof?" Mr. Small took a step toward her. "Are you okay?"
She turned and wiped her tears away. "D-Do you think my mom is up there?" she whispered.
Up there? Mr. Nosy looked up, expecting to see someone staring down at him, but all he saw was stars shining far, far away. He didn't understand, but Mr. Small did.
The small man took another step toward her and laid his hand on her shoulder, having to reach up a little. "I'm sure she is," he told her quietly. "I'm sure she's looking down at you right now and thinking how much she misses you."
Little Miss Aloof sobbed a little more and then she pulled herself together, embarrassed that she broke down in front of the Mr. Men. She took a deep breath and hugged Mr. Small. "Thank you," she murmured.
"For what?" the small man asked, looking confused as he stepped away from her after hugging her.
"For the surprise. The stars were beautiful. And also for giving me hope that my mom is watching me. I miss her so much," she added.
"I'm sure you do," Mr. Small said gently. "But never forget that even though you may lose the people we love, they still watch over us, even if it doesn't feel like it sometimes. Come on," he added, turning to walk away. "Let's go find Mr. Grumpy."
Little Miss Aloof took a calming breath and wiped clean her face, making sure there was no trace of her crying. Then she followed the small man, aware of Mr. Nosy behind her. She was thankful for them. They were probably the first people to care about her, besides her father and maybe her uncle, since her mom passed away.
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