MiSTed: The Tale of Grumpy Weasel, Chapter 10 [ 1 / 1 ]

[Joseph Nebus]

>
> X

JOEL: Oh no, this chapter's all about the Quadratic Equation.

>
> HA! AND HA, HA!

TOM: Hey, it's the Betty Boop cartoon with the laughing gas.

>
> A great outcry rang through the woods

JOEL: Somebody catch it!

> the moment
> Jimmy Rabbit set out to race Grumpy Weasel and beat him.

TOM: Gotta think about your life when everyone you know wants to see you be worse at running.

> Shouts of "Good luck!" and "Run hard!" and "Hurrah for James
> Rabbit!" followed Jimmy.

JOEL: 'Hurrah', because Lee de Forest hadn't invented 'Hooray' yet.

> But old Mr. Crow squawked, "You
> don't need to hurry!"

CROW: You just need to be faster than the other guy! ... Wait.

> He thought that the race was already as
> good as won,

JOEL: Or as good as as good as won would be.

> for Grumpy Weasel had insisted on giving Jimmy
> Rabbit a start of twenty jumps.

TOM: And now Grumpy Weasel reveals he meant elephant jumps.

>
> Meanwhile Grumpy Weasel glowered.

CROW: A now-obscure word meaning to glow red.
JOEL: Gladiola flowered (glowered).

> But he could not
> glower at Jimmy's friends,

TOM: He has a strict schedule for when to glower at rabbit friends.

> because he had to watch Jimmy
> himself in order to count the first twenty jumps he took.

CROW: One jump into hyperspace and Grumpy won't be able to follow, kid.

> When Grumpy had counted nineteen and a half away he started.

TOM: Hey, that's cheating by half a jump.

> And old Mr. Crow, as he sat staring at the race, declared
> that Grumpy Weasel hadn't a chance to win.

JOEL: Really wondering what Mister Crow's angle on this is.

>
> The company seemed ready to take Mr. Crow's word for
> it---

TOM: You know the old folklore about crows knowing their rabbit/weasel racing lore.

> that is, all except Grumpy Weasel's cousin, Peter Mink.

CROW: The polecat.

> He spoke up and said that as for him, he would wait and see
> what happened.

JOEL: The huge vote of confidence that is saying 'I guess he hasn't lost yet.'

> He didn't believe old Mr. Crow knew what he
> was talking about.

CROW: It's a crow thing, you wouldn't understand.

>
> Mr. Crow grew almost a purplish black with rage.

TOM: Is this something to do with eggs? I feel like this is really about eggs.

>
> "We'll all wait," he said stiffly. "We'll all wait.

CROW: Well, Jimmy and Grumpy can't wait or the race won't work.

> And when the race is over you will apologize to me."

TOM: [ As Peter Mink ] 'Jeez, fine, if it's that important to you then Jimmy Rabbit is gonna win, take a chill pill.'

>
> Peter Mink merely grinned. He had no respect for his
> elders.

JOEL: [ Gasping at this gossip ] Peter Mink is a cad! And bounder!
CROW: Jimmy Rabbit's the bounder.

> And now he didn't appear to mind in the least when
> the entire company let him severely alone.

TOM: It shows real strength of character to disagree with the crowd about who you think will win a footrace.

>
> Mr. Crow shot a triumphant look

JOEL: Aaah! My antique ceramic Look!

> at him about an hour
> later,

CROW: Mister Crow is on Central Time.

> when Jimmy Rabbit came bounding into sight, with no
> one following him.

TOM: Having got badly lost on the way to the race course.

> "You may as well stop now," Mr. Crow told
> Jimmy. "You've as good as won the race already."

JOEL: I know they're animals but they don't seem very good at this.

>
> Jimmy Rabbit said that he thought so, too,

CROW: [ As Jimmy, as The Wizard of Oz ] 'But I can't stop my legs, I don't know how they work!'

> but he
> supposed he'd better keep running a while longer, till Grumpy
> Weasel gave up.

TOM: This was a pretty good scheme for Grumpy to get Jimmy to run an hour away from him.

> So off he hopped again.

JOEL: Next, Jimmy runs up to meet Dick Tracy.

>
> Everybody except Peter Mink laughed heartily

CROW: Daniel Hart the deer asks what's so funny.

> when
> Grumpy Weasel came springing up the slope a little while
> later.

TOM: [ As Grumpy ] 'I want my two dollars!'

>
> "You may as well stop now. You've as good as lost
> already," Mr. Crow greeted him.

JOEL: [ As Grumpy ] 'I am not lost, I just don't know where I am!'

>
> "Whose race is this---yours or mine?" Grumpy Weasel
> hissed.

TOM: It's the rat race.
JOEL: No, Billy Rat's not racing until sunset.

> And off he hurried, without pausing to hear Mr.
> Crow's answer.

CROW: How long does it take to hear 'Yours'?

>
> "We'll wait a while longer," Mr. Crow told the
> company,

JOEL: How else would waiting work?

> "for the end is so near we may as well see it."

TOM: Is ... Is Mr Crow forecasting the apocalypse?

>
> "Whose end?" Peter Mink asked him.

CROW: *Anyone's* end, as long as it's Henry Kissinger's.

>
> "I mean the end of the race, of course!" Mr. Crow
> squalled.

JOEL: Oh no, they accidentally looped back, the race is a Moebius strip!

>
> "Oh! I thought you meant the end of Jimmy Rabbit,"
> Peter Mink replied.

CROW: [ As Elmer Fudd ] o/` End of Jimmy Wabbit o/`

>
> "Impossible! Impossible!"

TOM: Burgers! Burgers!

> was all Mr. Crow said to
> that. But he began to fidget---which was a sign that he was
> worried.

JOEL: Or he's stimming, did you think of that, Mr Narrator ?

> And when Jimmy Rabbit appeared again Mr. Crow was
> not quite so cocksure when he asked if the race wasn't over.

CROW: [ As Mr Crow ] Cocksure? No, no, I'm crow-sure, if I know anything it's that.

>
> "It would be," Jimmy Rabbit answered, "but the
> trouble is, Grumpy Weasel won't stop running!"

TOM: [ As Grumpy, distant ] 'I'm stuck in second gear! HEEEELP!'

>
> "Ha!" said Mr. Crow hoarsely.

JOEL: Let me hear what Mr Horse crows now.

> But Peter Mink said,
> "Ha, ha!"

CROW: Almost ended the chapter on the title, neat.

> And there is a great difference between those two
> remarks, as we shall see.

TOM: Hey! The Narrator peeked ahead! That's cheating!


- End of Chapter 10


--
Joseph Nebus
Math Blog: https://nebusresearch.wordpress.com
Humor Blog: https://nebushumor.wordpress.com
--------------------------------------------------------+---------------------