We are calmly eating lunch at the counter when suddenly my husband jumps from his chair. “There’s something in the plant!” he says.
I approach the plant cautiously. I see the dark mass huddled amongst the thick leaves. I watch to see if there is any movement. All is still. Slowly I pull back some leaves to reveal
this disturbing sight. “How in the world did this get here?” I wonder aloud, as I reach in and pull the nasty creature out of the foliage. Something in my brain stirs, I think I have seen this in another location but I can’t recall where.
Even sitting on the table it looks creepy. Who is the jokester? I have several candidates in mind so I sent out a couple of texts. Did you put a rat in our plant? The responses were quick and appeared to be innocent. Who else has been in the house recently?
My suspicions fall to my neighbor on the left. I bring the offensive item over to question the suspect. Dan denies knowledge, but he says that with a chuckle. This laugh leads me to thinking he has knowledge but will not divulge his secret.
We continued to be suspicious of everyone in our life. However, all that changed with a phone call from my son. I was telling him about his dad’s reaction to the rodent when an image clicked in my mind and I had a vague feeling that I had seen this rat in the hands of my granddaughter when they were here in April. “Do you know anything about this?” I asked.
“Maybe,” is the response on the other end of the phone. “It took you long enough to find it,” my son said with a laugh.
Now we can sleep easy. We know where the rodent is, but one day we will visit our son. I wonder where this furry fellow will find his next home?
This was very funny. My favorite line (because it rings so true) was “We continued to be suspicious of everyone in our life”. You have such a natural way of telling a story.
Ha,ha,ha gramma you finally found stinky the rat!
love,
Maddy
You can spin a yarn. I TOLD YOU IT WAS YOUR SON!!! I believe an apology is in order! I’ll be waiting patiently for it. ;0)
How funny. Love how you crafted your thinking and the energy through the search. MaryHelen
With a lead-in like “A surprise at lunch” I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly did not anticipate a fake rat! The picture of the rat turned out to be quite a relief, though, because the first picture had me wondering if some awful creature had made a nest, laid an egg sac or something worse! Way to keep us on our toes!
Fun! It reminds me of a fellow teacher-jokester that he is. None of us know where his squirrel pelt will show up. We can usually tell when we hear a scream in the hall before the kids arrive.
That thing is gross! Lucky for your husband that you were brave enough to pull the yucky thing out. Your description of you pawing through the plant was suspenseful. Love the pictures. 🙂
Oh Elsie, your slice reminded me of a time when my grandmother had taken one of my stuffed animals and hid it. Then she forgot. We found it later when the lamp started to smoke. She had put it on the light bulb of a turned off lamp that had since been turned on.
Oh, I cannot wait for the slice about where the rat goes next! Please make sure to let us know–I was laughing out loud because this is just the type of thing likely to happen in my family.
Ew! I almost couldn’t read your post because of the pictures. I. Hate. Rodents.
But I love practical jokes…enjoy getting even. 🙂
Ruth
Oh how funny! I contemplated your first picture and was intrigued as I continued to read. I just love little pranks like this. It sounds like your son may have a surprise in the near future.
Thank you for sharing this funny slice. Well done detective work. The question in the end sounds promising.
Terje
Thanks for the morning chuckle! And this could turn out to be a fun family game–hide the rat!
You caused me to have quite a chuckle with this. Your granddaughter has been so patient, waiting to see when you would find her joke. Good to see the photos too.
Let’s see, your family was there in April, and now it is May?! I suspect your housekeeper is not QUITE as thorough as we had been led to believe! Better have a little talk with him.