Duncan Takes a Vacation

Chapter 18

             
              By the time Jimmy and Marvin arrived downstairs for breakfast, the chipmunk twins (Theodore and Simon) were ready to start their day of stupid pranks.  The first thing they did was shoot straw wrappers at everyone, including me.  There we sat at a table in the restaurant under a constant firing of deadly straw wrappers.  These missile like weapons didn't hurt when they struck their targets (meaning us), but the bombardment did become quite annoying.  There's nothing more bothersome than getting shot in the beak by a straw wrapper being blown from the puffy cheeks of a dastardly chipmunk twin.  These guys never seemed to let up.  I give Marvin a lot of credit for not banging their two heads together, but he remained calm and put up with their nonsense. 

          The twins soon lost interest in this and looked for something else to do.  Since they had already eaten, they stood up from the table and excused themselves, not because they were leaving the table, but because they were belching at one another over and over again.  One of them would burp and say, "Excuse me," and the other would do the same.  I've heard boys burp before, but these two were masters at it.  They were actually able to belch in stereo, only this wasn't music to my ears, it started to get a little disgusting after a while.  But coming from these two, I figured that it was the most intelligent thing they had done the whole morning. 

          Making fools out of themselves seemed to be an art they had mastered.  These two should go and join a circus with the rest of the animals.  They could put on a show and call themselves "The Belching Chipmunk Twins."  You would have to admit it would be the only show like that in the whole world, but far from "The Greatest Show on Earth."

          After the belchers left the room, Aunt Irma called Jimmy and Marvin to come into the kitchen to get their breakfast.  Since I had already eaten, I stayed at the table to stand guard in case the twins decided to make a sneak attack.  When the boys returned from the kitchen with their plates full of food, I figured that it was time to start to enjoy our vacation again, but I spoke too soon.  The silly pranks started again.  This time salt spilled out all over Marvin's breakfast when the top of the saltshaker fell off and completely covered his food.  It looked like a sudden blizzard had struck his plate. 

          Poor Jimmy was also terrorized by his invisible cousins. (Invisible meaning that they weren't even there and they managed to get to him.)  He wound up with a mouth full of hot sauce.  What he thought was ketchup in a bottle, turned out to be hotter than a volcano.  Jimmy had to run from the room and put his mouth under the faucet to put out the fire.  Was there no end to this?  

          While the boys organized themselves, I fluttered out of the room to see what was happening outdoors.  Simon and Theodore were busy chasing the chickens that roamed around the trading post grounds.  These guys were too much.  I had to think of a way to teach them a lesson, and I had to do it as quickly as possible, before they completely spoiled our vacation. 

          I looked around the area and saw an old saddled horse grazing in a fenced in area.  The chipmunk twins had saddled up this horse a few minutes before.  The ground in this area was not kept very clean and you would have to watch where you stepped (if you know what I mean).  Horses weren't known for their outstandingly clean bathroom habits. 

          I wondered if this fellow animal could help me get the best of the twins.  I flew towards him to get a better look.  Meanwhile, Jimmy and Marvin had finished their breakfast and walked outside looking around the area for "you know who."  I'm sure they wished these two had run away from home, but no such luck.  They were waiting patiently ready to do their next dirty deed. 

          I think the boys wanted to go back into the building when they saw the chipmunk twins in front of them. 

          Theodore, or was it Simon, quickly shouted, "Come on, guys, let's go ride the horse." 

          Jimmy and Marvin looked suspiciously at each other and shrugged their shoulders and figured, "What have we got to lose?" 

          As the four boys approached the horse, I flew to a nearby tree and rested on a branch.  One of the twins attempted to show everyone how to mount a horse.  He had trouble raising his foot to the stirrup, so his brother gave him a boost.  It was comical watching the two belching chipmunk twins, one boosting, and the other stretching, trying to get onto the back of the horse. 

          Suddenly, without warning, the bottom strap under the horse, which was holding the harness of the saddle, broke.  The twins fell back, one on top of the other.  They hit the ground with a thud, or was it a splat?  Their fall was cushioned by something that was lying on the ground. As a matter of fact, this stuff was lying all over the ground!  There they were, the chipmunk twins, laying in a pile of "you know what."  What a fitting end to an interesting morning.