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Willow Learns The Chicken Dance

Little Miss Willow peeked her head in the closet door. "Nope," she said. "He's not in here. Surely we would smell him," she wrinkled her nose. "Right Hee-haw?"

Hee-haw just stared. He was afraid of that dark closet. Afraid of where it might take him. Butchie the tiger told him stories of magical places they could go if only Hee-haw would take his paw and jump. But Hee-haw was a scaredy-cat and felt safer when clinging to Willow. He held on real tight today. He had a small rip under his arm and didn't want Willow to see it. She might get sad and cry if she saw that he was hurt.

But Willow didn't cry. She couldn't. She wouldn't. She wasn't allowed.

Butchie hadn't had a bath in a while so Willow figured he'd be stinky. If she could sniff long and hard enough, she just might find him. He was probably walking around with bits and pieces of Willow's favorite snacks stuck all over him. Butchie, being a big important striped tiger, ate the bigger crumbs that Willow dropped and Hee-haw got the rest. He didn't mind though. He didn't have the appetite that some other gray stuffed donkeys do.

Willow pulled him in a little closer when she stepped inside the closet.

"We'll just have a quick look around," she whispered, hoping maybe after the one hundred millionth billionth trillionth time Butchie just might be in there.

"Hold on," she said and stepped inside. And before he could tighten his little hooves around her neck he was down on the floor laying in the dark. Willow had tripped and he had flown right out of her arms and crashed into the wall. He shook one stuffed donkey leg, then the other three. He was happy to find that all four were in working order. He tried to stand up, but it was dark and crowded and he got scared.

"Hee-haw? Where are you?" Willow's voice sounded nervous. She tapped around on the floor hoping to feel a hoof or a raggedy old ear, and just when she had grabbed his black nose BAM! The floor opened up and they fell. Twirling, tumbling, tossing and turning, down they fell through the hole in the closet floor.

She landed with a plop right on Grandpa's lap who chuckled "Good to see ya Willow!" And before Willow could blink, or breathe, or speak he picked her up, stood her on his feet and began to do the polka.

Roll out the barrel,
We'll have a barrel of fun

"Willow!" Roared Butchie the tiger. "It's good to finally see you girl! Hello there Hee-haw," he waved.

Her mouth opened wide as she watched her stuffie friend talk back. Sure, she had talked to him for as long as they'd been together, but he NEVER-EVER answered her back for real. Butchie waved and kept right on dancing with Pooh Bear. Round and round and round they twirled while a cow played the drums and a rooster blew his horn.

This place, this wonderful magical place was underneath the closet floor? How could that be?

She hugged Grandpa's neck and was about to ask him these questions when he asked her to sing.

"Sing our favorite song," he said softly.

His big Grandpa-eyes sparkled and he smiled, just the way she remembered. Willow opened my mouth and the letters flew out. A purple S, a red U a green and yellow N. They floated for a minute, lined up into words and then sang in her sweet voice.

"You are the sunshine of my life, that's why I'll always be around."

Willow was so happy tears were rolling down her cheeks. Grandpa reached over and wiped them away. Willow jumped. "Oh no. I'm sorry," she cried and stood up straight. She was in big trouble now. Tears were a big no-no. "I couldn't help it, Grandpa. They just fell out."

"My precious Willow," Grandpa said. "It's okay to cry. Everybody cries. Down here we are always laughing so hard it makes us cry. So just remember when you get back home, crying is nothing more than laughing upside down. Grandpa said so." And with that he winked the biggest wink his eye could find and wrapped his arms around her in a hug that was truly delicious.

Butchie came over, took her hand and bowed. "May I have this dance Miss Willow?" he asked. "Yes, of course," she said and curtseyed.

"C'mon stuffies!" he yelled as the brown horse played the piano and Hee-haw picked up a guitar. "Let's show this human how to dance before she wakes up from her nap!"

And that my friends, is how Willow learned to do the Chicken Dance.