"THE WEAZIT'S THANKSGIVING"

written by: Stephen J. Hemenway

illustration by: Jack Soto

The Weazit's are creatures, that look like large ants, they all live in Itsland, and are policeman by chance. They live next to "Slouchville", and the town of the "Grocks", and a few miles away, there is "Prankstown" and "Shlox". But Itsland's the place to find Weazit's, it's true, and they're not here alone, other creatures are here too. The "Whoozit's" live here, but playing games is their thing, and the "Wherezit's" just sleep, while the "Whyzit's" all sing. The "Whatzit's" are eaters, and feed all the time, and they each weigh exactly, four hundred and nine. And they all live together, so happy and warm, with the Weazit's each dressed, in a police uniform. Chief Weazit's the leader, of these fighters for good, and they even police the Grocks neighborhood. They are all friends in Itsland, of their friendship they brag, and this world where they live, is inside a pink bag.

Thanksgiving's a day that comes once a year, and each time in Itsland, it brings lots of cheer. The town was alive, cooking turkeys and ham, the "Whyzit's" were singing, while the "Whatzit's" ate jam. The "Wherezit's" would wake up, every now and again, then would fall back asleep, as the "Whoozit's" played gin. And a mile from town hall, at a house, in a room, you could hear these loud sounds, that would go...snort, snort, boom!! This house was Chief Weazit's, from ceiling to floor, and the sounds from the room, they were Chief Weazit's snore. Chief Weazit woke up, as his alarm clock did chime, the snoring it stopped, and he looked at the time. He dragged out of bed, old pajamas he wore, his family and friends, were coming over at four. Thanksgiving dinner, was at his house, this year, and he must help get ready, before his guests did appear. Chief Weazit got dressed, he was looking his best, as he put on his cap, all prepared for each guest.

He walked out of his room, and stopped at the stair, he took a deep breath, enjoying the air. Mrs. Weazit was cooking, she had to get dinner done, and the smells of her baking, had now just begun. Chief Weazit he walked down the stairs very fast, and into the kitchen, where the smells were full blast! "Hi there my dear", to Mrs. Weazit he said, "Good morning", she answered, "would you like some fresh bread"? Chief Weazit replied, "Don't mind if I do", as he looked all around, "you've been busy, haven't you"? He saw all kinds of pies, everywhere he could reach, there was apple and cherry, banana and peach. Fresh bread and rolls too, what a wonderfull sight, Mrs. Weazit had worked well into the night. Chief Weazit walked to a white stove where he looked, inside the stove's oven, where a huge turkey cooked. He said, "Looks like this day will be pretty good", then saw some

strange shoes, that were made out of wood. Right next to the stove, were these large wooden shoes, and he knew they meant trouble, there was no time to lose. "Those are Slouch shoes" he said, "Just why are they here"? Mrs. Weazit replied, "I never noticed them dear". So he picked up the shoes, and out the window were tossed, for he didn't want Slouches, looking for shoes that were lost. "Well that should be that", Chief Weazit then said, as the shoes landed in his backyard, by a shed. You see, Slouches cause problems, bad things come their way, and Chief Weazit didn't want a Slouch, ruining this day.

The dinner was cooked, Chief Weazit sat on a stool, after putting the turkey, on a table to cool. The guests they arrived, they came promptly at four, everybody was there, and there could have been more. Chief Weazit's friends Rick and Mildred McGee, they couldn't come over, they couldn't get free. But the main man in town, Mayor Whyzit was there, and Uncle Bob Weazit, and his wife, Weazit Clair. There was Grandpa Steve Weazit, and Grandma Michele, and young Ashley Weazit, was with them as well. The towns city council, each arrived on a bike, Weazit Jim, Weazit Ed, Whoozit's Gary and Mike. These were just a few guests, many persons were here, for this Thanksgiving dinner, was planned every year. And they talked and they laughed, as each other they'd meet, then the time finally came, to sit down and to eat.

The guests sat at the table, which was wide and quite long, and while waiting for dinner, Mayor Whyzit sang a song. Mrs. Weazit walked in, her face was all white, she hardly could talk, in her eyes there was fright! Chief Weazit rushed over, "My dear, what is wrong"?, but she couldn't answer, the mayor finished his song. The air filled with silence, Chief Weazit stood up, then looked towards the kitchen, holding his stained coffee cup. "I'll be back in a minute", he said to his guests, "I think in our kitchen, we may have some pests". So he ran to the kitchen, to see what was wrong, and he came back real fast, it didn't take him too long. "I know why my wife is upset", he then said, "it's not all the pies or her freshly baked bread". "It's the table that's next to my favorite old stool, where our turkey was setting, so that it could cool". "Our turkey is gone, though the table's still there, we must find us our dinner, it must be here somewhere". So the guests and Chief Weazit, they looked everywhere, for the missing cooked turkey, that was no longer there. It got later and later, and Chief Weazit knew, that he needed more help, to his rooftop he flew. He took out his whistle and blew it real hard, the Weazit's all heard it, and ran to his yard. As Weazits arrived, Chief Weazit he spoke, "We have had us a theft, and this isn't a joke".

Everybody in Itsland all helped in the search, not a stone was unturned, they even looked in a church. And when it seemed hopeless, there came a suprise, Chief Weazit saw something, which opened his eyes. It was in his backyard, and it lay on the ground, it was a fresh turkey bone, that he had just found. He called all the Weazit's, "I've found us a clue", and each Weazit knew, what they had to do. They must look for more clues, Weazit Glenn yelled and said, "There's a bone over here, right next to this shed". Chief Weazit was thinking, as he looked at the clues, then realized the shed, was where he'd thrown the Slouch shoes. "Do you see any shoes"?, he wanted to know, but the shoes they were gone, and his worries did grow. More bones were then found, one was by a train rail, and those Weazit's they knew, they had found the thiefs trail.

The turkey bone trail led right out of town, and over to Slouchville, to a barn painted brown. The Weazit's they hid in a field of tall corn, that surrounded the barn, which was weathered and worn. The plan was to wait, in the corn field they'd hide, while Chief Weazit looked, to see if the thief was inside. Chief Weazit crawled to the barn door on his back, and he was in luck, the door was open a crack. He rolled to his belly, in the barn he did look, and saw a young Slouch, and the turkey he'd took. This Slouch was a youngster, he was just a young boy, and he seemed pretty happy, he was smiling with joy. "I just wanted my shoes", he said to himself, and Chief Weazit noticed, cans of beans on a shelf. The young Slouch was dirty, and he looked very thin, his clothes were just rags, bones showed through his skin. Chief Weazit he knew, this young Slouch wouldn't steal, but the Slouch was real hungry, and needed a meal. So Chief Weazit turned, and began crawling away, to let this young Slouch, enjoy this Thanksgiving day.

Chief Weazit was smiling, as he crawled through the dirt, he was being real quiet, as he dirtied his shirt. He was about halfway back, to where the Weazit's were hid, when Chief Weazit saw, an old trash can lid. He crawled over the lid, as he crept on the ground, when all of a sudden, there came a loud sound. The sound was a "honk", and was aimed at the corn, it came from under the lid, and was a bicycle horn. Chief Weazit fell over, some birds flew away, and he couldn't help wonder, what else could happen this day. But his thoughts were soon answered, as he lay on his back, for the Weazit's jumped up and yelled, "time to attack". They thought the horn blast, was meant as a code, the thief was inside, it was the end of the road. They thought it meant leave, the field where they hid, and run to the barn, and that's just what they did. They ran to that barn, and opened it's doors, but they didn't know, it was time for "Slouch Wars".

The young Slouch was sitting, in the middle of the barn, right next to a basket, that was filled up with yarn. He sat at a table, with the turkey on top, and he said to the Weazit's, "I didn't order a cop"! But the Weazit's said nothing, to the Slouch they did run, and that young Slouch he laughed, "let's have us some fun". A rope hung from the ceiling, right over his chair, and he smiled at the Weazit's, for he had not a care. Two Weazit's jumped at him, from the left and the right, up the rope the Slouch climbed, their heads did unite. Those poor Weazit's heads, they hit with a smack, they fell to the ground, Weazit's Glenn and friend Jack. And as the Slouch climbed, there came Weazit Paul, who jumped at his feet, but missed and did fall. He fell right into, some bales of fresh hay, where there was a pitchfork, awaiting his stay. He jumped and yelled "ouch", as his pants they were tore, he ran past the Weazit's and out the barn door. The Slouch he kept climbing, right up to the loft, where there was more hay, which made the floor soft. At the back of the loft, were two doors opened wide, with a long metal ramp, which was connected outside. The Weazit's they climbed, right into the loft, they found it quite dusty, and one Weazit coughed. They ran at the Slouch who stood by the doors, he smiled as he said, "have to go do my chores". He jumped on the ramp, and went for a ride, he slid to the ground, and now was outside. He skipped down the road, laughing hee hee ho ho, the Weazit's just watched, and let the Slouch go.

The Weazit's they climbed, down the loft very slow, and at the barn door, Chief Weazit did glow. His face was all red, "just what did you do"?, but the Weazit's said nothing, their embarrasment grew. "Well let's get back home", Chief Weazit did say, "lets get back to our families, and enjoy this fine day". So they walked back to Itsland, for that turkey they'd found, was nothing but bones, and weighed less than a pound. When they got back to Itsland, it was just six o'clock, everybody was waiting, there was even a Grock. The Weazit's they waved, as they all went back home, Chief Weazit said nothing, through the town he did roam. He was looking to find, a grocery store, that was open all night, one that he could explore. He found him a store, at First St. and Graham, he entered that store, and bought a large ham!

Chief Weazit went home, the guests still were there, he said to them all, "I have something to share". "I bring you a ham this Thanksgiving day, we don't have a turkey, I gave it away. But this ham will do, and deserves an applause, for the turkey we had, went to a good cause". The guests they all clapped, and then all said grace, the dinner was served, there was not a sad face. This Thanksgiving dinner, it went very well, everybody was fed, and their tummies did swell. For Chief Weazit knew, what made this day great, was giving that Slouch, the turkey he ate.

Copyyright 1993, Brass Star Music, all rights reserved.