Henry and Ronald at the Fair

Tonight's Episode

https://herschelsterling.com/#cat-henry-ronald

“I hear there’s a lot of stuff at those things!” Henry says to Ronald as they see the wild lights and hear distant carnival music.

Perched on a bale of hay being used for a parking marker in the large grassy parking area, they hear the discordant music through the neon whirling rides and random megaphone barkers.

“I’m dizzy already” Ronald replies.

“We gotta go have some fun!” Henry says. He braves the vertical face of the hay bale and lands face-first into the grass. Ronald is right behind him, making his descent, and he bounces twice, landing next to Henry. “Eventful already.” He says.

As they approach the fair, they can see a row of overflowing garbage cans, with all sorts of possibilities at their bases. “This is a jackpot!” Henry exclaims.

They dive into a pile of popcorn, hot dog remnants and the residue on cotton candy cones. “I like it when it’s sticky.” Ronald says.

“Ha ha! That’s the spirit Ronald!” Henry agrees.

They emerge from a bag of caramel corn dregs, peppered with particles clinging to their fur.

“Hey, look!” Henry says. “We got storage; we can go have some fun and eat more later!”

They laugh as they run toward the chaos of the carnival. As they dodge shoes and boots, they can smell animals as they near a specific tent. “We better stay out of there, that smells like predators.” Henry says.

“Those predators have their own predator problem.” Ronald responds, pointing out the cages.

They carefully get closer, and they see a sad and frightened lion in a cage, with people walking past, looking and pointing. “Jeesh.” Henry says. “Look how he’s pacing, he’s mad and sad and scared all at the same time. I think they better hope he don’t get out.”

“Indeed.” Ronald says.

As the two move on, some kids see them tunneling through the hay strewn ground. They give chase. To no avail. Henry and Ronald escape under a tarp, out the other side, and they arrive at the Ferris wheel.

The two mice hide between some deck planks, picking the caramel corn from each other’s fur and watch the pant legs and socks pass above them. The ride operator sees them and starts kicking at the planks, trying to flush them out.

“This guy!” Henry says.

“What do you think?” Henry asks.

“We must.” Ronald answers.

They make a run for it, and their only quick option is under the gate, into the crowd of the riders waiting at the Ferris wheel. Within the shuffle of feet, they find themselves in a compartment on the ride.

The car ascends, slowly. “Ohhh, please, please, please, don’t let these people see us; don’t let them see us.” Henry says.

They slowly creep to the edge of the car. As they quietly peer over the edge, they can see the ride operator below, the garbage cans, the hay bale in the parking area, and the town in the distance.

“Quite a vista.” Ronald remarks.

“I never been up this high before.” Henry says.

At that moment one of the kids on the ride notices the two mice. “Look, those cute little mice are getting a ride!”

The rest of the people on the ride giggle and point.

“Thank goodness for the good ones.” Henry says

“Indeed.” Ronald replies.

556 Words.

https://herschelsterling.com/#cat-henry-ronald

31 stories written and podcasted in 31 days