Mittens and the Red Balloon

          Author’s note: When I saw the book “Mittens and the Red Balloon” and its description, I felt inspired to write my interpretation of what happened in the story. Therefore, in honour of Petpet Appreciation Day, I present my version of “Mittens and the Red Balloon.”

          Mittens the Gruslen, named for his distinguishing markings on his paws, was out for his daily stroll when he noticed something interesting. Sure, it was a red balloon, but what struck Mittens as odd was that the balloon neither flew up nor came down, despite the strong winds. Curious as to how this could possibly be the case, he had to know more about this balloon. Therefore, he impulsively grabbed the string to see if something cool would happen. In a magical land like Neopia, anything was possible.

     Once he was holding the string, the balloon immediately started carrying him upwards at a rapid pace. Panicking, he tried to let go, but due to some magical spell, as he assumed, his paw had become stuck! He began to whimper as the balloon carried him through the clouds. Thankfully, again due to the magic, he had no issue breathing at such a high altitude.

     Eventually, the balloon dropped him down onto a cloud, which, strangely enough, he could walk on. The balloon stayed still in the air, close to the floor. He tried grabbing it again to try to leave, but his strategy didn’t work. Therefore, he began exploring the cloud to try to find a way out.

     He soon found a fellow Petpet, a Teasqito. “Hi!” Mittens greeted her. He explained how he got onto the cloud. “Could you please help me find a way out of here?”

     “Well,” began the Teasqito, “my village of Teasqitos sent out that red balloon to get someone here to help us. You see, there is a rival village of Gabars which is causing us a lot of trouble. Yesterday, they summoned a blizzard and froze the wings off of all the Teasqitos outside. One poor Teasqito unfortunately did not make it. We can’t confront the Gabars because we would freeze in their snowy environment. However, you could make it through, since you have thick fur. Could you please act as our ambassador and go talk some sense into them?”

     “Uh... will you return me home if I do?”

     “Of course! We brought you here to help, so of course we will return you home.”

     “Okay, I guess I will help, but I have one question. Why are these Gabars harassing you all?”

     “Uh...” The Teasqito paused. “We don’t know! Maybe one individual Teasqito got on their bad side or something... Anything’s possible!”

     Although Mittens suspected that the Teasqitos knew why the Gabars were angry, and were hiding something, he decided to act as the mediator so he could get home. Jumping off a cloud that was suspended thousands of feet in the air wasn’t an option for obvious reasons. A crowd of Teasqitos applauded him as he made his way through their village and set out toward the snowy area where the Gabars lived.

     To get to the Gabars, he had to make his way through a cave. When he walked inside, he noticed that the air was frigid, but his thick fur coat protected him from the cold. Snufflies were sliding around the ice. He scampered across the snowy ground until he noticed an obstacle: a freezing cold lake. He couldn’t swim, and even if he could, he would likely not make it due to the frosty temperature.

     Then he noticed that the red balloon had followed him all the way to the cave. It was floating in front of him, awaiting his move. Taking the cue, he grabbed the string, and the balloon carried him in the air over the frigid lake. Once he got to the other side, he dropped back on to the ground, and the balloon kept following him throughout his journey.

     When he arrived at the snowy village, he noticed a crowd of Gabars playfully pelting each other with snowballs. They noticed the newcomer and greeted him. “Welcome,” began one Gabar. “What brings you here?”

     “Um...” He explained the situation. “Basically, the Teasqitos are tired of being attacked.”

     “Those ROTTEN Teasqitos keep on BITING us!” growled the Gabar as others nodded in agreement. “Several Gabars are in the hospital right now due to diseases, and one did not make it. They say they need to bite mammals so that they can lay eggs, but it’s not fair to us! We don’t deserve to be sick and full of hives!”

     “Can’t they feed on flower nectar?” asked Mittens.

     “They eat flower nectar to stay alive, but they need to bite to lay eggs. It’s an unfortunate fact of nature, but this just isn’t fair.”

     “Well,” began Mittens, “Neopia is a magical world. Would it be possible to cast some sort of spell to nourish their eggs?

     “Um... possibly. Our village is home to a Mutant Clompkin named Noche, who knows all sorts of spells. Her house is right over there.” He pointed to his right. “Maybe she can figure this out. You should ask her.”

     “Okay.” Mittens walked up to Noche’s house and knocked on the door. The Clompkin quickly answered. “Greetings, stranger... I suppose you are here for help with a spell?”

     “Yes, of course!” Mittens explained what the spell was for.

     “I’ve been to that village. There is a giant flower in the town square. While it feeds the Teasqitos, it won’t nourish their eggs. I could cast a spell to change that. I just need you to find me three ingredients: the eggshell of a Beekadoodle, a bottle of Bogie snot, and the molt of a Cobrall.” She handed Mittens a bottle.

     “Bogie snot...” Mittens made a face. “Anything to get home, I guess. Thank you, Noche. I’ll go looking for those ingredients right now.”

     “Best of luck!”

     First up was the eggshell of a Beekadoodle. Mittens figured that the best place to look would be in a Beekadoodle nest, but how would he reach it? As a Gruslen, he couldn’t climb trees. Then he remembered that he had the balloon.

     He wandered around the village of Teasqitos, where it was warmer out, until he noticed a Beekadoodle sitting on her nest. Although he could try to scare the bird away, she would likely peck him repeatedly and land him in the hospital, so he patiently waited for her to leave. Eventually, she flew away, so Mittens grabbed the balloon and began his ascent.

     When he reached the nest, he was delighted to find a trio of newly hatched baby Beekadoodles, complete with their eggshells. He grabbed an eggshell and went back down to the ground.

     The next item on his list was a bottle of Bogie snot. He asked a few Teasqitos where to find a Bogie, and they pointed him in the direction of a dreary swamp. When he set out toward the swamp, he soon noticed that there was a nasty bog in his way. Preferring not to be eaten by whatever disgusting creatures lived in the bog, he used the balloon to cross.

     He soon stumbled upon a gloomy town that looked like it came straight out of the Haunted Woods, complete with dilapidated homes. There were plenty of Bogies making small talk in the streets, whom Mittens approached. “Welcome to the Bogie Bog, stranger...” one of them greeted him. “What brings you here?”

     Mittens explained why he needed a bottle of Bogie snot. “That’s easy!” answered the Bogie. “Us Bogies produce snot nonstop. Just hand me that bottle, and I’ll sneeze into it.”

     Mittens handed over the bottle and kept his distance for obvious reasons. As he ducked away, facing the opposite direction, he heard a loud sneezing sound. When he turned around, the Bogie had his arm outstretched, holding the bottle, which was full of snot.

     “Um, thank you,” answered Mittens, taking the bottle. He anxiously ran away with the flask in his paws.

     The final ingredient was the molt of a Cobrall. When he asked the Teasqitos where to find a Cobrall, they told him to descend to the bottom of a location called the Canyon of Death. “The Canyon of Death?” he repeated incredulously.

     “It’s not as scary as it sounds,” one of the Teasqitos reassured him. “Just watch out for the Vullards.”

     When Mittens got to the canyon, the sun was shining brightly, and he began to sweat under his thick, fluffy fur. Nevertheless, he had a job to do. He grabbed the balloon and used it to slowly descend to the bottom of the canyon, as jumping would have proved fatal. He saw a few Cobralls before he noticed one slithering away from its most recent molt.

     He was about to grab the molt, but then a few nasty Vullards swooped down and snatched the Cobrall off the ground with their talons! The snake flailed in a desperate attempt to escape, but it was no use. As much as Mittens wanted to help the Cobrall by using his balloon, he was afraid that the Vullards would use their talons to pop it, and then he would never get back home. All he could do was grab the molt as the Vullards flew away with their prey.

     He used the balloon to exit the canyon, then brought the ingredients to Noche. She threw them in a cauldron along with some boiling water, then began to stir. After she said a few magical words, the steam cleared, and an emerald-hued liquid remained. She bottled the liquid and told Mittens to pour it all over the flower in the town square, which he did.

     The flower began to glow, and it smelled enticing. A Teasqito landed on it, drank the flower nectar, and immediately felt refreshed. She immediately flew over to a nearby pond and laid her eggs. “The problem is solved!” she cheered. “I’ll send a Neomail to the Gabars letting them know that thanks to your help, they don’t need to fear us anymore.”

     Thus, Mittens’ job was done. After saying goodbye to the Teasqitos, he walked back over to the edge of the cloud and grabbed the balloon. It carried him back down to the surface, in his backyard, and then floated away, never to be seen again. By then, it was nighttime, so Mittens went inside his house and got some well-deserved rest.

     The End.