Mishappy Birthday, Baby
part 1

TaleSpinand its characters are property of Disney. All other characters are mine and cannot be used without permission.

Higher for Hire
July 7, 1940
Morning

“No, Baloo,” Rebecca said firmly as she leaned over the highchair’s tray to wipe a droplet of milk from Cassie’s chin, causing the baby to squeal in protest.

Nine-year-old Molly glanced up from her cereal to flash a look of dismay across the table at her fifteen-year-old brother. Kit nodded wearily and continued eating his breakfast. Their parents were fighting again.

“But, Becky...” Baloo entreated.

“No buts. You are not taking Cassie for a plane ride without me along and that’s final.”

“Port Largo’s less’n a hop, skip, an’ jump away. We’ll be there an’ back before you can say jackrabbit. ‘Sides Kit’ll be along.”

Kit tried to hide behind the Cheery-Os box. “Keep me out of this,” he murmured.

“The day you put the toilet seat down is the day you can take her.” Rebecca rose from her chair and untied the bib from around Cassie’s neck.

Baloo scowled at that remark, but forged ahead earnestly. “A gal don’t turn one every day.”

“If you take her with you, she probably won’t live to see two,” Rebecca retorted, picking up Cassie. As was her wont, the toddler fingered her mother’s hair.

“She’s my kid, too, an’ this is what Daddy wants to give her for her very first b-day.” Baloo gently tickled Cassie’s toes.

At the sound of the baby’s delighted giggles, Rebecca’s heart thawed, even though her expression didn’t. Reluctantly, she said, “Well...I do need to get some party supplies at the store...”

Molly, who loved birthday parties, said excitedly, “We’re gonna get balloons, streamers, some presents...”

“And it would be easier without her along,” Rebecca concluded.

Before she could change her mind, Baloo kissed his wife’s cheek. “Thanks, Beckers. An’ don’t worry about a thing. Me an’ Kit’ll take good care of this little munchkin.”

The Sea Duck
A Half Hour Later

“Ca’go! Ca’go!” Cassie, seated on Kit’s lap, babbled over and over.

“Yeah, we’re gonna deliver cargo,” Kit mumbled, trying to see the map around Cassie’ curly head. He regretted teaching her that word, because he knew she would repeat it the entire day. This is gonna be a long flight.

Rebecca, standing on the dock, peering through the Sea Duck’s cockpit window, asked, “Do you have her diaper bag, extra bottles, and blanket?”

“Yup, yup, an’ yup,” Baloo replied with an amused grin.

“Don’t forget Woobie!” Molly said, running down the dock with a well-loved, once-white teddy bear.

Rebecca passed the teddy bear through the window to Baloo, who handed the toy to Cassie.

Hugging her favorite toy, she repeated happily, “Bee, bee, bee.”

“At least it’s not ‘ca’go’,” Kit murmured to himself as he tried to see the map around both Cassie and Woobie.

“Ca’go bee bee. Ca’go bee bee,” Cassie babbled.

Oh, swell, Kit thought sarcastically. Thanks, Papa Bear, for the fantastic idea of taking Cassie with us. Why not add a couple of gorilla birds, too?

“You sure we need all this junk? We’re only gonna be gone a coupla hours,” Baloo said.

“That’s a long time for a baby. Better to be safe than sorry. Now, the record players must be delivered by noon to Noteworthy’s Music Shop. They should have a truck waiting for you at the airfield. If they don’t, contact Carol at the number at the top of the page.” She handed him a clipboard with important information. Baloo, in turn, passed the clipboard to Kit, who was having trouble keeping the energetic toddler from wriggling out of his grasp.

“Is that it?” Baloo asked, flipping switches on the control panel. One powerful Superflight 100 engine roared to life, then the other.

Pushing her hair out of her face, Rebecca shouted over the roar of the propellers, “You forgot one very important thing!”

“What?” Baloo glanced over his shoulder at the pile of baby stuff littering the cockpit floor. “We got everythin’ but the kitchen sink, unless you think we need that, too.”

Rebecca shook her head. With a tender gleam in her eyes, she said, “Be careful.”

Baloo leaned out the window and kissed her. “We will, honey.”

“Bye, Daddy,” Molly said, waving at him. “Have a good flight.”

“Bye, Muffin.” Leaning out the window, he said with a wink, “Remember Cassie likes chocolate cake with extry fudge-y frosting.”

Molly giggled. “That’s your favorite, not Cassie’s.”

“Make sure you radio me if you have any trouble,” Rebecca shouted.

Before he taxied the seaplane away from the dock, Baloo said with a dismissive wave of his hand, “Aw, how much trouble can a one-year-old get into?”

The Sea Duck
One Hour Later

“A little help with this little troublemaker, Papa Bear!” Kit said through clenched teeth. He wrenched the map out of Cassie’s mouth, causing a big hole to be ripped out of the center of it. “Great. Just great.” With forced patience, he said, “Spit out the paper, Cassie.”

She spit a small, slimy wad of paper into his outstretched hand.

He tossed the wad onto the floor with a disgusted, “Yuck!”

“Ca’go bee bee! Ca’go bee bee!” she exclaimed happily, clapping her hands.

“Yeah, cargo bee bee. I think she’s hungry,” Kit said, frowning through the map’s hole at the little girl, who was now trying to devour his compass.

“Well, feed her somethin’,” Baloo said testily. Having a baby along changed everything. The normally peaceful flight had been anything but peaceful. He could almost hear Rebecca and her great big ‘I told you so’. How he wished that she was here to keep Cassie entertained and out of mischief.

“No way!” exclaimed Kit, who was also wishing that Rebecca was present. Gently but firmly, he extracted the compass from his sister’s mouth. Over Cassie’s protesting shrieks, he said loudly, “I don’t want her to get airsick again, which, by the way, was yourfault.”

Baloo picked Woobie up from the floor and offered it to the fractious toddler. Her loud cries quieted to a ragged whimper as she hugged the toy with one hand and scrunched the map up in the other hand, fascinated by the crackling sound.

“How was I s’posed ta know bananas would upset her tiny tum-tum? She normally likes ‘em.”

“Just because she likes bananas doesn’t mean you had to stuff her full of Louie’s banana burritos.” My shirt will never be the same again.

“Well, I...er...” Baloo rubbed the back of his neck nervously and rapidly changed the subject. “What’s our position, partner?”

“You tell me. I’m experiencing...let go, Cassie!...a small technical difficulty here.” He tore the battered map from her, ripping it nearly in two. “At this rate, we won’t have a map left.”

“Okay, okay...I’ll take her offa your hands for a while.” Baloo picked up the toddler. “C’mere, Cookie,” he crooned.

“Ugh. Don’t mention food.” Kit grimaced and spread what was left of the map out on his lap.

Cassie, hugging Woobie and sucking her thumb, sat quietly on Baloo’s lap for a while. Then, her little eyes lit up with curiosity at the sight of all the buttons and dials on the control panel. Lunging out of her father’s grasp, she reached for them.

“No!” He put her on the deck and gently said, “Go an’ play with Woobie where you can’t get into any trouble...Cassie!”

She had pushed open the ajar cargo hold door and disappeared into cargo hold.

“Doggone it!” Baloo unfastened his seatbelt and rose from the pilot’s seat. “Take the stick, Li’l Britches, while I go catch that little...”

“Bugaboo?” Kit said with a sly smile.

Baloo screeched to a halt. Cold sweat beaded on his brow. For fear of severe embarrassment, he had hoped to keep Cassie’s special nickname a secret, especially from his wife. “You know about ‘Bugaboo’?”

“Sure.” At Baloo’s panicked expression, he added, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell Mom.”

“You’d better not, or I’ll cut your flight time.” He pushed Kit’s cap down over his eyes playfully, then headed to the cargo hold, calling, “Cassie? Come on out, kitten. Bugaboo?”

From the far recesses of the cargo hold, he heard a little voice chirp, “Boo!”

Baloo looked around every single pile of crates as he carefully pushed his way between them. “Where are ya?”

“Boo!” She streaked across the cargo hold and ran between Baloo’s legs.

“Gotcha!” He blew a raspberry on her cheek and tossed the giggling girl in the air.

Baloo carried her back to the cockpit, securely shutting door behind him. When Kit started to move from the pilot’s seat, he said, “Nah, you fly for a while, kid.”

“Really?”

“You won’t learn if ya don’t do.” Baloo settled in the navigator’s seat and told Cassie, “Your big brother’s gonna be an ace someday. Why doncha give him a high-five?”

Kit held out his palm.

“Five. Give him five, like this,” Baloo said gently, slapping Kit’s palm.

Cassie slapped his hand. “Fibe!”

Kit returned the high-five. “Here’s ‘fibe’ back, kiddo. Whoops!” he said as the plane lurched to the right.

“Hang onto ‘er.”

Just then, Cassie wiggled out of Baloo’s arms.

“Speaking of hanging on to her,” Kit laughed.

“Hey, come back here!”

Port Largo
Two Hours Later

Port Largo, a major trading center on the shores of the Alimentary Canal, fairly sung with activity. Boats and barges floated up and down the muddy waterway on their way to and from the mighty Sippymissy River. On the outskirts of the city, adjacent to the canal, was an airfield where large cranes reared their metal heads, incessantly transferring goods from the barges to waiting planes and trucks.

Amid the hustle and bustle of the airfield was an intellectual-looking chimpanzee in khakis and a brown fedora. His two goals at the moment were to avoid being trampled on and, more importantly, to find a ride to Cape Suzette.

After the tenth pilot had turned him down and told him gruffly to get out of the way, Professor O’Bowens wondered how long it would take him to walk to Cape Suzette.

Days, the esteemed archeologist thought despondently. But he would do it if he had to if it meant getting his precious artifact safely to the museum. Hadn’t he once sailed five hundred miles on a makeshift raft, the last four hundred miles on literally his own steam power?

Feeling someone watching him, he put a protective hand over the pouch hanging on his left side and determinedly strode towards the next plane.

He had just cast an anxious look over his shoulder when he ran headlong into a man toting a tower of crates towards a truck.

“Hey, watch it, buddy!” the man barked, regaining his balance and steadying the crates.

“Sorry.” Professor O’Bowens shoved his glasses up further on his nose to get a better look at the man addressing him. His face brightened with recognition and relief. “Baloo!”

Baloo grinned. “Well, if it ain’t my ol’ pal, the professor. How’re ya doin’?” He slid the crates into the truck and cordially shook the professor’s hand.

“Am I glad to see you and Kit.” He nodded to the young man, who had emerged from the Sea Duck’s cargo hold with Cassie toddling behind. “I know you’re going to Cape Suzette.”

“Yup, as soon as we get these record players delivered.” Baloo scooped up Cassie when she ran by him.

“How long will that take?”

“Oh, ‘bout fifteen minutes.”

Slightly panicked, the archeologist exclaimed, “Fifteen minutes?”

“Maybe less. How come you’re so hopped up about gettin’ to Cape Suzette anyhoo?”

Once again, Professor O’Bowens glanced over his shoulder and gestured for Baloo and Kit to come closer. “This,” he whispered, drawing an amulet from the pouch: a large amethyst ringed by a thick layer of the purest gold. The sunlight glinted off the amethyst’s many facets and accentuated the unusual writing inscribed in the gold.

“Wow! Where’d you find that?” Kit asked.

“Buried beneath the ruins of Gagagoogie.”

Simultaneously, Baloo and Kit said, “Gagagoogie?”

Cassie stretched eager hands towards the shiny bauble. Swiftly, the professor removed it from her reach.

“Centuries ago, Gagagoogie was a thriving civilization. Their architecture was rivaled only by Babbleonanonia. They had an extremely complex language with an alphabet made up of over two hundred letters.”

Kit muttered to himself, “I’d hate to be in that spelling class.”

Baloo shifted Cassie to the other arm. “What happened to Gagagoogie? I ain’t never heard of it.”

Professor O’Bowens said, “That’s the thing. No one knows, because no one’s been able to decipher their language. But, according to an ancient Babbleonanonian scroll that was found last year, in 235 B.C. a group of nomads who had traveled to Gagagoogie to trade found something very odd.”

“What?” Kit asked eagerly.

Mysteriously, the professor said, “Babies.”

Looking down at Cassie in confusion, Baloo said, “Babies are odd?”

Cassie grinned, showing a few tiny teeth.

“According to the scroll, the nomads only found babies in the entire city. No adults, no children, just babies. They gathered them up and took them back to Babbleonanonia.”

Gazing at the amulet’s strange-looking inscription, Kit said, “What happened to the adults? Were they captured? Killed?”

The archeologist shrugged. “No one knows.”

“Boy, Becky would go gaga over this bauble,” Baloo said as he walked up the Sea Duck’s back hatch into the cargo hold.

“Many people have,” Professor O’Bowens said, following the von Bruinwalds. “Ever since I found it, I’ve had thieves breathing down my neck.” He glanced nervously around the airfield, still with the same creepy feeling that someone was watching him. “The sooner I get it to the museum, the better.”

“We’ll take off for Cape Suzette just as soon as Kit an’ me unload this cargo.”

“I’ll help you.” In his eagerness to get on the way, the professor laid the amulet down on Baloo’s trunk o’ junk, picked up a heavy crate, and stumbled backwards a few paces. Regaining his balance, he staggered towards the truck.

Baloo put Cassie on the trunk beside the amulet. “Now you sit tight. Daddy’ll be back in a jiffy.”

When her father and brother had left with their loads, Cassie immediately reached for the shiny amulet and slipped the chain around her neck. She giggled with delight at the clinking sound the chain made. After that amusement wore off, she stared, fascinated, at the amethyst.

Meanwhile, Trader Moe poked his head out from behind a nearby plane. Seeing the amulet around Cassie’s neck, the alligator smiled broadly, revealing a mouthful of sharp, pointed teeth. “Dis is gonna be like takin’ candy from a baby.”

Just behind him, Rhino Goon - tall, dark, and stupid - craned his neck around the tail section to see what his diminutive boss was seeing. “Oh, boy! I like candy.”

Ape Goon - tall, dark, and stupider - joined them at enthusiastically peering at the amulet. “Yeah, where’s da candy?”

“Ya peach pits!” Trader Moe said in frustration, smacking them both across the snouts with his floppy brown hat. “Dere ain’t no candy.”

“But dere’s a baby,” Rhino Goon said slowly.

“Don’t it got candy? You said...” Ape Goon added, hopeful of a sweet treat.

“No!” Trader Moe snapped. His temper was as short as his stature. “Da baby’s got somethin’ better’n candy.”

“Gumdrops?” Ape Goon interjected.

“But wait.” Rhino Goon pointed out, “Gumdrops are candy.”

“Oh, yeah,” Ape Goon chuckled stupidly, “I forgot.”

“Will youse shut up already?”

The hulking goons cringed, completely cowed by their much smaller, yet smarter, boss.

Trader Moe ordered, “Get da necklace from da baby an’ be careful wid it. A jewel dat size has gotta be worth a lotta moolah. I’ll meet ya back at da plane.”

“Right, boss,” Rhino Goon said as Trader Moe marched across the airfield. “Get da necklace from da baby.”

“No candy,” Ape Goon added, a little sadly.

When the goons approached Cassie, she fixed her questioning eyes on them.

“Hand over da necklace, kid,” said Rhino Goon, scowling down at her.

Ape Goon held out his hand. “Yeah, da necklace.”

Thinking it was a game, Cassie slapped his palm and chirped, “Fibe!”

“She hit me!” Ape Goon cried, recoiling in fear.

“Tough girl, huh? Well, we’ll just see about that.” The rhino grabbed onto the necklace’s chain and tried to slip it over her head. However, it wasn’t as easy as he had thought it would be.

“No!” Cassie yelled at the top of her lungs, clutching the amulet with her tiny hands. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no!”

When she started to bawl, Rhino Goon dropped the necklace as if it were a hot potato.

Perplexed, Ape Goon scratched his pointed head. “Da boss wants da necklace, an’ da baby wants da necklace. What do we do?”

“We’ll take her to da boss. He’ll know what to do.” Without further ado, Rhino Goon scooped up crying Cassie and carried her off.

End of part 1

Mishappy Birthday, Baby
part 2

A Few Minutes Later

Baloo dusted off his hands as he walked up the back hatch into the Sea Duck’s cargo hold. “Thanks for helpin’ us out, Professor. Now, we’ll just get Cassie an’ scoot.”

Seeing no sign of his little sister, a horrible sinking feeling settled in the pit of Kit’s stomach. “Uh, Papa Bear...”

“Cassie? Cassie!”

Cassie wasn’t the only thing that was missing.

“The amulet! It’s gone!” Professor O’Bowens exclaimed, looking dazed.

Kit watched as Baloo and Professor O’Bowens ran from one end of the cargo hold to the other, each desperately searching for their respective treasures. They looked behind the curtains, rummaged through the trunk and the supply closet, and finally peered down the manhole that led to the water tanks.

After five frantic minutes, Baloo and Professor O’Bowens sank, defeated, on the lower bunk bed.

“It’s gone!” the professor wailed. “The head of the museum will kill me.”

“She’s gone!” Baloo wailed. “Becky’ll kill me.”

“Maybe she wandered into the cockpit,” Kit suggested, “and took the amulet with her?”

“Man, I hope so!” Baloo said, speeding into the cockpit with Kit and the professor on his heels.

Unfortunately, a thorough search of the cockpit yielded no results. Neither Cassie nor the amulet were to be found.

Baloo plopped down in pilot’s seat in despair and buried his face in his hands. “What are we gonna do now?”

Just as he thought things couldn’t get any worse, Rebecca’s voice crackled over the radio. “Higher for Hire to Sea Duck. Come in, Sea Duck.”

“Uh-oh,” Kit murmured.

“You talk to her, Kit,” Baloo muttered, feeling as if he could never face his wife again. How could he ever tell her that he lost their baby?

“No,you talk to her.” He shoved the microphone into his adopted father’s hands. I’m not taking the blame for this!

Baloo gulped, pushed the ‘transmit’ button, and said as casually as he could, “Yeah, Becky?”

“Hi-ee,” she sang cheerfully. “Just wanted to check to see if everything was fine.”

“Oh, yeah. Couldn’t be finer,” Baloo said with a sinking heart.

Rebecca asked, “How’s Cassie doing?”

Baloo anxiously tugged on his shirt collar. “Okay...I guess.” Under his breath, he muttered, “Wish she were here.”

“Did you say wish she were here?” Rebecca screeched, causing Baloo, Kit, and Professor O’Bowens to nearly hit the cockpit ceiling.

“I said, uh, dear. Yeah, that’s it...dear,” Baloo laughed weakly. Cold sweat beaded on his brow as he hoped against hope that Rebecca would swallow his lie. “Cassie’s such a little dear. That's what I said. Honest engines.”

A little suspicious, she said, “I’ll find out what you’re up to when you get home. Speaking of which, are you coming home soon? We almost have everything ready for the birthday party.”

In the background, they heard Molly say, “All we have to do is make the cake!”

“We’ll be home as soon as we find out about a coupla little things,” Baloo said, blinking hard.

“Fabulous! Love you.” And with that, Rebecca signed off.

You won’t for long, Baloo thought. He slumped in his seat, picked up Woobie from the floor, and hugged it tightly. After a moment, he gathered his wits together and said determinedly, “What are we doin’ sittin’ ‘round here like bumps on a log? We got a little gal to find.”

“Not to mention the amulet,” the professor added.

Trader Moe’s Plane

Just at that same time, the red, twin-engine plane belonging to Trader Moe bowed under the combined weights of the goons as they stepped into the cargo hold with Cassie in tow.

“Hey, boss! We got da necklace,” both goons sang happily.

“Finally! What took youse so long?” Trader Moe said, emerging from the cockpit. He stopped short when he saw Cassie. Pointing at her, he said, “What da heck is dat?”

“A baby.” Ape Goon tickled Cassie’s stomach, prompting a fit of furious giggling. One goon, then the other, started to laugh along with her.

Stiffly, Trader Moe said, “I can see it’s a baby.”

Ape Goon said, “Then why did you ask what it was?”

“D’oh, ya chuckle heads!” Trader Moe yelled, smacking his forehead. “Why’dya bring da baby? I told you to get da necklace, not da baby.”

“She didn’t wanna leggo of da necklace, boss,” Rhino Goon explained, “so’s we hadda bring her.”

“Who cares if she didn’t wanna leggo. It’s a little bitty baby. You take it from her anyways. What does she know?”

When he tried to slip the amulet from her neck, she emitted ear-piercing shrieks.

Trader Moe clapped his hands to his ears in agony. “Ah! How do youse shut her up?”

Turning her upside-down and looking her over, Rhino Goon said, “I don’t see a shut-off switch.”

Ape Goon parroted, “What switch do I see?”

Trader Moe snapped, “Do I hafta tink of everythin’? Stick somethin’ in her mouth!”

“Right, boss.” The rhino put the amulet in her mouth.

“Not dat!” Trader Moe roughly swatted him with his hat. He then impatiently ripped the amulet from Cassie’s mouth, causing her to cry.

“She didn’t like you takin’ her necklace, boss.” Silence reigned once again when Ape Goon returned the amulet to her mouth.

“How many times do I gotta tell yas? It’s not her necklace! Gimmee dat kid!” Taking her in his arms, Trader Moe glared at Cassie, who stared at him with round eyes as she sucked contentedly on the amulet.

Cassie, tired of the amulet, spit it out. She covered and uncovered her eyes in a game of peekaboo. “Boo! Boo!”

Trader Moe was not impressed by her cuteness nor her charming girlish giggle. Dryly, he said, “You don’t scare me, kid.” To the goons, he said, “Now here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re...hey, where’d ya dim bulbs go?”

Seeing the goons crouched, quivering with fear, behind a couple of crates, Trader Moe snapped, “Get back over here, ya banana peels!”

The goons cautiously crept from out of their hiding place.

As a reward for their cowardice, Trader Moe backhanded them across the faces. Eying Cassie shrewdly, he said, “She won’t give it up widout a fight, so we’ll trade da kid somethin’ for dat necklace.”

After a few moments, Rhino Goon said, “Uh, like what?”

“I dunno. Toys, candy, anythin’ that’ll make her leggo of dat jewel.”

Simultaneously, both goons said, “Right, boss.” In their eagerness, they ran headlong into each other, knocking themselves out. They crumpled onto the cargo hold deck with loud thuds!

Trader Moe shook his head, murmuring to himself, “I gotta get me some new goons.”

Meanwhile...

A distracted Baloo went from plane to plane, working from the Sea Duck towards the eastern edge of the airfield, inquiring of Cassie’s whereabouts, while Kit and Professor O’Bowens did the same towards the western edge.

“Cassie? Cassie!” Baloo called, peering behind the wheels of a Groman C-60. “Becky’ll never forgive me if I don’t find that little gal. Heck, I’ll never forgive me.” He cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled, “Cassie!”

On the other side of the airfield, Kit was showing a pilot known as The Barber a picture. “Have you seen this little girl? She’s one year old, grey fur, brown eyes, wearing a purple dress.”

The Barber’s mismatched eyes nearly popped out of his eyes in abject fear as he pushed the picture away from him. “A b-b-b-baby? Ooo!” He shuddered. “Babies give me the willies!” He hurried into his plane and slammed the door in their faces.

Confused by The Barber’s reaction, Kit asked Professor O’Bowens, “Was it something I said?”

The archeologist shrugged. He was privately thinking that The Barber could use some professional therapy.

“Jeepers,nobody’s seen her.” Discouraged, Kit wandered to the water’s edge. He absently kicked a pebble into the canal and watched it disappear beneath the murky depths. The horrible thought that his baby sister might at that moment be at the bottom of the canal surfaced in his mind. One glance at the professor and he could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

“Let’s keep going,” Professor O’Bowens said, swiftly turning from the canal.

Kit nodded. As they walked to the next plane, he looked at the photograph and thought, Where are you, Cassie?

Trader Moe’s Plane

“We’re back, boss,” Rhino Goon said triumphantly. Clutched in his meaty hands were a rag doll and a sack of gumdrops. Likewise, Ape Goon carried a toy car and a frilly baby-sized pink tutu. “Do you think she’ll like dese?”

Trader Moe, the exasperated and frustrated, said testily, “I dunno. Why doncha ask her royal highness?” He cast an annoyed glance around the cargo hold, which was littered with toys and toothsome goodies, none of which had succeeded in making the baby let go of the amulet. He then glowered at the large, overturned cardboard box in which Cassie was playing.

The goons unceremoniously dropped to their knees with dual, plane-shakingthuds in front of the box.

Shaking the doll before the box’s opening, Rhino Goon said, “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

“Yoo-hoo!” Ape Goon called, poking his nose inside the box. “Where are you?”

Cassie, holding a small ball of sticky cellophane tape, crawled out of the box, babbling, “Ca’go? Ca’go?”

Rhino Goon grinned. “Aw...ain’t she a cutie?”

“Yeah...cute.” The huge ape tickled her gently under her chin. His eyes lit up when Cassie offered him her wad of cellophane. “Wow! For me?” He took the ball of tape and crunched it between his hands, chuckling stupidly.

Trader Moe, who could take no more, snapped, “Enough of da cute talk! Didja get a toy car?”

“Check, boss,” Rhino Goon said, holding up the car.

“Finally!She’s been babblin’ nonstop about ‘ca’go’. Hurry up an’ give her da car so’s she’ll give us da necklace.”

“I’ll make the car go,” Rhino Goon offered.

Ape Goon reached for the car with an eager, “Let me! Let me!”

“Nuh-huh. It’s my turn to play with her.” Rhino Goon stood and held the toy over his head.

“No, it ain’t!” Ape Goon said. He jumped up and down, creating a series of small earthquakes in the plane in his attempt to reach the coveted car.

Over the din, Trader Moe voice reverberated, “Grow up, will yas?” He stormed across the cargo hold and barked, “Gimme dat toy! I’llmake the car go.”

In a flash, the goons’ argument ceased. Rhino Goon meekly handed over the toy.

“Stupid brat won’t leggo of my necklace. If it wasn’t for her, we’d be halfway ta Moola-Boola by now,” Trader Moe muttered under his breath as he vigorously wound the key on top of the car. In his anger, he over-wound it until the spring popped out of it with aboing!

“Uh-oh,” Rhino Goon murmured.

“Dat ain’t good,” Ape Goon added.

Trader Moe screamed in frustration and hurled the broken car across the cargo hold.

Frightened by his outburst, Cassie began to cry.

“Now look what you did,” Rhino Goon said accusingly.

“Yeah. Not nice at all.”

The glowering goons towered shoulder-to-shoulder over Trader Moe, creating a barrier between Cassie and their boss.

“Move outta my way, ya lumberin’ lunks.” Trader Moe tried to push between the goons. “I’m gonna get dat necklace even if I gotta rip it offa her dead body.”

“Nuh-huh,” Rhino Goon said, crossing his arms. “You’re not hurtin’ her.”

“What he said,” Ape Goon added, jerking a thumb at his counterpart.

To get rid of the goons, Trader Moe shouted, “Hey, look, dere’s da ice cream truck!”

“Oh, goody!” Ape Goon rushed outside with Rhino Goon right behind.

As soon as the goons’ thunderous footfalls had faded into the distance, Trader Moe advanced on Cassie, snarling, “Okay, kid, it’s just you an’ me. No more Mr. Nice Guy.”

Whimpering, Cassie shielded her face with the amulet.

He snatched her up and gave her a rough shake. “Now are youse gonna give me dat necklace or are we gonna have trouble?”

Confused and scared, Cassie babbled, “Ca’go bee bee? Ca’go bee bee?”

No one was more surprised than Trader Moe when a purple beam radiated from the amulet.

A few minutes later, the two very disappointed goons returned.

“Dere wasn’t any ice cream, boss,” Rhino Goon said glumly.

Ape Goon added, “No cold cream neither.”

“Boss? Boss?”

“Yoo-hoo!” Ape Goon called, going into the cockpit for a look around.

Not seeing anything of his boss except for the floppy brown hat on the floor, Rhino Goon turned to Cassie. “You seen da boss, baby?”

Cassie gazed up at him, placidly sucking her thumb.

The rhino jumped when the hat belonging to Trader Moe moved a couple of inches, then stopped. “Did youse see dat?”

“What did I see?” Ape Goon asked, coming from the cockpit.

“Shh!” Rhino Goon whispered as he tiptoed towards the hat.

Ape Goon put a finger to his lips and whispered to Cassie, “Shh!”

Cassie took her thumb from her mouth, crawled over to the tall, floppy brown hat, and patted it.

The hat moved again.

Rhino Goon lifted the hat, revealing a baby alligator. “Who’s dis?”

“I dunno.” Ape Goon shrugged his enormous shoulders. “Another baby?”

“Why would da boss want another baby? He don’t like da first one.”

Ape Goon scratched his head and slowly counted the babies. “One, uh, two.” Then, he slowly counted himself and his counterpart. “One, uh, two. Yeah, two. Two babies for two of us?”

“Maybe.” Picking up the baby alligator, Rhino Goon said, “Dere’s somethin’ kinda familiar about him.”

The baby alligator swatted him across the nose with a tiny hand.

Fifteen Minutes Later

A lanky crane pilot bent his long neck to look at the picture of Cassie. In a thick Nosenbeak accent he said, “Many pardons, but I no see dat little girl. She is your sister, no?”

“No. I mean, yeah,” Kit sighed as he gazed at the grinning little girl in the photograph. “Thanks anyway, sir.”

The crane tipped his pilot’s hat before entering the cockpit of his Krellman Special.

From the position of the hot summer sun overhead, Kit knew that it had to be past noon. They had been searching for over an hour, yet hadn’t seen one single sign of Cassie.

“Wait up, Britches!” Baloo puffed as he hurried over to join them. “Find her?”

“Not a trace,” Kit replied. “You?”

Baloo solemnly shook his head, his eyes glistening. “You’d think one of them guys woulda seen her, but I guess she’s so little that...” his voice broke with emotion; he hastily cleared his throat, “that she just sorta slipped through the cracks.” He gratefully accepted the handkerchief Kit gave him and blew his nose with a loud honk! "Becky was right. I never shoulda brung her."

“We still haven’t checked that airplane,” Professor O’Bowens reminded them, pointing at a red, twin-engine plane on the outskirts of the Port Largo airfield.

“Wait a minute. Isn’t that Trader Moe’s plane?” Kit murmured.

Baloo’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Yeppers.”

“Who’s Trader Moe?” Professor O’Bowens asked as they cautiously made their way towards the seemingly deserted plane.

“Only the crookiest croc this side of the other side,” Baloo said quietly.

“A thief?” the professor exclaimed. “Perhaps he has my necklace!”

Baloo nodded. “We best keep our eyes peeled for him an’ his two goons.”

“That won’t be hard,” Kit said, thinking about the goons’ hulking size.

When they had reached the plane, they heard a little distressed voice cry, “No, no, no, no, nooo!”

“Cassie!” Baloo and Kit exclaimed simultaneously.

“If he lays one finger on my baby, I’ll personally turn his worthless hide into a purse!” Baloo growled, clenching his fists. He plowed through the cargo hold door. “All right, hand over the girl an’ no one gets hurt.” Surprise registered on his face. “What the...?”

“Trader Moe’s a...babysitter?” Kit gasped.

A baby ape was cutting monkeyshines by clambering over crates as if they were one gigantic set of monkey bars. A baby rhino, his cheeks bulging with gumdrops, was slowly crawling along the floor, pushing a toy car. At the far side of the cargo hold, a baby crocodile was playing tug-of-war with Cassie over the amulet.

Pulling the amulet towards herself, the little girl shouted, “Nooo!”

“Gimmee!” baby Trader Moe ordered, pulling the amulet towards himself.

“Children, that amulet is not a toy!” Professor O’Bowens said sternly, rushing to retrieve his artifact from the tiny tots.

With one last tug, Cassie wrenched the amulet from Trader Moe’s hands. When she saw Baloo rushing towards her, she grinned and held out her arms to be picked up.

Baloo scooped her up and kissed her cheek. “We’ve been lookin’ all over for you, Bugaboo.”

“Boo!” Cassie giggled, nestling her cheek against her father’s shoulder.

“Yeah, boo.” He kissed the top of her head, then screamed, “Yeowch!” Baby Trader Moe had sunk his claws into Baloo’s leg in an attempt to crawl up to the amulet.

Baloo did a crazy dance trying to shake him off. “Talk about an ankle biter!”

Just then, Cassie put amulet to eye and babbled, “Ca’go bee bee. Ca’go bee bee.”

Baloo, Kit, and the professor shut their eyes to shield them from the bright purple light that shot out from the amulet.

Trader Moe, restored to his normal size, loosened his grip on Baloo’s leg and fell. “Nighty-night...oh...” he groaned before passing out.

Adult Ape Goon crashed to the floor with a pained, “Ow!” and a confused look on his face.

“What happened?” big Rhino Goon slurred through a mouth full of gumdrops. He stared at the car as if he’d never seen it before.

Cassie, blissfully unaware that she had caused any trouble, simply sucked on the amulet.

“Let’s get outta here before their brains catch up with their bodies,” Baloo said, turning on his heel.

“So that’s what the amulet does.” Kit said as they swiftly made tracks towards the Sea Duck. “It turns grown-ups into babies and back again.”

“It also explains the Babbleoniannan account,” Professor O’Bowens said, awed and thrilled by what he had just witnessed. “Amazing! Never in the history of the world has such a thing been recorded. Until now, that is. Just think, I get to be the one to share this finding with the archeological community, which could unlock the secrets of the Gagagoogians. What a find! And all because of a baby’s random gibberish.”

“Give Daddy the pretty necklace...” Baloo said, gently removing the chain from around his daughter’s neck, “before ya can cause any more little accidents.”

He then handed it to the professor, who anxiously examined it. “A little slimy, but still intact.” Rubbing the spit off using his shirt tail, he said, “How can I ever thank you?”

“Don’t thank us, Professor,” Kit said. “Thank Cassie.”

“Even though she is only a baby, she should be rewarded somehow.” Professor O’Bowens returned the gleaming amulet to his pouch with a smile of satisfaction.

“How ‘bout givin’ her a high-five?” Baloo suggested when they reached the Sea Duck.

“For saving a priceless artifact, that’s quite a bargain,” the professor said, holding out his palm in front of Cassie. “Five?” he said uncertainly.

“Fibe!” Cassie slapped his hand and giggled with glee when he returned the gesture.

Higher for Hire
Two Hours Later

Baloo, Kit, and Cassie entered Higher for Hire’s kitchen where Rebecca, with a smudge of flour on her nose, was putting the finishing touch - a single candle - on the birthday cake. Molly sat on a chair nearby, licking chocolate frosting from a wooden spoon.

Smiling, Rebecca said, “There you are. It’s about time!”

She held out her arms to her baby, who went into them with a happy, “Mama!”

“What took you so long? I expected you guys hours ago.”

Baloo shared a meaningful look with Kit. “I guess you could say we ran into a few little problems.”

The End