Snuggleopogus by Stephen Holt

SNUGGLEOPOGUS BY STEPHEN HOLT

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Snuggleopogus Once upon a time there lived a boy named Tattnall. He came from a far, far away place known as the Island of Snuggleopogus. Snuggleopogus was a quiet spot with no major cities and few large towns. Its capital, Snuggleopogonia, had gently sloping hills, and tree covered mountains, and this is where Tattnall lived. Snuggleopogonians were a peaceful, friendly, happy folk who loved nothing more than to snuggle. They had lived peacefully in their quiet spot on the earth for as long as anyone could know, and whether it was their warm sweet breath, the scent of their hair, or something else, when a Snuggleopogonian yawned, it was as though sleep dust was cast through room. Drowsiness would ensue and just as one Snuggleopogonian became tired, the rest would soon become so as well. Typically, at the end of the day, as darkness approached, they would take out their furry blankets and fuzzy throws, and their stacks of down-‐filled pillows in all sizes and shapes, and prepare their sleeping pads. Once these heaping piles of cumfiness were assembled, the sleepiest Snuggleopogonian would work his way to the center of the mound, curl up in a ball, and fall asleep. Then, ordinarily, any kitties or puppy dogs that happened to be nearby would begin to circle the sleepy Snuggleopogonian and maneuver for a snuggle spot beside him. In short order, another Snuggleopogonian, finding it too difficult to resist, would curl up beside the first, intertwined with the purring kitties, and tail-‐wagging doggies. That would of course draw a third and a fourth, until soon there was a pile of snuggling, purring Snuggleopogonians. They would lie together, rolling their shoulders, outstretching their arms, yawning with wide open mouths and flexing toes. They would rub each other’s cheeks and massage each other’s eyebrows until at last the snoring would begin. Curiously enough, a special relationship had developed over time between the animals that hibernated on the island and the Snuggleopogonians themselves. Snuggleopogonians had a special appreciation for their furry friends’ ability to sleep away months at a time and the animals seemed to sense this. It was not uncommon for one of these creatures to simply wander into a Snuggleopogonian house, curl up, and fall asleep. And they were always welcome. One might wake up in the morning and find that a big old bear had wandered inside in the middle of the night, and snuggled right up beside the sleeping mass of Snuggleopogonians. And if it ended up hibernating right there, it simply became the new center of the Snuggleopogous sleeping mass with some snuggling up against its chest and others behind its head, all kneading its soft fur and rubber their faces against the inviting creature. One day Tattnall was out gathering dewberries for his mother to make a cobbler. Tattnall loved dewberries. They were sort of like raspberries only a bit more purple in color. With a little butter, sugar, and flour, Tattnall’s mom could transform a pale of them into the most delicious thing in the world.



As Tattnall ventured out into the hills surrounding the town, he came upon one of the largest dewberry patches he had ever seen. With his two, aluminum pales stacked on top of each other, he immediately set out picking as many as he could, filling one, than placing it aside and working on the next. In fact, he picked so many, and took such a long time doing it, that he lost track of time. Suddenly he realized it would be dark before he could get home. That wasn’t that big a problem however for Snuggleopogonia was a safe place and this sort of thing happened now and then, particularly when they were out collecting berries or nuts or any of the other tasty treasure the island bestowed upon its inhabitants. It was common practice that if one was out in the woods, or up in the hills too late, to simply go spend the evening in one of the bear’s caves. If for some reason Tattnall’s parents needed to find him, there is where they would go looking. Just as the fuzzy old bears had become comfortable stopping in for a snooze at the homes of the Snuggleopogonians, so too had Snuggleoppogonians grown comfortable cozying up in a bear cave for the night. Tattnall stopped what he was doing, grabbed his overflowing pales and set out up the hill to a crevice where there was a familiar cave. After a short while walking, he saw the split in the rock that was the entrance. As he approached, he could begin to hear the rustling and growling noises of a bear family. Just before entering, he looked at his pales and realized that if he walked into the cave with both of them full, he would walk out with both of them empty. Bears loved dewberries too and it was pretty rude to say “No” to a bear when he wanted something to eat. Snuggleoppogonians also knew it was always good to enter a bear’s cave with something tasty and sweet to eat – it was simply good bear manners. Tattnall put the fullest pale down outside the cave to retrieve in the morning and carried the other in. He would simply have to collect more tomorrow. Inside, it was dark but warm and very quickly the younger bear, whom Tattnall called Shmoo, sauntered up to him and rubbed his hind quarters against Tattnall’s leg. Then Shmoo’s mother came over and gave Tattnall an affectionate rub with the top of her head, before wandering around and also brushing by Tattnall with her back side. This sort of rub was kind of like a hug for a bear. But Tattnall noticed both Mama and Shmoo were a antsy. In fact they hardly noticed the pale of dewberries – a sure sign that something was amiss. As Tattnall’s eyes adjusted to the darkness he waited for Big Bear to come over and greet him. But Big Bear was nowhere to be seen. After a few more moments, Tattnall realized that Big Bear was not in the cave. Where was he? Bears were always back in their caves by this hour, they just were. That was the nature of bears. Tattnall began to feel uneasy as well. Mama and Shmoo circled him nervously, their hind quarters occasionally brushing against him. Tattnall was tired and sat down on the floor of the cave. He pushed his pale of dewberries forward but the bears hardly noticed. “Bears ignoring a pale of dewberries?” Tattnall thought to himself. Tattnall became more and more concerned. Where was Big Bear? Prompted to action, Tattnall was seized by a new jolt of energy. He jumped up, gave each of the bears a quick scritcha scritcha on the nose, two big hugs around their furry necks, and then ran out of the cave in search of Big Bear.



It grew darker outside but the moon was nearly full which made it unusually bright and Tattnall knew these hills. He also knew the regular routes bears took through the woods and he followed them. He walked, jogged, and then walked some more. Just as Tattnall was beginning to feel hopeless, he saw what looked like a light flickering ahead. Easing himself off the trail, he walked quickly towards it, ducking through bushes and darting around trees. As he did, the light became brighter with more of them coming into view. Then he began to hear voices. What Tattnall saw next, horrified him. A group of men, wearing identical khaki uniforms, were lowering Big Bear into a crate; a crate with bars on the sides that caused it to resemble a prison cell. They had him in a huge net, suspended by ropes, that were slung over the thick branch of a tree. Big Bear looked exhausted, as though he been struggling for hours and had finally given up. It was clear that Big Bear had wandered into a trap. On the back of the men’s uniforms, in large white letters, was written City Zoo. Tattnall had to suppress his gasp when he read the words. Regaining his composure and seeing that the men’s attention was focused on their catch, he crept as closer to the action. Then, just as Big Bear was lowered into the crate, their eyes met. Tattnall stared into the bear’s soft, brown eyes and watched as they stared back at him intently. Suddenly Tattnall saw a large tear drop roll down the bear’s cheek, landing on the ground like an enormous drop of dew. With that, Big Bear made a long, pained moaning sound that carried through the forest and brought tears to Tattnall’s eyes. The City Zoo men however felt nothing but glee. “Look at this specimen,” one cried. “People will line up around the block to see it,” said another. “It” Tattnall thought to himself. How could they refer to Big Bear as “It”? The men then grabbed three long, smooth, wooden polls, and slid them through the circular, brass flanges at the bottom of the crate. When the polls had been pushed all the way through, and the crate centered between them, the men hoisted them onto their shoulders, and began to march off with their crated prize. Tattnall contemplated running back to town to get help from others but he knew if he did that he might never make it back in time to help his friend the bear. He decided he had to follow them. As the men hiked through the woods, Tattnall realized they were heading in the direction of Peaceful Harbor, a deep water spot where boats from faraway lands occasionally anchored. With the banter back and forth of the excited men, and the darkness that surrounded them, Tattnall was able to stay close to the group without being noticed but he wondered what he would do when they arrived at the beach. Sensing an opportunity, he ran up between the rear two men holding the crate, and darted underneath it, jogging along so that he was out of site and moving beneath it. Big Bear tilted his head and stared through the one inch cracks in the floor boards, looking down quizzically as Tattnall scurried, hunched over, beneath him. Awkwardly bent and not sure he could continue without being noticed, Tattnall reached his fingers through the cracks in the bottom of the crate and hoisted himself up, parallel with the ground, and pressing his toes against one of the wooden poles for stability. His weight was a fraction of what the men



were carrying and they hardly noticed. Tattnall hung on like a monkey and the men carried on. After a short while, the woods thinned out and soon they were walking across salt grass and dunes towards the beach where several small row boats lay waiting. Tattnall feared they would lower the crate onto the sand at which point he would be crushed by the weight of it so he let go and plopped to the ground unnoticed. The men continued on, carrying the crate to a small boat that was clearly designed for it. They lowered the long polls onto holders that resembled the hooks on a row boat. As the men began to ready the other boats, Tattnall saw his opportunity, crept up, and jumped into the boat that held the crate. He then wiggled into the space between the crate and the floor of the boat and lay still. The men pushed the boat with the crate into the water, and then pulled the other two out into the gentle surf as well. They attached ropes to the boat holding the crate, and began to row towards a ship that was anchored off shore. The boat that Tattnall and Big Bear were in bobbed gently in the waves and in the cover of darkness Tattnall crawled around inside, occasionally peering over the sides, as he considered his next move. In the bow, or front of the boat, he discovered a worn leather satchel. He poked around inside it and found a small canvas pouch which contained several tools including screwdrivers, a small wrench, and similar items. Tattnall stuffed the pouch into his shirt, for what purpose he was not sure, but he thought it might come in handy later. Then he used his hands to feel around the crate that big bear was in for any sort of latch that he could open to free him. He felt he needed to move quickly or soon they would be too far from the beach to swim back. Sure enough there was a latch, but it was held in place by a large brass padlock and there was no key in site. It must be with one of the men, Tattnall thought to himself, as he heard their rowing cries of “Heave, Ho, Heave Ho”. Soon the ship came into view. On any other occasion, Tattnall might have found it pretty to look at, but on this night it terrified him. Realizing that once the crate was pulled on board they would see him hiding beneath it, Tattnall decided he had to get out. With no other choice, he lowered himself over the side, grabbing onto a small rope that hung from a handle on the stern, or rear, of the boat. Staying with just his head out of the water, he allowed himself to be dragged as the men in the front two row boats continued rowing. On board the ship, the arm of a crane with a large hook and pulley extended out over the water and it was clear that it would be used to hoist the crate aboard. There were also smaller poles with hooks attached that ran along the side of the ship and Tattnall could see that they were designed to raise and hold the small row boats, or dinghies as they were sometimes called, that had taken them to shore. These dinghies clearly also served as the ship’s life boats. One of the boats carrying the men, pulled up alongside the boat which held the bear. A man reached over, grabbed the side of the crate, and pulled himself aboard. He then shouted up to the men standing topside on the ship who quickly lowered the ropes with hooks down.



He attached them to two large metal hoops at each end of the crate and shouted, “Raise her up!” Meanwhile, Tattnall watched all of this as he floated in the water at the stern of the boat, doing his best to stay as close to the side as he could with his head barely poking out above the surface. He had to keep out of view of the men around him. Fortunately, all eyes were on the crate and nobody noticed a thing. Tattnall was growing more frightened however and part of him wanted to just shout out and give himself up. They would be forced to row him back to shore, he thought, but they would never let go of the Bear. Or maybe they would be so angry that they would just take him with them. In any case, he couldn’t leave Big Bear. Tattnall spotted a large rope extending from the bowsprit of the ship to the water and he knew it must be the anchor line. Instinctively, Tattnall released the rope he was holding and swam towards the anchor line, swimming as much of the way under water as he could so as not to be noticed. Eventually reaching it, he used skills developed climbing trees with friends and shinnied up the rope, quickly reaching the top. After hoisting himself up over a low rail and onto the deck, he could see that all attention on board was directed towards the large crate which was being lowered at mid-‐ship. The other dinghies were now being raised as well and men began to secure them to their mounts. There was a large trap door in the center deck and they were getting ready to lower the crate into a storage hold below. Tattnall then saw one of the men who had been on shore pull a thick necklace from around his neck. He could see a large key dangling from the end of it and knew that must be the key to the crate. The man walked over to an older gentleman who clearly seemed in charge and said, “Here you go Captain. Quite a prize indeed,” handing the necklace and key to him as he spoke. A life boat that had not been used by the shore party was rigged close to where Tattnall now crouched. It was covered with a weathered piece of thick white canvas. Tattnall crept over to it, untied one of the lashings that secured the cover, and slipped underneath it and into the boat. Then he peaked out and continued to watch the action on board while he contemplated his next move. After some time had passed, the crate with Big Bear was lowered beneath the deck and the trap door closed. The voices gradually grew softer as the sailors settled down for the remainder of the night. Tattnall however was wide awake. Soon, the only sounds he could hear were the waves lapping against the sides of the boat. He slid out from his hiding spot in the dinghy and back onto the deck. Working his way cautiously across the deck, Tattnall came to a door which opened to a short, steep set of stairs. He followed it down arriving at a narrow hallway with small doors on either side. There was a green flashlight attached to a clip on the wall and Tattnall grabbed it and tried it out. It worked. He could also hear a rumbling sound which at first confused him before he realized it was the snoring of many men. The sound reminded him of the sounds that came from his neighbor’s pig pen back in Snuggelopogonia.



The first door he passed had a brass plaque on it that read ‘CAPTAIN’ which he rightly assumed meant that it was the Captain’s quarters. The next door had a similar plaque which read, read ‘CHIEF MATE’. He could tell by the spacing of the doors that it was a smaller compartment. Across on the opposite side of the narrow hall was a single door which seemed to lead to a room the size of the Captain’s and Chief Mate’s rooms combined. On it was a sign that read ‘BERTH’ which Tattnall knew to mean was the sleeping quarters of the crew. There was a porthole in the center of that door and Tattnall stood on his tiptoes and peaked through. Inside it was dark but he could see the outline of bunk beds built into the walls and even a few hammocks strung between them. He continued down the hall to the end where there was a door which read CARGO. He pushed down on the handle however it did not open. Looking more closely, he saw that there was lock on it but unlike a normal keyhole, this one had a small hexagonal opening. Remembering the small pouch of tools he had found earlier on the dinghy, Tattnall pulled it from out of his shirt and began feeling through it for something that might work. He tried one of the flathead screwdrivers but it was too small for the opening and simply spun in place. He then found one that was short in length but had fatter tip and he worked that into the hole. This time he rotated it and sure enough the latch moved. Tattnall then pressed down on the handle and this time the door opened into the cargo hold. Inside were a variety of crates and barrels of different shapes and sizes but in the center Tattnall could see the largest of them which he recognized to be the crate that held his friend. It was very crowded and Tattnall had to climb over the tops of the various cargo pieces to reach the crate. They had inadvertently positioned it next to a stack of boxes that held peaches. Big Bear had clearly been able to just reach one of the boxes with the tips of his sharp nails and had managed to drag it close enough to his cage that he could tear it open. Consequently, there were peaches everywhere including a number of half eaten ones surrounding his sleeping friend. Tattnall crept up to the side of the cage, reached his hand in and stroked the bear’s big furry cheek. Big Bear’s eyes opened with a start but then softened as he recognized his friend. He pressed his head against the bars so that his furry flesh squeezed between them and Tattnall in turn rubbed his head against bear’s. Big Bear made a gurgly, growling sound which to Tattnall just sounded sad. “I’m going to get you out of here Big Bear. I promise.” Looking around, Tattnall again spotted the large brass padlock he had seen earlier. He gripped it between his hands and gave it a sharp tug but it was locked tight. Tattnall again looked through his pouch of tools but there were no keys and nothing that would serve as a stand in. He thought about trying to smash the lock with something but thought the noise might wake the men up. He had to find the key. Tattnall retreated to the hallway through which he had come and tiptoed back towards the Captain’s door. He reasoned that the key he had seen given to the Captain earlier was likely in his room. As quietly as he could, he pushed the handle down on the door and eased it open feeling thankful that it was not locked. The snoring became louder as he entered and Tattnall realized that the Captain was responsible for half the racket. Tattnall then turned



on the flashlight just long enough to pan the room with the light. Seeing the Captain’s sleeping outline, he tiptoed to his bedside. The Captain’s snoring was practically deafening and Tattnall could not imagine how he was able to sleep through it. The room itself was quite nice with several portholes, a sitting area, and a desk, nothing like what he had seen through the porthole of the quarters that the other men shared. Using his hand to dim the light, Tattnall again turned the flashlight on. The Captain wore a loosely fitted sleeping tunic with a deep V neck. In the soft light Tattnall could clearly see a necklace around the Captain’s neck and sure enough there was a large brass key on its end. Unfortunately though there was no way to remove it without raising the Captain’s head off the pillow. Moreover the necklace was made of a thin chain and not something he could simply break between his hands. As Tattnall stood there hovering over him, his breath wafted across the Captain’s face. It was said that the Snuggleopogonian snoozing powers were conveyed through their breathing and as Tattnall hovered over him, the Captain seemed to drop deeper and deeper into his slumber. In fact, the Captain’s face almost melted into the most relaxing of expressions and even the snoring died down. Noticing this, but not fully understanding it, Tattnall worked quickly and again pulled out his pouch of tools and laid it out on the floor next to the Captain’s bed. “Ah ha!” Tattnall thought to himself as he picked up a pair of small wire-‐clippers. He gripped part of the necklace with his forefinger and thumb, pulled it away from the Captain’s chest, and moved the clippers in for a snip. Unfortunately, he also happened to grab one of the Captain’s chest hairs which he inadvertently plucked. The Captain made a grunting sound, shifted in his bed and swung his arm around, landing it across Tattnall’s neck. He then squeezed and pulled Tattnall closer as though he were a pillow. Fortunately though the Captain was still out cold and Tattnall used his close proximity to carefully clip the chain with the clipper. With the necklace now open, the key slid off onto the bed. Tattnall grabbed it and then slowly shifted his way out of the Captains grasp and sliding onto the floor as he did so. The Captain shifted again, but did not awake. After laying still a few more moments to be sure he was still asleep, Tattnall exited as quietly as he entered. Minutes later, Tattnall had worked his way back down the hallway and into the cargo hold and back to the crate which held Big Bear. The bear was awake and making a low moaning sound and looked excited when he saw Tattnall return. Tattnall said, “Look Big Bear, I have the key. We’re going to get you out of this place.” Tattnall grabbed the lock and after a few moments of fumbling with it felt the key slide in and the tumbler shift. He heard the familiar clicking sound of something unlocking and the padlock snapped open. Tattnall quickly unhooked it and suddenly was able to pull open the side of the cage. Big Bear sat up and immediately pushed his head through the opening. He then used his entire body weight to push against the cage door which shoved aside the entire remaining stack peach crates which were blocking its way. This was no challenge to a big old bear like Big Bear. “Follow me,” Tattnall said to Big Bear and the bear seemed to sense what Tattnall meant. “Let’s go this way,” Tattnall said eyeing a door on the opposite end of the cargo hold. “We



don’t want to have to walk past all of those sleeping guys if we can avoid it.” The door at the opposite end looked just like the door he had come through, and it seemed to lead to another area beneath in the front half of the boat. They walked up the stairs and opened the door, which was not locked. Tattnall shone the light around and could see he was in the ship’s galley, or cooking area. This must be the door that the cook used to get at the food cargo stored below Tattnall thought. Tattnall lead the way and they walked around several polished metal tables and a stove and then past a serving counter and into an area where the dining tables were. Tattnall assumed Big Bear was right behind him but when he arrived at the opposite end of the room to a door marked Exit, he saw that he was not. “Big Bear where are you?” Tattnall whispered loudly, shining the light back in the direction he had come. Big Bear had never made it out of the kitchen. “Oh no!” Tattnall thought to himself. There was Big Bear, distracted by a large tub of cookies. Tattnall shined the light on him just in time to see him pull the entire tub off the counter and on to the floor with a loud kaklang! The cookies spilled out and Big Bear backed up to lap them up into his mouth. In doing so, he bumped into a drying rack of metal pots and pans causing a number of them to fall to the floor with another loud clanging sound. “Big Bear be quiet!!” Tattnall whispered a bit too loudly. But bears will be bears, and what was Big Bear supposed to do passing a tub of cookies….. Tattnall began to panic. Big Bear, also startled by the sounds, ran towards Tattnall. “C’mon Big Bear, you probably woke up the entire ship.” Just as they reached the main door to the galley, a smaller door in a side wall opened and out stepped a portly, sleepy looking man who had to be the cook. “What’s going on in my kitchen?” he cried. Then he looked at Tattnall and Big Bear and it was unclear who was more frightened or surprised. From the sound of it, it was the cook. “Aieeeee,” he cried and ran back into his room, slamming the door. “Come on Big Bear, now we really have to hurry. “ They ran through the door of the galley, into a narrow hallway and then up a short staircase that lead to the deck. Out in the open air, Tattnall ran to the nearest life boat and began untying the canvas cover. Suddenly, there was a deafening siren sound. The cook must have sounded the alarm. In moments, the boat came to life with the sounds of doors opening and closing and men’s voices yelling. Somebody shouted, “Where is the fire?” Tattnall knew they must be confused about the reasoning for the alarm and this would buy them a few extra moments. He managed to get the cover off of the boat and then began loosening the ropes that were attached to the pulleys which held it in place. Big Bear paced back and forth nervously as Tattnall tried to figure out how he would make all of this work. Suddenly, one of the men shined a light in their direction and cried, “The bear!” Big Bear looked in their direction and made a ferocious growl which caused the man to retreat and Tattnall worked even more quickly. Moments later, more men appeared and lights started shining on them from all directions. “Who is that kid?” they shouted. “Grab a net,” someone else cried. Tattnall was working furiously on the riggings when suddenly he felt the jowls of big bear around his shoulder. The grasp was firm, yet gentle, the way a bear carries a cub in its mouth. “What are you doing?” Tattnall cried, immobilized by the grip. With that, Big Bear raised his head, causing



Tattnall to rise off the ground. The bear then took two quick leaps forward and jumped over the side of boat pulling Tattnall along with him. The two dropped twenty feet or so into the water making an enormous splash when they hit. Briefly separated, Big Bear swam right up beneath Tattnall allowing him to grip the fur on the back of his neck. Then Big Bear started swimming, moving at an impressive speed. The men on board pointed their lights at them and shouted and yelled in disbelief but they made no effort to chase after them. Tattnall had seen bears swimming before in Lake Snuggles, the large mountain lake near town, but he had no idea just what strong swimmers they were. Big Bear seemed to effortlessly move through the water and the addition of Tattnall on his back didn’t seem to slow him down one bit. Tattnall did his best to hold on, keeping his head above water, and the salt water out of his mouth. By the time they reached the shore, Tattnall was exhausted just from holding on. The men on board hadn’t even bothered to pursue them. Big Bear waddled onto the beach effortlessly with Tattnall still clinging to his back and never stopped moving. With Tattnall drifting in and out of sleep, Big Bear worked his way back through the forest. When it was nearly dawn, Tattnall awoke to find them lumbering into Big Bear’s cave. He also noticed that Big Bear was holding in his teeth the extra pale of dewberries Tattnall had originally left outside the cave. Bears will be bears! Mama Bear and Shmoo were wide awake and bounded over towards them. What ensued was a giant roly-‐poly cuddly rub fest with Tattnall in the middle. Tattnall rolled around on the bears’ backs and purred and snuggled along with them. Then all of them snuggled up in a big furry ball and went to sleep. Later that morning, Tattnall awoke to the sounds that Bears make when they are enjoying a meal and sure enough the three bears were chomping away at the pales of dewberries. Tattnall smiled to himself and realized he would just have to go spend the day picking more of them. Just then there were more familiar sounds and Tattnall’s parents appeared at the mouth of the cave. Tattnall’s father walked in, followed by his mother, and they sat down on the floor next to him, reaching out to rub the sides of the bears as they did. “We were a bit worried about you but we knew you would be here and sure enough, here you are sleeping your day away,” his father said. “And I don’t know what you’re doing giving away all of those dewberries,” his mother added, “you’ll just have to go collect more before you come home.” Tattnall was so overwhelmed he didn’t know what to say or where to begin, so he reached into his pocket and pulled out a big brass key and said, “Do I have a story for you!” Stephen Holt 105 East 19th Street, Apt. 1A New York, NY 10003 Cell: 646-591-4243 4/12/2014

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Snuggleopogus by Stephen Holt