Little Dipper

Book

"Kids, this is Soos and Wendy. Soos, Wendy, these are my great-niece and nephew." Stan introduced.

"I'm Mabel, and this is my younger brother Dipper!" Mabel smiled, holding him in front of her.

Dipper looked up at the two in front of him. "...Tall..." He whispered, his brown eyes widening as he looked them up and down. "Is everyone tall here?"

"No, short-stuff, you're just small." Mabel grinned, rubbing his hat into his head. "He's seven."

"Aww." Wendy knelt down to his level. "You come to Soos, Stan and me if you need help finding anything, okay?"

Dipper nodded, looking up at her. "How old are you?"

"Me? I'm fifteen." Wendy grinned.

"Really? But you look like grown-up!" Dipper stood on his tip-toes. Nope, still not eye-level with her.

"Alright, we gotta get back to work, so why don't you go play, Dipper?" Stan suggested. "We got a business to run. Wendy, I want you teaching Mabel to use the cash register."

"Alright." Wendy stood up and Mabel walked around Dipper to follow her to the counter. Dipper shrugged and went outside, the bell jingling as he opened and closed it.

The woods were very close to the shack, and soon he was walking past the trees, banging against them with a stick he found on the ground while singing a random tune at the top of his lungs. The wood hitting wood reminded him of doing this to fences back home, but when he heard something like when he hit mailboxes he stopped and looked back at the tree he just hit.

"...Huh?" Dipper walked over to the tree and hit it with the stick again. It made a low metallic sound that echoed. Frowning, he hit it again and then reached up, trying to hit that spot with his hand. "Nnnnnnnfh!" He stood on tip-toes but was still too short. Sighing, he walked back to the shop and poked his head in. "Maaaabel?"

"Mabel's busy, Dipper." Mabel said, doing something at the register.

"But..." Dipper pouted.

"Ah, go see what he wants. While you're out there, hang these up in the woods, would you?" Stan walked over with some painted signs.

Mabel sighed and got off the chair, letting Wendy take over. "Okay, what did you find?" She asked, taking the boards and the box of nails Stan held out. She took a hammer from Soos and followed him outside.

"I found a metal tree!" Dipper said excitedly.

"A metal tree?" Mabel asked, following him into the woods.

Dipper ran to where he left the stick and then picked it up, banging on the tree again. "See? ...Mabel?"

"Hold on, I'm nailing up these signs!" Mabel called. Then she walked over to him, still holding a sign. "Alright, let's see it."

Dipper knocked on the tree with the stick again.

"Hm, let's see." Mabel set down the sign, nails, and hammer and felt along it. "I feel something..." She banged on it twice and then tugged at one side, pulling a door open. "There! Yikes, dusty. Hold on, let me figure this out." She reached in and flipped different switches.

Dipper looked behind them as the ground opened up, scaring off a goat that was eating grass nearby. "Mabel, look!"

Mabel turned to see Dipper going to look in the hole. "Dipper, no! Let me." She walked over and looked in, cringing. "Bugs and dust." She reached in and pulled it out, blowing off the dust and checking it for bugs before handing it to Dipper. "Here, looks like a nerd book."

He took it with an "oomph" grunt and looked at it. It was big like an encyclopedia in his tiny arms and there was a six-fingered hand motif on the front with the number 3 drawn in permanent marker. "Wow..." He whispered.

"Okay, let's take you and your nerd book back to the Shack. That's enough of playing in the woods for today." Mabel stood up and patted her skirt to get off dust and grass and then offered her hand. "Come on, Dipper."

He stood up, struggling to hold the book and take her hand. It was clearly made for adult hands, but he's held encyclopedias before, he could do this! He tucked it under his arm so he had one free and gasped when it slipped through and hit the ground. "Nnnnnngh!" He stomped his foot in frustration.

"Let me help you." Mabel laughed, picking up the book and taking his hand in her free one. "C'mon, DipDop."

He nodded, following her back to the Mystery Shack. She took him to their room and handed him the book before heading back to the shop.

"Why don't you finish unpacking? Or you could read your new nerd book while waiting for me to come help." She suggested as she closed the door and walked off.

"'Kaaaaaay." He opened the book on his bed and lay on his belly to read it, kicking his feet in the air.

"Hey, kid."

Dipper looked up in surprise. "Who said that?"

"In here."

Dipper got off the bed, looking around. "Where?"

"The closet, nerd."

Dipper walked over to the closet and gasped, jumping back. "Whoa."

Sitting on top of a nail sticking out was a tiny triangle-person-thing. Dipper stepped closer to the closet, tilting his head in curiosity.

"Heya." The triangle gave a little wave.