The Tales of Huckleberry Hound: Season 4

29. Home Run Huck

"Come on, Huck! Put one over on the ol' plate!" Hokey Wolf shouted as he held the baseball against his catcher's mitt.

Huckleberry Hound was wearing his new baseball cap as he stood at bat on the baseball diamond in the park. "Okay, Hokey! Here comes a hot one!" he shouted.

"Hot one? Ha! You couldn't throw a hot one if you hit it with a frying pan!" Hokey chortled.

"Alrighty, if you say so!" Huck yelled back.

Hokey wound up his arm and threw the ball towards Huck. The hound swung his bat, and hit the ball pretty fast. Smack! It went sailing up, up, up!

"Nice shot, Huck!" Hokey cried.

"Thanks!" Huck replied.

But they didn't see Mr. Jinks coming on his bike. The cat was smiling as he pedaled down the road, but he didn't see the ball. Wham! The ball hit him right in the face!

"Oww!!" he cried as he fell off his bike. "Who threw this?"

He marched up to where Huck and Hokey were, and groaned.

"Huck, is this yours?"

"Oh, sorry, Jinks!" Huck replied. "We were just practicing our pitching and batting."

"But that ball hit me right in the face!" Jinks cried. He got his arms ready, but Hokey stopped him.

"Oh no, you don't!" he said. "We don't wanna have you shoving Huck again!"

Huck gasped and prepared to make a run for it. No sir, he wasn't about to get shoved again over something that he didn't mean to happen!

"Hang on, Huck!" Hokey said. "I got this! Now, Jinks, don't shove Huck again, because it's not nice, and Huck didn't mean it. He's your friend!"

Jinks just shrugged. "Oh, fine. But like...could you get me an ice pack or somethin'? Shee! That smarts!"

"Here, Jinks!" Huck said, handing the cat an ice pack. "Sorry I hit you with the ball. I never saw you comin'."

"It's alright, Huck. Just don't do that again."

Huck let out a sigh of relief. "Say, I know what'll help. Why don't we all go grab a milkshake at the malt shop? I'm a mite thirsty and it is gettin' a little warm outside."

"Good idea," Hokey replied. "Playing sports always works up a thirst!"

And off they went to the malt shop to get a drink. By the time they arrived, Pixie and Dixie, Ding-a-Ling and Snagglepuss had already arrived.

"Hiya, fellas!" Dixie called.

"We were hoping you'd show up!" Pixie added.

"Jinks, why do you have an ice pack on your face?" Snag asked. "Are you hurt? Injured, even?"

"Nah, just took a bit of a knock from a runaway baseball," Jinks groaned, giving Huck a bit of a hard stare from the corner of his eye.

"Easy, Jinks," Huck said. "I didn't mean it."

"Baseball?" Snag exclaimed. "What a coincidence! We were just discussing the very sport itself!"

Ding-a-Ling pulled out a newspaper clipping. "Hill Street Neighborhood has its own baseball team now! The Hill Street Beat Squad will be playing its first game later tonight!"

"Tonight?!" Huck cried. "Shuckins...I guess it's too late to see it in person. I reckon all the tickets have been sold out."

"Yeah, but you can still listen to the game on the radio," Pixie pointed out.