Tales From the Cave-Megan Morse and the Seven Dwarves

Tidy Up

At last, M'gann followed her new four-legged friends past the hundreds of trees to a small bridge over the river.  Just on the other side was a quaint little cottage, with straw serving as the roof and the prettiest blue and purple petunias surrounding it.  The sunlight sparkled off the windows, and there was even a small well just a few feet from the door.  "Oh!", M'gann cried in delight.  "Its the cutest little house I've ever seen!  Its perfect!"

She hurried over the bridge and towards the cottage.  Upon arriving, she found it to be much smaller than she'd anticipated.  In fact, the very top of the house reached only half a foot higher than her.  She bent down at the waist and knocked on the door three times.  "Hello?  May I come in?"  There was no answer.  She turned the knob, and was surprised to see it was unlocked.

She opened the door a bit, peeking inside.  "Hello?  Is anyone home?"  All the rooms were dark and silent.  She crept inside and tiptoed across the creaky wooden floors, the animals close to toe.  She stopped suddenly.  "Oh!"  The animals cowered and hid behind pieces of furniture.  "Its a little chair!"  They peeked out to see M'gann smiling as she sat on a child-sized chair made of pine wood.  She looked around.  "Seven little chairs!  Must be seven children!"  She stood up and looked around the rest of the house.  "Seven messy children."

Dust and cobwebs covered every corner of the house.  Breadcrumbs and dust bunnies were spread all around, sticking to the feet of whoever stepped on them.  Dirty laundry was draped over furniture and scattered all over the floor.  Dirty dishes were piled in the sink, almost reaching the ceiling, and the garbage had built up so much that you could smell it from a mile away.  M'gann looked in the cabinet under the sink to see the cleaning supplies had collected cobwebs and dust bunnies of their own, a sure sign that they had been laying untouched for years.  "This place is a mess!  You'd think that their mother—"

Suddenly, she stood up straight in a snap as she realized something.  "What if they don't have a mother?", she thought aloud.  "What if they're orphans?"  She chewed on her lower lip, thinking for a minute or two.  Then she got an idea.  "I know!  We'll clean up this house for them!  Maybe if they see what a good job I did, maybe they'll let me stay here!"  She gathered her animal friends.

"Alvin, Simon, Theodore, you, the other chipmunks, and the squirrels all do the mopping and the dusting.  Sunny, Bambi, you, the other birds and deer, and the raccoons do the dishes and the laundry.  And I'll make the beds, wash the windows, sweep and vacuum, scrub the steps, polish the silverware, clean the oven, take out the trash, and cook dinner.  Okay?"  OKAY!, the animals said all at once.  And they got to work.
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M'gann wiped the sweat off her brow, broom in one hand and empty water bucket in the other.  "Well, it took us a few hours,", she sighed.  "But we did it!  The house looks spotless!"  The floors, walls and ceilings were all so clean, you could eat off them.  The windows were so clear, you could see for miles out of them.  You could run your finger over the furniture and not come up with a speck of dust or dirt.  The dishes and silverware sparkled as it was alined perfectly in the cabinets, and the fresh, warm laundry sat in neat piles, free of smell and stain.

M'gann sprayed the whole house with a can of air freshener and breathed in the scent.  "Mmm..."  She turned back around as she checked on the tomato soup that she was making from scratch.  "It should be done in about a hour.  Just needs to simmer."  She put the top on and dusted herself off.  "Let's go check upstairs."  It was getting dark, so she lit a candle and began the walk up to the next floor, her forest friends close in tow.

Up near the roof, sat seven little beds, now clean and neatly made.  M'gann held her candle close to the footboards.  "Hmm...I didn't notice these before.  There are names carved in here."  She read them aloud one by one.  "Doc...Happy...Grumpy...Dopey..."  She quirked an eyebrow.  "Who would give their children names like these?"  She continued reading.  "Bashful...Sneezy...Sleepy."

She let out a big yawn.  "I'm a little sleepy myself.  Doing all those chores and tasks can really tire you out.  Even if you use telekinesis."  She placed her candle on top of the drawer and collapsed across four of the seven little beds.  The birds draped a blanket over her before going to huddle together on the ledge of the ceiling.  The squirrels and chipmunks nestled in the dresser drawers, the raccoons sat side by side on the window ledge, and Bambi and his parents snuggled together on the last bed.  Within minutes, every single creature in the room,  including the Martian girl, was fast asleep.