The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One

The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One: Fuel - 24

Disclaimer: Zootopia stories, characters, settings, and properties belong to the Walt Disney Co. This story is written under Fair Use Copyright laws.

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The Fire Triangle—A Zootopia Fanfiction

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Part One:

Fuel

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Chapter 3 – Day of Carrots and Blueberries
(Continued...Pt. 16)

They arrived early at the Festival grounds well before the main gates opened to the public. As they had on Friday, Judy and her family were taking advantage of their status as vendors, slipping in through the side entrance ahead of the crowds..

Perhaps 'taking advantage' wasn't quite a fair term; no one in the Hopps caravan was playing the vendor card simply to get the jump on the regular patrons. Far from it; there was work to be done and plenty of it. They needed to get the Hopps Family Farm's stall cleaned up, set up, and ready to do business; sweep out the back, lay out the produce, get rid of the empty fruit and vegetable crates, post the prices on the chalkboard, and make sure they had plenty of extra stock on hand. Much to Judy Hopps' surprise, it was a task which Nick Wilde seemed to thoroughly enjoy, pitching in eagerly to help out.

With Saturday's arrival, the Carrot Days Festival was about to shift into high gear, and it was 'gonna be a buster' in the words of Judy's father. With at least an hour to go before opening time, the lines were already five deep at the turnstiles. And why not, there was fine weather on tap for the weekend; clear skies, light breezes and a forecast calling for highs in the low 80's. You couldn't have asked for a more perfect couple of days.

For all the changes the Carrot Days Festival had gone through over years, one tradition remained; Saturdays were reserved for the competitions; to name just three, the prize for the biggest carrot, the prize for the tastiest carrot, and the carrot-cake eating contest, (this year sponsored by Gideon Grey's Bakery,).

Of these, the Hopps Family Farm was entered in the first and third competitions but not in the second; the panel of judges for the tastiest carrot contest changed annually on a rotating basis and this year it was Stu Hopps' turn to serve. (Judy's Uncle Terry was representing the family in the Carrot Cake eating contest, something about which she had decidedly mixed feelings.) There were tractor pulls, there was a plowing contest; this year they'd added wood-sculpting competition—using chainsaws.

And then of course there were the athletic competitions, the tug-of-war, the wrist-wrestling challenge, and the ever-popular running contests; including the 2K Bun Run, and the big race of the day, the 10K Rabbithon. Among the entrants to this event was a bunny named Judy Hopps, representing not only her family but also the Zootopia Police Department.

After sliding the last flat of blueberries into place—"Ow...Carrots!" "WHAT did I tell you about sampling, fox? Paws! Off!"—Judy and Nick bade a temporary farewell to the others and grabbed the guitar they'd purchased, heading for the camping area.

"This thing BETTER work, Carrots." The fox had grumbled when they'd climbed into her dad's pick-up to head home the night before. "I'm not paying fifty bucks for a dead end." (He had actually shelled out only half the purchase price.)