Episodes of Lamb Planet

Lambpants * Stuffed Toy Animal Rescue Shelter

L*STARS recovers wounded, broken, abandoned, or flawed stuffed toy animals who come to life the moment Lamby is near. His magic eye cap wakes them, and most are rehabilitated and then adopted into a new family and home. L*STAR Friends live to inspire Lamby's message of Love and Fleece on Earth by helping to spread the happy, not the cranky. Each episode brings new characters, new lessons, new friends, and a new exploration of Lamby's big world of imagination, magic, personal responsibility, love, and family.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

LAMBY

A bad day with the dog put Lamby, our hero, into a nightstand. No eyes and a head wound meant surgery until Dad popped in a magic water bottle cap. Lamby woke with things to say and do. The "humblest of ALL lambs" usually wears blue cuffed lambpants (unless he's in a tux, of course), and the magic of his blue eye cap "wakes" stuffed animals, bringing them to life.

JONESY

Lamby's excitable red Chinese puppy dragon is the epitome of courage against the odds. Compared to his blue sister Sara, he has simple needs: food, love, shelter, and a place for flying attempts. He fails ONLY because he can't fly until he's ten years older.

SNOUT

Lamby's sinus-challenged porcine best friend is web/computer savvy and clever. A perfect foil for Lamby (who calls him "Pig"), Snout (who says "Lamb" with a hard ‘b’) often sits on Dad’s open laptop with a cup of coffee. Responsible for the dozens of pint-sized lamb clones, Snout is also in charge.

THE MONGO COLLECTIVE

Instead of yarn, an online wool store in Amsterdam sent thirty identical Lamby clones. When his magic eye-cap brought them to life, Lamby named them all ‘Mongos’. They are adorable, a bit creepy, and more than prone to mischief - it gets even more interesting when the gang discovers that there are both boys and girls (i.e., MANGOS).

IBSEN

Little was known about the snow monkeys of Norway until the website for Stuffed Animal Rescue went live and Ibsen came. As big as he is rare, his long arms and legs, plus his wide hands and feet, make for a perfect Mongo corral. Two button eyes sit in a creamy corduroy face that’s gentle, wise and patient.

DAD

Lamby's father is talked about more than seen at this point, but he is a powerful presence nonetheless.

MANDY

This little girl comes to adopt one of the Mongos, but takes home someone she didn’t expect. Lamby has to explain why. She is the first of several children to adopt a friend from L*STARS.

SARA

Jonesy's globe-trotting sister is a blue Chinese puppy dragon who flies just fine, thank you very much. She is in Europe with the Pretty Baby family to find stuffed animals to rescue. She sends postcards, candy and care packages to her sweet baby brother Jonesy, who wants to fly just like his big sister.

LAMB PLANET SCENE DESCRIPTIONS

L*STARS Headquarters

MAIN BEDROOM

Headquarters is a spare Cape Cod style bedroom trimmed with white and gray. It is a wide square space with hardwood floor planks halved by thick cream-colored carpet. On one wall sits a twin-sized trundle bed beside a nightstand dresser with a laptop computer. A doll-sized proscenium stage with red curtains and workable lights is tucked in a nearby corner below. On either side of a floor-to-ceiling bay window with a deep box seat are two walls of bookshelves filled with books and toys and various bright-colored knick-knacks.

BAY WINDOW BOX SEAT

This is the main living and play area for the Lambpants gang. The bay window box has a beveled seat flush to the window, and although the seat is hinged, it remains closed. Books stacked in various heights along the floor and face of the window box act as stairs to and from a seat that overlooks the front yard and driveway of the house. During the day, sunlight pours in through the window, and at nightfall, moonlight comes in. The deep pane has folded knitted blankets and doll-sized pillows for the characters when it’s bedtime.

MASTERFLEECE THEATRE

This doll-sized set is a real working stage with a curtain, lights, an orchestra pit, and audience seats. The Lambpants gang performs for the stuffed animals brought to headquarters for rehabilitation. It’s an important part of recovery before adoption, but it’s also fun for the permanent residents, who spend a great deal of time imagining here.

LOW/HIGH BOOKSHELVES

Jonesy uses these shelves for his random flight attempts, so at any given time, a puppy dragon will drop out of the "sky."

VERY CREATIVE CORNER

This "art" corner has crayons, coloring books, blank cards and paper sheets for the Lambpants gang.

MANGO DREAM HOUSE

This reclaimed "Dream House" is divided into girls' rooms and boys' rooms for the Mangos and Mongos; unfortunately for the boys, it is a giant pink place and a cause of much friction.

The Mango Dream House is not in this episode of Lamb Planet, but it will be an important part of the world.

BEDROOM MAIN FLOOR

The carpeted area beside the trundle bed is used for big group games, gatherings, meals, and bath times.

LEATHERBOUND BOOK OF FLYING

This book is filled with stories, drawings, images, notes, pictures, and photographs of flight (mythical and factual) through history.

The Incredible Flying Jonesy

LAMB PLANET EPISODE TEASER

It is a very busy morning at Lambpants Stuffed Toy Animal Rescue Shelter. Activity is everywhere. In sunny Very Creative Corner, LAMBY is sprawled on his tummy over a greeting card opened between an old pair of stereo head phones. A random pop song plays. Lamby bobs his head in time to the music as he finishes his drawing of a dragon. Then, he gets to his feet, turns off the music, and with a sturdy shoulder, he moves the big crayon in his soft lamb paws over the card until a mouth forms.

"Now THAT looks like my JONESY," says Lamby with a nod to IBSEN, sitting beside him. "It’s very hard to write with a crayon that’s as big as you are."

The giant white Norwegian monkey nods his head as Lamby’s red Chinese puppy dragon Jonesy gallops by. A pack of clones from the MONGO COLLECTIVE chase Jonesy along the edges of the handmade card. Lamby ignores the stampede to proofread the words he’s written. He wants them to be perfect for the girl who gets the card. More Mongos chase Jonesy from the opposite direction.

When Lamby looks up to watch, eight of the little lamb clones stand in silence to stare as he reads. "Not everybody has a dragon, but I have two very rare Chinese puppy dragons. My blue puppy dragon is SARA and my red one is her baby brother Jonesy. The girl dragons can fly after they hatch, but the boys can’t until they get wings and find their magic, which means they get in trouble a lot."

Jonesy, chased by Mongos, zooms by again. More lamb clones stop at the card. When one clone calls out Lamby’s name, the others repeat it in unison. Clumsy Jonesy runs around the card perimeter in a floppy gallop until all the Mongos stop to watch Lamby.

Again, he tries to ignore them. "For example (and such as),” says Lamby, “Jonesy doesn’t have wings, but he tries to fly anyway. All the time every day, he climbs to a high place, jumps off, falls down, and then gets up to try again. He has very hard head bones, but we still try to keep him safe while his sister Sara’s in Europe. She sends us postcards and rescues stuffed animals there."

A low hum from the crowd of Mongos gives Lamby chills. He heaves the card up to its spine to block his view. He tells himself that it’s easier to check errors when the panels stand upright. He can't see the creepy Mongos, but the sound of the throng gets louder.

SNOUT, who has left his laptop and cup of coffee, sidles up to his friend. "That’s not a bad card, Lamb," he says through his permanent stuffy nose, "but you’ve got a Lamb Clone Borg Mongo Collective behind it."

"It’s creepy time for them Mongos," says Lamby, who tries to use the crayon as a leaning stick.

They peek around the card and then pull back. As Lamby's name repeats in a rhythmic chant, he drops the crayon. It rolls and stops in full view of the Mongos. After a "no-you-go-get-it" argument between Lamby and Snout, a dragon gallop sends a rush of flames and hot air that blows over the card.

They pat down the sparks in time to see the Mongo Collective with IBSEN stretched behind them. The big white mute monkey waves with one hand and herds a few bouncy Mongos with the other. In mid-yawn, Jonesy stretches and lays his head over a paw. Lamby scratches behind his big floppy ears and says, "I wonder what they want.”

"It's like the Disney Channel remade Planet of the Apes, the Birds and Gremlins," says Snout.

In unison, after the hum ends, they all step forward and reply, “Please, Lamby, please let us stay with you."

Sotto voce, Snout says, "Is this supposed to be cute, Lamb?"

Lamby forces a smile. "Pig, it’s so cute that I might have to change my pants in a minute."

Jonesy lifts his head, turns toward the Collective and barks, and then looks back at Lamby with a whine.

"What’s wrong?" asks Snout.

"Jonesy says that one of the Mongos is missing."

LAMB PLANET THEME SONG

"Yes, No Goodbyes (Come as You Are)"

Where was I running off to?
Don’t know, I can’t remember
Exactly why I even came this way
It’s like a dream and it seemed
The best way to get lost in finding
The reasons why I wasted yesterday
Now I’m just lying here
Busting rain clouds in the sky
You’re right beside me smiling and
We’re just watching the world go by

CHORUS

I was wondering if you would be stopping by
Come and go as you please, but come and go as you are
You can wish in a well or make a wish on a star
Say hello to never being alone
Yes, no goodbyes
Yes, no goodbyes

Sometimes the years can make you
Feel like you’re way too heavy
To take a leap of faith from way up high
Look out below, just go
And don’t get hung up on the falling
It takes a lot of love to learn how to fly
It’s a beautiful world, can you imagine,
Just close your eyes
So many different ways to see
And all the magic you need is inside

Act One

Scene A

It is later that afternoon. On the twin-sized trundle bed, Lamby sits beside MANDY, a little girl who has come to adopt one of the Mongos. Lamby points to the card in her hand as he says, "Sorry that your card got some puppy dragon fire smoke smudges, but he’s had a bad week because of the Mongos, and then this morning got even crazier."

Still looking at her card, Mandy asks, “Why?”

Lamby says, "The animals Dad rescues go to the outside place because they are wild, so he can’t be in here all the time. The stuffed animals nobody wants come inside where my magic eye cap can wake them to help me spread Love and Fleece on Earth. For example (and such as), Snout’s online order from Amsterdam came a week ago, and thirty little lamb clones jumped out of the box when we opened it."

"How did that happen?" asks Mandy.

"The store sent lambs instead of yarn, and Dad says I looked just like that before the dog ate my head. They’re still small because they have to grow, but it’s creepy to see those tiny black shark eyes staring at you. Snout said they multiplied with water and got evil after midnight. Scared Jonesy so much, he got bad tummy gas and set the bed on fire if he pooted."

"Is that why there’s an adoption?" asks Mandy.

"Yeah, three weeks ago, Jonesy’s sister Sara sent us a beat-up rescue box from Europe. Ibsen was squished up in there, and it took Dad a week to get him ready for me to wake him because he wasn’t around much. He was worried Jonesy might burn the house down, but last night at bedtime, he said that if I could keep them busy when he was gone, more Mongos could stay."

"So, how did you do on your first day?"

"Not very good while Ibsen was napping,” he says. “I had to make your card and then I was practicing for the Masterfleece show while Snout was looking for the lost Mongo. I had trouble keeping Jonesy still for his big jump at the end until Mongos helped me. They helped with my dragon, the lights and sound, and the other stage things. When Jonesy saw them help me, his gassy flaming fire poots stopped."

Mandy laughs. "How did you find the missing Mongo?" 

"When Jonesy fell, but the crazy really started before Dad came home early to check on us..."

Scene B

It’s earlier in the day now. Still in Very Creative Corner with the card, Lamby and Snout talk about the missing Mongo. A head count says they are indeed short one lamb clone. They wonder if his adoption later in the afternoon is why the little guy’s gone missing this morning.Snout goes to the play area to ask questions while Lamby and Ibsen clean. On the way to the window box, Snout watches Jonesy's sudden leap from the box seat. He does a belly flop to the floor and with tail and tongue in tick-tock wags, he bounds away. Ibsen follows but spins around to corral Jonesy.

At the window, Snout asks some Mongos about the missing one, but they ignore him to play ball or hop scotch or zip around on Matchbox cars. Snout moves from group to group, but they all do the same thing as the first.

Back in the creative corner, Ibsen watches the playground and the bookshelves and room for Jonesy, who has run off again. Ibsen signs that he has been up all night and needs to rest.

Lamby puts on his tuxedo pants. "I know you need to sleep, Ibsen, but Dad said that he’d find homes for all the Mongos if there was trouble while he was gone. I promised to take care of them, but they’re so hard to keep track of and watch."

Ibsen signs with his hands that he understands. Snout returns with news that the Mongo will hide until the adoption stops, which is a problem since the little girl will stop by in just a few hours. Snout promises to find the lost lamb clone before the little girl arrives.

At that moment, Jonesy falls to floor with a plop. He gets up and shakes his head, licks Lamby’s face, slips, and smudges the custom card when he runs toward the Masterfleece Theatre stage set. Ibsen tries to clean the smudge before he stuffs the custom card into its envelope.

Lamby says, "Pig, Jonesy’s acting weirder than usual."

Scene C

Final Dress for MasterFleece Theatre’s "O, Cremisi Drago"

LAMBY (sings in Italian): "O, Cremisi Drago, Jonesy a terra. La speranza carillon segreto su venti. Solo ora ci sentiamo, ma anche il mondo. Per un giorno, prima che l'alba parla, mi salita sul retro e si vola sul nuovo cucciolo di drago ali. Ci volare in cielo dipinto su cime di montagna, ma non preoccupatevi se cadiamo. Stelle sarà cospirano per rendere il nostro sbarco facile, dolce drago cremisi, e poi salire di nuovo a battere ancora una volta!"

Translation: “Oh, Red Dragon, flightless Jonesy - hope chimes on secret winds. Only we feel them now, but so will the world. A morning will come, and I'll climb onto your back and we'll soar on your new puppy dragon wings. We'll fly in painted skies over mountain peaks, but don't you worry if we fall. The stars will make our landing easy, my sweet red dragon. Then we will rise and try once again!”

ANIMATION NOTES: When the curtain rises, there is a silhouette reveal as Lamby sings about the stars. Behind him, the silhouette runs rampant across the backstage for a pass or two, and followed by a few Mongos. After a dart here and there, Jonesy appears at the lip of the stage before the song ends. The two onstage Mongos exit when Lamby does. A drum roll begins as Jonesy wiggles his backside. He crouches low to get leverage before he pushes off the stage and up into the air. Jonesy hovers and then falls into the orchestra pit.

In the blackout, cymbals clash, wood breaks, metal clangs, and things boom. When a shape rises, a spotlight reveals a cymbal atop Jonesy’s head. As he looks around, his big tongue pokes through a goofy grin, and after two knocks on the door, off Jonesy runs.

Scene D

DAD enters the room with a big brown package for Jonesy from his sister SARA. Pleased that the houses isn’t burned to the ground, Dad tells them that Mandy will be here to adopt her Mongo in two hours. There is tension before Dad exits – after all, the girl’s particular Mongo is in hiding - but a package must also be opened.

Jonesy and Snout are beside Lamby, who is still in his tuxedo pants. The Mongos and Ibsen huddle behind them.

All are spread across the floor in front of the bay window, where the large brown mystery package sits. Snout vows to look for the lost Mongo after they open up the box. Mongos tear the wrapper. Lamby holds Jonesy steady.

Inside is a lunchbox with "The Incredible Flying Jonesy" written in red puffy felt letters glued to it. Snout reads the postcard taped to its side.

"Dear Jonesy," he says with a sniffle. "Grandfather spent his childhood trying to fly, but until something inspired him to find his dragon magic, he couldn’t. I saw Leonardo DaVinci's notebook last week (one of his flying machine sketches is on the front of this postcard), and got an idea. Flying without thinking is for birds, bats and girl dragons. You need things to inspire you, Jonesy. No matter how long it takes, I'll wish for you to fly in the clouds with me. Love, Sara."

Jonesy, who hasn’t heard from his sister in days, eats the red felt letters until only "edible Fly Jone" remain. Ibsen opens the lunchbox top. Inside it are knee pads, a pink parachute, a yellow helmet with googly-eyes and chin strap, and a bottle of baby aspirin. Underneath is an old book with pages of pictures and drawings of flying machines, flying myths and creatures and people, and stories of flight.

A sticky note reads, "To help my little brother soar."

Everyone cheers. They shout hurray and get excited to help their flightless puppy dragon to believe he can fly. They take out his flying attire and then open up the old, large book to the first page. Jonesy can barely contain his excitement when Lamby begins to dress him in his flight gear.

ACT TWO

Scene A

Snout says that the excitement should help in his search for the missingMongo. He leaves the group as Lamby, the Mongos, and Ibsen get Jonesy worked up about his next big flight. Lamby tells him that the greatest flyers of all time are in the book that Sara sent. “The greatest flyers in history,” says Lamby, as he turns the pages of the big book.

(The music for “Rocket Lamb” begins.) Jonesy is dressed in his googly-eyes helmet, pink parachute and knee pads like a red, scaly Las Vegas Elvis Pressley doll. Lamby and the Lambpants gang sing him a song to help him see that one day he’ll fly too.

Rocket Lamb

He packed my bag last night pre-flight
Zero-hour, nine AM
And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the Earth so much, I miss my life
It’s lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight.

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time
‘Til touchdown brings me ‘round again to find
I’m not the lamb they think I am at home
Oh, no, no, no I’m a Rocket Lamb
Rocket Lamb burning out his fuse up here alone

Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise them kids
You know I know the cold so well
And there’s no one here to raise them if you did
And all this science, I don ’t understand
It’s just my job, five days a week
A Rocket Lamb, Rocket Lamb

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

When the song begins to fade, pandemonium erupts. Everyone is beyond excited about the next flight, but no one more so than Jonesy. The Lambpants gang repeats the “Rocket Lamb” chorus in sotto voce as the red puppy dragon climbs the side of a very high bookshelf. Tension mounts when he reaches the top shelf and then moves out to the edge. Just as he did earlier on the Masterfleece Theatre stage, Jonesy crouches low, wiggles his backside and tail, takes a leap, and then plummets with a loud crash.

Scene B

Jonesy doesn’t move for a very long time. He’s not hurt, not exactly, but he doesn’t get up with a dragon bounce to try and fly again either. Everybody is very quiet and confused. It makes them all sad to see their happy dragon so still.

Snout returns with the lost Mongo, now found, and the lamb clone lets go of the pig’s hand. He rushes past the dented googly-eyes helmet and pink pile of parachute to Jonesy, a giant red paw hiding the Chinese puppy dragon’s face. Scaly shoulders move up and down as the little Mongo hugs him as hard as he can.

(The intro music for "My Jonesy" begins.)

Snout says, "The little Mongo and Jonesy are friends, Lamb. He hid because he doesn’t want to leave, and he came out when Jonesy crashed."

The Mongo moves Jonesy’s helmet and then wipes tears with a piece of twisted and knotted pink fabric. The Mongo struggles to get Jonesy untangled, but he succeeds when the rest help him. Freed, Jonesy licks faces until they fall on or around him to hold him and pet him. Under the big love cuddle huddle, a sad red dragon is now happy. Lamby joins the pile and sings:

My Jonesy

Have I ever told you about my Jonesy?
You would love him, yeah, just take it from me
He’s my smiling, never frowning,
Jumpy happy Chinese Puppy Dragon Jonesy
He’s bad at flying, but falling comes real easy.
Jonesy, we’re so glad we got you.
We don’t ever want to be without you.
Puppy dragon, how we love you so.
Yeah, we won’t let you go,
That’s why we want to tell you...

The hardest working dreamy flyer
Wants so bad to soar up high - that’s Jonesy.
Gets right back up whenever he falls down
He might be simple, yeah,
but he can always make you laugh - my Jonesy
Never a worry ever crosses his mind
We love that you don’t care
That you should stop your daily flying affair
We close our eyes and hope or sometimes we stare
Depends on if you’re on the dresser
or you’re jumping off the chair

Sweet Jonesy, we love you
You know we’re always thinking of you
We’ll always be there every time you fall
Oh Jonesy, we love you,
and know that we’re just so proud of you
Sweet Jonesy - you are family, Jonesy
Jonesy, one thing is certain
A day will come when you won’t feel no hurtin’
We’ll have to open up the heavy curtain
Up goes the slidy window pane as we clap and shout your name

Hey Jonesy, we love you
Believe me, we’re always thinking of you
We’ll be right here waiting just in case you fall
Sweet Jonesy, we love you --
every single day we’re just so proud of you
We are family, Jonesy

EPISODE TAG

Lamby and Mandy sit on the trundle bed and watch the dragon and Mongos play in the floor. Snout sits at Dad’s laptop and drinks coffee as he surfs the Internet. A little pink-hued Mongo climbs into Mandy’s lap. The girl smiles and asks, "And so that’s how I got this sweet one?"

Lamby scratches his ear and says, "We didn't want to force him to go when he wasn’t ready, so when we asked who did, her soft lamb paw went up. And so here we are."

The room grows quiet. Mongos and a Norwegian sentry monkey stop to stare at the girl. The Mongos linger much in the same way as they did earlier, but without all their creepy “Lamby-Lamby” chants. Jonesy, his dented googly-eyes helmet cocked to one side of his head, sports the pink parachute as a cape as he climbs up the side of another bookshelf.

Mandy giggles. "I wanted a girl anyway, Lamby, but your Dad didn't know you had any girl Mongos. How many are there?"

Clusters of off-pink paws go up. Lamby sighs and says, "I don’t really know, but I do know that things around here are gonna be very different for this lamb."

"And for this pig," adds Snout.

From the floor comes a united reply, "And these Mongos," which is followed by a high-pitched response, "And these MANGOS."

“Mangos,” says Mandy, who gives hers a kiss.

After a knock on the door, DAD enters with a small brown box. Mandy’s MOM follows with a large clear bowl of water in her hands. The room buzzes with excitement when Dad places the box on the bed beside Lamby. Mandy’s Mom places the bowl on the nightstand beside Snout, who says, “Must be dirty to have a bath after a wake up.”

Curious, Mandy asks, “What’s a ‘wake-up’?”

Excited, Lamby jumps up and down beside the girl. “That means it’s time to wake up another Lambpants friend. Dad, who’s in there? Who’s in the box? Who? Who?”

“Steady, little lamb,” says Dad, who opens each box lid one at a time. “The twins might get scared if they wake up to see you bounding around like a baby goat with springs.”

Lamby stands on tiptoe to peer inside the box. “Ah, Dad, how many girls are we gonna have to rescue?”

As the Mangos cheer, Dad laughs and pats Lamby’s head. “As many as the boys,” he says. “Are they awake now?”

Lamby nods and backs away. Dad lifts two white shapes from the box and eases them into the large bowl of water. Lamby presses his face and paws to the glass to wait for movement. When the shapes open their eyes, he asks, “Dad, what are they exactly? They have tails and fins and smiley mouths.”

Excited, Mandy says, “Those are baby beluga whales!”

The very awake twin whales swim around the bowl in circles as Lamby watches them. Dizzy, he falls on his backside. He looks up in time to see one of the twins lift from the surface to spray a mist of water.

“I’m Bunny,” she says. Her sister joins her, and says, “And I’m her sister Bambi.”

“Make them feel at home, Lamby,” says Dad.

The Mangos clap at Ibsen’s feet as a red blur falls to the ground. Jonesy suddenly hits the floor in a pink flop, gets up with a happy puppy-dragon bark, burps a little fire, and then runs toward the window box before a flaming poot.

The Bath Day

Lambs love puddle-jumping, but that means a bath day, and bath days are the most stressful of days. I have to climb into the bath bowl and sit for a long time in soapy water. Then I have to sit for hours wrapped up in a wash cloth. And if I ever get cranky, then I have to take a nap. Not all bath days are bad. There was one bath day that wasn’t.

I was puddle jumping with a hoppy frog, and it was lots of fun for this Lamb, but muddy puddle hoppy frog fun or not, I knew it was going to be a long bath day. When I got home, I climbed in the bath bowl by myself. There was lots of time sitting in the bath bowl, but Dad washed me clean behind my ears and tail. He used a hair dryer for quick drying, and there was no time sitting in a washcloth.

When I looked for my lambpants, I saw myself in the mirror. “I think I am coming apart in my stitches too much,” I told Dad as I spun around.

He patted my head and said, “It isn’t so bad, but you might need sewing, and maybe some more filling.”

“Why?”

“Well, sometimes when you get lots of love, you get a little undone,” said Dad. “You’ve had lots of love cuddles and lots of rain puddles in one day.”

That made sense, so I put on my blue pants and wagged my tail, and when I plopped down, I took off my eye cap and felt inside for my stuffing.

“What is it, Lamby?"

“Does filling go in my head in the hole the dog made?” I asked. “I don’t mind the sewing stitchy part - that doesn’t hurt - but I’m very scared of getting my first time filling. Maybe I should just eat more oats and ivy.”

Dad smiled and stitched my little stitch, and after he helped me put my eye cap back inside my head, he said, “New filling won’t hurt either, but it's not time.”

“Well, what happens if I get loved too much and get all unstitched and holey all the time? And then too skinny for having more filling?"

"What do you mean?"

"Will I have to go away then?”

“Nope,” said Dad, “that’s what the Mongos are for.”

As much as I loved my Chinese Puppy Dragon, and as much as I loved Snout, I also loved my Mongos, and there were four of them. See, they were lambs too. They looked exactly just like I would look like if the dog hadn’t found me when Dad brought me home from Kash-n-Karry that day.

I pictured their sweet faces in my imagination. Dad ordered them from a wool store in Lambsterdam, which is in the Netherlands and where lots of wool comes from, but not the filling for inside my head. That comes from the store.

"Mongos are for if you get loved too much and need a brand new body," said Dad.

"What new body?” I asked “How are you going to put me inside one of the Mongos?"

"Well, your soul is Magic,” said Dad, “and after the dog got you, I decided that if you ever get loved too much again, we could use Magic to put your sweet soul inside one of the Mongos. I was happy when the eye cap worked, but I got Mongos so you don't ever have to go away, little Lamb. It would be very sad if you went away."

"Is ‘away’ up in heaven?" I asked.

"’Away’ is where we all go after we're loved too much," he said.

I wondered if ‘away’ was a scary place, but then I remembered it’s where Grandma and Grandpa went, so I said, "If I'm supposed to go ‘away,’ then I don't want you to put me inside one of them Mongos. That's like stealing, and it’s not fair because they're little and don't know lots of things yet because they’re still here with us. Why can't they just be Mongos and I just be Lamby?"

When I yawned, Dad picked me up. "That's a big question, little Lamb," he said, "and it would mean a big talk, but it is bedtime now. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Bath day is a very stressful big day, and I am only a little Lamb," said this Lamb, who made Dad laugh.

"If you say so,” he said.

"I do say because I always have a say."

"Yes you do have a say,” said Dad. “Now, where do you want to sleep tonight - in my bed on your pillow with your friends?"

“In your bed,” I said.

Dad put me down beside his spot. "But I might squish you,” he said.

"I told you a thousand times that I'm supposed to be squished from lots of love – it’s my job and part of spreading Love & Fleece. Besides, I’m all stitched up now, see? I won't be going away for a very long time."

“How do you know?” he asked.

"I just do,” I told him, “but when it is time for me to go ‘away’ to that happy heaven place, start squishing on them Mongos. They’ll need you a lot then, okay? Promise me that you’ll love them a lot?”

Dad said, "I promise."

“Cross your heart?”

“And hope to die,” said Dad.

After I said good night to all my friends, I curled up beside him and went to sleep and dreamed of pouncing in puddles with my new frog friend. It was the best night’s sleep this Lamb ever had.

Copyright © 2010 Lambpants Media.

^ back to top  |  home page