Zorro and Zorrina were taking a stroll in the afternoon sun. Suddenly, Zorro stopped and walked the fence beside the sidewalk. He stood there watching the action inside the fence. After a minute or so, Zorrina swung her purse at his head.


"Zorro!" she hissed. "I'm right here! I can't believe you're gonna stand there and stare at that pretty lady with me right here by your side!"


Zorro was startled but recovered quickly. "Zorrina, my sweet cheeseling, I wasn't watching HER. I was watching all the children at play. She just happened to be playing with them. I've often wondered what it must be like to attend school and have recess and lessons and homework and science projects and lunch break and all that other fun stuff. As you know, when I was just a youngster, I was cruelly ripped from the bosom of my loving family, destined to become a meal for a some greedy little owlets. I DID manage to escape, but I've had to learn everything on my own. I had no one to teach me. It's been a hard life, Zorrina."


Zorrina laughed. "A hard life?? HARD?? You're living here in the lap of luxury with all you can eat and no one to chase you or bother you. You've got tons of friends and all the entertainment you could ever want. What's HARD about that?"


Zorro shrugged, "Okay, so maybe it's not so hard NOW, but it WAS for a little while. I'd still like to find out what school is all about. I'm going to go ask that teacher lady if she'd let me visit her class for a while."


Zorro climbed through a hole in the fence and sauntered over to the teacher. Once she got over the shock of a talking mouse, she said, …


"Hmm, this is a little unusual. Where are you parents?"


Zorro's shoulder's slumped when the teacher, Ms. Quarkwords, was not as keen to the idea of him joining her class as he was.


Zorro was about to turn around and leave the playground when Ms. Quarkwodrs asked, "Where is the person who takes care of you? I need to have some basic information about you before you can be in the classroom."


Zorro's whole being brightened up and he explained to the teacher where he lived, who he lived with, etc.


"Well, all fine and good young Man err Mouse but we need a consent form and a list of innoculations!"


"Bbbb bbbb but I don't know bout noculaters and con sents," mumbled Zorro looking down and skeered to be rejected.


"Well, let me take you to the school Nurse after our recess is over," she said.


Zorro was happy. "This teacher is super nice," he thought. But when he arrived at the nurse's office and saw the syringe his mouth opened wide and he…


Poor Zorro screamed like a little girl, even louder than Zorrina ever would. "Nooooo!" Zorro cried.


"Oh this won't hurt a bit" the nurse said gruffly." Now just bend over, it will take only a second."


With that, Zorro turned quickly around, but not for the shot. In fact, he was off like a shot, right out of that nurses office and across the playground, through the hole in the fence, and almost knocked Zorinna over.


"So, how was school?" Zorrina asked, thinking that Zorro wasn't looking so good.


"I'm not sure that was the right school for me," Zorro huffed and puffed, still out of breath from his escape. He hadn't run that fast since his escape from McGee.


He took Zorrina's hand, and they headed back to the Dude's, when all of a sudden…


he began running. He hollered back to Zorrina, "I've got an idea."


He ran to the Dude and said, "Dude, I need your help. I need a paper that says I've had my shots even if I haven't really and I need a bunch of teacher treats. Help me make some Crayon Cookies and some Pretzel Pencils and some Candy Apples and some Caramel Apples and…


"Whoa!" said the dude. "Slow down. Let's start with this paper. Why do you need shots?"


Zorro told him about wanting to go to school and the shots and the needle and how he needed to make the treats so the teacher would like him best and how he needed them by tomorrow.


The Dude laughed. "I'll take care of the paper. You call CC for the treats. We'll get you in that school somehow.


Zorro called CC. Then he hollered, "YES! I'm going to school!"


Zorrina said, "Don't get too excited, Zorro. We have to make sure the Dude get all these obstacles taken care of. Maybe Dude can convince the teacher that mice don't need immunizations like the two-leggers do. And maybe CC will make some yummy snacks to bring to school so Teacher will forget about the shots thing! If all else fails, we can claim religious exemption, don't believe in vaccines. But then they might make us do home-schooling! Anyhow, let's see what Dude will come up with!"


Then the Dude…


called the school, talked with Ms. Quarkword. "Zorro so wants to learn, he could sit in the back of the room so he won't distract the kids. He can read and write. He just needs to learn more."


The teacher agreed on a few days trial. The Dude went on to say, "Zorro really wants to experience school lunch and recess."


The teacher frowned, but agreed.


So Zorro started preparing for his first day. He had treats, pencil, paper, chewing gum, a ruler. He was set.


Zorrina made him a bag lunch, got his nice clothes out then…


Since it was already Friday afternoon, they agreed that Zorro would start on Monday, which would give him the weekend to get the rest of his school supplies together.


The list the teacher gave him was very long, and Zorro worried about how he would carry them all, and if he could find all of them in his size.


The Dude promised to take him shopping and help him with substitutes or modifications of things they couldn't find small enough.


Zorro felt a lot better about things then, and he hurried off to tell his friends Vinky and Vobble about his big news.


They were astonished, but right away they wanted to go to school too. And they flew off to tell their friends, who told their friends, and Zorro told more of his friends, and soon there was a whole crowd of animals that all wanted to go to school! So…


the next thing you know the group of animals were outside Dude and Mrs. Dude's home excitedly discussing their school adventure on Monday.


Dude realized that this was going to be an issue for Ms. Quarkword and the school. So, he went inside his house and called Ms. Quarkword to discuss the situation.


"How will we handle this situation without causing hurt feelings?" said Dude to the teacher.


"Well, Ms. Quarkword said, we could demand that all of them will need proper paper work filled out and received the required shots. That would give us some time to come up with another plan. Hmm, I wonder if there is a place where animals could attend to learn things without it being in a two legged school."


Ms. Quarkword ended the conversation to the Dude saying, "Let's think about it and get back to each other Sunday morning."


Late Sunday morning the phone rang at the Dude's. "Yes, I see, ok, yes, well, yes ok...I'll tell them," said the Dude and he hung up.


The Dude went out to the yard and looked for his little friends. It didn't take long as he heard some loud munching in the corner by the bushes.


When he peered over he saw Zorro, cheezy crumbs about his mouth, setting up tiny tables and the Dudette's refrigerator black board at the head of it.


"Hey Dude" chirped Zorro. "We all got together and asked Mrs. Quarkword to teach us here and she said she would send her teacher's aide too."


Dude went back happy not to have to be the one to tell them that school would be on the premises. With that he went to his garage and tapped tapped tapped a wooden sign with a rope that read "Premises School" and in small letters "We Promise to Make It Happen." When he was done he went out to hang the sign when who showed up? Yup. You guessed it. It was…


Well, it was none other than Ms Quarkwords, and her aide Miss Quirkyworks. They loved the sign that the Dude made, and said they were ready to begin.


Zorro, Vinky and Vobble sat right up front, with little Zale and Velvet right behind them. Rocky, and Kyle were there too, and the tauntzlets crowded into the small area along with all of Zorro's other friends. Zorro saved a spot right next to him for Zorrina, but she hadn't arrived yet, and class was about to begin.


Just then, Zorrina arrived, just in the "snick" of time. First was spelling, then language, social studies, math, and then.... it was time for lunch!


They all pulled out their bag lunches and started eating. After they ate it was time for gym and reading and science. Soon the day was over. All of Zorro's frinds said one day was enough for them, but Zorro wantd more. He asked the teacher if he could try the real school for a little while so he could have school lunches and recess and homework and more recess and snacks and science projects and everything else.


She said, "Okay. You can come for a few days. Maybe the children will learn about mice, too."


On Zorro's first day, when it was time for lunch, he looked at his plate. He said, "What is THIS?"


The kids said, "It's mystery meat and green soup and mushy veggies and some kind of pie thingy."


After lunch, Zorro raised his hand and said, "Is it okay if I ask my friend CC to make lunch for all of us while I'm here?"


The teacher thought this might be fun. So the next day, CC showed up with HER kind of Mystery Meat, some Pea Soup with Sour Cream designs on top, a great mixture of Stir Fried Veggies and a Mock Apple Crisp with ICE CREAM on top.


The fabulous lunch from CC delighted all the students!


Ms. Quarkword asked Zorro if he could arrange for CC to cater lunches at the school a couple days a week.


Zorro said "I bet I could get that done. CC LOVES to feed people—Critters and 2-leggers alike."


With that, the whole class cleaned up their lunch leavings and moved on to their next subject of…


social studies. The teacher started with US History when Zorro stopped her. "I've been nearly everywhere."


Ms Quarkword told Zorro he needed to LEARN more, not just the fun stuff.


Zorro, exclaimed, "But, but, …," then Zorrina came in and…


went up to Ms Quarkword. She spoke quietly to the teacher for a bit, and then Ms Quarkword turned to the class and said that Zorrina had really enjoyed the day of school with the animals and would like to join the people school class like Zorro.


Ms Quarkword said, "Very well," and directed her to a seat on the other side of the room from Zorro, to be sure they didn't distract each other.


After school a number of the human children cam up to Zorro and Zorrina and said how much they enjoyed having them in their class. One asked them over to play at his house, and another invited them to her birthday party the following Saturday.


The two mice headed for home feeling really good about going to school, but suddenly Zorro thought of something that hadn't occurred to him before. What if…?


the children's parents didn't like mice? What would they do?


Ms. Quarkword assured him that she would send a note home with each child telling all about him so there should be no problems.


Later that night, Zorro sat in the Dude's kitchen. He had the Dude's and Dudette's rapt attention as he told them all about his and Zorrina's adventures at school. He said, "Once we got that food situation straightened out and once I taught a few young miscreants that tails are not whips or jump ropes or yo-yo strings, it was an altogether wonderful experience.


My social calendar is quite full for the upcoming weeks with birthday parties and sleepovers and trips to the zoo and picnics. I turned out to be quite popular.


"I even got to do science experiment and demonstration. I showed the children how a young mouse can leap from a great height to avoid being dinner and still survive. I had to convince them that my ears are not like Dumbo's and that I cannot fly. I was going to have one of the children demonstrate, but Ms. Quarkword wouldn't allow it. She said, 'We'll just take your word for it, Zorro.'


I tried to tell them all about you and the owlets and Kyle and Tauntz and Rocky and Horace and Velvet and all adventures we've had and about the steampunk rocket and all the other stuff. The kids loved the stories, but Ms. Quarkword said I needed to learn to tell the difference be fantasy and reality. I'm not sure what she meant by that. I know very well what fantasy is. But anyway, even though I won't be attending school any longer, I've been invited to come back once in a while to share some stories with the children. I think it will be fun. I'm just worried about material. I need a source. Where am I ever going to come up with new stories?"


The End