Category Archives: From the Mind of Muggington

Landing

From the Mind of Muggington

The spacecraft leaves the mother ship. It descends to the surface at a steady rate. Every thirty seconds small jets fire. It wobbles as it makes the final approach.

On the surface of the comet many sensory organs watch with anticipation. They see the shiny object hover and then gently come to rest. They begin to slither towards the object. Their bodies are gray and perfectly match the color of the surface. They notice the camera lenses and they are careful to stay out of their line of sight.

They crawl over the object. It is made of shiny polished metal. Soon the spacecraft is covered in writhing shapes. Finally one decides to show itself.  It stretches over the top of a camera and then looks directly into the lens.

…

In the control center all eyes are on the monitors. They are waiting for the first images from the lander. Only five more minutes and they will know if the landing was successful. The silence in the room is excruciating. The smell of stale coffee fills the air.

A crackle of static comes over the speakers. Everyone stares are the screens. There is a sudden intake of breath as the first images appear.

An odd face is staring out of the monitors. One giant eye sits above a small horizontal slit.  It is eerie. It appears to know that is is being watched. The head starts to pound on the lens and the camera vibrates with each blow. Now the same thing starts happening at the other cameras.

Sensors detect severe vibrations are rocking the lander. The scientists gasp and  begin talking at once. Some want to fire the engines while others say no it would be too late. All agree that the unthinkable has happened.

We are not alone.

Lively leaves

From the Mind of Muggington

I wish you could be here in my leaf. It is so cool. Bright light and rainbow colors fill the space. I float in the cytoplasm and watch with wonder. Organelles drift by and molecules race to their destinations.

The best thing is that we are all working for one goal. Survival. We cheer when we turn orange and dry out. When we float down to the ground everyone goes nuts.

Being a leaf is a good thing to be.

Witless Witches

From the Mind of Muggington

I threw in a toad and stirred the pot. “That smells so good,” I said. The tall thin witch sniffed the air above the boiling liquid. “Smells like dog crap to me,” she said. “Maybe that giant wart on your lip is blocking the aroma from reaching your hairy nostrils,” I said.

The thin witch screeched. “I curse you for all eternity,” she said.

“Blah, Blah blah,” I said.

The Grumbling Ghosts (Version 2)

From the Mind of Muggington

They got married last year. For six months they searched online and in-person. Finally they hired a real estate agent.

…

“I know you like this house but I’m reluctant to sell it to you,” the owner said. “Why” the wife said. “We can give you a larger deposit. You know that the bank approved our mortgage.” The owner nodded. “There’s a problem. Unless I can solve it I’m sorry, I won’t be able to sell you the house.” The wife hung her head. The husband spoke up, “We’ll do anything you want. We can even up the price.”

The owner shook his head. “They don’t like you,” the owner said. “What?” both husband and wife exclaimed. “Who are you talking about, the neighbors?” the husband said. “No, it’s not them. Even though the woman next door acts like a witch she’s not the one who complained.” “Who is it?” the wife said. “You’re going to laugh if I tell you,” the owner said.

“Come on, we’re serious about this house,” the wife said. “Alright, I warned you. The ghosts don’t like you,” the owner said. The husband laughed. “We don’t believe in ghosts,” the husband said. His wife looked uneasy.

“Each time you visit I hear them after you leave. They grumble,” the owner said. “It must be something else,” the husband said. “Maybe you hear someone’s television or radio,” the husband said. “No it’s them, I recognize their voices. They don’t like you,” the owner said. The husband and wife looked at each other in bewilderment. They really wanted this house so they were not ready to give up.

“Why not let us spend the night?” the husband said. “That way the ghosts can get to know us.” He nudged his wife. “Yes, I think that is a great idea,” the wife said. “I can cook dinner for us.” The owner shifted from foot to foot. ‘I don’t know,” he said. “Alright, just one night.”

“You’ll see,” the wife said. “I bet you’ll never hear from the ghosts again.” Back at their apartment the husband decided to search through a news archive for articles about the little village where their dream house was located. He put the name in the search box and clicked.

“Honey, come look at this,” the husband said. The wife looked at the screen and froze. The face on the screen was of the owner they just spoke to.  According to the article he died 75 years ago. It seems he lived with his aging parents who according to the article were quite grouchy. Their son had died in a freak accident and according to the article the house had never been lived in again.

“I think we should keep looking,” the wife said. “I agree,” the husband said.

Sagacious Skeletons

From the Mind of Muggington

We’ve been here a long time, resting underground. You might be surprised to know that we have a very active social life. We soak up the culture and history as the ages pass. It’s quite nice for those of an intellectual bent.

Every once in a while we are called upon and that’s where the Sagacious Skeletons come into play. When people start to forget all they have to do is visit us. We remind them of the mistakes and the victories. We will always be here.

You can’t but help absorb knowledge with all the time we have. We are your lesson. Take a look and ponder how and why we got here. The Sagacious Skeletons are life’s lesson to you.

If you liked this story you might want to download the Sagacious Skeletons FREE Android game app.

For more FREE Halloween Android game apps click here.

Gabby Goblins

From the Mind of Muggington

I admit it. We are ugly. We aren’t going to win any beauty contests. Some people say we are scary but I don’t know why. We just want to get lots of candy and get scared like everyone else on Halloween night.

Last year Halloween was the best ever. No one will ever forget the Gabby Goblins.

…

“This is the best Halloween ever,” Gerald said. “I know. The costumes are great. I think the girl in the black garbage bag is the best. She is the perfect raisin,” Gary said. “I do feel bad about those kids from the East side. They don’t get any candy at all,” Gerald said. “You know what we have to do,” Gary said. “Yup,” Gerald said.

All the goblins crawled and hopped down to the supermarket. They sneaked in through a back door and went to the candy aisle. Then they started to gab. They shouted, cajoled, laughed, giggled and screamed. The security guard turned pale and then he sprinted out the door. The goblins piled bags of candy into shopping carts.

The Gabby Goblins pushed those shopping carts all the way across town to the East end. One by one the children came up to the Gabby Goblins and they got their candy.

Those Gabby Goblins are good guys and gals.

If you liked this story you might want to download the Gabby Goblins FREE Android game app.

For more FREE Halloween Android game apps click here.

The Black Cat Bonanza

From the Mind of Muggington

Everyone believed that black cats brought bad luck. That was before the Black Cat Bonanza occurred.

…

Black cats have a bad rap. All I’m are trying to do is to find some food. I’m careful to avoid the big guy in the red house. Every time he sees me he picks up a stone and flings it at me along with a curse.

He changed his tune after the Black Cat Bonanza. It was the talk of the village. Nobody believed that cats could do it but they were wrong.

For a long time the small Mom and Pop businesses went out of business on Main St. Only big banks and junk food restaurants could pay the exorbitant leases. We cats liked those small businesses. The guy in the pizza place left us bowls of milk and uneaten pizza. The lady in the bakery left us bread and cake. They were good people.

On the other hand the bankers gave us nothing. The red-faced loan officer kicked me several times when I got out of the way too slowly. Us cats decided we weren’t going to take it any more.

One thing that cats do well is to hunt mice and rats. So what did we do? We went on strike. At first no one noticed. When the rats started to dance in the bank tellers’ windows the crap hit the fan.

Needless to say, the Mom and Pop businesses returned and we went back to work. We got rid of the rats and mice and our bowls of milk started appearing again.

The people in the town called it the Black Cat Bonanza.

It’s nice to be appreciated.

If you liked this story you might want to download the Black Cat Bonanza FREE Android game app.

For more FREE Halloween Android game apps click here.

Grumbling Ghosts (Version 1)

From the Mind of Muggington

They were fed up.

…

“I am sick and tired of this. Ooh, ghosts are scary. Ghosts are spooky. Ghosts are bad,” Garrett Ghost said. “I agree,” Ginny Ghost said. “What do they expect from us? We can’t help being invisible.” “I think the thing that bugs me the most is our portrayal in the media,” Garrett Ghost said as he floated over the floor of the haunted house. “If only I could get my hands on the guy who made ‘Ghostbusters’. I’d like to see him walk in our shoes for even a day.”

“Here they come,” Ginny Ghost said in a resigned voice. “Whee! Oh boy, a haunted house,” a young boy said. “Hah, look at those fake ghosts,” a little girl said. She pointed at Garrett and Ginny. “That one is really funny looking,” she sneered as she pointed at Garrett. Ginny Ghost stifled a laugh. “Let’s go to the next room, the ghosts are boring,” the little boy.

“As I said, what is the world coming to? No one appreciates a good ghost any more,” Garrett Ghost said. “There, there dear,” Ginny Ghost said.

If you liked this story you might want to download the Grumbling Ghosts FREE Android game app.

For more FREE Halloween Android game apps click here.

Tyranny of Toads

From the Mind of Muggington, Halloween, Holidays,

It happened in the night. They swarmed the city. Electrical power and phone lines got knocked out. Even cell phones did not work.

Those who could barricaded themselves in their apartments and houses. Most of them made the fatal mistake of not blocking the drains and the toilet.

They were everywhere. They swaggered down Broadway in full daylight. Every so often they would loot a store or cafe, croaking evilly as they made off with their prizes.

They thought they had conquered but they made one fatal mistake. It was in their genes.

They were poikilotherms.

…

Days, weeks and months passed under the tyranny of toads. Humans became furtive beings, darting in and out of the shadows. Gangs of toad ruffians roamed the streets preying on unfortunate souls.

The evil toads never realized what was happening but some humans began to smile. They knew what was coming. It happened on October 22nd when the first frost came. Toad bullies lay on the streets. Toads everywhere fell into stupors and slumbers.

The humans organized themselves into teams.  They went from door to door and collected toads and carted them away in their wheelbarrows. They loaded the toads onto trains, planes and ships and sent them far, far away where they could never be a problem again.

The toad tyranny ended that Winter.

If you liked this story you may want to download and play the free Android app game Tyranny of Toads.