Extermination of the Mistletoe: Part 1: A problem revealed

Note: No offense to anyone is intended in this story or its sequels.

Would it surprise you that one classic decoration is poisonous? Actually, everyone here now knows that mistletoe is poisonous, through one of the worst scrapes Critter Guard ever got into. It was about a week before Christmas when the story started. The day was very foggy, but beyond that, surprisingly warm. I was in the flower shop, picking up a bouquet for my mother to sketch. I was just about to get going back home when 5 babies rushed in.

"I found her!" Beth called.

"You have to help" shouted Luke.

"It's coming into everything!" Alfie added.

"Call Critter guard!" Henry exclaimed.

"Above us too!" screamed Yana.

"What?" I asked.

With one accord, the babies cried "Mistletoe!"

Apparently they had decided to blame Packbat for putting up all of the mistletoe in town. Much as I disliked it, I did think it was normal and the babies were overreacting.

The odd thing was that later in the day, during recess, more babies ran up to me, declaring that "There is mistletoe at the nursery!"

I did not know what to make of it. Was it Buster Slydale playing a prank? Some mistake in decorating? Or were the babies right, unlikely though it was?

I would find out soon enough, because that very evening, Dominic knocked at our door, out of breath from running up the hill that led to our house, with the news that he had seen Packbat putting mistletoe up, as he and Sarah drove Sky Ride Adventure.

It was Packbat. Packbat was putting up the mistletoe.

This did call for the Critter Guard meeting I had put off. So, in 15 minutes, we were together at the treehouse.

About halfway through our meeting we heard somecritter call "Can I come up? I heard about your problem and I think I can help you." It was Phillp Wilder.

We let him come up, because we needed help with our mission. Packbat was putting up mistletoe in the hopes that he could make the babies (and some of us) side with him. Even if we could take down the mistletoe, tensions would still be high and the babies would likely join him. In the end, we felt that we must investigate where Packbat got his mistletoe from, before trying anything else. We might as well find where he got it and cut him off.

The next day, which was again not cold, though with even thicker fog, the first of several disasters stuck. As Shane and Sabrina got on the School Bus the next day, they looked sad.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Our mother will not let us go on the mission: She says it is not a problem."

Critter Guard was up one, down two, and we were stuck between three sides.

To be continued...