Tizzi Poof and the Case of the Missing Blanket

[Tizzi Poof]

TIZZI POOF AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING BLANKET
by
BARONESS MIRIAM-ZARIYAH H. POTSWORTH-STUCKLEY
Illustrations by
J. EDWARD-ROTSFIELD W. McHIGGENSBY-PLOY​

Page 1: Once upon a time, there was a little weasel named Tizzi. Tizzi was sad about her short tail. It was not long like a rat's. It was not tufted like a stoat's. It could not curl like a wildcat's.

Page 2: And, most importantly, it was not as poofy as a fox's. Tizzi longed to have a poofy tail most of all. "Poof!" she said to her tail, but it would not poof.

Page 3: She asked her ferret friend Ducky how he got his tail poofy. Ducky replied, "When I get scared, my tail poofs up all on its own! We just need to scare you."

Page 4: The problem with this plan, Tizzi decided, was that Tizzi was too brave to be scared. She was not scared of the dark, or scared of badgers, or scared of taxes. She was not even scared of asparagus.

Page 5: "You need a blanket," said Ducky. "That way you can hide under it. If you're hidden under a blanket, then you don't know what's on the other side, and that is the scariest thing of all."

Page 6: That night, Tizzi stared up into the unending void of space which stretched to infinity and was very full of stars for a void, (which did not scare her either), and wondered where her blanket had gone. She couldn't remember the last time she had had her blanket.

Page 7: Maybe, Tizzi thought, she had never had a blanket. Tizzi took her magic wand and gave it a good shake. "Poof!" she said, but before the magic could make a blanket appear, a ten-foot tall beast of blackest night fell down from the unending void of space and snatched it from her with one of its eighteen long probosces, which are like noses that are straws for drinking the blood of brave weasels.

Page 8: Tizzi was not scared of this beast, and kicked it between two of its thirty-seven legs. It fell over with a howl, but dropped Tizzi's wand into the sewer grate! Tizzi dove in after it.

Page 9: The sewers were dark and stinky and full of the grumblings of moles who were forced to dig more sewers for the Ministry of Sewers, because it is well-known that moles love digging. It is less well-known that moles are the cause of the smell of sewers. Tizzi was not scared of moles or their smell.

Page 10: Tizzi chased her wand down the sewers, but it kept floating faster and faster down the sewer river, past the mole houses that lined the large sewer tunnels. None of the moles would help stop it from floating away, they were all too busy digging and grumbling and eating beetroots.

Page 11: Tizzi's wand went over the edge of a waterfall, into a large cavern beneath Bouillabaisse Harbour, where the Prince of Missing Things kept his castle in the middle of the Lake of Woe and Misfortune. Tizzi went over the edge of the waterfall, too. Tizzi was not scared of falling.

Page 12: Tizzi swam the Lake of Woe and Misfortune bravely, heading to the castle, where she knew the Prince was duty bound to help her find her Missing Thing. Along the way, Tizzi accidentally swallowed a bootlace, which caused a little bit of Woe, and accidentally pricked her paw on a very sharp pinecone, which was very Misfortunate.

Page 13: When Tizzi arrived at the castle gates, the Prince welcomed her inside. "Are you missing a bandage?" he asked, and Tizzi shook her head no. Tizzi licked her bleeding paw dry, and the Prince paced back and forth in front of his throne. He had two guesses remaining, and if he did not guess what Tizzi was missing, he would be usurped by his little sister, the Princess of Taking Things From His Toy Chest.

Page 14: "Are you missing your parents?" he asked, and Tizzi shook her head no. Tizzi did not miss them at all, even though they had gone off to fight for the glory of the Imperium when Tizzi was very, very small. Tizzi was not scared of being an orphan.

Page 15: "This is vexing," muttered the Prince of Missing Things. He looked closely at Tizzi. "You must be very brave to come all this way, all alone. I know! You must be missing a blanket. You are here to find your blanket, so you can hide under it and be scared of not knowing what's on the other side." He gave a confident smirk.

Page 16: Tizzi shook her head no, and the Prince gasped as he went Poof. His little sister crawled out from under his bed and opened his toy chest, and took out Tizzi's magic wand. "This is what you are missing," she said, and gave the magic wand back to Tizzi.

Page 17: "You are the hero of the Princess of Taking Things From My Brother's Toy Chest. He has been making my bed time earlier every night and now I have to go to bed before anyone reads me stories. Now that he is Usurped, I can decide the rules of the castle, and I decide that you are my Knight, Tizzi. In addition to your magic wand, you can have anything from the castle that you desire."

Page 18: Tizzi gave this a lot of thought. What did Tizzi desire most? Tizzi had her friend, Ducky. Tizzi had bravery. Tizzi had a magic wand. Tizzi had a little tummy ache from eating twenty-five candied pear slices when the Prince of Missing Things had been busy thinking.

Page 19: Tizzi didn't have a sister, though. Tizzi decided being an only child was better. Sisters would just take things from her toy chest. She didn't have a toy chest either, but Tizzi didn't need one, because Tizzi also didn't have any toys. Tizzi decided to take a toy from the toy chest, and was happy to find that Ducky's missing Whack Bat was there.

Page 20: "A fine choice," said the Princess of Taking Things From Her Brother's Toy Chest. "Now to return you to the World Above, climb into this trebuchet."

Page 21: Tizzi climbed into the trebuchet, and held very tightly to her magic wand. Tizzi then flew up very high, but Tizzi was not scared of flying.

Page 22: POOF! Tizzi flew straight through the sewer grating and landed in the street. "My missing Whack Bat!" cried Ducky, and Tizzi gave it back to him, and Ducky smashed a window with it and ran off with sixty-five Fogeys chasing him. "Thanks, Tizzi!"

Page 23: "Poof!" said Tizzi, waving Ducky on. Tizzi gave her magic wand a good shake as well. "Poof!" And ... POOF!

Page 24: A warm yellow blanket appeared fell all around Tizzi's head, and Tizzi could no longer see the beast of blackest night that had fallen down from the unending void of space. It was very scary not to know where the beast was, and Tizzi's tail went POOF!

Page 25: And that is how Tizzi got her blanket and her Poof.