A Bushel Of Frooties

The small mock-strawberry Arborling looked around. There were frooties everywhere, happily munching on Dahlia’s crops. “Shoo!” they exclaimed, trying to scare the frooties away from the crops. The frooties however, were unphased, and paid the Arborling no mind as they continued munching away. Mock-Strawberry sighed. So much for that plan, they thought to themselves. 

Maybe they could lure the frooties away using a tasty treat, they sure seemed to love the fresh fruits and veggies that were growing in Dahlia’s garden, so maybe they’d like them even more if they were cooked. Mock-Strawberry turned around and ran towards their home, they knew just the food to make to distract the frooties.

Once they got home, they headed straight for their garden and picked the biggest and tastiest-looking fruits and veggies. The frooties were going to love this. Once in the kitchen, Mock-Strawberry found the biggest pan they had and began mixing the ingredients. Carrots probably didn’t belong in a pie, but Mock-Strawberry added them anyway. They didn’t think the frooties would be too picky, and if they were, they could just eat around the carrots.

After a few hours, the pie was finally done. It was a little burnt on the edges, but it was made with love, and Mock-Strawberry hoped that would be enough to win over the frooties. They gently placed the pie in a wagon, and set off towards Dahlia’s farm.

After a brisk walk, Mock-Strawberry arrived at Dahlia’s farm. The nearby frooties looked up from the crops they were munching on and began sniffing the air. Mock-Strawberry smiled, it seemed the frooties were interested in the pie! A small scruffy frootie slowly inched its way towards the pie, as if it was trying to be sneaky. Mock-Strawberry tried their best to hold in their laughter, as they didn't want to scare the little frootie. 

Once the frootie reached the pie, they timedly placed their paws on the edge of the wagon and closed their eyes as they deeply inhaled the smell of the pie. The frootie licked its lips and dove in. Quite literally. This time, Mock-Strawberry was unable to contain their laughter, the sight of the frootie diving headfirst into the pie was just too funny! 

A few seconds later, the scruffy frootie lifted its head from the pie. It licked some of the pie off its face as it let out a happy noise, and then stuck its face back in the pie to continue eating. At the sound of the scruffy frootie’s chirp, the other frooties in the field quickly came bounding over to get a taste of the pie. Mock-Strawberry stepped back as hoards of frooties surrounded the wagon and the pie and began eating. 

One by one, the frooties got full and started heading back to their homes, and away from Dahlia’s crops. They were too full to eat any more of Dahlia’s crops. Slowly but surely, the frooties dispersed, until only the small scruffy frootie remained. It was now sitting in the pie pan and licking up the remaining crumbs. “Go on, go home little frootie.” Mock-Strawberry said, giving the frootie a gentle nudge to send it on its way. The frootie chirped again, and then it jumped up and licked Mock-Strawberry’s face before curling up in the now empty pie pan and taking a nap. “Alright then,” Mock-Strawberry said, “you can come home with me.”

Mock-Strawberry slowly walked back home, being extra careful to avoid any bumps in the path so they wouldn’t wake the sleeping frootie. When they got home, they gently lifted the sleeping frootie and carried it inside. The frootie still had pie all over its face, so Mock-Strawberry got a towel wet with some warm water and tried their best to gently wipe the pie out of the frootie’s soft fur. The frootie made a purring noise, and snuggled up to the towel. Once Mock-Strawberry had managed to get most of the pie out of the frootie’s fur, they dried off the frootie’s face and grabbed a soft blanket. Mock-Strawberry placed the folded up blanket on the couch, and then set the sleeping frootie down on top of it. They then took another blanket, and covered the frootie with it.

Mock-Strawberry sat down on the couch next to the frootie, and absentmindedly began stroking its fur as they dozed off. When Mock-Strawberry woke up a few hours later, they discovered that the frootie had gotten off the blanket and was instead curled up on their lap, still sound asleep. Mock-Strawberry smiled, maybe a new friend was just what they needed.