Inky Gets the Mail

Every day Inky sat in her tree on Julep Street and watched the curious things that the people and the dogs did. She was fascinated by the strange routines they seemed to be in. Every day, Sam would drive down Julep Street in his white mail truck. Every day he would drive up to each of the mail boxes, open the box, and put something in it. Every day, when he approached Kerry's cow mail box, Freckles, the dog, would bark and bark. Sam would put something in the box, Freckles would bark and bark, and Sam would drive on. Freckles would then be pleased, because, once again, he had driven the intruder away. Every day, Kerry would go to the mail box and take out what Sam had put in. Every day, Freckles would know that Kerry didn't want that stuff to be in the box. So, the next day, when Sam drove up in his white mail truck, Freckles would bark and bark and drive him away again. Every day, Inky watched this routine. Inky didn't know what it meant, and she didn't really care. Inky just liked to watch people and dogs. Inky noticed that this didn't just happen at Kerry's house. All up and down Julep Street, at every house, Sam would stop and put things in the mail box. If there was a dog, the dog would bark and bark. Sam would drive away. A person would take something out of the box. Bowser barked and chased Sam away. Fido barked and chased Sam away. Nenana barked and chased Sam away. They all barked and chased Sam away from the mail boxes. And yet, every day he came back. It fascinated Inky, that he would come back. It was like a dance they all did, it never ended, it never changed.

Then, one day, something did change. Because Sam really liked dogs, and because he didn't want them to dislike him, he decided to do something about it. Sam decided that if he put dog biscuits in the mail boxes (of the houses with dogs) the dog biscuits would smell like him, and the dogs would eat them, and then the dogs would like Sam because he brought the dog biscuits and they wouldn't bark and bark any longer. So, that is what Sam did. At Bowser's house, he left a dog biscuit. At Fido's house, he left a dog biscuit. At Nenana's house, he left a dog biscuit. And at Freckles's house, he left a dog biscuit.

Inky looked at this and Inky smelled the dog biscuits, because ravens can smell food a mile away.Yum, those dog biscuits smelled good. Inky knew about dog biscuits, but usually she had to sneak them away from the dogs, and sometimes the dogs chased her. Of course, if Bowser or Freckles chased her, Inky just flew into a tree and they couldn't catch her, but still it was work. So, Inky was really interested in the dog biscuits in the mail boxes. She flew down to Kerry's mail box, and she used her strong beak, and she opened the mail box. She used her strong beak to reach into the box and pull out the dog biscuit. Of course, when she did this, the letters and magazines came out, too. They fell on the ground, right in a puddle of rain, and made a mess. Inky didn't even notice, she was up in her tree eating the dog biscuit. Some of Inky's friends saw what she did, and they began opening mail boxes, getting dog biscuits, and scattering mail as well. All up and down Julep Street, the mail was strewn in the road and in the puddles. When Kerry came out to get the mail, it was all in that puddle. Kerry had no idea who opened the mail box and scattered the mail. She was distressed.

The next day, Sam put dog biscuits in the mail boxes for Bowser and Fido and Nenana and Freckles. The next day Inky and her friends stole the dog biscuits and scattered the mail. The next day Kerry and all of the people found their mail on the road and in the puddles again. By now, the people were all very puzzled. Who could be throwing their mail around? Why were they doing it?

And so, the next day Kerry watched carefully when Sam drove down Julep Street. She saw him put her mail in the box. Then she saw Inky fly down, open the box, scatter the mail, and fly away with something in her beak. Kerry wondered what Inky had flown away with? The day after that, Kerry waited by the mail box and when Sam came she asked what he was putting in the mail box. "A dog biscuit for Freckles," he answered. "Oh, my," said Kerry, "you must stop. See how the ravens are flying down to the boxes behind you and scattering the mail to get at the dog biscuits?" "Oh, I am so sorry," said Sam, "I didn't even think about ravens. I will stop." And so he did. Sam never put another dog biscuit in the mail boxes, and the dogs never learned to like him. But, Inky and the ravens knew that it had happened once, and so to this day they still open the mail boxes and scatter the mail looking for dog biscuits. It drives Kerry crazy. She says, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to explain to someone in Kansas that the reason you didn't pay the bill is you didn't get it because a raven stole it?"