I hope you all enjoyed A Change in Freezeville! Here’s a story in honor of Pesach (Passover). Enjoy!

“The Cookie Monster”

Mrs. Tomatokugel  whirled around and looked at Rikki in surprise.

“Rikki, why are you up so late? It’s past 12:00 already!”

Rikki thought hard. She couldn’t tell Mommy the real reason she had come downstairs in middle of the night.  She would have to make something up. Her dark brown eyes glanced furtively around the kitchen. As her eyes settled on an empty orange juice container, an idea flashed through her mind.

“I’m thirsty, Mommy. I woke up, and I couldn’t sleep again, so I came down for a drink.”

Her mother sighed and took a plastic cup from the cabinet.

“Okay, Rikki, but one drink and then STRAIGHT to bed! You hear me?”

Rikki nodded.

The next night….

Rikki peeked at the bright pink clock on her night table. The big, red letters said 1:42. Perfect. Mommy should be sleeping by now. Rikki pulled back her warm blanket and gently slid onto the cold, wooden floor. She squinted in the dark, and walked quietly to her bedroom door. Easing it open, she tiptoed down the hallway, then down the carpeted stairs. Eyeing her older sister Gila’s crocs, she slipped into them. She squeaked a few more steps, then changed her mind.

‘Too squeaky. Mommy might wake up.” She thought, returning them to their place.

Rikki gingerly stepped into the kitchen. She turned on the light, and reached for her special stool. Bringing it close to the counter, Rikki stuck her hand inside the large, glass cookie jar. Pulling out a few cookies, she plopped them in a ziploc bag and zipped it tight.

“All done!” She smiled to herself.

She crept back to her room. Then she stuffed her treasures under her mattress and got back into bed.

The next morning, when Mr. Tomatokugel went downstairs, he noticed that the kitchen light was on.

” That’s strange,” he thought.

When Mrs. Tomatokugel came down, she noticed it too, and was bewildered.

“I’m sure I closed it when I went upstairs last night,” she said to Mr. Tomatokugel as she sipped a steaming cup of coffee.

Rikki was sitting nearby, eating a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. She knew that if someone found out what she had done, she would be in big trouble.  She decided to be extra careful, even though she was sure her parents would not suspect their little 4 year old princess.

But Mrs. Tomatokugel was a smart woman. “I think it’s something to do with Rikki,” she mused. “After all, she did come down two nights ago for a drink. Perhaps she came down for a drink again. Or for some other reason.”

She decided to keep quiet and not ask any questions. “She’ll just guard her secret more carefully if she knows we’re onto something,” she reasoned. “She’s a smart cookie, that girl.”

Mrs. Tomatokugel barely had time to do any detective work. Pesach was just around the corner, and she was working feverishly to prepare for it. Dusting, mopping, sweeping and cooking was all she had time for these days. Gila and Bentzi would help her out, but there was still so much to be done. But one night, as she served spaghetti and meatballs to her hungry brood, she realized that she didn’t need to do any detective work at all.

“I wish we could have pasta on Pesach!” Dovi groaned. “All we eat is fruits, vegetables and matzah!”

“Dovi, don’t complain like that. We have plenty of food on Pesach,” Mr. Tomatokugel scolded. “Cheese, yogurt, pesachdik (kosher for Passover) cakes and brownies, chicken and brisket, fish and soup. And don’t forget, chocolate! There’s plenty to eat.”

Rikki looked up from her plate, a smudge of ketchup dribbling down her chin. “But I still wish we could have Mommy’s chocolate chip cookies,” she said dreamily.  A small smile appeared on her face, and her brown eyes twinkled.

Then it clicked. Mrs. Tomatokugel realized at once what Rikki had been doing in the kitchen. She smiled to herself as she poured Rena a cup of orange juice and wiped ketchup off Bassie’s face.

The next day, when all the children were at school, Mrs. Tomatokugel went upstairs and slipped into Rikki’s room. She looked through the drawers in the big wooden dresser, but found nothing. She sorted through the shelves, checked all the pockets, and looked under the beds. But she didn’t find anything.

“Maybe I got it all wrong,” she sighed. “Maybe Rikki is just an innocent little 4 year old, and I really forgot to close the light when I finished in the kitchen.”

Since she was already cleaning, she decided to check out Dovi’s room. She picked up stray pieces of a Lego set and tossed them into a big container. She cleaned out the shelves and the drawers and swept a little under his bed. After that, she plopped onto Dovi’s bed to rest her tired limbs for a minute. But when she sat down, she noticed a lump on the bed. Curiously, Mrs. Tomatokugel pulled back the blanket and ran her hand across the light blue sheet. But there was nothing on the sheet. Mystified, she picked up the mattress and discovered Dovi’s little hiding spot. A bag of marbles, a yo-yo, 2 chocolate wrappers, a spring, and a broken watch stared up at her. With a little laugh, threw the wrappers in the garbage can and replaced the mattress.

Then she had an idea. Quick as lightning, she sped down the narrow hallway to Rikki’s room. She gently picked up the mattress, and found a bag of slightly crushed chocolate chip cookies. With a grin, Mrs. Tomatokugel went downstairs and put the cookies back in the jar.

Pesach arrived, and not a single crumb of chometz was to be found at 327 Sunny Lane. The seder (meal) passed smoothly, and the children happily gave over the many dv’ar Torah’s they had learnt in school. The seder lasted for a long time, and when the last guests had gone, it was already 3 o’clock in the morning. As soon as Mrs. Tomatokugel had tucked her in and silently left the room, Rikki crawled out of bed and pushed her mattress up with all her strength. She slid her hand underneath, and reached for  a cookie, when she realized that there was nothing there.

“Someone  found out!” she gasped. She had known that chometz would be chased right out of the house for Pesach, and decided that her mother’s cookies were to good to pass up. So she had kept a couple under her bed for those Pesach nights, when she would be craving one of Mrs. Tomatokugel’s famous chocolate chip cookies. But alas, her plan had failed. There were no more cookies under her bed!

To be continued….. by you! 

In the comments below, write up an ending to this story. Try to think of something original, something creative. The best one will be in my next post!

Can’t wait to see what you’ve got!!

Tehila