The Negg Hunt That Nearly Wasn’t

     Zoe stood in line at the Neggery awaiting her turn. When did Kari start filling orders alphabetically? Zoe was the most impatient of Ixis and being last was more than she could stand. She reviewed her list again. She needed so many Neggs for the Negg hunt and the donations the last few weeks were pretty low. Hopefully there were enough Negg tokens banked so she could get a few of the highly sought after Neggs as well. Cool Neggs were out of the question, along with Super Neggs and Spiked Neggs. But, perhaps a SNegg or Silver Knight Negg along with some of the more common Neggs would be a good option.

     Letting out a sigh, she began thinking of how she became chairpet of the Negg Hunt Committee. It was Angela’s fault. Zoe’s mother always warned her about sneaky Xweetoks. Building up the pleasure of the hunt, talking about the prestige and glory of being in charge and the clincher, all the lovely Neggs that collectors would be clamoring over for their galleries.

     Only the collectors didn’t want the Neggs from the Neggery. They had those. No, she had to go to the marketplace and haggle, push, shove, and even fight for Jelly Neggs and Easter Neggs. But she didn’t get any! So here she was at the Neggery, desperate for dozens of Neggs.

     The line moved slowly but finally she was at the front. "Oh my! This is a huge order!" exclaimed Zaira, an apprentice to Kari. "I'm not sure we can fill it. You know the Negg Festival is coming up soon and we'll need loads of Neggs for it."

     We're having a Negg hunt soon! I need Neggs!" cried Zoe. "I'll see what I can do." promised Zaira and she went into the storeroom. She returned with a basket filled with seven Neggs. A Happy Negg, three Pumpkin Neggs, two Wicked Neggs, and Grarrl Keno Negg. The Grarrl Keno Negg isn't one of ours but I took it just once from a grumpy old Yurble. I do wish that Get Off My Lawn paintbrush was restricted to happy pets." grimaced Zaira. "That will be 60 tokens. I'll just take that off your account. Have a nice day!"

     Zoe left feeling rather frantic. A bubble of hysteria was making its way to the surface and she was beginning to panic. What was she going to do? Think, Zoe, think! Leaving the Neggery she headed up to the Shop of Mystery at the top of the mountain. Didn't Tarla give out Rock Neggs? Maybe she had a few left over. Knocking hard, she waited impatiently but there was no answer. Tarla was away!

     Suddenly an idea occurred to her. She would go and see Granny Hopbobbin! So many people donated Gold Gem Neggs during the Charity Corner last year! Running as fast as she could she headed over to see if Granny could help.

     Looking through the window, she spied Granny Hopbobbin preparing for the upcoming Charity Corner event. Running to another window she saw a few leftovers from last year. There were quite a few books and some spoiled food off to one corner. What were people thinking donating all that gross food. The smell was awful even from this distance. Walking over to another window her eyes widened as she looked inside. On the table beneath the ceiling fan was piles of Gold Gem Neggs, Cookie Neggs, even Negg Noodle Soup!

     The temptation to climb through the window and take them was strong but that would be wrong and she would never forgive herself. The guilt from just thinking about it made her feel small. Fingers crossed, she headed to the front door and knocked. (by Nikki) Zoe waited as Granny Hopbobbin slowly made her way to the door, opened it and greeted her. Zoe quickly asked if it would be possible to have some of the Neggs. Granny Hopbobbin questioned her as to why she wanted them. Zoe explained it was for a Negg hunt. Granny Hopbobbin agreed to give her two dozen. Well that helps but she still needs many many more! She took the Neggs to her mothers and asked for advice. Where, oh where, would there be more Neggs stored? Her mother told her suspicions of the Xweetoks and the Meercas, possibly with the owners of the Negg Cave hoarding Neggs. They needed lots of Neggs for their games. So, Zoe set out to investigate with a stern warning and concern from her mother.

     As she walked along the path Zoe felt helpless. She didn't know where to start to investigate. She needed a plan, but her mind was blank. Feeling overwhelmed, Zoe slumped at the base of an apple tree in despair. When suddenly she heard a voice ask "Hullo, Are quite alright dearie?" Looking up to see who it was. "Topsi, Oh Topsi I haven't seen you in such a long time! What are you doing here?" She gasped. "Well I am off to see Granny Hopbobbin to see if she has any spare Neggs, you see we are having a bit of a shortage at the moment and no one can understand why. Everyone is perfectly frantic! Even my stash is gone" He stammered in panic.

     Oh no, I am ever so sorry Topsi, I think I got the last dozen she could spare" said Zoe. "Righto, not to worry! That leaves me in a bit of a pickle I am afraid." Topsi murmured. Then Zoe remembered about what her Mother said about her suspicions of the Xweetoks and the Meercas and explained it all to Topsi. Topsi stood listening intently to Zoe then he said " I think your Mother is right, this explains everything. Come on let's go and sort these greedy pets out!" Zoe sighed with relief delighted to have found someone to help her.

     So off they went, Topsi and Zoe, in search of these possible Negg hoarders. They decided to start with the Meercas and quickly found the entrance to Meerca Chase in Neopia Central. There were Meercas everywhere, chasing around through one maze after another, and collecting Neggs…. So many Neggs… Yellow, Green, Blue, Silver, Gold, Rainbow, Power and FISH! Their eyes were as big as saucers and they saw red Neggs everywhere, but they seemed to have been put under an evil spell of some kind. Topsi and Zoe knew they were onto something, but they suspected they needed to find where the "stash" was before anyone saw them. They tip-toed around to the back of this strange maze and gasped as they saw where all these Neggs were coming from; piles and piles of Neggs!

     At the center of the large pile, stood Angela. She gasped when she caught sight of Zoe. "But, I thought you were in line at Kari's?" stammered Angela. Zoe's eyes narrowed "I was" she confirmed. "And it's a long story how I got here, but here I am. Care to explain?" "Um, sure" hedged Angela "let me just get out of the middle of this Negg pile" she said as she wiggled around a smaller pile that held at least a few dozen Neggs. As Angela rounded the last pile, she made a break for it. Angela was fast, but Topsi was faster. "Oh no you don't, young lady!" yelled Topsi. Topsi tackled her from behind and demanded "Okay, spill it! What's going on here?"

     Angela knew she had been caught. As she stood up, she brushed herself off, looked at Topsi and then at Zoe and said "Ok, you caught me". "But....but....why? Why would you do this, Angela"? Zoe exclaimed. Looking down and scuffing her feet on the ground Angela quietly said" Well, I...I always wanted to be the chairpet of the Negg committee. I thought if I sabotaged you, then I could come in at the last minute, save the day, and they would realize I was the better pet for the job".

     Oh Angela", said Zoe. "I never knew it meant that much to you"! "I'm sorry Zoe. I truly am. I just didn't know what else to do" said Angela sincerely. Topsi looked around at all of the piles of Neggs and declared "Well, you surely do have enough Neggs for a hugely successful Negg hunt"! Zoe walked over and stood in front of Angela. Putting her paws on her shoulders she said, " How about we are co-chairpets this year"? Angela looked up, eyes wide and with excitement said "Really? You mean it"?!

     Yes"! smiled Zoe. "I do mean it. Even though I don't approve of what you did, I can tell you are really passionate about the Negg hunt and it means a lot to you. You sure did collect a lot of Neggs. You worked really hard!" "Oh Zoe! This means so much to me. Thank you!" cried Angela. Topsi interjected "OK, now that we have THAT settled...how about we get to sorting through all of these piles and piles of Neggs, so they are ready for me to hide"! "Let's do it" said Zoe and Angela in unison So off they went, sorting and stacking, until everything was prepared and ready for the big day. Easter morning came, and the hunt was a great success...in fact, some say it was the best Negg hunt ever! The End.

     Collaboration by:

     Karlie (karlynne1964)

     Dani (danielle13707)

     Pamela (cautiousapproach)

     Sue (grame5)

     Vicky (vickysavage)

     Kat (astrakat)

     Luna (hakolinsky)

     Vida (vidav)

     The End.