Wordzzle 68 - Bass notes

This is my contribution to this week's Wordzzle. Wordzzle is a game in which each week word lists, used to create stories, are given on the blog Views from Raven's Nest. Participating users post their stories on their own blogs.

This is the twelfth time I've played the game.


Ten Word Challenge:

sow,
close,
console,
lives,
minute,
polish,
bass,
pussy,
complex,
resume

"I'll be with you in a minute," the sow said. "Just as soon as I polish off this bass they gave me. I don't usually get such treats."

"They gave you a bass?" the pussy cat said, rising up from the old stereo console it had been laying on. "That was my bass! Give it to me!"

The sow looked up. "I will not. And if you even try to get it you're going to lose one or two of your lives. Maybe even three or four." It then lowered its head and resumed eating.

"Well, this is obviously more complex than I thought," the cat said. "If they gave it to you its probably spoiled anyway. I don't want it." And it jumped off the console and walked away, it's nose pointed up and its mouth closed, and a haughty expression on its face.

The sow snorted at it and dug into the bass some more, when all of a sudden something landed on its back. Startled, the sow turned its head around, its mouth half open with the bass still in it. Something on its back moved like a streak and yanked the bass out of its mouth, then leaped off and ran across toward the fence. The sow turned around some more to get a better look and saw that it was the cat. "I thought you said you didn't want it, that it was probably spoiled," the sow yelled.

"I just couldn't make myself leave without checking, you know how curious cats are. Mmmmm, it sure is good, I guess I was wrong after all." And then it and the bass were under the fence and away.


Mini Challenge:

bow,
sewer,
house,
import,
intern

"I have new sewer pipes," the house said. "And new water pipes, and new wiring. I also have new insulation and a new furnace. I even have nice bows across the toilets, with ribbon that says 'Sanitized for your protection.' Everything is perfect."

"That sounds very nice," the man said, "but I don't know if I can afford you. I'm just an intern and not very important. I don't have much money."

"That's okay," said the house, holding out a contract. "I also have the new math. Sign here."


Mega challenge:

sow,
close,
console,
lives,
minute,
polish,
bass,
pussy,
complex,
resume

bow,
sewer,
house,
import,
intern

The sow tiptoed through the meadow, pussy-footing along. As it came close to the house it lowered itself to the ground and slithered along, snakelike. Finally it paused behind a bush, considering what to do. It had thought it might be able to squeeze through the sewer pipes and get in, but even as fully greased as it was it could see that the pipes were too small for it. Even if the pipes were highly polished it couldn't do it. The situation had gotten a lot more complex, but it couldn't give up now. Minutes passed while it considered its options, and tried to think of new ones. This was a matter of great import. Lives depended on it. Well, technically, its life depended on it. Well, technically, its life didn't depend on it, but it was sure the best food was inside, that the humans were holding out on it. Trying to think what to do, it noticed that one of the basement windows looked like it might be open a little. If it could open it all the way it should be able to slip in easily.

Resuming its careful journey, it crept toward the window. Reaching it, it opened it and slowly and carefully began to back its way through it. Halfway through it, because of all the grease, it suddenly slipped all the way through and landed on something, which promptly broke under it, and the sow half-slid, half-rolled across the floor until it hit a low curved wall.

"Ohhh..." it moaned. "If I wasn't so fat I'd have internal injuries for sure."

It slowly got to its feet, which kept trying to slip out from under it, and lifted itself up and peered over the top of the low wall. It contained water. A big pool of water. What was a big pool of water doing in the basement? Then fish heads started raising out of the water. Big ones. The sow stared at them. Bass? The farmer was raising bass in the basement? Suddenly one leaped at the sow and bit its nose, and another bit it on the ear. The sow squealed, its eyes big, and shook its head violently, dislodging them from its slippery skin. More were coming, though. Lots of them.

The sow stumbled back, and promptly slipped and fell on its rear. Looking back at the wall of the tank, it saw bass leaping up and landing on top of the wall, then flopping and wriggling their way over. They were starting to come out of the tank now!

The sow kicked it way backward across the floor, its eyes big and fixed on the bass that were now flopping their way across the floor toward it. Then its back was against something irregular, and it realized it had reached the remains of whatever it had fallen on when it came in. Turning around it tried to scrabble its way up it to the window, but was unable to, it kept slipping off the uneven, slanting surface. Finally, desperately, feeling them nipping at its back legs and rear, it leaped through the window opening with a squishy, slurping sound. Rolling across the grass, it somehow got to its feet and ran in terror. They were attack bass! The farmer had giant attack bass! It would never be able to get in now!

Inside the basement, the farmer got up from his chair in a darkened corner and walked into the light, carrying a clipboard. "Good job, boys! I reckon she won't be back for a while! You can get back in the tank now." Peering at the clipboard, he moved his pen down the list of animals on it, and when he got to the sow he put a check mark next to it. Then he went and got a whisk broom and a dustpan and bowing down, began to sweep up the pieces of the thing the sow had landed on. "I don't know what it is about these stereo consoles," he sighed. "That's the second one this week."