“Catch!” called Roy Kingsberry, throwing a ping-pong ball to his wife, Katt.
“Gotcha!” she cried, catching it in her left paw.
The Kingsberry Lions ran the Walk-in Health Clinic in Honeysuckle Hollow. They were very good dentists and made sure all their neighbors had healthy teeth, thanks to regular checkups and plenty of flossing.
The clinic was usually quite busy in the evenings but for some reason, this was a quiet one. Where was everyone?
“Can we help?” asked Kya, their daughter.
“We have lots of free time!” chimed her brother, Kip.
“Sorry, kids,” laughed Roy. “With no patients, there’s simply nothing to do!”
“How about we redecorate the office?” suggested Katt. “These walls look a little dull with all the white charts and medical posters.”
“I collected some leaves on my nature walk last week, and they had such pretty colors!” said Kya. “We could do a fall theme?”
“Great idea, dear,” answered Roy. “I’ll get some paint and we can do some stencils on the walls!”
He returned a few moments later with the perfect fall colors: red, yellow, and orange.
And with that, the Kingsberry Family got to work, picking up some tiny paintbrushes and choosing their own section on the walls. Roy and Katt painted some orange and yellow oak leaves, while Kip and Kya made a mini masterpiece with a red maple leaf design.
After a few hours, they stood back and looked at their wall – it looked amazing with all the beautiful colors and patterns.
“I don’t know why we never did this before!” exclaimed Kya. “It looks marvelous!”
Kip peered out the window. “Hey, it’s dark outside!” he said.
Roy looked at the clock on the wall. “But it’s only 5pm! Why is it already dark?” He then looked at his watch. It read 9pm!
“Oh dear,” he laughed. “I think the clock has stopped!” The Kingsberry Family were having so much fun, they hadn’t even thought to check the time!
Katt started giggling as she realized their mistake. “We weren’t quiet – we were just meant to be closed!” she squealed. The whole family erupted in fits of laughter.
“Well, time may have stood still but at least we got a beautiful mural out of it!” smiled Roy.
They all chuckled again as they grabbed their jackets and locked up the clinic for the night. It was a short walk home and they would all head straight to bed so they could return bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next morning.
With a brand-new clock!
Tune in next week to meet the Nibblekin Mouse Family!