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Flush green leaves rustled in the gentle mid-summer breeze as they soaked up the rays beaming down upon them from the golden orb shining in the sky above. Beneath the trees on a dirt trail, three cubs were riding their bikes. A fox, a German Shepherd and a raccoon. The fox was wearing a red and black t-shirt and navy sweatpants with red and white stripes down the legs, he was riding a big blue bike. The German Shepherd was wearing a green t-shirt and black and grey shorts, he was riding a smaller black bike. The raccoon was riding in front, wearing a blue t-shirt and orange, white and blue flame shorts, he was riding a small red bike with black training wheels. "C'mon, guys!" called the young raccoon, who's name was Timothy. "We're coming!" called his fox friend, Friendly. After just a moment, Timothy's friends, Friendly the fox and Jake the German Shepherd caught up to him on their bikes. "Wow..." Jake panted, "I never thought I'd see the day when you could outrun us, Timothy." "Well it's a smooth path;" Timothy admitted, "Not many things for my training wheels to snag on." "Speaking of which," said Friendly, "I'm really proud that you've moved them up higher. I have to admit I wasn't sure if you could find the courage to do that." "As long as I don't stop trying," said Timothy, "I'll get it right someday." "Atta boy, Timothy!" said Jake, "Say; wanna take the path into the woods?" "Sure!" Friendly and Timothy both answered. And with that, they all rode their bikes towards the path that would lead into the patch of woods and back to the park. As they rode down the path, they all reflected on what a great day it was. The sun was shining in the sky; a great relief after the massive rainstorm just the day before. Today was indeed a perfect day for the three boys to ride their bikes in the park. As the three of them rode through the nice cool shade that the trees provided, Jake spoke again; "I wonder what the future might hold for us..." he said thoughtfully. "That's a very interesting question," said Friendly, "But I haven't really given it much thought." "Well," said Jake, "I wanna be some kind of hero! A firefighter... or a lifeguard... or maybe I'll just become a cop like my mom and dad!" "What do you want to be, Friendly?" asked Timothy; just before one of his training wheels hit a root and he bounced off it. "WHOA!!" "Careful, Timothy!" said Friendly. Then the thought for a moment before saying, "I think I want to get into childcare. It would really be nice if I could help little kids to see that they can change the world to be a better place by being good people and working for it." "That's really nice." said Jake, "How about you, Timothy?" "That's easy..." said Timothy, "I want to be a bus driver like my Dad, or maybe a train driver." "You know, Friendly," said Timothy, "It's not on the subject, but sometimes I wonder if I'll ever find someone who would just like me for who I am." "I like you for who you are, silly." chuckled Friendly. "Hey!" said Jake, "You've got us, right?" "Yeah..." said Timothy, "But that's not quite what I meant. I was talking about..." "HEEEEEEELP!!!" a voice cried out. The boys stopped their bikes and listened. "Did you hear somebody call for help?" asked Timothy. "Sure did!" said Jake. Just then they heard it again. "FER THE LOVE OF SCOTIA, HELP ME!!!" By now the boys were certain that whoever it was, they were in danger and needed saving. "C'mon!" said Timothy, "It's coming from up ahead!" and he and his friends rode off at full speed. When Timothy, Jake, and Friendly rounded the corner, they saw who the voice had been coming from. It was a young raccoon, probably about Timothy or Jake's age; and she was on her stomach in a huge mud puddle in the middle of the path with a bike lying on top of her legs! "Oh my gosh!!" said Friendly. "Is anyone there?!?" the raccoon cried, desperately. "Please help me! Mah leg's caught on the sprocket!!" "Hang on!" said Timothy. He dismounted his bike and ran straight into the mud to help her. Once he was in the mud, he knelt down and saw that the teeth on the back of the bike's pedal gear were pinned against the raccoon girl's leg. Timothy wasn't sure how he was going to help her; he thought and thought, then he had an idea! "Hold still, okay?" he said. He grabbed the chain of the bike and very gently pulled it away from the girl's leg. Then he very gingerly took a hold of her leg and moved it away from the gear. Because he was pulling on the chain, he had created a wider space in which to move her leg. "Try to wiggle forward." he said. "Okay..." the girl said, nervously. She used her arms to crawl through the mud; and sure enough, with Timothy's help, she was able to get her leg free from the chain! "That's it!" said Timothy, "You're out!" "Hooray!!" Friendly and Jake cheered. Timothy stood up, walked out of the mud, and helped the raccoon girl to her feet. "Oh... Thank ye kindly fer yer help!" she said, "Ah guess it wasn't a good idea te try te ride through that puddle." She turned to Timothy and said, "Ah would hug ye, but Ah've got mud all over me clothes." "That's alright..." said Timothy. Then he processed what the girl had said and he actually blushed a bit. The girl blushed in return. This was a little awkward, so he decided to change the subject. "So... uh..." he stammered, "Wha... Wha... What's your name?" "Ah'm Sharon;" said the raccoon girl, "Sharon Coonley of the Highland Coonley Clan. Wot's yer name? Ah'll have te thank ye properly." "Timothy..." said the bashful boy raccoon, "Timothy Button of the, uh... Button family." he gestured to his friends and said, "These are my friends, Friendly and Jake!" "Hi!" said Jake. "Pleased to meet you!" said Friendly. "So nice te meet ye too." said Sharon; "Now... there's the matter of getting mah bike out of that muck." "We'll take care of that!" said Jake. "Yeah," said Friendly, "Count on us!" So the boys dismounted and had no trouble lifting Sharon's bike out of the mud. It was very dirty, but otherwise fine. "Ah cannot tell ye how much Ah appreciate yer helpin' me." said Sharon. "It was nothing!" said Jake, "I'm just glad you're out of there." "But..." said Friendly, "Your clothes are kinda ruined..." He was looking at Sharon's shirt and shorts that were completely coated with mud. "Not te worry;" said Sharon, "Believe it or not, Ah'm actually used te being coated with mud!" "You like getting muddy?" asked Timothy. "Oh, aye!" said Sharon, "Tis great fun te get all mucky an' messy! An' me dad doesn't mind at all!" "That's pretty cool;" said Timothy, "I don't usually like to get muddy, but it was worth it to make sure you were okay." He paused a moment, then said, "Say, would you like to ride with us?" "Ah'd love to!" said Sharon. She turned to Friendly and Jake, and asked, "Would that be alright with ye?" "Sure!" said Jake. "Absolutely!" said Friendly, "The more, the merrier!" So for the next half-hour, the boys and Sharon rode along the path through the woods. Eventually, they all decided it was time to go back. As they approached the park area, Timothy was in the lead. Suddenly, he felt himself slowing down. "What the..." he said. Then, as he looked down, he saw why, the path underneath his bike was very wet and mucky, and his training wheels had dug him into a rut... the back wheel of his bike couldn't get a grip. Timothy tried hard to get moving again, but his back wheel only sprayed mud and kept slipping and spinning. "Darn it!" he said, "Stuck again!" "You okay, Timothy?" asked Friendly. "Yeah..." said Timothy, a little embarrassed, "Just my luck my training wheels make me get stuck. Now I'm gonna have to get off and pull my bike out." "No ye won't!" said Sharon, "Ah'll gladly push ye out." "Are you sure you'd be willing to do that, Sharon?" asked Timothy, "I wouldn't want you to get any more muddy than you already are." A second too late, he realized how stupid he must have sounded. "Eh!" she said, "Wot's a little more mud on me?" With that, she dismounted her bike and casually strode into the muddy area. She put one hand on the seat of Timothy's bike, and her other on the right handlebar. "Ready?" she asked. "Uh... yeah... sure!" said Timothy. "One..." said Sharon, "Two... Three... HEAVE-HO!!!" Timothy started pedaling again, and Sharon pushed with all her might. After a moment of spraying Sharon with mud, Timothy's back wheel found some grip and they began to move forward. The training wheels dug a furrow into the mud, but as they approached the end of the mud, they started to come out and Timothy's bike was soon on solid ground again. Timothy looked back, and blushed furiously when he realized a whole new coat of mud was all over Sharon. Friendly and Jake were just staring at them as though they couldn't believe what they were seeing. "Oh my gosh!" said Timothy, "I am so sorry, Sharon! I didn't mean for that to happen!" "Don't worry!" said Sharon, "Ah've gotten way messier than this before!" "Boy, Timothy;" said Jake, "after that great rescue you did, you had to be saved from the mud by a girl!" "Lay off 'im, ye chuckle-pup!" said Sharon, "That could 'ave happened te you if ye weren't careful!" "I don't think so... I don't need training wheels so I never get stuck." Jake answered back. Sharon ignored him, turning to Timothy and giving him a warm, understanding smile. "Anyway..." said Friendly, "That was really impressive, Sharon; I wouldn't have guessed you were so strong." "Comes from bein' a Scot, Ah guess!" she replied. Then she turned to Timothy and said, "Do not worry, Timothy; it could 'ave happened te any of us." "But most often it happens to me." said Timothy, "It's these training wheels! I used to depend on them all the time up until recently, but I'm working towards riding without them." "An' ye're doin' a fine job of it too; fer someone jus' startin out." said Sharon. Timothy blushed again, and the four friends continued on their way back to the parking lot.

It only took another two minutes for them to reach the parking lot. "Would it be alright if Ah introduced ye te someone?" Sharon asked the boys. "Sure!" said Friendly, "Your parents?" "Nay;" said Sharon, "Mah caretaker. Mum an' Dad have jobs that sometimes require them te be away fer long periods of time. Fortunately, Ah've got someone te look after me." "Wow;" said Jake, "You know, Sharon, I can sympathize; my parents are cops, so sometimes there's only one of them home with me at a time." Finally, they came upon a dark purple 1971 Jeep Renegade. In the driver's seat was a rabbit who was reading some kind of novel. "Stuart!" called Sharon, "Ah'm back!" The rabbit looked up from his novel and smiled when he saw the kids. "Glad to see you back, Sharon;" he said as he got out of the Jeep, "I see you've been having fun." "Ah sure have!" said Sharon. Then she gestured to Timothy, Friendly and Jake and said, "An' guess what... These three helped me when Ah fell over on the trail." "Really...?" said Stuart. He reached out his hand and Friendly stepped forward to shake it. "Wow; thank you so much, boys." "It was nothing;" said Friendly, "Timothy here did most of the work." "Oh..." said Timothy, "I don't know about that; I was just trying to do what I thought was right." "Well you did a great job of it;" said Stuart, "Sharon's a bright young lady, but sometimes she can be a bit danger prone." "Aw Stuart!" said Sharon, "Ye worry too much." "And rightfully so;" said Stuart, "Your parents wouldn't take it too well if something happened to you." "Aye..." said Sharon, knowing he was right, "Ah do need te be a bit more careful." Then she set about introducing the boys. "Anyway..." she said, "This is Friendly, Jake, an' Timothy Button of the Button family." The boys all said their hellos to Stuart. "It's a pleasure to meet you all;" said Stuart, "Would you consider yourselves... new friends of Sharon's?" "I think so..." said Timothy, "We all rode together, and she even helped me out when I got stuck in a hidden mud pit." Stuart took a momentary glance at Timothy's bike and saw the training wheels on the back. "I can see that;" he said, "Boy, I remember when I had training wheels; used to get stuck all the time. Problem was I was scared to go fast on my bike when I was young." "I get stuck with my training wheels too..." said Timothy; but then he brightened up and added, "But I'm working towards riding without them!" "That's great!" said Stuart, "It took me a while to learn how to ride without them too. Heck! I was nine and a half when I was finally able to ride without them on a daily basis!" Everyone laughed. Then Stuart said, "It's so nice that Sharon's finally found someone to call her friends..." "What do you mean, sir?" asked Jake. "Ah'll answer that question;" said Sharon, "Ah've been a loner for quite a while. Everyone at school keeps their distance from me fer some reason." "Really...?" asked Friendly, "I never would have guessed; you seem like such a nice person." "Yeah!" said Jake, "Who wouldn't want to make friends with a nice girl like you?" "It's a long story;" said Sharon, "But Ah'd love the chance te be your friend." "Well we'd be more than happy to call you our friend, Sharon;" said Timothy, "We don't judge people over small details." "Thanks, Timothy." said Sharon. A minute later, Timothy's mother arrived, and was introduced to the boys' new friend. She was very pleased to meet Sharon and thought it was wonderful that her son was giving friendship to a girl who needed it. After conversing with Stuart, they swapped phone numbers so they could stay in contact with each other. After playing at the playground for a little while longer, Sharon went home with Stuart. Then Timothy's mother dropped Friendly and Jake at their homes before taking Timothy home. Timothy himself could only look forward to when he could see Sharon again.

Over the next couple of weeks, Timothy and Sharon stayed in touch with each other. They would chat on the phone, and if they got lucky, they would see each other in the park. But something was confusing Timothy; he couldn't figure out why Sharon didn't have any friends. It couldn't be that she was mean; she was certainly nice enough to him and his friends. The question played itself over and over again in his head, but he could never figure out an answer. Finally, it seemed he would get the chance to find out. Sharon called him and asked him if he and his friends would like to come over to her house for a playdate. Timothy talked to his mom, who talked to Friendly and Jake's parents, who decided it would be okay. So the date was set, and when it arrived, Timothy's mother picked up Friendly and Jake in the blue Ford Aerostar minivan; and they all set off for Sharon's house. None of them could imagine the surprise they were in for...! "Okay, boys!" said Timothy's mother, "We're almost there!" "This is gonna be so much fun!" said Friendly, "I can't believe we're finally getting to spend the day with our new friend!" "She even said we could bring our bathing suits!" said Jake, "It's either a pool or a pond... or something!" "I'm just glad I've been doing better with my swimming;" said Timothy, "I would hate to embarrass myself in front of a girl!" All the boys laughed. Suddenly, they noticed the car slowing down. "Uh, mom...?" said Timothy, "What's the matter?" "This doesn't make sense..." Timothy's mother said as she looked at her MapQuest page, "According to the directions, we should be here. But... this is the ritzy district." The boys looked around. Sure enough, they were surrounded by large houses; heck, some of them could be considered mansions. "If this is it..." said Friendly, "Then maybe Sharon didn't tell us everything there is to know about her." "Let me see..." said Timothy's mother as she pulled into the driveway marked: 863. She rolled down her window and pushed the call button on the intercom and waited. Then a voice said, "Who goes there? Friend or foe?" "Uh... friend;" said Timothy's mother, "It's Mrs. Button; bringing Timothy and his friends over to play..." "Ah! You're a friend then!" said the voice, "Sharon's waiting for you; come right in!" With that, the huge iron gates in front of the car buzzed and began to open, revealing a driveway to a large mansion sitting atop a small hill. All four of them stared in wonder and disbelief. "I can hear angels singing..." said Jake. "That makes two of us..." said Friendly. "Would you settle for three...?" asked Timothy's mother. Timothy just stared at the huge house; this was where Sharon lived? He just couldn't believe that someone as plush rich as this would have anything to do with commoners such as him. Finally, Timothy's mother snapped out of her trance and began to drive up the driveway. Once Timothy's mother had parked the car in front of the stairs to the mansion, a familiar face came out of the front door; It was Stuart! "Afternoon, Mrs. Button," he said, "Friendly, Timothy, Jake. I can see you're impressed with the Coonley's residence!" "That's a bit of an understatement..." said Timothy's mother, "But I'm sure the boys are happy to be here." "Well, please come inside;" said Stuart, "Master Coonley would very much like to meet you." So Stuart led Timothy's mother and the boys up the stairs, through the door, and into the beautiful lobby. "Wow..." Friendly, Jake, and Timothy all said in unison. The floor was shiny and clean, the pillars holding the balcony were polished marble, and the red carpeting was absolutely spotless. Just then a voice said, "Ah! Welcome te Coonley Manor!" Everyone looked up to see a sharply dressed adult raccoon standing at the top of the stairs. Even though he was smiling, they couldn't help but feel a little bit intimidated by him. He descended the staircase and walked up to Timothy's mother. "Pleasure te meet ye, Mrs. Button." he said in a warm, friendly voice that had a heavy Scottish accent, "Arnold Coonley of the Highland Coonley Clan at yer service!" "Oh... well... thank you!" said Timothy's mother, "It's nice to meet you Mr. Coonley." "Ach; jus' call me Arnold;" he said, "If our wee ones can be friends, Ah see no reason the two of us can't get along jus' as well!" "Okay, Arnold;" said Timothy's mother, "This is my son, Timothy; and his friends, Friendly and Jake." "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir." said Timothy, stepping forward and extending his hand. "The pleasure is all mine, lad;" said Arnold as he took Timothy's hand and shook it gently, "Ah cannot tell ye how grateful Ah am fer ye savin' me darlin' daughter." "It was nothing, Sir;" said Timothy, "Friendly and Jake would have done the same thing." "Be that as it may," said Arnold, "Ye did; and 'tis an honor te have ye an' yer friends in mah presence. Speakin; of which, Ah'd better call the one ye're here te see." He looked back towards the balcony and called, "SHARON!! Yer friends are here!"

As Sharon led the boys wherever they were going, Timothy spoke up. "Sharon..." he said, "If you don't mind me asking; why didn't you tell us you were rich?" "Ah didn't think it was important;" said Sharon, "Money shouldn't have anything te do with how good a friend we can be te each other." "What I want to know is how you got this rich!" said Jake. "JAKE!!" snapped Friendly, "That's not very nice!" "Sorry..." said Jake, sheepishly. "Tis alright;" said Sharon, "Me dad's in the repossession business. Tis a dicey business, but when people don't pay wot they owe on their yachts or airplanes, someone's got te seize the assets. Dad says it's a bloody dangerous job, but companies pay in six figures for that kinda work." "What about your mother?" asked Timothy. "Mum's a diplomat;" said Sharon, "She's currently stationed in Egypt tryin' te negotiate their entry into the United Nations. She's not due back for weeks yet." "Wow;" said Friendly, "That must be hard; having your mother away all the time." "Aye, it is..." said Sharon, "But Ah still get te video-message with her all the time; an' she always brings me the coolest presents when she comes home!" "I can imagine." said Jake. "But enough about me!" said Sharon as she turned back to face them, "Which one of ye likes trains?" "I do!" said Timothy, "I love trains!" "Well then..." said Sharon, "Ye're gonna love what Ah'm about te show ye!" Sharon led the boys into her backyard and up to a long shed that for some reason had small railroad tracks leading into it. Timothy's heart began to flutter as Sharon opened up the door and went inside; he had a feeling he knew what she was about to show them. Sure enough, a few seconds later... out of the shed came a miniature steam locomotive, the size of a large quad bike, with Sharon in the cab! "WOW!!!" All three boys said at once. "Say hello te the Coonley Express Number Six!" said Sharon, proudly, "Dad an' I built it together! She's powered by twin sixteen volt wheelchair motors, tops out at fifteen miles per hour, can pull up te three loaded carriages, an' runs around me entire backyard!" "Wowie-Zowie!!" said Jake, "This is what I call a toy train!" Timothy was too awestruck to speak; he just stood and stared with his mouth open in a huge smile. Then Sharon looked at him and said, "An' it jus' so happens... there's room fer two in the cab! Care te join me, Timothy?"

While Timothy's mother, Arnold, and Stuart continued their talk, the kids were still hard at play in the pool. Friendly and Jake were seeing who could dive deeper; and Timothy and Sharon were lying down on the lounge chairs. "Sharon..." said Timothy, nervously, "I just want you to know that today was one of the best days of my entire life." Sharon lifted her head and looked over at the boy raccoon. "Ye don' know how glad Ah am te hear ye say that, Timothy;" she said, "Ah always hoped that if Ah did ever find a friend, they'd have a good time when they came over te my house." "You know what?" said Timothy, "I've thought about it, and I think I know why you didn't have any friends when we met you in the park." "Wot's that?" asked Sharon. Timothy took a deep breath and said, "Everyone thought that just because you were rich, you were a spoiled brat; when clearly you aren't." Sharon looked a little sad, but Timothy continued; "So when you met us..." he said, "You didn't say anything about how rich you were so we wouldn't judge you on it. You decided to wait until you could get us to come over to reveal your riches so we could see firsthand the girl that you really are." "Aye..." said Sharon, wiping a tear from her eye, "Ye're one hundred percent right; Ah was worried ye would label me a spoiled rich girl if Ah told ye the truth." "Well..." said Timothy, "I would never go judging people like that. I'm really glad I got to meet you and see you for who you are, Sharon." Sharon got up off her lounge chair and sat down beside Timothy. "Timothy..." she said, with a quiver in her voice, "Ah like ye because yer honest, friendly, an' ye don't pertend te be somethin' ye're not; like some boys tend te do jus' te get girls te like them. Do ye... well... Do ye... like me too?" Timothy blushed very deeply, but nodded.

That night after a fantastic supper that more closely resembled a feast, Friendly and Jake went into the spare room and prepared for bed, both well and truly exhausted from the days' events. "Goodnight, Timothy." said Friendly, discreetly handing the young raccoon one of his red pull-up diapers he had to sleep in. Timothy stuffed the pull-up underneath his blue t-shirt and went into Sharon's room. Sharon was in the en-suite bathroom, brushing her teeth. Timothy hastened to get his shorts off and his pull-ups on before Sharon was finished, hoping with all his heart that she would not emerge from the bathroom while he was changing for bed. Once he had his pull-ups on, Timothy took off his blue t-shirt and dropped it onto the floor, on top of his shorts. He clambered into bed, just as Sharon emerged from the bathroom. Timothy sighed with relief and closed his eyes. Sharon then made her way over to the bed, but as she pulled the duvet aside to climb in, she noticed something red and turned to face Timothy. Initially she wasn't sure what the red was, but upon closer inspection she found Timothy was wearing... a diaper... the sort of training pants diaper that little kids would wear for potty training, a Lightning McQueen pull-up. Timothy turned to Sharon and gasped as he noticed she was staring at his diaper. "Ahh! Sharon!" squeaked Timothy, quickly pulling the duvet over his red Lightning McQueen pull-ups and blushing deeply. "Easy Timothy, Ah'm not gonna judge ye!" "You... you saw my pull-ups didn't you?" mumbled Timothy. "Aye... That ah did... But Ah'm curious; De ye wear those outta choice or necessity?" "I need to wear them at bedtime... I kinda have a problem with bedwetting." Timothy managed to say, tears welling up in his eyes. He wiped his eyes and continued. "I used to wet every time I went to sleep, but I'm doing better; now it happens less. "Wow... Never would have guessed... Don't worry, Timothy; Ah don't think any less of ye." said Sharon. "You don't?" asked Timothy, wiping his eyes again. "Nay. If ye won't judge me fer mah wealth, Ah won't judge ye for yer sleepwear!" "Thanks, Sharon." said Timothy, smiling and relaxing his grip on the duvet that was hiding his pull-ups. Sharon couldn't help wondering to herself what it would be like to have to wear pull-ups to bed. "Ah always wanted someone to sleep with." said Sharon, curiously touching the seat of Timothy's pull-ups under the duvet. Timothy squeaked a little as he felt Sharon feeling his pull-ups. "It's okay Timothy." said Sharon, removing her paw from the seat of Timothy's pull-ups and snuggling closely with him. "Goodnight." "Goodnight Sharon." said Timothy. Soon, both of them were asleep... dreaming wonderful dreams of having all sorts of adventures together.