Read Online Raising Rufus by David Fulk - Free Book Online Page B

stronger and stronger. The next word that came out of his mouth surprised him and, even though he was the one who said it, actually scared him a bit.
    “Way?”
    Three eye-blinks later, Rufus finished off the last of the Ultraburger, looked up at his human companion, and emitted a sound that Martin could have sworn was a tiny reptilian belch.

O n the twenty-eighth of May, the Trout Palace opened for business.
    Martin had talked his dad into getting him a job there, doing odd chores for pay. It wasn’t a real
job,
of course—the child labor laws wouldn’t allow it. But he knew his dad liked the idea of him getting out of that barn for a few hours a week and learning to fend for himself in the world. Martin really wanted to make a good impression on that first day, because then there was a good chance they’d let him work more hours when school let out for the summer.
    Opening day was always busy, busy, busy, and Martin’s assignment was just to wander the grounds and be available to help the visitors find their way around. This was not his favorite thing to do (talking with strangers—ugh!), but he put on his best face and mingled in with the crowd in his too-big Trout Palace Staff T-shirt, with a big red-and-yellow HOW CAN I HELP YOU? button pinned prominently on his chest.
    The Trout Palace was nothing new to Martin, but even he couldn’t help feeling a bit of excitement as the guests eagerly streamed into the park by the hundreds.
    In the outdoor area, the Ferris wheel, the merry-go-round, the “Rocket” mini coaster, and all the other rides sprang to life, calling out to the youngest fun seekers like a living toy box. It was a warm, perfect spring day, and the shimmering colors and cheery music blended with the kids’ delighted screams to lend a real sense of excitement to the occasion.
    As people came in the front entrance of the main building, the first thing they saw was the giant fish hanging from the ceiling. Just as it had every day for years, it greeted the visitors in a loud, deep voice, its lower jaw bouncing up and down like a marionette’s:
Ho ho ho ho! Welcome to the Trout Palace!
    Thirty acres of pure Wisconsin fun.
    If you like it, we’ve got it—
    so come on in, leave your worries outside,
    and get set for the time of your life!
    Ho-o-o-o-o-o ho ho ho ho!
    By the end of the day, Martin and the other workers would be so sick of hearing that talking trout that they would dream of smashing it to pieces with a heavy stick, like a giant piñata. But the visitors seemed to like it just fine.
    Once they were inside, the guests could head in almost any direction and find something fun to do. Straight ahead was the long midway, a busy boulevard of carnival attractions—mainly food stalls and all kinds of games of skill and chance, including, naturally, that goofy U-Bag-Em game. At the far end of the midway, a huge room full of arcade games kept dozens of kids—mostly the older boys—occupied for hours at a time.
    Just to the left of the main entrance was the Heart o’ the Woods restaurant, where you really could catch your own dinner. A set of large doors led from the dining room to an outside patio, and the patio jutted out over a big, man-made pond. The pond was kept well stocked with rainbow trout and lake perch—easy game for adventurous diners with fishing poles supplied by the restaurant. Master chef Tim McTavish would then clean, cook, and garnish their catch for a delicious dinner.
    A few yards beyond the restaurant entrance was where the “Four Muskrateers,” Daisy, Edna, Walter, and Fritz, delighted all comers by racing down a long, winding wooden track. All they were really interested in were the muskrat treats at the finish line, but the human spectators, who could make bets on the outcome of the race with play money, found the whole thing perfectly charming.
    And if muskrats weren’t your cup of tea, well, there were always Zippy and Flippy, the furry stars of the always-popular