Bruce the Moose

A short story I wrote back in 2003 and was published in a collaboration of local young writers called Solid Ink.


Bruce the Moose.
Bruce the Moose was a Moose. A Moose with a dream. He kept it in a closet with his skeletons for company. It was a happy and playful little dream that liked playing fetch and eating custard. A lot of custard. It was quite expensive to keep actually.
So Bruce the Moose packed his suitcase full of antler warmers and custard and took his dream to market.
They walked together down the old road. Bruce the Moose walked awkwardly, as if he had five knees, which he may have had but didn't really know because he couldn't count that high. Occasionally he fell over but his dream helped to uplift him along the way.
They sang together as they walked along, It was a beautiful song, which was surprising since they were both singing completely different songs.
When they reached the market they found that it was quite crowded. Bruce the Moose's wide antlers kept getting in the way as they waded through the crowd, so he folded them up and carried them under his arm.
Along came Jimbo the Dog. "Hello Bruce the Moose," said Jimbo the Dog, "would you like to buy some fleas today? I have pedigree fleas as well as mixed breeds at a lower price."
Bruce the Moose shook his head politely. Of course, moose can't talk.
He walked up to the auctioning stage and waited for his turn, The was a skunk named Francois the Skunk selling second hand rubber chickens, then a cow named Isabel the Cow unsuccessfully trying to take applications for the local hamburger restaurant, and finally there was Paula the Rubber Chicken, giving a speech about the oppression of her kind.
Now was Bruce the Moose's turn. He stepped up on to the stage, and fell over. Again his dream helped him up to face the crowd. He looked at their expectant faces and took out his message board, which he had prepared earlier, and raised it above his head.
It read" "Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a dream. Bids start at twenty dollars with a five dollar increment." He gazed around the crowd as they took this in.
Paula the Rubber Chicken was the first to raise her rubber wing. Bruce the Moose nodded at her and pointed using one of his antlers in his hoof. Other animals raised arms, wings, legs and tentacles. The auction became quite heated. Eventually Francois the Skunk managed to outbid everybody using the money he had made selling all of his second hand rubber chickens to Paula the Rubber Chicken.
Bruce the Moose collected the money from Francois the Skunk and handed over his dream, along with its' leash, bowl and favourite fetching stick. He said goodbye and stumbled home, stopping at the supermarket along the way to buy three tons of custard with the money he had just made.
The moral of this story is Follow Your Dreams, and You Shall Receive Custard.