Tales of Tiptoe and More - Volume III

Episode 22

Rice pudding is 'possibly the most soothing pudding of all', says Humphirni Hippo, who loved pudding more than anything.

That night he had a dream, where Nancy and Sluggo came up to him. Nancy smiled and said, Humphirni, you'll find rice pud tiptoeing the globe in all sorts of splendors."

Humphirni had always been a fan of Nancy and Sluggo, and was delighted to have them appear to him in his dream. But he was confused by Nancy's comment, and asked, "Is rice pud the same as rice pudding? Also, I've never seen pudding with toes, so how could pudding tiptoe?

Nancy and Sluggo laughed kindly. Sluggo said, "Most people are unaware that rice pudding comes from a creature called a "rice pud", who lives in rice paddies, tickling the rice sprouts so that that they laugh, which makes pudding made with them especially tasty and fun. Rice puds have toes, and spend their lives tiptoeing between rice paddies. They also give off beautiful colored lights, giving splendid light shows, but their light is at a frequency that can only be seen by characters in comics."

This sounded wonderful to Humphirni. He said, "I'd love to see tiptoeing rice puds and their splendid lighting!"

Nancy smiled and said, "All you had to do is ask! You'll make a special guest appearance in an upcoming Nancy and Sluggo comic, and then you'll automatically be able to see the rice puds, in all their glory."

Humphirni then woke up, wondering if it would really happen, in waking life. He was delighted when he opened the newspaper to to comics page, and saw a drawing of himself in the Nancy and Sluggo comic.

After eating a healthy breakfast, he went off to the rice paddies at the edge of town.