Eric and Reggie were sitting in the living room, playing Monopoly. The game was going well-for Bushroot.

"Ha!" he cried. "I just bought Marvin Gardens!"

Eric glared at him. "You just like it because it's called Gardens."

Bushroot smiled. "Just wait 'till I have hotels up on it."

Eric looked at the board, and the sprinkling of red pieces on it, none of them belonging to him. "I think you have enough already."

"I play cutthroat Monopoly." said Bushroot. "Learned from Gosalyn."

"I can imagine." Even though Monopoly was Eric's favorite game, it was fast losing its luster.

Then the phone rang. Eric got up and answered.

"Hello." he said. He recognized the voice that replied at once.

"Good evening, Eric." said Cryptic. "How are you this evening?"

"Fine." replied Eric. "Bushroot's just cleaning me out, that's all." He ignored a sudden snort of laughter from Bushroot.

"I'm afraid I don't follow you."

"We're playing Monopoly. It's a real estate game."

"I see." replied Cryptic. "The reason I'm calling is...I'm bored. And Ripley is driving me insane."

Eric smiled. "Why don't you come over? There's a hockey game coming on in a few minutes."

"Hockey? I don't think I've heard of that game. Is it similar to Monopoly?"

Eric suppressed the urge to laugh. "No. It's a sport."

Cryptic sounded doubtful. "Okay, I'll be there in about five minutes. I won't be disturbing you?"

"Certainly not." said Eric. "And you'll love hockey. And please bring Ripley so he can drive us all insane."

"I doubt I could leave him here." said Cryptic. "He'd wreck the place. In five minutes, then. Good-bye." He hung up.

Bushroot stood up. "Cryptic's coming over?"

"Yes." said Eric. "He'll love the game."

"Does your cat know about Ripley?"

Eric stared at DJ. He was lying contented on the couch. "Uh...no."

Punctual as always, Cryptic arrived at Eric's front door in five minutes. Eric caught a glimpse of smoke drifting past his window as he went to answer the door.

"Come in." he said, opening the door. "Thank you." The tall, blue-haired, black-beaked duck stepped into the front hall, dressed in his street clothes of a black leather jacket, white T-shirt, jeans, and running shoes. A small green dragon was perched on his shoulder. "And thank you for letting me come over." Ripley gave Eric a *swack* in greeting. "Right this way, gentlemen..." Eric made a great show of ushering them into the living room.

Ripley immediately flew off Cryptic's shoulder and onto the couch. He gave DJ a friendly *swack*, to which DJ replied with a loud hiss and puffing up his fur. "DJ! Is that any way to treat a guest?" said Eric with a laugh. DJ jumped off the couch and went to the other side of the room, never taking his eyes off Ripley, who merely glanced at the ill-mannered cat.

"Hello, Cryptic." said Bushroot.

"Reginald." said Cryptic with a polite bow. "So when does the er...hockey game start?"

"Right now." Eric switched on the TV. The game started in a few minutes-Detroit and the Rangers. All three men settled down to watch. Cryptic was puzzled at first, but soon appeared fascinated by it.

"Interesting. This reminds me of battles I've been in. Are those sticks weapons?"

"No." said Eric. "They use them to hit the puck."

"Then why are they hitting each other with them?"

"Er...they're not supposed to." said Bushroot.

Cryptic frowned. "An interesting sport, to say the least. I admit I find myself wishing I knew more about it." Ripley merely gave an indifferent *swack*.

Eric put his arm around Cryptic's shoulders. "Then you've come to the right place. We're going to make a hockey fan out of you."

As the game progressed, Eric and Bushroot explained everything as it happened...penalties, what each player did, and how a goal was scored. When Detroit did score, the usually reserved Cryptic jumped up in excitement. "He was in the way of the goalkeeper! He was in his er...crease, as you call it."

"It's allowed, as long as he dosen't kick the puck in." said Eric. "But let's not go there." he said, remembering the dreaded crease rule.

Finally, the game ended, a win by Detroit. Then the three stars were explained, and they went into the kitchen to sit down. DJ had meanwhile gotten confident enough to sleep on the couch, but a respectable distance from Ripley, who paid no more attention to him as if he hadn't been there.

"What did you think?" asked Eric.

Cryptic nodded. "A very interesting sport. Certainly like nothing I've ever seen. Is it difficult to play?"

"Well, it takes some learning. We might be able to show you the basics."

"The rink is open tomorrow. There's usually no one there on a Sunday morning." said Reginald.

"Would you like to try it?" asked Eric.

"Yes." said Cryptic. He smiled slightly. "Perhaps you can make a Wayne Orr or Bobby Gretzky of me."

"Er...you're a bit mixed up." said Eric. "But we'll give it a try. We'll meet at the rink at 11. You should be able to rent equipment there." He looked at Cryptic. "Can you skate?"

Cryptic frowned. "Skate?"

The following day, Eric, Bushroot and Cryptic were at the King's Arena. Reggie and Eric had thier hockey jerseys on, Cryptic was in his usual leather. After a great deal of arguing, Cryptic had been able to persuade Ripley to stay at the Greenhouse with Spike. Bushroot could only imagine the state of the place...and hope for the best.

"Are you ready?" asked Eric with a smile.

Cryptic stared at the rented hockey skates in his hand. "I suppose so. But I warn you, I have never skated before."

Eric and Bushroot looked at each other. This might take a while.

All three strapped on thier skates. Bushroot had a special pair that were custom-made to go on his root-like feet. When they were ready, they went to the ice surface.

Eric and Reggie stepped onto the ice and began gently skating. Cryptic gingerly stepped onto the ice, his legs wobbling. "I...I don't think this is a good idea." he said as he hung onto the boards for support.

"Sure it is." said Bushroot. "We'll hang on to you, and you skate by pushing with one foot and then the other."

"We won't let you fall." said Eric with an encouraging smile. "Come on."

Cryptic nodded, started walking out to them...and promptly fell on his backside.

Eric and Reggie helped him to his feet, trying not to laugh. Cryptic's eyes flashed red. "I'm leaving. If I want hockey, I'll watch it on television. And you can't stop me, I'm teleporting away."

Eric knew he had to talk fast. "Why don't you just watch us, then? We'll show you what to do, then how to shoot the puck." After a moment, Cryptic nodded. He sat down on the player's bench to get a good view.

Eric and Bushroot skated over to the far side. Each picked up a hockey stick, and Reggie dropped a puck on the ice.

"Here's a slapshot." he called to Cryptic, who nodded. Bushroot wound up and slapped the puck. It rang off the post.

He laughed. "Of course, it's supposed to go INTO the net." Despite himself, Cryptic smiled. Then Eric picked up the puck. "Here's a wrist shot. If you want more accuracy, you use this shot." He shot the puck with a deft flip of the wrist, and it went in. Bushroot jokingly shoved him.

"Reggie, let's try a one-timer." Both men skated to center ice. Then Bushroot went back towards the net and stood just off to the side. He raised the stick as if to shoot.

"If you want to catch the goalie by surprise, you can do this. It often works." He skated in with the puck. When he was just ahead of Bushroot, he suddenly passed it over to him, who completed the shot with a dead-center goal.

"He shoots! He scores!" cried Reggie, dancing around and waving his stick. This was easier for him to do than for most, as the shape of his feet gave him better balance. Eric started laughing, so much so that they didn't see Cryptic slowly skating over to them, another stick in his hand.

Eric and Reggie turned to see him standing there with a grin.

"May I try that?"

Eric dropped the puck at Cryptic's feet. "Go ahead."

Cryptic wound up as he had seen Bushroot do, slapped the stick down...and missed the puck entirely. He tried a second time, and missed.

"This is a little more difficult than it appears." he said.

"I know how you feel." said Reggie. "I didn't know a thing either, until Eric taught me. Just keep your eyes on the puck."

Cryptic took another swing. This time, he managed a weak shot. He nodded as the puck slowly slid towards the net. "Obviously, I need practise."

"We've got another hour of ice time." said Eric. "Remember, we're not expecting you to actually play. This is just so you'll understand the game." Cryptic nodded. "Then shall we continue?" he asked.

An hour later, Cryptic's skills had much improved. He was able to shoot a fairly hard slapshot, and a good wrist shot. He even did a successful one-timer. They all went to Hippo Burger for lunch.

Staring at his hamburger, Cryptic frowned. "Why does this sandwich have three layers?"

"It's a Bigmess Burger." said Eric. "It's supposed to have two patties." Without further ado, Eric and Reginald started singing the Bigmess jingle. Cryptic looked around nervously.

"Do you mind not singing." he said. "People are looking at us." This only caused them to sing louder, but they stopped in a moment.

"Seriously, Cryptic." said Eric. "You were very good out there. I hope you still like hockey, now that you know more about it."

"Yes, it is interesting." he said. "Easy to watch on television, but not so easy to actually play."

"Not many sports are." replied Bushroot.

Cryptic gave a slow nod of agreement as they finished.

Eric smiled. "Now we're ready to teach you Monopoly."

Reginald Bushroot, Spike and Hamburger Hippo are the property of Disney and used without permission. Cryptic and Ripley are the property of thier creator and used with permission. Eric Smith and DJ are the property of the author. This story was written for fun, not profit. (C)2000 Eric Smith.


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