♫ journal 1/11/2026

Pebble's Big Adventure, a Pebble Holder PH Story

My dear friend Shell Toter,

I hope this letter find you well,

I write you today with quite the story.

I was walking home yesterday evening with both arms full of groceries, and you wouldn’t believe it if I told you, but this was when (I think, at least) I lost my precious pebble. At the end of the day all I know is, when I got home and checked my pockets for her, she was gone!

Now we are snuggled up beside the fire together as I write, so do not fret.

But she lived a great many things that day, my pebble! And I will recount them now for you because you, as a Shell Toter, will appreciate hearing, I think.

It all began when my arms were full of groceries which bumped so against my pockets,

and then just like that, without me seeing, my pebble fell from my pocket.

She bounced, skip skip skip, across a puddle

Then landed, thud, in a pothole

(which must have been a scary place for such a small pebble, I think)

Between traffic, she must have been mistaken for a small nut, because a squirrel scooped her right up and carried her down the street.

Safe in her tree, the squirrel tried to crack her once, twice, three times,

But my sturdy little pebble did not crack,

And so the squirrel threw her down from the tree.

She bounced again, once, twice,

Then all of a sudden she was flying through the darkness,

And plop!

She landed right in the water of the deep, dark, winding, sewers.

And she sunk and sunk to the bottom of the drain.

She stayed there for a good while,

And all manner of sewer flotsam and jetsam passed her by,

And she began to lose track of time.

But eventually, outside, and even through the deep water, my little pebble began to hear the sound of rain

And the rain drip dropped on the sewer hole cover

And it pitter pattered in the gutter just beyond

And little by little, water began to pour into the sewer building into a current

And this little current carried her up off the concrete bottom and her little pebble heart rose with it!

She floated on and on, not knowing where the current would take her, but at least she was no longer stuck!

After some time, though, the flooded drains diminished to a small concrete stream and it was from here that my smallest stone was picked up out of the shallow water by none other than a rat.

Now up above, I had been wandering the streets until it turned dark, and the stars were beginning to come out.

I had almost lost hope in finding her again before having to retire for sleep.

But I had the idea to post up a few flyers, just in case

I was stapling up the last one when I was approached by a rat, not far from the Rat Square.

“Hey Sir!” He said, in a voice much louder than I had expected for a rat,

“Yer the one missing the pebble?”

“Yes!” I responded eagerly, “Please tell me you’ve seen her!”

And he proceeded to inform me that an especially beautiful especially small especially smooth little rock had been found that evening in the sewers. But that his friend, Sticky, had been showing it off around the Sewer Exchange ever since.

Oh how glad I was to hear that she had been found!

“Do you think your friend would be open to an exchange?” I asked, hopefully–

“Ehhhh I dunno, Sticky seemed pretty proud” the rat said, “but he has a particular penchance for stinky cheese, if yer lookin to bargain”

And for me, that sealed it. I would find the stinkiest cheese Sticky would ever have smelled and trade her for my pebble.

I went to the corner market, and there I procured a full round of ripe brie

As I high-tailed it back to rat square, I began to feel little eyes on me from the gutters, and I figured this was a good sign that the cheese would be good.

“I’ll offer you a gold chain for whatever it is you’re carrying!” a chubby rat called from underfoot,

“I’ll get you into any building in town if you give me just a taste of whatever’s in that bag” a thin rat called from beside me,

I picked up my pace, ignoring them, I had but one goal in mind! My smallest stone was waiting for me!

And there, right in the center of Rat Square, a rat wearing a piece of yellow kerchief on his head, was holding her!

I ran toward him, “Sticky?” I asked, out of breath, my eyes locked onto my precious pebble clasped firmly in his paws.

“Aye, that’s me” he grinned, “and it smells like you have something to offer me”

“Of course”, I said, not taking my eyes off my little rock, and produced from my bag the wheel of cheese.

The rat licked his lips and his eyes gleamed.

“Thank you for finding my pebble” I said

“Anytime” he crackled, “and at this rate, if you’ll be needing anything else found, I’m your rat”

I nodded appreciatively and placed the brie down on the ground before him and he placed the pebble gently in my hand.

“Come on guys, let’s feast!” he cried, and with that, rats began to emerge from every shadow in the park.

I waved goodbye to them and wished them a merry meal,

and there back in my palm,

was my most precious pebble once again!

I had so missed her small weight and perfect shape.

I had missed her so much!

And she had missed me too, it seemed, and she recounted her part of these adventures to me as we made our way back home, hand in hand.

Well, Shell Toter, isn’t that something?

I’ve got quite the adventurer of a pebble to hold don’t I?

Now I think we will both have some rest, but I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Your friend,

Pebble Holder, PH