It all started one day during a tornado in Comic Land. Books flew open, pages were flipped and switched around, and characters were placed in books where they didn't belong. Two of these unfortunate characters were Hobbes the Tiger and Odie the dog. They were immediately swept up from the pages of their books. They flew around and around, spinning, twirling, flipping. Once they landed, they were stunned for a moment, until they began to growl and hiss at each other. Obviously; cats and dogs don't mix. Hobbes threw the first clawing. Thus, the fighting began. Hobbes scratched and bit, but it was no match for Odie's mighty slobber. After exactly 3 hours and 28 seconds, both were lying on the ground, gasping for breath. Hobbes turned to Odie and said, "Yellow dog, I do not believe we've been formally introduced. My name is Hobbes. And yours?" "WOOF." replied Odie. "Odie? Well, Odie, I say that since neither of us knows where we are, we need to put our differences behind us and work together to return safely to our dwellings. I know my dear Calvin shall miss me horribly. And your friend, um...." "WOOF." replied Odie. "Your friend, Garfield, shall surely miss you. Truce?" Hobbes held out his hand in hopes that if they could make peace, they would be one step closer to a better world. Unfortunately, Odie did not agree. He opened his jaw to capacity only to clamp it back down onto Hobbes outstretched appendage. "Me-OW-r!" wailed Hobbes, and the fighting resumed. Finally, 6 hours later, the two vowed to work together to get out of their predicament. But where to begin? So many books, so little time. If they didn't return to their own books within twenty-four hours, they would no longer exist. As they began to walk, they saw a book that looked rather inviting. Creeping cautiously inside, they saw a horse. A beautiful horse. A black, beautiful, horse. "I wonder what this story is." replied Hobbes most inquisitively. "WOOF." replied Odie, quite annoyed at the fact that this was all he could say. " Did you say `Black Beauty'? Why, my dear chap, that's brilliance! Sheer brilliance!" Odie chuckled as he thought to himself. "What a moron." The two travelers forged on into the next story. They saw a princess with hair so long it was awe-inspiring. "I say, Odie, would you happen to know the name of this particular tale." "WOOF." replied Odie unenthusiastically. "Rapunzel, you say? Well, my dear dog, that's quite an interesting name. Wherever did you think of it?" Odie groaned at the stupidity of his companion. They continued on into the next few books. Story after story, face after face, setting after setting. One minute they're in summer, then in winter. First, they live happily ever after, then miserably ever after. One minute in China, the next in Uzbekastan. "When will it all end?" shouted Odie, surprised to hear that he could now talk normally. "Eegads!!" cried Hobbes, and both immediately knew that Odie's surprising new vocal ability was due to misfortune. "We're doomed!" wailed Odie, and he began to bawl like a two year-old. Already, the two were losing the characteristics that made them..well, THEM. But they didn't think it that severe until they heard Hobbes utter, "This is like, bogus `n' stuff." Huge tears welled up in Odie's eyes. His lip only quivered for three seconds before he began to cry all over again. "We'll never get home! I'm going to be stuck here forever!" "Odie-"calmed Hobbes. "It's no use, Hobbes! My life is over! So many bones I haven't buried," "Odie-" "So many shoes I haven't eaten!" "So many cats and cars that I haven't chased!" "ODIE!" The sad little puppy looked into the aggravated eyes of the tiger. "What?!" he replied, sounding like a whiny brat. "We're home. See, there's my book, and there is yours. Now, we must make haste if we are to keep ourselves as, OURSELVES." The two ran as fast as they could. Hobbes looked over at Odie and gasped. He could see the yellows, blacks and whites draining from the little puppy's body as he ran. Hobbes looked down and again gasped, seeing that his own exuberant colors were leaving a pencil-marked shape that was hardly figure-flattering. Finally, they reached their books, so very glad that they would soon be home sweet home. They climbed inside and without saying a word to each other, just smiled. They didn't need to say anything, the smile was enough. And as they closed the covers to their books, they thought with a warm, fuzzy feeling, they were one step closer to a better world.

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