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Willy was sorely disappointed by the departure of the nice man with the monkey. The creature itself was fascinating; at first he had thought it to be some strange type of cat, but he quickly found that it was not so. Shimshins - even his name was exotic! - was far more interesting than any cat could ever hope to be with his nimble little hands and expressive face. The man had to work, though, and Shimshins went with him. Willy turned to Nick, who appeared as down-trodden as himself, and said, “Well, I guess we’re on our own.” Nick looked up at him with big brown eyes that were again filled with shyness and worry over breaking the rules. It was one of Willy’s only frustrations in Nick’s companionship - the younger hobbit was not yet old enough to understand that some rules were meant to be broken.
“Come on, Nick!” said Willy jauntily, trying to imitate his oldest brother’s carefree attitude. “There’s nothing going on in here. Let’s go outside.” Nick reached over and grabbed Willy’s hand. He nodded, “Okay.” Willy led Nick outside where everyone was working busily. The man - Seamus? - had said they might be able to help, or watch his monkey. Willy was saddened to find the monkey still perched on the man's shoulder. Tables were being moved, which were too heavy for either of them to lift, among various other things, but nothing looked interesting to a young hobbit lad with a penchant for excitement.
The next best thing to excitement was mischief, and Willy wondered what he might find to do. The stables caught his eye. Stables meant cats and cats were fun to rile up. He would never actually hurt the animals, just scare them a bit. He tugged Nick along beside him and carefully avoided the attention of busy workers, especially the one Willy had picked out as the stablemaster. Inside, the smell of ponies and freshly turned hay greeted the brothers, and Willy’s sharp eyes quickly found what he was looking for: a fluffy white cat. He motioned for Nick to wait and be quiet as he snuck up behind the cat. He nearly had it when the first strains of a chord became audible. The band was practicing now!
“Later,” he promised the cat, and snagged Nick. “Maybe we can see Shimshins dance now,” he said, hurrying outside. Nick struggled to keep pace. “Wait!” he called. “I want to see monkey dance, too.” Impatiently, Willy waited for his slower brother to catch up. He did not want to miss Shimshins. He had no need for worry however; the band was only just warming up, and Shimshins had not yet left the man’s shoulder, as if waiting for a cue. Willy went right up to the platform; Nick followed behind more reservedly but eager for another look at the funny creature. Willy was not disappointed; the monkey soon began to strike up a merry dance...
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