Two weeks passed and it happened again. Bill had been reading his book in his favorite chair when suddenly something started running underneath his carpeting again. The first time it happened bill was sitting in the exact same spot reading his favorite book. Bill actually thought maybe he was seeing things that first time but there is no question now, it was really a mystery. Bill thought to himself I don't ask very much for my life I like to read my books and I like it very, very quiet. Bill hadn't been this angry since those hideous children down the street thought they could ride their bicycles in front of his house at two o'clock on a Saturday afternoon. What were those hideous children thinking ruining a perfectly good Saturday with their loud laughing? Bill told those children off and they ran away into their homes exactly the way it should be on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Everyone knows the weekends are for quiet reading.

Bill didn't dare ask the neighbors if anything strange was happening in their houses. He suddenly realized that he didn't have a friend in the world. A few minutes later the strange creature ran again from one end of the living room to the other underneath the carpeting. Bill picked up a chair from the dining room set and started smashing it on top of whatever of the mystery creature could be. Unfortunately the creature didn't die it just ran back and forth across his living room. Just when he thought the day couldn't get any worse he could hear the laughing of children outside. It's bad enough the neighborhood children bug him all weekend long do they have to be up in the nighttime too. Where are their parents he thought. It looked like his favorite chair and his favorite book were going to have to wait. This mystery had to be solved.

 

The next morning Bill contacted the local exterminator and asked him to come and check out his house. The exterminator came and could not find any evidence of animals large enough to make that kind of dent in the carpeting. The exterminator did find some string and a hole in the back door and running all the way to the front doors. Neither of them could explain where it came from. The mystery continued. The exterminator went out the back door to check out the yard and asked Bill why he had so many balls in his backyard when he had no children. Bill said he collected the balls from the neighborhood lawns and anytime a ball landed in his yard he would not give it back to those horrible neighborhood children. He said that toys just get them all excited and make them want to make noise and he hated noise.

Suddenly an idea came to the exterminator, he knew exactly what was going on in Bill's house. The exterminator told Bill maybe if you're a little nicer to the neighborhood children and you hand back all these balls your troubles will go away. Bill asked why and the exterminator said I'm not going to tell you but I guarantee you if you give back all the balls your troubles will be over.

Bill did listen to the exterminator and sent him on his way. A few weeks later the exact same thing happened again a wild animal ran back and forth across to this living room underneath the carpeting terrifying him. Bill thought I better listen to that exterminator and return all the balls to the neighborhood kids. He figured what can it hurt I mean this had to stop. One by one Bill returned every single ball in his backyard to the various neighborhood kids. He wasn't sure exactly where they went but he figured they'd get to the right place eventually. On the second to the last house he returned three balls and a Frisbee. The young man that lived in the house said OK Bill because you returned our balls I promise not to play with them in your house anymore. Bill asked what he was talking about. The little boy said Jamie from down the street and he decide to play a trick on Bill. They put a ball underneath the carpeting and with a string attached pull back and forth on either side of your house to teach you a lesson not to steal our toys. Bill laughed and promised never to do it again.