The Tale of the Missing Tail

      Alshena the Plushie Aisha held back tears as the other Neopets pointed and laughed at her. They were ridiculing her for a feature (or lack thereof) that she couldn't help. The poor little kitty had been born without a tail. She cowered in shame as the bullies continued to make fun of her. She trembled as they gloated and laughed.

      However, then her sister Stepholla came to the rescue. "Knock it off!" exclaimed Steph. "That's so mean! How would you like it if someone did that to you?! Get some manners!" Then she turned to Alshena. "C'mon, Ally, let's go."

      Ally sauntered away, the weight of sorrow in her steps. She wished that the other Neopets would treat her the way they wanted to be treated. "Don't listen to them," Steph reassured her sister. "Not every Neopet is nice. Ignore the mean ones— there will always be some bullies."

      "Okay," frowned Ally. "I wish they'd stop. It's not my fault that I don't have a tail."

      "I know. Make the best of it."

      Later that day, Ally walked outside and saw her other sister Influir handing out invitations to a posh party. "It's going to be the best birthday ever!" she gushed. "There will be a live performance from the Hikalakas! Also, there will be tons of tasty food. Being a rich girl, I can afford to buy whatever I want!"

      The other Neopets rolled their eyes. "We know," one of them grumbled.

      "Exactly! My luxurious royal color wasn't cheap. Anyway, this party will be a sweet escape from your troubles! It will be soooooo much fun! I hope to see all of you there!" Then she strode away.

      As she was leaving, she saw Ally. "Oh, yeah," she began, putting on bright red lipstick. "You're invited, too, because you're my sister." Then she disappeared from sight.

      Then Ally overheard two twin Neopets having a conversation. "She's such a narcissist!" one of them exclaimed. "We shouldn't go."

      "Well, I want to see the Hikalakas," replied the other one. "I think it'll be fun."

      The first Neopet sighed. "Well, if you're going, then I'm going also. Twins stick together."

      Ally bit her tongue. She felt despondent upon hearing someone insult her sister. She believed that although Influir was very vain, she didn't deserve to be the topic of a negative discussion. After all, the Royal Gelert was much more pleasant than those nasty bullies.

      Then Ally saw Steph. "Hey, Ally," the Kacheek greeted her. "Did Influir invite you to her party?"

      "She sure did," smiled Ally. "Did she invite you?"

      "Of course." Steph grinned. "I'm looking forward to the live musical performance."

      "Me too."

      At the party, the performance was stunning. Hundreds of young Neopets danced in front of the stage while screaming and shouting. The noise was unbearable— it pierced Ally's eardrums. She ran away, seeking refuge from the racket.

      She made her way to the edge of the property, where the sound was less severe. She noticed the bullies playing a game. It appeared to be "Pin the Tail on the Donkey". "Hey, Ally," one of them gloated, "Would you like to play with us?"

      "Um, sure," she replied nervously. "You're playing "Pin the Tail on the Donkey", right?"

      "Sort of," grinned the other Neopet. "It's called "Pin the Tail on Ally"."

      Sure enough, there was a poster depicting a Plushie Aisha accompanied by a bunch of tails with pins on them. Ally's eyes welled up with tears. "Leave me alone!" she screamed as she rushed away sorrowfully and angrily.

      As she was running, she heard Steph in the background. "That was so mean!" the Kacheek was yelling. "Tell her you're sorry!"

      "Make us," smiled one of the bullies.

      "Monsters!" Steph caught up with Ally. "Don't listen to them," stated Steph. "I know it's hard, but you've got to ignore those bullies."

      "It sure is difficult," replied Ally despondently. "It's not like I can grow a tail at will, so they'll never stop."

      "I know. That's why you shouldn't pay any attention to them."

      The party was over. As Influir's butlers cleaned up the mess left by hundreds of guests, a young Kougra noticed Ally's sorrow. "Hey, kid," he began. "You look pretty sad. Here's something to cheer you up." He handed her a piece of paper.

      "What is it?" she asked.

      "It's an invitation," he smiled. "My friends and I are hosting a track race. You can compete, or you can just watch. There will be Neopoint prizes for the top three winners, and the proceeds from the tickets will go to charity." He paused. "Oh, and there are cool stickers on the back."

      "Thanks," replied Ally. "I'll consider it. I feel a bit better now."

      "I'm glad to hear that. See you around."

      A few days later, Ally decided that she wanted to compete. She was a pretty fast runner. She registered for the event, then showed up at the track on the big day.

      She noticed that the entrants were mostly Aishas and Kougras. Among them were the bullies. She took a big gulp of water, then awaited the start of the race. "3... 2... 1... GO!!!"

      Ally took off running. She noticed that there were hurdles to jump over. This wasn't a problem for her. "Faerie Aisha!" the announcer yelled. "Flying over the hurdles is forbidden! If you do it again, you will be disqualified!"

      The Aisha descended to the ground. She tried to jump over another hurdle, but then she yelped in pain. Her tail had become stuck in the hurdle! She desperately tried to free herself, but the hurdle was mounted to the ground.

      "Oh, my!" cried the announcer. Sure enough, all of the contestants had gotten their tails stuck in the hurdles. Yet Ally continued to run. For once, she was glad that she didn't have a tail.

      She finished her first lap. Then she passed all the poor entrants, their tails still hopelessly stuck. "Oh, gosh!" frowned the announcer. "This is a disaster!" Several referees ran onto the track to help the Neopets.

      Ally quickly finished the race. "It looks like we have a winner!" smiled the announcer. "This Aisha doesn't have a tail, so she wasn't caught in the hurdles. Meanwhile, everyone else is literally stuck."

      Ally smiled and waved to the crowd. The bullies were scowling, taken aback by her success. Then a Kougra ran onto the track. "Here is your prize, young lady!" he grinned. "50,000 Neopoints!"

      "Thank you very much!" Then Steph ran onto the track and gave Ally a big hug. "See? It's not the end of the world that you don't have a tail! Everything worked out!"

      Ally hugged her sister back. They walked off of the track, then ran into Influir. "Congrats," she greeted Ally. "Running isn't my style. I'm a pretty princess, you see."

      "Thanks," answered Ally. "I hope you enjoyed watching the race."

      "I did. Seeing everyone flail around was just comical." She laughed.

      "Hey, that's not very nice," frowned Steph.

      "But it's true!" persisted Influir.

      "Anyway... GROUP HUG!" yelled Ally joyfully. As the three embraced, Ally's heart continued to race. Her lack of a tail had actually helped her. She decided that the bullies' mean comments were unimportant. She grinned while hugging her sisters underneath the gaze of the brilliant sun.

      The End.