Cheaper by the Dozen

          Diamond and Brian were sitting in the living room watching TV, when the doorbell rang.

          "I got it," Diamond said, getting up.

         The jester slipped on his eye patch as he headed over to the front then answered it. Standing there was a postman, holding an oddly shaped container of some sort. The yellow-orange container was more than a foot wide, shaped like a short cylinder with a few small holes and a nob at the top, had latches that kept the lid on, and appeared to be made of both plastic and metal. Dimentio called Brian over to take the container so he can give the delivery man his signature. As Brian held the container, he thought he heard some peeping noises. Maybe there was a bird's nest outside...

           After Diamond signed the paper, the postman left, then the jester and strongman brought the strange container to the kitchen and sat it on the table. The two stared at the container with curiosity.

           "So...What do yeh think it is?" Brian asked, scratching his head.

           "Not entirely sure...Though it's kinda reminds be of the top of a baby bottle," Dimentio answered with a bit of a chuckle. He then perked up his ears as he heard some small sounds. "By the way, do you hear that?"

           "I thought it was comin' from outside at first," Brian answered, "It sounds like baby birds."

            The two listened carefully for the source of the sound, and it didn't take them long to realize it was coming from the container in front of them. They lowered heads and listened to the inside of the container, where sure enough, the peeping was coming from. The two men looked at each other for a moment, then undid the latches, and Brian pulled open the lid. Brian and Dimentio were both surprised, yet delighted when they saw what was inside. A dozen little baby chickens.

            "Hey! Who invited the chicks?" Diamond chuckled.

            "Awwwww....Look at look at them little guys," Brian cooed, as he gently petted one of the baby chicks with his finger.

            "What's going on?" Mimi asked as she came into the kitchen, "Did a package arrive?" And once she saw the baby chicks, a big smile formed on her face as her eyes twinkled. "Awwww! Baby chicks!"

             Dimentio smiled to see Mimi so happy, as she walked over to the table and held one of the chicks in her hands.

             "I didn't know we were getting chickens," Mimi said.

             "Yeah, neither did I," Brian said as he was gently holding a few chicks in his big hands, "Timpani usually tells me when we're gonna get new animals."

              "Well, at least we'll save money on eggs when they're grown up," Diamond said, as he held a little brown and yellow chick in his hand as he petted it's head with his other hand's index finger.

              "I hope we get to keep them," Mimi said, then lightly nuzzled the chick she was holding, "They're so cute."

               Diamond then noticed someone in the doorway and had to suppress his laughter a little. "Look at Nastasia!" he whispered as he pointed.

               Brian smiled and Mimi snickered when they saw Nastasia standing there, hands clasped together, and a look of absolute adoration on her face as she looked at the chicks. Apparently, even she couldn't resist their cuteness. She joined the other three at the table, and held and petted the baby chicks as well.

              "Nastasia, did you know if Tippi or Blumiere ordered baby chickens?" Mimi asked.

              "No, I didn't," Nastasia answered, "They weren't even on their lists. Perhaps, there was a mix up in the supply orders that were made."

              "Well, this is teh best mix up ever," Brian said.

             After a while, Blumiere and Timpani came into the kitchen, and just like the others, they were surprised by the delivery of baby chickens. As Nastasia suspected, there was a mix up in deliveries.

             "I wonder what made them think we ordered a dozen chicks, or if this was someone else's order," Blumiere said.

             "I have a theory on what happened," Timpani said, "While I was making orders over the phone, the guy on the other end sounded foreign, and a few times had trouble understanding what I was ordering. I think he misunderstood me when I ordered a supply of chips."

             Everyone chuckled at this.

            "I wonder what other orders you made that he misunderstood," Blumiere said, "We might end up with more unexpected deliveries."

            A little later, Blumiere and Timpani went into another room to talk about what to do with the baby chicks.

            "So are we gonna keep them?" Blumiere asked.

            "Brian and the others seem to love them, I think we should," Timpani answered, "Besides, if any of them grow up to be hens, we won't have to worry about spending money on eggs."

            The couple told the others about their decision to keep the chicks, which made everybody happy, plus there was no doubt Brian would take good care of them.