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Rufus was a badger whose greatest talent was collecting unusual things. His favorite find was a single, enormous, fire-engine red rubber boot that he used as a cozy armchair. It had a wonderful, slightly dusty smell and fit him perfectly when he curled up for a nap.

One sunny afternoon, Rufus was enjoying a light doze in his boot when he was woken by a frantic tapping. It was Esmeralda the field mouse, bouncing up and down with worry. "Rufus! Rufus! Have you seen my extra-fluffy, rainbow-striped knitting yarn?"

Rufus yawned and stretched his striped paws. "Nope. Just me and my comfy boot, Esmeralda. Why don't you check your pantry?"

Esmeralda wrung her tiny paws. "I did! But my Cousin Chuckles is coming to visit, and he only accepts gifts knitted from that specific yarn! He's very particular about his mittens."

Suddenly, a strange Zzzzzzt sound came from inside the boot. Rufus carefully peered down the opening. Sitting right in the toe, completely surrounded by a mess of rainbow fluff, was a tiny, bewildered beetle wearing a pair of half-knitted rainbow mittens. It was trying to use a blade of grass to untangle the mess, making the Zzzzzzt sound as it wiggled.

"Aha!" cried Rufus. "The boot thief! Wait, no, the yarn napper!"

The beetle, whose name was Chester, looked up with big, glossy eyes. "I'm dreadfully sorry," Chester buzzed sheepishly. "I found this lovely rainbow cloud, and I was trying to knit my own little cocoon! I thought the boot was an excellent place for quiet crafting."

Esmeralda giggled. "Well, your color choice is excellent, Chester, but that yarn is needed for Cousin Chuckles' mittens!"

Rufus gently scooped Chester out. Esmeralda happily retrieved her yarn, though she let Chester keep the tiny, slightly lopsided rainbow mittens he'd already finished. Rufus settled back into his boot-chair, deciding that finding odd objects was always less complicated than finding stolen knitting supplies.