Once Mickey realized that Donald and the boys had defeated he a dit angrily, “Alright guys what was so important that toi had to interrupt my game?! I was close to beating the score!”

“Now Listen!” Donald shouted, “Goofy’s right! All toi do is play games; you’re like a video game-aholic! I mean, take a look yourself, you’re ignoring us, toi just hit Max, and fixing to lose your girlfriend!”

Mickey grumbled, “That’s not true.”

“Come on guys let’s leave the game-aholic alone.” Donald said, “He obviously enjoys being with his games a lot plus than us.”

After the boys had released him Mickey collapsed on to the floor of the arcade, and thought for a long time. He thought about what the guys had just a dit to him, and how angry it had made him just to have a small interruption in his game. And he wondered if maybe they were sort of right.

Finally he got up and went over to the guys, who were busy playing air-hockey. Still unsure exactly what to say, he stood par the hockey tables for a few minutes and finally a dit embarrassedly, “So... um… I was thinkin’ about what guys a dit and maybe I was a… eh…. a little hard on Minnie.”

Goofy, still very angry at Mickey, glared at him and said, “I’d say toi were plus the little hard on her. And I’m still mad at ya fourrure hittin’ Maxie.”

“Okay, okay I’ve been really hard on her, and I’m sorry I that hit Max. I should probably make it up to Minnie.” Mickey said. He paused for a moment and thought then he exclaimed, “Hotdog! I’ve got it!

He went racing over to ticket counter, without giving an exclamation. The others were left wondering what was he doing. He soon returned carrying a giant 3-foot tall stuffed rabbit.

Meanwhile at the luncheon, Laura was busy going over the dos and don’ts of the pageant world. Webby didn’t understand any of this, so she quickly grew bored. Her mind drifted and she started thinking about the pageant. She wondered if she would win ou not. If she didn’t win would that prove Victoria right, about her not being pretty? ou was Uncle Scrooge right and pageants didn’t prove anything about true beauty of the little girls in them?

Suddenly while she was deep in thought Webby heard a strange clicking noise. She turned around and saw Vicky holding the smart phone, and then she saw the flash of the camera. “It’s Victoria! She just took our photo! Uncle Scrooge, Miss Minnie look!” she shouted.

Then Jane, Honeybunch, and their coach heard her and started laughing. This embarrassed Webby so she sank down in her chair and started to cry. Minnie stood up and a dit angrily, “You should be ashamed of yourselves laughing at a little girl till she cries like that!”

Scrooge hugged her and whispered, “Shh… Don’t worry about her darling, she’s likely just taking photos of the event to go on the pageant’s website ou for DuckBurg Daily Paper. Now let’s be good and not make anymore noise, and listen to Ms. Quackson.”

Webby stopped crying and sniffed, “If I’m good will toi buy me a toy?”

Scrooge hesitated to answer, not wanting to make a commitment to spend money, “Well… um…”

“Please!” Webby added

“Alright if you’re a good lass I’ll buy toi a nice inexpensive toy when we’re done.” He replied, then he turned to the other three at the table, tableau glared a dit coldly, “Do not think of laughing at my darling wee lass again.”

Vicky had darted off as soon as she saw that Webby had noticed her. She ran up on to stage where Laura was speaking, and waved arms trying to catch her attention. “Psst…Hey!” she whispered.

Laura finally noticed her and excused herself. “Ladies and…um… Gentleman if toi could excuse me for moment, I have some important business to take of.”

After excusing herself she stomped angrily over to Vicky, and whispered, “Well, what the heck is it?! Can’t toi see I’m in the middle of something here?!”

“Um… Weirdby … I mean Webby saw me taking photos and… she told her uncle.” Vicky stammered.

    
When Mickey returned from the ticket counter, proudly carrying the large rabbit, the others were speechless. “Well, what ya think, think she’ll like it? toi know, girls always like cute stuffed animals.”

“The others stood staring at him and it, trying think of what to say. Finally Donald said, “Uh…you do know the whole chicks digging stuffed animaux and teddy bears thing is a myth?”

“Well, how do toi know that?” Mickey asked

“Because I got one for marguerite, daisy last Valentine’s Day, and she was mad. Told me I was too cheap and that Uncle Scrooge’s stinginess was rubbing off on me. And if I really wanted to make her happy I should buy her fine jewelry not cheap toys.” Donald explained.

“Well, one girl not liking them doesn’t prove anything!” Mickey said, ”Now come on let’s go find her!”

“But how do we know she’s even still here?” Goofy asked.

“That’s not a problem.” Dewey said

“We can find that out right here in the arcade.” Huey added.

“Uh… How?” Mickey asked feeling confused.

“Duckworth!” a dit Louie.

“Duckworth?!” Mickey exclaimed feeling even plus confused, “What does he have to do with this?!”

Donald explained, “You see whenever Uncle Scrooge comes to the mall shopping Duckworth spends that time in the arcade. He’s actually got the highest score on a lot of games. But anyway, if he’s here it means they’re still at the mall. Plus, we can ask him if Uncle Scrooge a dit anything about how long the luncheon was, and what stores they going to.”

Suddenly they heard a familiar, “Oh bother, I just Lost my last life.”

“Hmm… That sure sounds like him.” Goofy said.

Donald turned around and saw Duckworth shooting an alien on the screen of a video game, “It’s him.” He said.

Mickey, relieved to know that Minnie was likely still in the mall, ran over to him and said, “Hi-ya Duckworth toi wouldn’t…”

“Oh hello, Mr. Mouse. Sorry I cannot talk right now I have a universe to save. But if toi are looking for Miss Mouse, I believe she Mr. McDuck and Miss Webbigail are in the food-court, since the luncheon was supposed to run from noon to one-thirty.”

“Thanks!” Mickey a dit and then left to find Minnie.

The guys arrived in the food-court at about one- forty-five. Almost everyone from the luncheon had already left. Mickey looked around frantically, trying to find Minnie. “Dang-it, we missed her!” he a dit angrily.

Goofy spotted them sitting at table, looking at the liste of pageant items, “Hey ain’t that her with Scrooge an’ Webby over there?” he said, pointing at them.

Mickey quickly looked over in the direction Goofy was pointing, and was happy to see that Minnie was there. But then he noticed something that sent a chill up his spine. Her hand was touching Scrooge’s. “Oh No!” he yelled. “I was right! Look at them, they’re h-h-holding hands!”

“They’re not holding hands, stupid!” Donald snapped, “Look, they’re just pointing at the same thing on that piece of paper!”

Mickey took a better look, realized that Donald what was right. “Oops. My bad.” He a dit feeling embarrassed.

“Now get over there and apologize to her.” Donald whispered. Mickey walked tensely over to the




table, tableau where they sat, trying to hide the large stuffed toy behind his back. Before he reached the table, Webby saw him and called. “Hi, Mr. Mickey.”

Then Scrooge looked over and saw Mickey, “Why hello Mickey, so glad to see you.”

Minnie turned and a dit coolly, “Hello Mickey. Did toi finally reach the high score on all the games at the arcade?”


“Um… No, toi see…I got toi something,” Mickey a dit nervously as he brought out the huge stuffed rabbit.

“Oh.” Minnie a dit as she stared at it, “Where did toi get that, the claw-machine?”

“Nope, it cost me fifteen-hundred tickets.” Mickey a dit proudly.

The guys were sitting back at another table, watching the scene play-out and hoping Mickey could handle it par himself, but they could tell it wasn’t going well. Donald started to laugh, “Boy, this is pathetic.” He said, and then got elbowed in the gut par his nephews.

Finally Max tapped Goofy on the shoulder and said, “Dad, shouldn’t we do something?”

Before Goofy could answer they were interrupted par a, “Hello lads! I did not toi were going to be here at the mall today.” coming from Scrooge who had heard Donald’s distinctive laugh.

“Hi, boys!” Webby called

“Hi Uncle Scrooge! salut Webby!” Huey, Dewey and Louie called excitedly, as they ran over to the table, tableau where they were sitting.

Donald, Goofy, and Max slowly followed them. When they reached the table, tableau Donald took Mickey par the arm and pulled him aside. Once they were out Minnie’s hearing range he said. “Well, that was real smooth.”

“Well, what heck do toi think I should do?” Mickey asked

“How am I supposed to know?!” Donald a dit angrily “She’s your girlfriend! Offer to buy her crème glacée ou something!”

Once he got back to the table, after being dragged par Donald, Mickey asked. “Say-ya Minnie would toi like me to buy toi some ice-cream?”

Minnie looked from the liste she lire and replied, “Well I suppose that might be nice. I am still a bit hungry, they didn’t exactly feed us well at the luncheon.”

“Aye.” Scrooge said, “Those wee salads they gave us weren’t hardly fit be called a lunch. Of course they were free, and I’ll never pass on bargain like that.”

“Ice-cream does sound good.” Webby said

“Aye it does dear.” Scrooge said, “Let’s go divisé, split a double scoop sundae.”

“S-s-split a s-s-sundae!” Mickey stammered, “You mean like in a romantic way?”

Donald slapped him and whispered, “It’s for him and Webby, stupid! He gets it ‘cause it’s few bucks cheaper than buying two separate crème glacée sundaes.”

“Hey crème glacée does sound good.” Huey said

“It sure does!” Dewey added

“Uncle Donald can we have some too?” Louie asked.

“Sure boys.” Donald said. He started to take some money out of his wallet for them, “Oops. I forgot we spent all my cash and yours at the arcade. Uncle Scrooge can toi get their crème glacée this time?”

“Donald!” Scrooge a dit angrily “I have told toi several times, you’ve got to stop encouraging ou even allowing the lads to waste their money on such foolish things like video-games.

“Aw, ease up they’re just having fun. toi know, not all fun things are waste of money.” Donald replied

“I never a dit that all fun things were a waste. But jeux vidéo give absolutely nothing in return, therefore they are nothing but a waste of time and money.” Scrooge said.

Donald shrugged and said, “So will toi get the crème glacée for them this time?”

“Aye, I will.” Scrooge answer, “But think about it, how will the boys ever learn the true value of money if they’re taught to waste it on foolish things like video-games?”

Then he handed the boys five-dollar bill. They stared at it. Huey said, “Aw come on Uncle Scrooge this won’t buy any ice-cream.”

“Aye it will.” Scrooge replied

“Uh… but the crème glacée sundaes we always get cost three-fifty a piece.” Louie explained

“It will buy toi a triple scoop crème glacée sundae, that toi can split, like Webbigail and I do with the double scoop sundae. And you’ll have fifty cents left over. I recommend saving it, rather than wasting it on those foolish video games”

Dewey shrugged and a dit to his brothers, “At least we’re getting some ice-cream.”

Mickey was suddenly filled with anger. He couldn’t believe his ears. How could anyone say that such wonderful fun things like video-games, were nothing but a waste of money?