When a thirteen-year-old Finnley James Murray McDougall meets Wullie-The-Mahaar-Gome in his bedroom in Magnolia he should not have been as surprised as all that. Five years earlier when Finn had been visiting his Great Uncle Hugh McDougall in Tobermory on the Island of Mull in Scotland he ran into another strange little creature that started spitting at him from the weeping willow tree at the edge of the bog at the foot of Uncle Hugh's garden. It seems that Finn has a special ability to recognize lots of strange creatures that many other kids and almost all grown-ups can't see at all. Stinky-The-Bog-Murtle is an unpleasant and mischievous creature that amuses herself by annoying humans. She spits at Finn and tempts him into throwing his juggling balls at her so that Finn ends up losing all his juggling balls in the bog. Here are some pictures of that scene of The Rusty Pelican drawn by some young readers at High Lakes Elementary School in Bend, Oregon.
When I first invented the character of Stinky-The-Bog-Murtle I didn't think that she would have a big part in my stories overall. However, when I talked to several of the young readers in Bend, Oregon, it seems that they really like the idea of another creature that is rude and mischievous and cheeky, so I think I will bring Stinky back with a bigger and more complex role to play in a future adventure. If you have suggestions for how Stinky could mess up Finn's life in a future story or just post your comment here. If you want to draw me a picture of what you think Stinky looks like or of a new scene that features Stinky send it to me at: Gome World, P.O. Box 99327, Seattle, WA 98139-0327, USA.
Here is another great drawing of Stinky that I received recently from Gavin in Bend Oregon:
