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Description
The day began like any other in Marzipan City. At Mung Daal's Catering Company, the elderly chef and his young apprentice, Chowder, were busy cooking various strange dishes. Many of them resulted in explosions of some kind (or other big messes), which Shnitzel grumbled about since he was the one who had to clean it up.

It went like that the entire morning, with Truffles occasionally yelling out that they had an order. Mung Daal and Chowder were in the middle of making some Burple Nurples when suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Chowder, could you get that? I'll take it from here." Mung asked. "Okay," Chowder replied as he did so.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see some familiar faces. "Oh boy, my cousins are here!" Chowder exclaimed happily. "Hi, Chowder!" they all greeted in unison. "I haven't seen you guys in forever! What brings you here?" Chowder asked as he hugged them all at once.

"Our parents are in town for the weekend, so we asked if we could come visit you," replied the oldest cousin, a green cat-bear-rabbit. "I'm glad you could stop by; the others would love to meet you all! C'mon, let's go inside." Chowder said as he motioned for the group to follow him inside the building. They did so, and Chowder introduced them each to Mung, Truffles and Shnitzel.

The strong rock monster was the least thrilled to meet Chowder's cousins, as he figured that all of them together would end up making a huge mess in the kitchen. Shnitzel mentioned this to Mung, who replied, "They can't possibly get into that much trouble, can they?" Just then, one of the youngsters accidentally knocked over a mixing bowl, spilling its contents all over the floor.

"I stand corrected," Mung Daal muttered. As the kids ran around getting into all kinds of mischief, the kitchen was soon in total disarray. "Radda radda radda," Shnitzel said. "You're right, Shnitzel; we should do something before one of them does something dangerous." Mung agreed. Both ducked as a flaming Burple Nurple flew over their heads.

When it landed some distance away from them, it burned a hole right through the floor. "My kitchen!" Mung yelled. "What's going on in there?!" Truffles shouted from the lobby. "Nothing, dear!" Mung called back nervously. "Well, whatever it is, keep it down or I'm coming in there!" Truffles replied. Mung Daal gulped. In a panic, he grabbed hold of Shnitzel and shook him.

"Quick, you've got to think of something!"

"R-radda...?" Shnitzel tried to say, dizzy from all the shaking. It was then that Mung got an idea. "Wait, of course! That's it!" he exclaimed. In a much louder voice, he hollered over the commotion, "Okay kids, I think that's enough cooking for today. Why don't you play outside for a while?" All of the children stopped what they were doing and agreed that it was a good idea.

"Great idea! Let's go to the park," Chowder suggested. "Ooh, that sounds like fun!" the youngest cousin - an orange cat-rabbit hybrid - piped up. "Follow me!" Chowder said as the entire gang made their way out the door. Mung Daal sighed in relief once the door slammed shut. "Well, I guess we'd better get this place cleaned up," he said to Shnitzel. "Radda radda," the rock monster grumbled.

On the way to their destination, Chowder's group walked past Panini, however they did not notice. As Panini turned around to say hi to Chowder, she saw him holding hands with the only girl in the group and gasped. Is she... Chowder's girlfriend?! Panini thought to herself. Tears welled up in her eyes. "How could you?" the pink cat-rabbit whispered sadly. She sniffled, then narrowed her eyes in anger.

"Fine, two can play at that game." Panini ran all the way back to Ms. Endive's Tasteful Foods in order to begin phase one of her plan. She grabbed a huge mixing bowl and immediately set to work making some Mustachio pudding. After it was finished, Panini made her way to the Marzipan City park and scanned the crowd for her targets. She quickly hid behind a bench when she spotted them near the swings.

"Don't worry Num-Nums, I'll get you back," Panini said to herself quietly. After making sure that no one was looking, she dumped the giant bowl of green pudding all over the magenta cat-bear sitting next to Chowder. Some of the dessert splashed onto the others, including Chowder himself. "Eww! What is this stuff?" the magenta-colored one squealed.

Chowder began licking the sticky substance off of himself. "Mmm, Mustachio pudding!" he commented. The others followed suit and before long, they were all sparkling clean. "Let's go play on the slide now!" one of the middle cousins, a blue bear-cat, suggested. With that, the gang rushed over to their next destination within the park.

Panini observed this from her hiding spot, frustrated that her plan had backfired. "Okay, time to try something else," she said. "Something... better." As the pink apprentice turned to walk away, she almost stepped in a mud puddle. At that very moment, she was struck with an idea. Panini ran all the way back into the city, then returned to the park a few minutes later with a massive catapult.

Once again ducking behind a bench, Panini aimed the catapult directly at the spot where Chowder and his cousins were playing. No one seemed to notice, despite the fact that something that large would be hard to miss. Panini then loaded the device with several big globs of icky mud. "Let's see how you like this!" she said spitefully, launching the globs into the air.

The group of cousins were surprised to see balls of mud hurtling towards them. "Whoa!" they shouted as they scrambled to get out of the way. The kids managed to dodge most of them, but by the time the mud stopped coming, they were all exhausted and out of breath. "What... was that... all about?" the second oldest cousin, a yellow cat, panted.

"Who would want to throw mud at us? And why?" asked the orange one. Chowder shrugged. "I dunno, but boy am I tired... let's go sit down for a while." The group walked over to one of the park's benches (thankfully not the one that Panini was hiding behind) and sat down to try and catch their breath. Disappointed that her second attempt failed as well, the young cat-rabbit was becoming desperate.

There was only one more thing left to try. Spotting a nearby vendor, Panini made her way over to the stand. Once there, she purchased a strange-looking bow and arrow set. The arrow itself had a small plunger on the end instead of a sharp point. Panini hid within a bush this time, not far from the bench where Chowder and his cousins still sat.

"That vendor guy told me this is a magical love arrow, and that it will make anyone it strikes fall in love with the first person they see," Panini mused. "If this doesn't work, then I don't know what will." She nocked the arrow, aimed at her target, and then released it. The arrow flew a short distance before striking Chowder in his backside.

"What the--?!" The purple apprentice shifted in his seat to see what had just struck him. The plunger on the end of the arrow made a "pop" sound when he removed it. "Where did this come from?" Just as Panini was about to jump out from the bush so Chowder would see her, a thrice cream cart passed by. "Oh boy, thrice cream! Let's go get some!" Chowder exclaimed.

The entire group leaped up from the bench and chased after the cart, eager to get their hands on the sweet treat. Panini was so upset that all of her attempts to win Chowder back had failed, she started to cry. Sobbing, the young cat-rabbit removed herself from the shrubbery and began the journey back home. I can't believe that nothing worked, she thought sadly. I guess Chowder really doesn't like me.

The gang once again walked past Panini, only this time Chowder stopped to greet her. "Hi, Panini! Have you met my cousins yet?" Panini perked up at that. "You mean she's not your girlfriend?" she asked, pointing at the magenta cat-bear. Each group member exchanged looks of confusion. "What? Of course not; she's my cousin! Her name is Bon-Bon, but she likes to be called Bonnie," Chowder explained.

Bon-Bon waved and greeted Panini with a friendly "hello." Chowder pointed to each cousin as he introduced them one by one. "This is Biscotti; he's Bon-Bon's twin brother."

"You can call me Scott," added the blue bear-cat. Chowder continued the introductions. "This one's Pistachio--"

"Hi!" the green cat-bear-rabbit interjected. "This here is Waffle..." The yellow cat waved shyly. "...And this is Cheddar." Chowder finished, gesturing to the orange cat-rabbit beside him. "Nice to meet you!" Cheddar spoke up. Panini smiled awkwardly as she shook hands with each one of Chowder's cousins. "I'm Panini. It's a pleasure to meet all of you too."

At that very moment, Chowder caught the scent of something cooking -- it seemed to be coming from Mung Daal's kitchen. "Mmm, something smells good! Come on guys, let's all head back to Mung's!" Chowder exclaimed. With that, the group rushed off in the direction of the catering company. Before they got too far, however, Chowder turned around to face Panini.

"Oh, and by the way... I'm not your boyfriend!" the purple apprentice said, then hurried to catch up with his cousins. Panini sighed dreamily as she watched them disappear over the horizon. "Music to my ears..."

THE END

Description
The day began like any other in Marzipan City. At Mung Daal's Catering Company, the elderly chef and his young apprentice, Chowder, were busy cooking various strange dishes. Many of them resulted in explosions of some kind (or other big messes), which Shnitzel grumbled about since he was the one who had to clean it up.

It went like that the entire morning, with Truffles occasionally yelling out that they had an order. Mung Daal and Chowder were in the middle of making some Burple Nurples when suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Chowder, could you get that? I'll take it from here." Mung asked. "Okay," Chowder replied as he did so.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see some familiar faces. "Oh boy, my cousins are here!" Chowder exclaimed happily. "Hi, Chowder!" they all greeted in unison. "I haven't seen you guys in forever! What brings you here?" Chowder asked as he hugged them all at once.

"Our parents are in town for the weekend, so we asked if we could come visit you," replied the oldest cousin, a green cat-bear-rabbit. "I'm glad you could stop by; the others would love to meet you all! C'mon, let's go inside." Chowder said as he motioned for the group to follow him inside the building. They did so, and Chowder introduced them each to Mung, Truffles and Shnitzel.

The strong rock monster was the least thrilled to meet Chowder's cousins, as he figured that all of them together would end up making a huge mess in the kitchen. Shnitzel mentioned this to Mung, who replied, "They can't possibly get into that much trouble, can they?" Just then, one of the youngsters accidentally knocked over a mixing bowl, spilling its contents all over the floor.

"I stand corrected," Mung Daal muttered. As the kids ran around getting into all kinds of mischief, the kitchen was soon in total disarray. "Radda radda radda," Shnitzel said. "You're right, Shnitzel; we should do something before one of them does something dangerous." Mung agreed. Both ducked as a flaming Burple Nurple flew over their heads.

When it landed some distance away from them, it burned a hole right through the floor. "My kitchen!" Mung yelled. "What's going on in there?!" Truffles shouted from the lobby. "Nothing, dear!" Mung called back nervously. "Well, whatever it is, keep it down or I'm coming in there!" Truffles replied. Mung Daal gulped. In a panic, he grabbed hold of Shnitzel and shook him.

"Quick, you've got to think of something!"

"R-radda...?" Shnitzel tried to say, dizzy from all the shaking. It was then that Mung got an idea. "Wait, of course! That's it!" he exclaimed. In a much louder voice, he hollered over the commotion, "Okay kids, I think that's enough cooking for today. Why don't you play outside for a while?" All of the children stopped what they were doing and agreed that it was a good idea.

"Great idea! Let's go to the park," Chowder suggested. "Ooh, that sounds like fun!" the youngest cousin - an orange cat-rabbit hybrid - piped up. "Follow me!" Chowder said as the entire gang made their way out the door. Mung Daal sighed in relief once the door slammed shut. "Well, I guess we'd better get this place cleaned up," he said to Shnitzel. "Radda radda," the rock monster grumbled.

On the way to their destination, Chowder's group walked past Panini, however they did not notice. As Panini turned around to say hi to Chowder, she saw him holding hands with the only girl in the group and gasped. Is she... Chowder's girlfriend?! Panini thought to herself. Tears welled up in her eyes. "How could you?" the pink cat-rabbit whispered sadly. She sniffled, then narrowed her eyes in anger.

"Fine, two can play at that game." Panini ran all the way back to Ms. Endive's Tasteful Foods in order to begin phase one of her plan. She grabbed a huge mixing bowl and immediately set to work making some Mustachio pudding. After it was finished, Panini made her way to the Marzipan City park and scanned the crowd for her targets. She quickly hid behind a bench when she spotted them near the swings.

"Don't worry Num-Nums, I'll get you back," Panini said to herself quietly. After making sure that no one was looking, she dumped the giant bowl of green pudding all over the magenta cat-bear sitting next to Chowder. Some of the dessert splashed onto the others, including Chowder himself. "Eww! What is this stuff?" the magenta-colored one squealed.

Chowder began licking the sticky substance off of himself. "Mmm, Mustachio pudding!" he commented. The others followed suit and before long, they were all sparkling clean. "Let's go play on the slide now!" one of the middle cousins, a blue bear-cat, suggested. With that, the gang rushed over to their next destination within the park.

Panini observed this from her hiding spot, frustrated that her plan had backfired. "Okay, time to try something else," she said. "Something... better." As the pink apprentice turned to walk away, she almost stepped in a mud puddle. At that very moment, she was struck with an idea. Panini ran all the way back into the city, then returned to the park a few minutes later with a massive catapult.

Once again ducking behind a bench, Panini aimed the catapult directly at the spot where Chowder and his cousins were playing. No one seemed to notice, despite the fact that something that large would be hard to miss. Panini then loaded the device with several big globs of icky mud. "Let's see how you like this!" she said spitefully, launching the globs into the air.

The group of cousins were surprised to see balls of mud hurtling towards them. "Whoa!" they shouted as they scrambled to get out of the way. The kids managed to dodge most of them, but by the time the mud stopped coming, they were all exhausted and out of breath. "What... was that... all about?" the second oldest cousin, a yellow cat, panted.

"Who would want to throw mud at us? And why?" asked the orange one. Chowder shrugged. "I dunno, but boy am I tired... let's go sit down for a while." The group walked over to one of the park's benches (thankfully not the one that Panini was hiding behind) and sat down to try and catch their breath. Disappointed that her second attempt failed as well, the young cat-rabbit was becoming desperate.

There was only one more thing left to try. Spotting a nearby vendor, Panini made her way over to the stand. Once there, she purchased a strange-looking bow and arrow set. The arrow itself had a small plunger on the end instead of a sharp point. Panini hid within a bush this time, not far from the bench where Chowder and his cousins still sat.

"That vendor guy told me this is a magical love arrow, and that it will make anyone it strikes fall in love with the first person they see," Panini mused. "If this doesn't work, then I don't know what will." She nocked the arrow, aimed at her target, and then released it. The arrow flew a short distance before striking Chowder in his backside.

"What the--?!" The purple apprentice shifted in his seat to see what had just struck him. The plunger on the end of the arrow made a "pop" sound when he removed it. "Where did this come from?" Just as Panini was about to jump out from the bush so Chowder would see her, a thrice cream cart passed by. "Oh boy, thrice cream! Let's go get some!" Chowder exclaimed.

The entire group leaped up from the bench and chased after the cart, eager to get their hands on the sweet treat. Panini was so upset that all of her attempts to win Chowder back had failed, she started to cry. Sobbing, the young cat-rabbit removed herself from the shrubbery and began the journey back home. I can't believe that nothing worked, she thought sadly. I guess Chowder really doesn't like me.

The gang once again walked past Panini, only this time Chowder stopped to greet her. "Hi, Panini! Have you met my cousins yet?" Panini perked up at that. "You mean she's not your girlfriend?" she asked, pointing at the magenta cat-bear. Each group member exchanged looks of confusion. "What? Of course not; she's my cousin! Her name is Bon-Bon, but she likes to be called Bonnie," Chowder explained.

Bon-Bon waved and greeted Panini with a friendly "hello." Chowder pointed to each cousin as he introduced them one by one. "This is Biscotti; he's Bon-Bon's twin brother."

"You can call me Scott," added the blue bear-cat. Chowder continued the introductions. "This one's Pistachio--"

"Hi!" the green cat-bear-rabbit interjected. "This here is Waffle..." The yellow cat waved shyly. "...And this is Cheddar." Chowder finished, gesturing to the orange cat-rabbit beside him. "Nice to meet you!" Cheddar spoke up. Panini smiled awkwardly as she shook hands with each one of Chowder's cousins. "I'm Panini. It's a pleasure to meet all of you too."

At that very moment, Chowder caught the scent of something cooking -- it seemed to be coming from Mung Daal's kitchen. "Mmm, something smells good! Come on guys, let's all head back to Mung's!" Chowder exclaimed. With that, the group rushed off in the direction of the catering company. Before they got too far, however, Chowder turned around to face Panini.

"Oh, and by the way... I'm not your boyfriend!" the purple apprentice said, then hurried to catch up with his cousins. Panini sighed dreamily as she watched them disappear over the horizon. "Music to my ears..."

THE END