Query: No Job, No Gumdrops

Dear Chidester,

What do you do all day? How do you feed Ludwig gumdrops if you don't have any pennies? Maybe you could get a job in a candy store and get gumdrops for your bird and save up your pennies to buy your castle back.

Lady J

My dear, what a good question. Lady J, when Ludwig the Noble Bird and I lost every last penny--NOT EVEN ONE LEFT IN THE ROYAL PIGGYBANK!--I wondered what I would do!

Ludwig the Noble was worried, too, for she began chirping loudly in my ear every time we sat down to tea. The Royal Green Gumdrops were almost gone. Poor Ludwig! And it was all my fault. I had insisted on being noble and where had that left me? Without a penny.

My poor castle was now for sale. There was only one green gumdrop left for Ludwig.

So one morning, I took my blue polkadotted umbrella and Ludwig the Noble and I went searching for a job.

I thought just what you did, dear Lady J: why not work in a candy shop? What better place to work? Wouldn't you love to live in a candy shop? And wouldn't you love to eat lollipops for breakfast, and gobstoppers for lunch, and swedish fish for dinner! Like the rest of the noble Gumberry family, I LOVE macaroons. . .

During our walk, I thought about working at the candy shop and eating macaroons all day. And Ludwig had started to become very excited about munching gumdrops again!

But when we reached the store, this is what we saw:

Oh, dear! What would we do?

It was then I decided I must embark on a journey, a journey full of adventure. I, Chidester the Gumberry, would travel the world in search of my fortune! And then I would someday return to buy back Gumberry Castle!

But I'll tell you more about the beginning of my trip tomorrow.

Thank you, Lady J, for your lovely letter. What a perfect lady you must be--do you always finish your broccoli at dinner? I hope so!

Sincerely,

Chidester the Gumberry

PS. Ludwig the Noble chirps hello!