It was a cold, snowy Christmas Eve and Grumpy Bear had just tucked his son Chunky Bear in for the night. 

"Dad, can you tell me a bedtime story?" he asked. Grumpy was tired from a day full of shoveling snow and caroling, but of course he said yes. Chunky was quite the night owl himself, often staying up for hours reading and reading. He loved "Calvin & Hobbes" and "The Chronicles of Narnia". 

"Have I ever read you my favorite book from when I was a cub?" asked Grumpy. 

"I don't think so, Dad. What's it called?" 

"It's called 'Parmesan Peninsula Prisoner' and it's quite the tale!" he said. And with that, Grumpy cracked open the old, dusty book and began reading.

Once upon a time in Parmesan Penninsula, there lived a playful cat named Jojo, who was the best pie-maker in his little town. His shop was called "Woodland Wonders" because it was located right next to a lovely wooded area. Jojo and his apprentice, Schnitzel, loved taking walks behind the bakery every morning to get inspiration for their pie flavors, and to just enjoy the fresh air. Jojo was proud of his prize-winning pies and was thrilled to pass on his legacy. The trouble was, Schnitzel was enthusiastic but not very bright. Schnitzel tried his best, but bless his heart, wasn't picking up on the crust technique nor could he execute the filling preparation. On a cloudy Tuesday in November, Jojo had decided he was going to fire Schnitzel on their walk. As they headed up the stony path for their walk, however, something stopped them in their tracks.

"Halt! Who goes there?" shouted an odd creature neither Jojo nor Schnitzel had ever seen before. 

Schnitzel hesitantly replied, "Um...it's just a couple normal bakers..."

"Ah but no! I see it's YOU, Jojo and Schnitzel!" said the creature. "Just the ones I was looking for! Come with me!"

"Do you think we should, boss?" Schnitzel asked Jojo, who replied, "Uh...probably yes since he knows our names. I'm a bit alarmed, but there's no use protesting."

Jojo said, "Sure we'll come with you, but could you please tell us where we're going?" 

"I'm taking you to my master - he has a very important message for you," said the creature. So they hopped into the boat and let the creature lead the way. He was a great paddler!

Before they knew it, they had arrived at a sunny beach. The creature had talked their ears off the whole trip there, but they honestly couldn't remember much of what he'd said. "Hmm must've not been too important, I suppose" said Jojo.

"WELCOME to my yard," said another strange being as they disembarked. "I've been waiting for you!" Oddly, he did not have a mouth, but Jojo and Schnitzel could hear him as clear as day. "I am The Fortune Teller Slime (TFTS), and I have a very important mission for you. MediumFoot is on the loose, and you two are the only ones who can stop him!" 

"Oh goodness," said Schnitzel. "Who's MediumFoot and what's he up to?"

"Well, he's this hairy creature who causes trouble. He's elusive, rude, and fiesty. Recently he's been hassling animals at Golden Falls."  

"Hassling animals at Golden Falls?!" exclaimed Schnitzel. "Let's get him!"

"Wait a minute, there, Schnitzel" said TFTS, "You're going to need a couple things. One, a guide - that's me. I'll instruct you with these walkie talkies. Two - a perfectly round rock. And three - a worm from Bob Ross Pond."

"Oh wow, cool! Thanks for the walkie talkies!" said Jojo.

"Let's start by testing these bad boys out while you two find a perfectly round rock," said TFTS.

And so they did. They only got minorly distracted by skipping rocks for a bit, but then they were ready for the next step of the mission.

"Off to find that worm!" said Schnitzel. "I know the way to Bob Ross Pond!" 

"Huh," thought Jojo, "I'm glad he knows where he's going."

When they arrived at the pond, they saw 4 worms squiggling around and making the strangest sounds. Apparently, the worms were hard of hearing, so their voices came out like "ckbugslgkjhal" or "djncshoighcn". When Schnitzel asked if a worm would come with them, it came out as a jumble of "dfgchakhgnahglajghnl." Jojo couldn't take it any more, so he scooped one out of the pond and stuffed it in his pocket. "You're coming with us, Mister." Funny enough, the worm's name actually was Mister, and he was happy to go on a little adventure. 

"Come in, Jojo," TFTS directed over the walkie talkie. "You've got all that you need now! Great work! At this point, you'll want to follow that path up the stairs toward the north for about 3 miles. You'll pass over a large boulder, and then it's still a 5 mile walk through the woods to get to Golden Falls. If you get hungry, you know what to do with that worm..." 

"Roger," said Jojo but inside he was thinking, "I hope it doesn't come to worm-eating. Maybe we'll find a shortcut." And so they were off!