The clean sweep of the broom challenge

Teresa is savagely angry. She slams the door behind her. Then she sets the broom in the corner. With any luck she won’t need it again today. After removing her outdoor shoes, she begins to clean up her muddy tracks on the floor. This takes her all of ten minutes, however it is just long enough for her to realize that she left her keys outside.

Panic races through her system. And she thinks of encountering them again. She used all her courage for the first battle. It was a hard won victory. Well…she made it back inside the house. Which, in her mind, is a decisive victory. But her keys are outside. Outside with them.

Teresa lives in a nice neighborhood. Furthermore she lives alone, and has lived here for many years. In fact, Teresa purchased one of the first houses built in this neighborhood. And she felt as though it was one of the best decisions she ever made. Until recently, until they showed up. Nevertheless, she still feels happy with her home. With this in mind, it is the raccoons that have changed things. When she thinks back on it now, she owes it all to those mischievous raccoons.

The clean sweep of the broom challenge

Once she has the floor cleaned, she makes some hot chocolate. The day is very cold and breezy. It’s possible that helped her. She isn’t too sure. It became a furiously savage battle. Actually…she swung the broom furiously. The raccoons were somewhat afraid. However, it took some serious yelling to get her point across. She was actually screaming at the top of her lungs as she chased them back into the woods across the street.

Moreover, she cursed them, while screaming and smacking them with the broom. She was going for the clean sweep. Damn things ruined all her gardens, and plucked every one of her flowers. Not to mention the daily vandalizing of her garbage cans. Teresa was livid when she saw them pulling up the remaining flowers in her garden. Therefore, she grabbed the broom, and the war was on.

She rushed from the house waving the broom and screaming,

“You cursed furry pests, be gone!” She chased them vehemently. Furthermore, she continued to scream at them.

“Confound it, be gone, be gone! Better you be yard gnomes than bandits, now be gone!” She punctuated each word with a swing of the broom. Each swing connecting with a furry hide felt very satisfying. The raccoons raced into the woods, and Theresa returned to her house on an adrenaline high.

The Broom Challenge

The next day Teresa is preparing to leave for work. The incident from yesterday is still fresh on her mind. Additionally, her keys are still outside. Last night, after careful consideration, she decided to leave them there. Besides, they had no interest in her keys. Similarly, she had no interest in a second battle, with those pesky raccoons. She gathers her things and walks past the broom in the corner. Her mind recalls fresh images of swatting raccoon tail, and she grins. What would a raccoon do with her keys anyway?

As she walks into the bright sunshine, she squints her eyes. The day is very bright and her sunglasses are in her car. Therefore, she shields her eyes and begins looking for her keys. They appear, right in front of her, in the hand of a very small garden gnome. The eyes are flat and without depth, however, the smile is unmistakable. Then, the little hand of the gnome, shakes the keys for her. And the smile widens. Furthermore, it is almost serene.

Teresa blinks, but doesn’t scream. In fact, she simply takes the keys and smiles. Then, she looks around her yard, and feels no surprise to see several small yard gnomes, busily tending to her gardens. They all turn their little heads toward her, and smile that flat wide grin. Now that’s how you do a clean sweep, she thinks, and she takes the keys from her helpful little gnome’s hand. Time to get to work. And she smiles, all the way there.

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