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1. Barking
Linda always enjoyed those rare quiet moments in the morning, before she had to get up and make breakfast and take Candace and the boys to school. She was just about to get up when she was startled by a loud barking sound coming from the living room.
Lawrence (who Linda always had to all but throw off the bed to wake up) sat up and rubbed his eyes. “What's that?” he muttered, still half asleep.
Linda sighed, so much for her quiet moment. She sat up and answered “I don't know, did the neighbors get a new dog?”.
“I don't know” Lawrence muttered. They were interrupted by the strange barking sound again.
“Well, I guess we're all awake now. We might as well go and see what all that noise is” Linda said. She got out of the bed and put on her slippers.
Lawrence laid back down and muttered into his pillow “five more minutes”.
Linda rolled her eyes before putting on her robe. She reached towards the door. At that moment they heard the odd barking sound again.
“I'm getting up! I'm getting up! Jeez” Lawrence said, grabbing his glasses.
Linda opened their bedroom door and the two of them walked out to the living room. When they got to the living room they found none other than their new pet platypus standing on their couch looking out of the windows with the fur on his back raised.
Linda and Lawrence both paused and looked at him in bewilderment. Perry barked again, his face inches from the glass.
“Perry?” Linda asked.
Perry turned and looked her straight in the eye before turning back to the window and barking again.
Linda walked up next to Perry and looked out of the window. “He's barking at the mailman!” She told Lawrence.
“I'll admit, I don't know a lot about platypodes, but when we got him a couple of days ago this was somehow not what I expected.” Lawrence said.
Phineas and Ferb came down the stairs both still wearing their pajamas. “Is that Perry barking?” Phineas asked.
“Yeah, sorry he woke you up” Lawrence said
“I didn't know that platypodes could bark like that.” Phineas said.
“Or raise their hackles” Linda added.
“Platypodes don't normally do either, the normal platypus sound is more of a chrrrrrrr” Ferb informed them, rolling the R.
Perry had the good sense to look embarrassed before running off to hide under the couch.
Linda never heard Perry bark again.
———
2. Eating
Linda opened the front door, struggling to balance the grocery bags. She managed to finish her errands early, meaning she has a little bit of well-earned alone time before she needs to pick up the boys and Candace from school.
She shut the door with her foot and stumbled into the dining room. She dropped the bags onto the table, and went to put her shoes away. She stopped when she spotted Perry standing on the counter eating an apple.
“Perry!” She chastised. She thought for a moment before saying “wait, didn't Ferb tell us that platypodes are carnivorous?”.
Perry, looking ashamed, jumped off of the counter and ran off to hide. Linda was left standing looking at the mostly-eaten apple on her counter.
Linda never saw Perry eating fruit again.
———
3. Purring
Linda sat down with a sigh. Phineas and Ferb were outside playing and Candace was at the mall with Stacy. No phone calls about the boys today.
She grabbed her book off of the coffee table and settled in to start reading. She read for a while before Perry came in through the open back door.
“Hey, Perry. How was your day?” Linda asked. Perry chattered in response.
He walked over to the couch and expectantly stared at Linda. “Do you want up?” she asked.
She set her book on the coffee table and picked him up by the armpits. She set Perry down in the seat next to her. “You've gotten hefty Perry” Linda said.
He circled a couple of times before setting in touching her side. After a few minutes Linda noticed that she could hear him purring.
Phineas came in through the back door and stopped to see Perry. “Is he purring?” He asked. “Yes. Yes he is.” Linda answered.
“Cool! I didn't know platypodes could purr.” Phineas said.
Linda never heard Perry purr again.
———
4. Digging
Linda opened her car's trunk and started to grab the grocery bags. It was taking longer than normal for Candace to drag her into the back yard.
Candace came running out of the house shouting “Mom! Mom!”.
Linda sighed and said “what wild story is it today?”.
“The boys built the eiffel tower in the back yard!” Candace said, trying to drag Linda into the back yard.
“Let me put the groceries away first, Candace” Linda said.
“No, you have to see it now! Come on” Candace said, dragging Linda to the back yard. Candace slammed open the gate and shoved Linda into the backyard.
All Linda saw was Phineas and Ferb trying to build a small pyramid out of sticks. “Aww, look at them! So creative!” She said
“But- but- but-” Candace stuttered.
Linda turned to leave and noticed Perry standing in her garden. “What have you got there Perry?” She asked while she walked up to him to see for herself.
“Is that a hole! Are you digging a hole in my garden!” Perry was crouched over a decently sized hole placed exactly between Linda's flowers.
“That's odd; platypodes don't normally dig holes?” Phineas said.
“Would you boys mind filling in the hole for me?” Linda asked.
“Sure, after all he is our pet” Phineas said.
Linda never saw Perry dig a hole again.
———
5. Climbing
Linda walked into the backyard, she just finished baking a pie using a new recipe and was hoping to have the boys and their friends try it. “Is that Perry in the tree with you?” She asked.
“Yeah!” Phineas said.
“It was nice of you to carry Perry up into the tree with you, just please be careful getting him down. Oh and, would you boys like to come inside for some pie? It's fresh!”
“Actually, we didn't carry Perry up into the tree; he climbed the tree himself. Which is quite odd for a platypus, since their webbed feet and leg shape makes it quite difficult for them” Ferb informed them from his perch in the tree.
“Well, you learn something new every day!” Linda said as she walked back inside, the boys followed her a minute later to join her for pie.
Linda never saw Perry climb a tree again.
———
+1. Swimming
Isabella house
Linda was content, she was sitting on a lounge chair with a glass of wine and her friend Vivian (Isabella's mom) and the boys were playing in Isabella's pool with Isabella, Buford, and Baljeet.
Perry, who was sitting next to Linda, walked up to the side of the pool and chattered. “Hey Perry! Do you want in the pool?” Phineas asked from the edge of the pool. He grabbed Perry by the armpits and lifted him into the pool.
When Phineas let him go Perry swam circles around all of them. “I think Perry likes the pool!” Isabella said.
Perry dived to the bottom of the pool and started to nuzzle the diving toys and leaves that always seem to accumulate.
“Aww look at him go!” Vivian said.
Linda smiled, she knew that she wanted to see Perry swimming with the boys again.