Once upon a time there was a hero named Carl. He had a thrill-seeking pet snake named Clem. Together they liked to go on misadventures and stuff. They lived in an abandoned shoe.  The shoe used to be occupied by an old women, she was a single mother of many, many children. She got arrested for trying to pass a bad check at the minimart and is now doing 10 years in Sing Sing.

But this isn't her story, this is the story of how Carl and Clem got Carl's Commemorative Jolly Convivial Laughing Cowboy Coin back.

One day Carl was looking through his meager belongs to find his Commemorative Jolly Convivial Laughing Cowboy Coin was missing. He searched the shoe from top to bottom.
"Dang!", he exclaimed,"Some low life varmint has stolen my coin."
Clem had heard Carl say this many times, only to find the coin was in his pocket.
"Did you check your pocket?" Clem replied calmly.
"Yeah... first place I looked." He answered. "I bet it was that evil witch Nancy. I bet she stole it when she was over doing her laundry the other day."
Clem rolled his eyes, Nancy was Carl's sometimes girlfriend, sometimes arch nemesis.
"Ok, then let's go see Nancy." he said.

They got on Carl's bike, Carl at the peddles and Clem in the pink basket in the front. They rode down the long, long lane till they got to a crooked scary Halloween house. Carl got off his bike and laid it down so Clem could slither out. Together they went to the basement door, which Nancy used as her front door. Nancy was not really a witch. She called herself a witch, but she knew nothing of the religious aspects of Wicca. She just really dug wearing a pointy hat.

The door creaked open and Nancy stood in front of them, wearing a black dress and a large pointy black hat. She scowled at them and when she did the fake wart that she glued to her nose popped off and hit Clem in the eye.
"Hey watch it!" , he exclaimed.
"What do YOU want?" she said to Carl, ignoring the snake.
"You took my Commemorative Jolly Convivial Laughing Cowboy Coin when you came to my shoe to do laundry yesterday! I want it back!" he yelled.
"SSSShhh" she said covering his mouth. "You'll wake my landlord!", she whispered."I didn't take your coin..... I did use up the last of your fabric softener. I also let in Barry the locksmith to fix your basement door, maybe he took your coin." she said. 

"Ever think of that?" she added sarcastically. "The Locksmith!" Carl said clenching his fist in the air.  "Oh, Here we go again on one of our trademark hair-brained happenings." Clem said.

Carl picked up Clem and ran outside to his bike, flipped Clem into he basket and peddled as fast as he could to town where the dirty Locksmiths shop was located between the minimart and City Hall. Carl got of his bike and laid it down for Clem. He stood outside, with his fists clenched above his head for dramatic effect he yelled, "GIMME BACK MY COIN!!!!!! Gimme back my Commemorative Jolly Convivial Laughing Cowboy Coin! Barry the locksmith, I know you took it yesterday when you fixed my basement door!"

Barry came out of his Locksmith shop. "Dude....." he said, "What's with all the yellin'?"

"I know you took my coin yesterday!,"Carl said, "Give it back!"

"What coin? I don't know what you're talking about......" Barry said.

"I know you took it Barry!" Carl said as he pointed to a new sign in the Locksmiths window that read, 'For Sale: Commemorative Jolly Convivial Laughing Cowboy Coin, cheep.... but don't tell Carl you have it 'cause I stole it from him.'

Clem slithered around Barry's leg,"You'd better give it back ya dirty Locksmith", he said.

Barry looked back and forth at the two of them and finally said, "I don't know what you're talkin' about." he tried to pull Clem off his leg without success.

"You'd better give it back Barry," Carl threatened," Or I'm tellin' the Mayor."

A deep baritone voice from behind him said,"I already know. Barry, give the boy his coin." The Mayor proclaimed.

"Oh! Alright.... this town is no fun anymore." he grumbled as he went into his shop to get the coin.

He returned in a few minutes with the coin and handed it over to Carl.

Carl clicked up his heal in delight and he and Clem went home.

The end