Where's Billy?

Billy is a stuffed goat (small, plush - not a real one). Nathan loves Billy - more than any other toy or plushie. He won't often go to sleep without at least knowing where Billy is, even if he's not with Nathan. (I've just realized I've italicized at least one word in all of the last sentences... hmm.) So, last night Billy was missing. We had Colorado (the moose), we had Hippo (the hippo), but no Billy! We searched Nathan's room. We searched the living room. We searched the kitchen, the bathroom, the laundry room, the back porch, even the car! No Billy! I told Nathan that Billy had probably found a special place to sleep for the night, and that he would probably be waiting for us in the morning. He was fine with that, and jumped into bed. Just then, Laura reached under the covers and pulled out - you guessed it - Billy!

Today, Billy was missing again! Nathan was playing with his chair and had dragged it into the bathroom. I told him not to play in the bathroom (he likes to flush the toilet). I told him to get Billy so they could take a nap. Totally ignoring me, Nathan began playing with the diaper pail. It has a cylinder with a handle for placing diapers. Once the diaper is placed into the cylinder, you pull the handle and the cylinder rotates, dropping the diaper into the enclosed pail. Nathan thinks it's a neat contraption. It is - for diapers. It is not a neat contraption for Billy!

Sorry, Billy! (And yes, Billy's in the wash as I write!)