Grunch!

"I'm sure I returned that library book," cried the town busybody. She was protesting a late fee that had spiraled out of control. "I put it in the book drop outside!"

The senior librarian made soothing noises about gradually paying the fine down. It never did to upset any patron unduly; fortunately, the lady calmed and agreed to handle the fine in installments. She went on her way...still muttering about how sure she was of returning the book, but at least calmer and quieter.

As we continued the task of removing the lost book from our files I told my boss, "That's the third patron this month to lose an item but insist it was placed in the outside book drop. What do you suppose is going on?"

"That's the most common excuse patrons use, they think we don't check it each day," she told me. We do, of course...I would be emptying it myself for the next three mornings. One of the first things I was taught was to be extra vigilant of items that get stuck in the return slot or somehow miss landing in the bin. It does happen, though not often.

The children's librarian joined us at the desk, her eyes sparkling with humor. "Maybe Grunch ate it!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Grunch?"

"It's a joke we started a while ago," said my boss. "You've already noticed how many patrons who lose items blame the book drop. Well, we decided there must be a monster living in it who grabs books and munches them. And we named him 'Grunch'...a combination of 'grab' and 'munch'."

Struggling to keep a straight face, I asked, "And does this Grunch pay any fines for the books he eats?"
"Of course not, the rascal!" squealed the kids' librarian. The three of us spent some time giggling and speculating what "Grunch" looked like. I was still new to the library, but the humor was definitely up my alley.

***

The next morning was chilly and overcast, with the smell of rain in the air. I hurried to gather what had accumulated in the book drop the previous evening since I hadn't brought an umbrella out with me. I noted with amusement the entire "Drowsy Dragon" series had been returned; evidently some parent was teaching a toddler the value of nap time.

Having gathered everything, I walked around to the front of the book drop to make sure nothing was caught in the return slot. I was just about to roll the portable bin inside to empty it when I caught my sleeve on the edge of the book drop and the "Drowsy Dragon" book in my hand fell to the walk behind the bin. The first fat drops of rain began to fall as I reached for it, but the next moment the weather was forgotten as the book was whisked out of my reach! How was this possible?

Peering into the dimness of the bin's recess, I could only see a dead leaf or two stirring in the freshening breeze. I heard nothing apart from the gentle patter of raindrops on the steel body of the book drop, and wondered whether I'd kicked the book further in without noticing. I was about to lean further in and start feeling around on the concrete bottom of the book drop when a new sound froze me. It definitely wasn't being caused by the increasing rain.

"Grunch...grunch...grunch..."