"Fair is Ferret/The Case of the Messy Marauder" is the fourteenth episode of the animated children's series Iggy Arbuckle. Fair is Ferret is written by Terry Saltsman and The Case of the Messy Marauder is written by Karen Moonah.
Plot[]
Fair is Ferret[]
Iggy and Jiggers observe as Catfish Stu forces Robear and Robert to wade through quicksand to fetch him some cranberries from a bush on the other side. When the ferrets start sinking, Iggy swings by via a vine and rescues them. He rescues them again when they are chased by parent ostriches after stealing their egg for Stu, and when they are attacked by honey bees after trying to steal their honey. Iggy is amazed that they remain so loyal to Stu, even though he puts them into such dangerous situations without any real concern for their well being. The ferrets consider their circumstances, and decide to work for Iggy instead. Although Iggy protests, they move into his house, and begin doing for him what they would normally do for Stu, including stealing things from others and bringing them back to Iggy. After this goes on for a while, Iggy is confronted by his friends, and decides to trick the ferrets into working for Stu again. He tells them to fetch Stu's water bowl for him to use as a trash can, but when they arrive and steal the bowl, they find they are blocked off by a gate between two tree trunks (which Jiggers had put up). Convinced that they are not supposed to run round the gate, although the path is clear on either side of the trees, they try to make their getaway in a rowboat, but Jiggers has drilled a hole in its base, and the water begins filling in. Iggy warns Catfish Stu that if he doesn't do something, he'll lose his bowl forever, so Stu swims out and brings the bowl in to land, taking the ferrets with him. They note that since he's now saved them, they "owe him their loyalty" again, and he willingly rehires them, having had difficulty with his replacement henchmen; a pair of cute bunnies who are incompetent at being tough and intimidating. Robear gives Iggy a final hug to say goodbye, and snatches all of Iggy's belongings he was carrying, before making off with Stu and Robert.
The Case of the Messy Marauder[]
Iggy is reading a novel in his favourite whodunit series, and longs to take on a case of his own. He jumps at the opportunity when Zoop shrieks in alarm that she's been robbed. Iggy notes all of the things which were stolen, and that the thief left everything in a shambles, and a lot of soil on the floor in the backroom, leading him to dub the case "The Case of the Messy Marauder". Iggy and Jiggers narrow down the suspects, ruling out Catfish Stu because, though he is a notorious villain in the Kookamunga, he would not have any need for slippers (having fins instead of feet), which is one of the stolen objects. However, when all of the remaining suspects provide alibis, and the duo notices Catfish Stu atop a wagon with a huge shroud draped over whatever he has recently purchased, they begin to think he might be responsible after all. When they investigate, they catch sight of him taking a bag of peanuts out of his garage, and as peanuts were another one of the stolen items, they confront him. Stu denies their accusations, explaining that the items he brought home were second-hand motorcycles, which he was hiding so as not to let anyone know that he can't afford to buy brand new ones. Jiggers also notes that Stu is eating a different brand of peanuts than the one Zoop sells. When Stu dismisses them, saying "It's been a long day, and I'm asleep on my fins!", Iggy puts the pieces together, and tells Jiggers that he's figured out the identity of the messy marauder. Though Jiggers is on edge about it, Iggy takes him back to Zoop's store, and they go downstairs into her burrow. There they watch as she sleepwalks, while installing empty picture frames and digging new tunnels in her burrow. Iggy notes that she had said that she's been falling asleep while listening to tape-recorded versions of books via headphones, at night. He explains to Jiggers that the tapes disrupt her sleep, leading her to act out whatever they are talking about. He notes that she did not want his breakfast when he offered it to her a few days before, because she had gorged on peanuts all night, and that the dirt they had found on the floor was not by any of the doors and windows because it had come from downstairs. He then explains that Catfish Stu's remark about his exhaustion reminded Iggy that Zoop had been overly tired for several days, and he concluded that that is because she's been digging tunnels all night. The next day, having cracked the case, Iggy finds that reading mysteries is not as enjoyable as it was before he had taken on one of his own, and he wants to solve another one. He then notes that the local madman, Wingnut, is not acting in a peculiar manner as usual, and assumes that something's up...