Real Stash of Art

Overcoming their initial crestfallenness, the ducks gathered soon again to decide on a bold ›New Plan‹ — non-criminal by nature. After an elaborate duckussion, they came up with a tentative manifesto, centering on a huge Duck Word of Honor »likely not to behave so tactless and maladroit ever again in future times to come sooner or later«. After this, they waddled straight to the point by asking Mr Hedgehog to convince Mr Gnome (with a solid lecture on Fabelwesenehre) to feed his most antique fax machine (eighteen minutes per page) with a doe-eyed request: Would they, the Duck Squad of Great Faith in Poetry and Arts, be possibly allowed to acquire a number of items from »yer trove of whatchamacallits to woo da wee spriggins of da egg-chomping critters«?

On receiving such flattery, the artist mused deep and the artist mused long:
»This must be a hoax, those rogues try to coax the strokes from my cloaks!«
His eventual salute and troutful yemay were all the more gratefully received.
Ducktails were classified instantly and it remains a well-kept if and if so what.