Nice! From the Cookie Monster Wikipedia entry: "The book Jim Henson's Designs and Doodles explains Cookie Monster's origin as follows: 'In 1966, Henson drew three monsters that ate cookies and appeared in a General Foods commercial that featured three crunchy snack foods: Wheels, Crowns and Flutes. Each snack was represented by a different monster. The Wheel-Stealer was a short, fuzzy monster with wonky eyes and sharply pointed teeth. The Flute-Snatcher was a speed demon with a long, sharp nose and windblown hair. The Crown-Grabber was a hulk of a monster with a Boris Karloff accent and teeth that resembled giant knitting needles.'"

It all started with Ginger. The regulars said she didn't show up for her day-shift at the Cookie Jar. I heard about it three days later on my regular snacktime visit. Ginger was my favorite. Her angelic smile would snap you to attention. That round figure. The spicy personality.

Shortbread was the second one to disappear. She was in between customers at the Jar, they said, then like that, gone.

The coppers were sent out, two useless buffoons. The short one had a perma-smile. He was one of Duckie's regulars at the Rubber Factory. He was a decent part-time saxophone player, apparently.

The tall, thin one with the unibrow I had seen around town back when the Cannoli sisters had been smashed. That's an image I'll never forget, seeing them crumbled on the pavement, ricotta leaking everywhere. I had been the main suspect then. They knew I had a violent past.

Snowball was the third. That's when I decided to get involved. I went to the Cookie Jar for some answers, but I knew I would get zilch.

I asked about the three regular troublemakers, the Wheel-Stealer, the Flute-Snatcher, and the Crown-Grabber, but no one had seen them in years.

I then went to the backstreets for some answers. The greenman was there, rummaging through garbage. He had gotten worse with the years. Couldn't get anything from him besides some incoherent grumbling.

It was on my way back that I found the crumbs. I couldn't see them at first in the darkened alley, so I tasted them. Oatmeal. I only put the clues together when I found a trail of paper clips and bottle caps.

I heard his voice then. He had been following me. I turned around to see Unibrow, feeding pigeons. "It looks like you finally figured it out. There's a market for them, you know. I've been snatching them and sending them overseas. And it doesn't matter who you tell, they won't believe you. They only see you as a monster."

That's when I lost it. If it's a monster he wanted, a monster he would get. I dashed and grabbed him by the throat and shouted, "Me want cookies!"