Wishing Rock in Bedrock

"It's ridiculous, that's what it is," Wilma Flintstone said over the clamshell telephone to her best friend and next door neighbor, "Two grown men acting like a couple of kids!"

"They haven't spoken to each other in five days!" commiserated Betty Rubble, "I'm sick and tired of it! I told Barney to go right over and make up with Fred!"

"What'd he say?"

"He absolutely refused! So, I said I'm going to invite over my mother for a few weeks if you don't!" Betty let loose a giggle.

Wilma giggled with her, "Really, what'd he do then?"

"Oh, stormed off to that stupid club of his!"

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Barney Rubble did set out to go to the Loyal Brotherhood of Water Buffalo. but as he arrived he saw that the Flintstone Canopysaurus was parked in their lot, and that just wouldn't do. If Barney wasn't a friend of Fred's, then Fred wasn't a friend of Barney, and that meant that he didn't want to bend an elbow with Fred. So he pulled his Stego off to the park, and decided he'd take his time and hike a little. He wasn't no dummy, so he took a spear with him.

But as he got out to into the wilderness, he dropped his spear, and the spearhead broke. Still usable, but if he came across a wild smilodon, he'd want something bigger, so he kept an eye out for any bigger rocks around. Barney didn't have the concept of an impact crater, but he found a perfect rock in what later, smarter folk might call an impact crater. It was 18 inches, and pure jet black obsidian, or at least that's what it looked like. "Well, hey, whaddya know, this will work," Barney said, attaching the wish rock to his spear.

"Y'know something, I don't ask for much. I'm a pretty happy-go-lucky-guy. But Fred's calling me a thief. I didn't take his dinosaur steaks! I still got some pride left in me. I just wish people could see that Fred's being a real right pain in the keister. Maybe realize that Barney, he ain't such a bad guy."

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"Freeed, did you make up with Barney yet?" Wilma pestered him as soon as he got through the door, "Did you find him at your Club?"

"Eh, what? Barney wasn't at the club. Didn't see the little sucker all night," Fred said, "Why, if I did, I'd be liable to smack him, most likely."

Unbeknownst to him, the universe had quietly shifted in the last few moments. The Great Gazoo's course through the universe slightly altered and would never hit Earth.

"Freeed, I can't believe you! You're being completely unreasonable! Barney's a swell guy, and you know he didn't steal your steaks! We found your steaks!" She harrumphed, "If you can't muster up the courage to say that you were wrong, then, Fred, I don't even want to know you!"

Fred was gobsmacked. Every year, or maybe six months, he and Rubble would get in a tiff. It'd blow over, but it had to blow over on its own. This was a normal part of their friendship! He wanted to speak up, but Wilma was clopping out the door.

"Well, gee, Dino, I guess we're on our own for the night!" Fred said, bending over to pet his dinosaur. Dino looked up and growled at him.