The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure — John Shaqi
The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of AdventureBowen, William
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The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure
Bowen, William
Fantasy literature
"Count on him for that! _He_ never begs no tobacco, nor gives away none
either. However, he ain't such a general nuisance as the other one, and
he pays spot cash. I'll have to say that much for him. But in spite o'
everything and all, I can't seem to make myself care for him, much.
Anyway--
"Said the one old codger, Won't ye gimme a chew?
Said the other old codger, I'll be hanged if I do!
"They're a fine pair now, ain't they? One of 'em a nuisance and the
other one a grouch. You'll see 'em here both in my shop one o' these
days, when you're a-visitin' Aunt Amanda, and one of them times--you see
the way I bounced that boy that wanted cigarettes, didn't you? Well,
that's what I'm goin' to do to them two old codgers one of these days,
you watch and see if I don't; yes, sir; both of 'em, as sure as I've got
a hump on my back. But it's pretty good advice, after all, what the song
says,--
"So save up your pennies and put away your rocks,
And you'll always have tobacco in your old tobacco box!
"Here's your Cage-Roach. Gimme your money. There's your change; five,
ten, fifteen, seventeen. Now run along. Come back again; what did you
say your name was?"
"Fweddie."
"You mean Freddie, don't you?"
"Yes, sir."
"Why don't you say what you mean? Well, Freddie, there's plenty of
tobacco left in this shop, so you can come in whenever the old tobacco
box at home runs out. And don't forget to come in to see Aunt Amanda.
Plenty of goods left in the shop whenever--you see all that?" He pointed
up towards the shelves. "I'll tell you something I ain't told to but
mighty few people before. There's a jar of smoking tobacco up there
that's just plain magic. Magic! You know what that means?"
Freddie started, and looked up at the shelves in alarm. He nodded.
"It's that one, on the middle shelf; the Chinaman's head. Do you see
it?"
He pointed to a white porcelain jar, shaped like a human head. Freddie
could see that it was the head of some foreign kind of man, with a
little round blue cap on top, which was probably the lid.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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