The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of AdventureBowen, William
General
The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure
Bowen, William
Fantasy literature
The Little Boy's name was Freddie; his mother called him that, and his
father usually called him Fred; but sometimes his father called him
Frederick, in fact whenever he didn't come back after he had been told
to hurry, and then his father looked at him--you know that look--and
said "Frederick!" just like that. But his mother never called him
anything but Freddie, even when he was late.
He grasped his money tight in his hand, as he had been told to do, and
stood and looked at the little hunchbacked wooden man holding out his
packet of black wooden cigars. "I wonder," thought Freddie, "what makes
him so crooked?" He walked around him and looked at his back. He walked
around in front of him again and wondered if the black cigars in his
hand would smoke; he decided he would ask about it. The little man wore
blue knee breeches and black stockings and buckled shoes, and his coat
was cut away in front over his stomach and had two tails behind, down to
his knees. It was easy to see that he wasn't a boy, though, even if he
did wear knee breeches; you only had to look at his face, for he had the
kind of hard boniness in his face that grown-ups have. Freddie made up
his mind that he liked him, anyway; and it must have been hard to have
to stand out there all day without moving, rain or shine, and offer that
bunch of cigars to all the people who went by, and never get a single
soul to take them. Freddie put out his other hand (not the one with the
money in it) towards the cigars, but he quickly drew it back, for he
looked at the little man's face at the same time, and there was
something about his eyes--anyhow, he stood back a little.
"Better be careful o' Mr. Punch, young feller," said a deep voice from
the shop door.
Freddie looked, and in the doorway, leaning against the doorpost, with
his hands in his trousers' pockets, and one foot crossed over the
other, stood a little man, not so very much taller than himself, and
certainly no taller than the figure on the stand, who stared at Freddie
as if he knew all about human boys and did not trust them out of his
sight. Freddie looked at him and then at the wooden figure beside the
door; they might have been brothers. The little man had a hump on his
back, and his breast stuck out in front; his head was big and square,
and he had high cheek-bones; his face was bony and his mouth wide, and
his big nose curved down and his chin curved up; but he did not wear
knee breeches; his trousers were the trousers of grown-ups, and his coat
was a square coat, buttoned tight over his chest from top to bottom. He
was bareheaded, and he had plenty of hair, brushed from the top of his
head down towards his forehead. He looked as if he belonged to the
tobacco shop; or perhaps the tobacco shop belonged to him.
He stared at Freddie without blinking, and there was something in his
eyes--anyway, Freddie stepped back, and held his money tighter in his
hand behind him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account