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“Just a lad,” cried Naughty and Baddy together “You kno lads can be! Terrible inventions, lads!”
“The young’uns don’t learn their history nowadays, that’s the thing of it,” Warrant Officer Goody moaned
“Please don’t pack us!” wept the Privates Tracky and Boaster, covering their heads with their ar were about to crumble down and crush them dead
Captain Bravey drew hiood soldier keeps both his wits and his powder dry at all tiun, which is why they nearly rhyood or evil, and both can explode in your hands, wounding your comrades instead of your enemies”
Branwell flushed with a deep and burning shaht he could feel so poorly as he did just at that aze of the brave Captain All the wind of battle and whiskey and resurrection rushed out of hiainst sofa, and tried devilishly hard not to cry
Goody mumbled on under his breath, but Anne heard hi the youth for not studying! History’s depressing! And boring Like winter One storm after another Brrr Why not stay inside your own head where it’s cozy and tidy and the repentin’s nice and hot? Nothing out there but the war andup the place nine times a week”
“What Princess?” Anne whispered to him Her almost-violet eyes shone at the word
“The Princess,” Goody said with confusion “The!”
“Can I say the story?” Crashey asked the snaily turtle “If it please Your Excellejesties? Or is that meant to be Majellences?”
“Please” The head on the wall nodded “One always likes to hear about oneself”
The Sergeant stood at attention, raht, arms stiff behind his back, and bellowed:
“THE TRAGICAL ROMANCE OF BAGGAGE AND PEOPLE, BY SERGEANT CRASHEY! See, as long as there’s been people, there’s been luggage, because it’s practically the first thing you need besides fire and a cave and a et ruot to have sos and people got right and proper civilized together, side by side People got straight backs and high foreheads and agricusbandrilly inclined and” Crashey felt his grip on his words loosening and hurried out in front of theand building and inventeering stuff and goodsense, like ot so fantavulously useful that we couldn’t do without You see what they can do, yeah? Carry us any which way! A house, a carriage, a balloon, a ship, a racing stallionocerosupine! Is that a thing? It sounds like it ought to be, so let’s say it is! Plusly, a good Valise can feed you and bed you and tell you all about the local customs and points of interest and, furtherditionally, keep out anything but the end of the world, and pack down to the size of a wee dog at the end of it all All they asked was right and fair payment for their services—a sock or a mustache comb or a nice shoe every so once in a while, which is why oftener and oftening, when you get to the place you’re going, you can’t find that nice velvet coat you just knew you packed, right? It was payday, that’s all, and your luggage took its salary; can’t blame ’em Er Cap’n, they like to be called Valises, now, yeah? I think I said luggage Curse my acorn-head! So hard to break old habits, you know!”
The turtle-snail interrupted Crashey’s story, penny-eyes blinking sleepily “All ell in the world and the wash,” he said, and all the children thought his voice onderfully soothing and deep, like a big, soft pocket “But you lot couldn’t keep up your end Charlotte, Emily, you must understand that we did not break the contract!” the Valise insisted “The souls of people have so little carrying capacity! They got so angry at having to pay our wages, cursing and stor us viciously And it hurt, you know It did hurt Then, they began to treat us carelessly, tossing us into closets like ere no more than, no more than” The snail-turtle trailed off sorrowfully “No h we’d spent weeks traveling together, talking, laughing, sharing meals and confidences, and us there with a hairbrush or a flask of wine or a bedtih the ht new suitcases rather than caring for us in our old age, but, worst of all, they Lost us Over and over, because they were drunk or sleepy or in a rush! Would you ever lose your dear aunt or your papa?”
“No!” cried Anne
“Because you don’t Lose faage Office, which is a very naughty word ae-beast shut its eyes in terror “The LLO is a dreadful place” He shivered, shedding a single rosewater tear “Ruled by the Ha