Finding A Small Table
Where can a person find a small table? Bernice was overwhelmed with the problem. Certainly there must be other people who needed a small table, a table small enough to fit under the stairs. Flora told her about a store in the village. She showed Bernice the ad: Everything Your Heart Desires, even that particular object that is unavailable. The store was called The Harry Potter Magic Store: We have it all. Please call before you come.
Bernice and lovely Flora, who wore lavender and always smelled of heavy perfume,took the old rickety train to the edge of town, to the old village. The store was not easy to find, down a winding side street full of trash and barking dogs. Flora pulled her skirts around her. She didn’t want to hook onto an old rusty garbage can and then to be bitten by one of the mangy dogs snarling as they passed.
Bernice needed a small table and she didn’t want Flora to become frightened and then want to leave this weird village before they found the magic store. She felt nervous herself. Then it appeared just ahead: The Harry Potter Magic Store. The bright neon sign flashed purple, orange, blue and yellow. “There it is,” said Bernice as she pulled Flora’s arm and Flora’s long skirt caught onto an old rusty chair thrown down at the curb. Poor Flora fell and knocked out a front tooth, a real inconvenience for a beautiful woman.
At that very moment the proprietor of the Magic Store opened the front door and said, “Come in quickly before the wizard gets here. Everyone is lined up at the back of the store. Hurry, he won’t take anyone else after he arrives.” Bernice said, “I don’t need to see the wizard. I need to buy a small table and my dear friend here, Mrs. Kleinpeter, has just broken off her tooth.”
The proprietor began to push Bernice and Flora. Flora began crying. Her skirt was torn and her front tooth had broken off at the root. The proprietor was annoyed with Flora for creating a scene. “My dear, you did forget to call, didn’t you? The wizard can take care of all that; he has lots of extra teeth in his bag. Please take a seat. You will find a long line going up the stairs but you can proceed to the back and take a seat at one of the small tables.”