Rootabaga Stories

Blixie

ato Bloss

e the

as

z Ax

Sixb

f, the Cist

akuk, th

ters of t

Blue

Man With

g Pictu

icab

Blixie Bimber

ld Bucksk

. She would look at the moon through her fingers, under her arms, over her right shoulder but never-never over her left shoulder. She listene

oon. If she dreamed of fishes she knew the next day she would meet a stra

pened. She was going to the postoffice to see if there was a letter for her from Peter Potato Blossom

smokestacks and was a famous steeplejack. Blixie Bimber liked him bec

le the blues out of me," Jimmy would just naturally whi

in the middle of the sidewalk. How and why it came to be there she never knew an

fixed it on a little chain

different from just a plain common whincher. It has a power. And if a

mber wore the gold buckskin whincher and never knew

must fall head over heels in love with him," sai

ce window if he was sure there wasn't a letter for her. The name of the clerk was Silas Baxby. For six weeks

little chain around her neck and always working. It was saying, "The next man you meet

es before him and threw smiles at him. And for six weeks he kept steady company with

im for steady company

lixie answered, "I just ca

e other-how can you keep steady co

answer was,

n around her neck was working. It was saying, "If she meets a man with

ping it. She dropped her eyes and threw her smiles at him. And for six weeks they kept ste

usical soup eater," her relatives said to her. And

oes against the strange wooden walls of the cistern, the gold buckskin whincher

one calls. One was to James Sixbixdix telling him she couldn't keep the date wit

want you to whistle 'em away," was

t'll make you fall head over heels in love with the next man you meet with an X in his n

Jason Squif

rn Hat, Pop

opcor

o a cistern when he was lifting buckets of slush and mud you could tell where he was, you

. This covered his greenish yellowish hair. And then it was hard to tell where he was

me to the Bimber house

er, Blixie Bimber's mother, "do I understand you s

Bimber, "and you are welcome as the flo

ing to Mrs. Bimber. "I'm the guy, tra-la-la," he said further, running his ex

rk down there. By and by she saw something greenish yellowish. She watched it. Soon she saw it was Jason Squiff's head and hair. And then she knew the cis

He squinted at the bottom. Something was shining. He reached his fi

he week before when she was looking down into the cistern to see what she could see. It wa

eenish yellowish hair. Then he put the gold buckskin whinche

his house and home and said hello to his wife and daughters. T

nny is happen

all laughed at him agai

power and was working all the time. He didn't know the whincher in his vest pocket was saying, "You have a letter Q in your name and b

pair of mittens and another pair of shoes. And t

s and shoes. Always they changed to

orn, his mittens

s po

a new hat, mittens and shoes. And the minu

clean cisterns with his popcorn hat,

treet, going to clean cisterns. People five and six blocks away could see h

see him work. When none of the slush and mud fell on his hat and mittens he was ea

k slush and black mud. And then when Jason Squiff came u

y winter for

lf. "Now I can never be alone with my thoughts.

y popcorn hat. If I meet people going to a wedding they throw

wherever I go. Three hats I

drop one of my mitten

began to change.

he said to himself. "And I always wanted white beautiful mittens an

w man!" he just waved his hand to them with an upward g

d to himself, "I am distinquish

t hand and shook hands with himself an

power working, the power saying, "You have a letter Q in your name and because you have the pleasure an

forgot all about the gold buck

rag man put the vest with the gold buckskin

His hats would never change to popcorn nor hi

rn or when anybody saw him walking along the street they knew him b

f you ever come across a gold buckskin whincher.

f Rags Haba

and the Cir

h Spot C

honest ragman to be knocking on people's back doors, saying, "Any rags?" or else saying, "Any rags? any bottles? any bones?" or else saying "Any rags? any bottles? any

g humps in the bag, was an old vest. It was the same old vest Jason Squiff threw out of a door

, just like always. Then he went out to a shanty in the back yard and opened up the gunnysack rag bag and fixed thi

s a glad rag," he said, looking at the vest. "It's a lucky vest." So he put his right arm in the right armhole and his l

eteen year old girl g'by. He kissed them just like he always kissed them-in a hurry-and as he

ed. Standing on his right shoulder was a blue rat and standing on his left shou

rs. He could feel the far edge o

gs," he said. "Two blue rats stand by my ears and never say anyt

g with his right eye slanting at the blue rat on his right shoulder and s

kers right up in somebody's ear I would say som

of the vest he had on, the gold buckskin whincher power was saying, "Because you have two K's in your name yo

ver before did Rags Haba

ug into their cellars and garrets and brought him bottles and bones a

ing their whiskers so they sometimes tickled the ears of old Rags Habakuk, sometimes women came running out on the front porc

two blue rats he shall have good luck-but if he ever sells one of the blue rats then one of his daughters shall marry a

cash money for one of the blue rats," he expostulated with his mouth. "And I give you

all counted out in one pile for one man to carry away home

bank and came back with s

ed by the national government for the national republic to make business

he expostulated again holding two f

of spot cash greenbacks money. I tell my wife it is printed by the national

e right ear, the other on the left ear,

r married a taxicab driver who was so polite all the time to

actor who worked so hard being nice and kind in the moving pictures that he

uckskin whincher was stolen from R