CHAPTER TWO
TITTLE ROLLS VS. TUT CAKE
Cleo pulled Tutenstein down the hall after her and they all raced down the hall to the front door.
"What was that for?" Tutenstein demanded.
"Look, I didn't really want you to go the party anyway but since you are going you shouldn't go around with that attitude of yours," Cleo snapped. "Or I might just change my mind."
Tutenstein glared. "My attitude?"
"Now, your highness," Luxor said with the most reverent politeness. "Fighting is not good for your fragile royal health."
Cleo and Tut glared at each other a few moments longer in silence and suddenly burst laughing.
"Fragile health," Cleo laughed wiping a tear from her eye. "Yeah right!"
Tutenstein patted Luxor on the head. "Good one, Luxor. A good laugh is always appreciated."
As they walked down the sidewalk Tutenstein noticed that almost everyone was dressed up like some creature or another, some more hideous than others but he was quite used to it. In fact he was beginning to like it.
I should have come up with a day like this in my reign in life, he thought.
Cleo called a taxi and begged for Tut to keep his mouth shut and not to say anything unusual.
"But I must say things unusual," Tutenstein protested. "I am not usual, I am the pharaoh. Pharaohs are not supposed to be usual."
"Yeah, well, you have to now," Cleo said and led him into the taxi with Luxor leaping in just before the door shut.
Luckily Tutenstein was pretty well behaved in the taxi and gave Cleo no trouble at all. He just sat looking out the window at all the strange Halloween things. The weird orange lights and the dead guys hanging it the trees. Then there were the gourds with the carved out creepy faces or other shapes like stars and moons.
Children dressed in costumes were going from house to house with their parents and it seemed as though they were receiving some sort of gift as they held out their orange and black, shiny bags.
"Stop the taxi!" Tutenstein cried.
The taxi screeched to a halt.
"What?" asked the driver in alarm. "Are you gunna hurl or something?"
"I'm not going to hurl anything," replied Tut. "But I wish to be let off here."
Cleo didn't argue. She knew it would only make things worse. They would have to walk about four blocks from where they were to the party but that wasn't so bad. She paid the cab driver and the trio climbed out.
"What, may I ask, is so fascinating?" Cleo demanded.
"What are those small children doing going from house to house?" Tut asked. "And what is it that is dropped into their bags?"
Cleo shrugged. "Candy. It's trick or treating."
"Trick or treat?" the boy asked. "So you either get a treat or a trick?"
"Yeah, but that's for little kids," Cleo said. "I too old for that kind of stuff."
"But you went last year," said Luxor.
"Well," his royal shortness interrupted. "In my experience you're never too old for anything." And he strutted importantly strait up to the first house he saw.
Cleo groaned; Luxor gave another uneasy look and girl and cat ran after him.
The house was well lit up giving it a very homey feeling despite its modern strangeness and the row of spooky pumpkin faces all grinning with vacant stares. The windows were very large and each had soft-looking curtains covering them from the inside.
Tutenstein climbed up the steps to the door and looked up at it admiring its odd magnificence.
Common dwellings are very large, Tut thought. Especially compared with the dwellings of the commoners in my old Kingdom.
Cleo and Luxor had caught up with Tutenstein by this time but the pharaoh didn't take much notice. He shifted his royal scepter to his left hand and rapped on in sharply with his other. He knocked non-stop until a woman came and opened the door.
"What is that you are giving the children who stop by here and every other house for I, your pharaoh, wish to know?"
The woman smiled as one does before a laugh but she didn't and told him that he was doing a wonderful job at playing his part, whatever that meant.
Some odd American thing no doubt. Is the entire modern world like this?
The woman then gave him some very small objects wrapped in wax paper and one with a stick on the end of it.
"Have a wonderfully spooky night," she said and she closed the door.
Tutenstein turned to Cleo.
"What is it?"
"Candy," she said impatience hanging in her voice. "I told you that's what it was. That's a sucker and those are tootsie rolls. Jenna's party is probably started by now. We better get going."
Tutenstein unwrapped a tootsie roll and eyed it suspiciously. "Is it food?" he asked.
"In a way," Luxor shrugged, which is a very odd thing for a cat to do, don't you agree?
His royal shortness popped the candy into his mouth and after a few seconds he spat it out onto the ground with disapproval.
"Yuck! Revolting!" he exclaimed. He dropped the rest of the candy on the ground. "Yuck! Ick! Blah! How do children eat this stuff?"
"Well, you're the first ten-year-old I met, thousands of years past or not, who didn't like tootsie rolls," Cleo said.
"I can't imagine anyone liking those disgusting things," Tut said with a huff.
"Now are you satisfied?" asked Cleo.
"Just one more house," Tutenstien said and tried the house next door.
This house was the total opposite of the first house. The top floor was lighted up, true, but the bottom floor was very dark and didn't look homey at all. A fake plug-in candle was set on the table in the porch and that was all.
Again, his royal shortness rapped impatiently at the door. Without turning on the light the door was answered by a man who asked, "Aren't you gunna say, 'Trick or treat?'"
"Must I?" Tutenstein asked.
The man didn't seem to hear his questioned and turned to Cleo.
"Is this your friend? She can come too, there's plenty for all."
"Oh, all right," Cleo shrugged and held up her backpack to the man who dropped something inside.
"There's one for each of ya," the man said. "Happy Halloween and he quickly shut the door with a laugh.
"What is his problem?" Tut wanted to know but more importantly: "What was the treat given to us?"
Cleo reached in and pulled out it out.
"Fruit cake!" she cried. "Now this is revolting. It must be left over from last Christmas, gross. Who in the right mind would give kids old fruit cake on Halloween night. He prob'ly poisoned it or something."
Tutenstein took a piece and ate it.
"Mmm, yum, this is so much better than any old tittle roll," the long-dead pharaoh said licking his lips.
"Yuck."
Well, thought Cleo with a sigh, I guess that's what ya get when your taste buds have been rotting for over three thousand years.
"In fact," Tutenstein went on. "I think I shall have its name modified. From this day forth it shall be called Tut-ankh-en-set-amun Cake. So it is written, so it shall be done!"
Cleo stuck her tong out in distaste and made a slight gagging sound.
"Gross."
~More coming soon~
Cleo pulled Tutenstein down the hall after her and they all raced down the hall to the front door.
"What was that for?" Tutenstein demanded.
"Look, I didn't really want you to go the party anyway but since you are going you shouldn't go around with that attitude of yours," Cleo snapped. "Or I might just change my mind."
Tutenstein glared. "My attitude?"
"Now, your highness," Luxor said with the most reverent politeness. "Fighting is not good for your fragile royal health."
Cleo and Tut glared at each other a few moments longer in silence and suddenly burst laughing.
"Fragile health," Cleo laughed wiping a tear from her eye. "Yeah right!"
Tutenstein patted Luxor on the head. "Good one, Luxor. A good laugh is always appreciated."
As they walked down the sidewalk Tutenstein noticed that almost everyone was dressed up like some creature or another, some more hideous than others but he was quite used to it. In fact he was beginning to like it.
I should have come up with a day like this in my reign in life, he thought.
Cleo called a taxi and begged for Tut to keep his mouth shut and not to say anything unusual.
"But I must say things unusual," Tutenstein protested. "I am not usual, I am the pharaoh. Pharaohs are not supposed to be usual."
"Yeah, well, you have to now," Cleo said and led him into the taxi with Luxor leaping in just before the door shut.
Luckily Tutenstein was pretty well behaved in the taxi and gave Cleo no trouble at all. He just sat looking out the window at all the strange Halloween things. The weird orange lights and the dead guys hanging it the trees. Then there were the gourds with the carved out creepy faces or other shapes like stars and moons.
Children dressed in costumes were going from house to house with their parents and it seemed as though they were receiving some sort of gift as they held out their orange and black, shiny bags.
"Stop the taxi!" Tutenstein cried.
The taxi screeched to a halt.
"What?" asked the driver in alarm. "Are you gunna hurl or something?"
"I'm not going to hurl anything," replied Tut. "But I wish to be let off here."
Cleo didn't argue. She knew it would only make things worse. They would have to walk about four blocks from where they were to the party but that wasn't so bad. She paid the cab driver and the trio climbed out.
"What, may I ask, is so fascinating?" Cleo demanded.
"What are those small children doing going from house to house?" Tut asked. "And what is it that is dropped into their bags?"
Cleo shrugged. "Candy. It's trick or treating."
"Trick or treat?" the boy asked. "So you either get a treat or a trick?"
"Yeah, but that's for little kids," Cleo said. "I too old for that kind of stuff."
"But you went last year," said Luxor.
"Well," his royal shortness interrupted. "In my experience you're never too old for anything." And he strutted importantly strait up to the first house he saw.
Cleo groaned; Luxor gave another uneasy look and girl and cat ran after him.
The house was well lit up giving it a very homey feeling despite its modern strangeness and the row of spooky pumpkin faces all grinning with vacant stares. The windows were very large and each had soft-looking curtains covering them from the inside.
Tutenstein climbed up the steps to the door and looked up at it admiring its odd magnificence.
Common dwellings are very large, Tut thought. Especially compared with the dwellings of the commoners in my old Kingdom.
Cleo and Luxor had caught up with Tutenstein by this time but the pharaoh didn't take much notice. He shifted his royal scepter to his left hand and rapped on in sharply with his other. He knocked non-stop until a woman came and opened the door.
"What is that you are giving the children who stop by here and every other house for I, your pharaoh, wish to know?"
The woman smiled as one does before a laugh but she didn't and told him that he was doing a wonderful job at playing his part, whatever that meant.
Some odd American thing no doubt. Is the entire modern world like this?
The woman then gave him some very small objects wrapped in wax paper and one with a stick on the end of it.
"Have a wonderfully spooky night," she said and she closed the door.
Tutenstein turned to Cleo.
"What is it?"
"Candy," she said impatience hanging in her voice. "I told you that's what it was. That's a sucker and those are tootsie rolls. Jenna's party is probably started by now. We better get going."
Tutenstein unwrapped a tootsie roll and eyed it suspiciously. "Is it food?" he asked.
"In a way," Luxor shrugged, which is a very odd thing for a cat to do, don't you agree?
His royal shortness popped the candy into his mouth and after a few seconds he spat it out onto the ground with disapproval.
"Yuck! Revolting!" he exclaimed. He dropped the rest of the candy on the ground. "Yuck! Ick! Blah! How do children eat this stuff?"
"Well, you're the first ten-year-old I met, thousands of years past or not, who didn't like tootsie rolls," Cleo said.
"I can't imagine anyone liking those disgusting things," Tut said with a huff.
"Now are you satisfied?" asked Cleo.
"Just one more house," Tutenstien said and tried the house next door.
This house was the total opposite of the first house. The top floor was lighted up, true, but the bottom floor was very dark and didn't look homey at all. A fake plug-in candle was set on the table in the porch and that was all.
Again, his royal shortness rapped impatiently at the door. Without turning on the light the door was answered by a man who asked, "Aren't you gunna say, 'Trick or treat?'"
"Must I?" Tutenstein asked.
The man didn't seem to hear his questioned and turned to Cleo.
"Is this your friend? She can come too, there's plenty for all."
"Oh, all right," Cleo shrugged and held up her backpack to the man who dropped something inside.
"There's one for each of ya," the man said. "Happy Halloween and he quickly shut the door with a laugh.
"What is his problem?" Tut wanted to know but more importantly: "What was the treat given to us?"
Cleo reached in and pulled out it out.
"Fruit cake!" she cried. "Now this is revolting. It must be left over from last Christmas, gross. Who in the right mind would give kids old fruit cake on Halloween night. He prob'ly poisoned it or something."
Tutenstein took a piece and ate it.
"Mmm, yum, this is so much better than any old tittle roll," the long-dead pharaoh said licking his lips.
"Yuck."
Well, thought Cleo with a sigh, I guess that's what ya get when your taste buds have been rotting for over three thousand years.
"In fact," Tutenstein went on. "I think I shall have its name modified. From this day forth it shall be called Tut-ankh-en-set-amun Cake. So it is written, so it shall be done!"
Cleo stuck her tong out in distaste and made a slight gagging sound.
"Gross."
~More coming soon~