Tarrant Hightopp, 21 years old
A little girl (around 6 years old) came walking down the path towards our table in a blue dress. Thackary and I were leaning on a sleeping Mally, talking. We were all squeezed into one corner of the large table. The girl came and sat herself down. That wasn't very nice.
"No room, no room!" we shouted at her. Since Time had stopped, it was always time for tea.
"There's plenty of room." I glared as she sat down.
"Have some wine," Thackary said in an encouraging tone.
"I don't see any wine." Such a stupid girl.
"Thar isn't any."
"Then it wasn't very civil for you to offer it." I wanted to laugh at how angry she was.
"It wasn't very civil of yeh to sit do-wn without bein' invited." Good point, Thack.
"I didn't know it was your table. It's laid for a great many more than three." This conversation was boring. I decided to cut in then.
"Your hair wants cutting." I giggled a bit at her reaction.
"You should learn not to make personal remarks." Ohh was that girl getting in my nerves. "It's very rude."
Learn not to...very rude...rude...
Mirana.
"Mirana?" I whispered low enough so only I heard. My eyes widened extremely. "How is a raven like a writing desk?"
"I'm glad they've begun asking riddles- I believe I can guess that." No. No, this one doesn't have an answer. Does it?
"Do yeh mean that yeh think yeh can find oot the answer?"
"Exactly so." Oye is that girl annoying.
"Then yeh should say wha' yeh mean." True...
"I do- at least I mean what I say. That's the same thing you know." Ha! Yeah right!
"Not the same thing a bit! You might just as well say that 'I see what I eat' is the same as 'I eat what I see'!" I had to say something about it, you know. She had a terrible knack for arguing.
"You might just as well say 'I liake what I git' is the same as 'I git what I liake'!" Thank you, Thackary!
"You might as well say that 'I breathe when I sleep' is the same as 'I sleep when I breath'." Oh, Mallymkin it is the same with you.
"It is the same with you," I remarked. Couldn't keep it to yourself could you Tarrant? No I couldn't. We dropped the topic and I thought some more. Time came on my mind when I thought of Mirana.
"What day of the month is it?" I asked Alice. I decided that was a good name for her. I didn't want to keep calling her 'that girl'. I pulled out my watch and shook it, then held it to my ear.
"The fourth."
"Two days wrong! I told you butter wouldn't suit the works!" I turned to Thackary as I said that.
"It was the best butter," he added meekly.
"Yes, but perhaps some crumbs got in as well. You shouldn't have put it in with the bread knife!" He took the watch an looked at it gloomily. He dunked it in his tea cup and looked at it again.
"It was the best butter, you know." I sighed. You already said that, Thack.
"What a funny watch! It tells the day of the month but not what o'clock it is!" I hadn't noticed her looking over Thackary's shoulder.
"Why should it? Does your watch tell you what year it is?" She was really getting on my nerves now.
"Of course not. But only because it stays one year for so long together."
"Which is just the case with mine." Must I explain everything?
"I don't quite understand you." I ignored that remark.
"The dormouse is asleep again." I poured a little hot tea her nose to wake her up.
"Of course of course: just what I was going to remark myself." Silly Mally.
"Have you guessed the riddle yet?" I asked impatiently.
"No. I give up. What's the answer?"
"I haven't the slightest idea." I answered, trying to sound a bit pleased.
"Nor I." No one asked you Thackary.
"I think you might do something better with the time than waste it asking riddles that have no answer." I gasped. How dare she speak of Time that way!
"If you knew Time as well as I do, you wouldn't talk about wasting it. It's him."
"I don't know what you mean."
"Of course you don't! I dare say you never even spoke to Time," I said, tossing my head back.
"Perhaps not, but I know I have to beat time when I learn music." Oooh, that's why.
"That accounts for it! He won't stand a beating. Now if you only kept on good terms with him, he'd do almost anything you'd like with a clock! For instance, suppose it was 9 o'clock in the morning, just time to begin lessons: you'd only have to whisper a hint to Time and round goes the clock in a twinkling! Half past one, time for dinner!" Good heavens, is it really that hard?
"I only wish it was," I heard Thack whisper.
"That would be grand, certainly. But then- I shouldn't be hungry for it, you know."
"Not at first, perhaps. But you could keep it at half past one for as long as you like."
"Is that the way you manage?" Ooooh dear...
"Not I! We quarreled last March, just before he went mad you know," I added, pointed my spoon at Thackary. "It was at the great concert given by the Queen of Hearts." Iracebeth...Mirana's sister... "I had to sing: Twinkle twinkle little bat, how I wonder what your at. You've heard the song perhaps?"
"I've heard something like it."
"It goes on you know, in this way: Up above the world you fly, like a tea tray in the sky. Twinkle twinkle-" every joined in, but Mally kept saying 'Twinkle twinkle twinkle.' She went on so long, we had to pinch her to make her stop.
"Well, I'd hardly finished the first verse when the Queen jumped up and bawled 'He's murdering the time! Off with his head!'"
"How dreadfully savage!" Alice, dear, shut up please.
"Ever since that he won't do a thing I ask. It's always six o'clock now," I said mournfully.
"Is that the reason there are so many tea things out here?" I sighed.
"Yes that's it. It's always tea time and we've no time to wash the dishes in between whiles."
"Then you keep moving around, I suppose?"
"Exactly so. As the things get use up."
"Then what happens when you get to the beginning?" I turned to look at Thackary as my eyes turned orange.
"Suppose we change the subject?" He asked. Thank heavens. "I'm gettin' ti-ared of this. I vote the young lahdy tells us a story." My eyes turned their normal green as I calmed down.
"I'm afraid I don't know one."
"Then the Dormouse shall! Wake up Dormouse!" Thack and I both pinched her on her sides.
"I wasn't asleep! I heard every word you fellows were saying!" Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the tea table today.
"Tell us a story," shouted Thackary.
"Yes, please do!" Oh that Alice girl has some odd moodswings...I have moodswings too...I wonder what she'll be like when she's older. Maybe we could-
'STOP IT TARRANT! You promised Mirana, did you not?' I internally cursed my thoughts.
"And be quick about it or you'll be asleep before it's done," I stated. She began hurridly. I didn't listen until Alice chimed in.
"What did they live on?"
"They lived on treacle," said Mally after thinking a minute.
"They couldn't have done that you know, or they would have been ill." Shut up and let us enjoy the story!
"And so they were," Mally explained, "very ill." I stopped listening until Thack spoke.
"Have some more tea," he said to Alice.
"I've had nothing yet so I can't take more."
"You mean you can't take less," I said. "It is very to take more than nothing."
"No one asked your opinion." That reminded me.
"Who's making personal remarks now?" I crossed my arms and sat back, waiting for another chance to argue win her.
"I want a clean cup," I announced. "Let's all move on one." We moved down and they continued. I listened now.
"But I don't understand! Where did they draw treacle from?" Oye vey!
"You can draw water from a water well, so I should think you can draw treacle from a treacle well- eh stupid?" She looked offended. Good. Again, I stopped listening.
"But, I don't think-" whatever they were talking about, I had to interupt.
"Then you shouldn't talk." She glared at me and I silently chuckled. She got up and stalked off into the woods. I laughed hysterically.
"Finally! I thought she'd never leave!" They all stared at me.
"She liked to argue, 'atter." I looked at Thack curiously. There was a sudden weight on my hat. Chessur.
"Just like your Mirana, perhaps?" I gulped and looked down at the table.
"I've been investigating things that begin with the letter 'M'." I sighed sadly and let a tear fall from my eye. "And she's not mine. Not really."
"You miss her, don't you? You know, I could bring her a message from you?" I considered that.
"Alright. I want you to ask her a riddle. She might know what I mean. Ask her; Do you know how a raven is like a writing desk?" He looked confused but disappeared into thin air.
"What is it with you and that riddle?" I looked over at Mally.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." And for the first time, I lied to my friend.