A-Playful-Path_DeKoven-web

only an eighth of the way to go, they could hear the Pretend Thing’s toes scratching on the
sidewalk. Eighteen toes. All on one horrible foot that smelled even worse than its breath
which now smelled eighteen times worse than it did before. They could even tell exactly how
horrible its horrible smell smelled!
And, by the time they were in front of their house, they could hear the Pretend Thing’s terrible
growl – like the growling of a big, angry, hungry, and very upset stomach. Just as they got
to the door, Silly was almost not pretending at all. Silly was almost really, really scared. And
Serious, even Serious was getting Seriously scared. Very Seriously.
And, just as they finally got the door opened, and the Pretend Thing had dug all of its eighteen
pretend toes deep into the front step, and scrunched itself into one big angry, smelling,
gurgling coil of very mean muscle absolutely and totally ready to pounce and grab and bite –
Serious and Silly jumped into the house and slammed the door completely shut right in the
made-up face of the horribly pretend Pretend Thing.
“Wasn’t that,” said Silly, shaking and sweating and breathing hard, “fun?”
“Most,” answered Serious, holding on to Silly as tight as Silly could be held, “amusing. Most
amusing, indeed.”
“Well then,” said Silly, with a particularly silly grin, “how about if we open the door and
invite the Pretend Thing in?”
Serious thought for about one-half of a half-second, and said “I don’t think so. No, come to
think about it, I really, actually, genuinely, honestly and totally seriously don’t think so.”
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