ALPHABETABOBICAL LAND: The Spat, or Taps

     The Spat (or Taps) - In the times of King Edicopolish Nufantas Durandifate,* there lived a girl called Jessica Margery Reynolds. Her brother, Theodore Andrus Reynolds, added Pucky Puckus Puckup to this, and as the girl clambered around and very often said, "Me a monkey," that was soon also added to her name. So she was called Jmrpppmam, for people were called by their initial in that town C. (Cherryville)
     On the day Jmrpppmam was 100 years old (3 years in our counting) the Spat (sometimes called the Taps) visited C. (Remember C means Cherryville)
     The Spat is the most ugliest "thing" (meaning animal) on Earth, or on any other planet. The only way I can describe it is to say it had a nose like an anteater, eyes like a Martion, out on the ends of strings, and ears like
an African "fan-ear" elephant. I will tell more about the ears, eyes, and snoot later.
     The body was a horse's but the tail looked like he'd gotten it from a dragon, with scales. The front legs were very slim with hawk's talons (5 claws) at the end. The hind legs were completely different, looking like a hobby horse's, on wheels. They were stiff and just rolled along behind.
     There were holes all over him, with pockets clothes-pinned on them. Each pocket had a different kind of food in it. For instance, at lunch-time, the pockets would each have a bit of lunch, some of them bread, soup, or fish.
     The beast didn't have any head besides the ears, eyes, and snoot that Jmrpppmam could see. Whenever she tried to see his head, he'd twitch his ears around in front of his face (if he had one). So there he stood, not moving except for the twitching of his ears.
     Once Tar (her brother's initialed name) was brave enough to touch the Spat (or Taps). He said the skin was cold and clammy.
     The Taps (or Spat) stayed only long enough to chew some grass, spitting it out again. It wasn't grass when he spit it out, but a wooden box marked, "To Jmrpppmam, on her birthday."
     Then he was gone and the girl opened the box. In it were three eggs, each about the size of Jmrpppmam's little fingernail. 4 days later, baby Spats and Taps were born from the eggs, and soon they grew up and layed eggs, and more and more baby Spats and Taps were born from their eggs. And soon 5,000 Spats and 5,500 Taps were running around the town and multiplying. And if you read "King End's feelings about Spats and Taps," I think you will know what happened to the 10,500 Spats and Taps, and why there is a sign by Waterlily Pond, saying, "On March 21, 1963, 10500 Spats and Taps were drowned here. Sniff for them as you go by."
     Mrs. Spat or Taps (the one who gave Jmrpppmam the eggs) died of a broken heart from the death of her children and grand-children. Jmrpppmam killed King End for doing such a bad deed, and everyone lived happily ever after. (Except the Spats and Taps, sniff, and the King)

*He was usually called his initials E.N.D. as they were easier--King End.