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7 Prisoner"There is a cap'talist now, standing before you!" shouted Mr. Scarecrow, and his wrists flapped right at Jehosophat, "away with him!" "Away with him!" shouted one and all--the Little Red Apples, the Shiny Pie Pans, Mr. Stuckup the Turkey, and the Tall Corn Soldiers; and all the time Ole Man Pumpkin kept grinning and grinning, as if he were enjoying himself most cruelly.
Then Mr. Scarecrow said in a solemn voice: "Soldiers, do your duty with the prisoner!" And all at once two Tall Corn Soldiers stood on each side of him, grabbed him by one arm, and growled: "About face--forward march!" And the first thing he knew, he was being hustled very swiftly over towards the Pond. The Little Red Apples and the Shiny Pie Pans rolled on ahead, chattering gaily to each other; Mr. Stuckup marched on very pompously; Ole Man Pumpkin bumped along just in front; the two Corn Soldiers marched by his side; and a lot of others pricked him from behind with their sharp, cruel spears. What were they going to do with him? That was the question. He was soon to know, for they had reached the edge of the Pond. "Duck him!" shouted the Little Red Apples in glee. And the Tall Corn Soldiers seized Jehosophat by the hair on the top of his head, and shoved him under the water, way under, oh, way, way under. "Give me a bite!" said the first Little Red Apple, snapping at their prisoner's face when he came to the surface again. "Me, too!" shouted the second. "A big one for me!" yelled the third, and they all rolled in the water and bobbed around, bumping up against his face and trying their best to take a nip out of his cheeks. He never had known before that apples had teeth, but, sure enough, he felt them now--there was actually a little piece gone from each side of his face. "Great fun, Hallowe'en!" they called to one another as they bobbed about, still snapping at his cheeks. "Enough!" It was the two Corn Soldiers who spoke, and Jehosophat was dragged from the Pond. He was dripping wet and he felt pretty cold in his pajamas. "Now it's my turn," said Ole Man Pumpkin. "Take him to the workshop, there's a lot of sharp tools there." Tools! Whatever could they be going to do with him now! But he had no time to think, for there they were, all bumping, or rolling, or stalking along, to the workshop, and taking him with them. They had no keys, but they managed to enter just the same. "On the table--come, up with him!" And immediately the two Corn Soldiers siezed him by the arms and hoisted him on the table, where he sat in his little pajamas, like a tailor, with his knees crossed under him. But what was the idea? What was that Ole Man Pumpkin telling the Corn Soldiers? "Just cut a little hole in the top of his head--just enough to scoop out his insides. Quick work, or he'll spoil." "Save the drumstick for me," gobbled Mr. Stuck-up, "they didn't bother me much on Hallowe'en, but I'm going to get even for Thanksgiving." And all the time the Little Red Apples rolled around the floor in high glee; and the Shiny Pie Pans danced against each other, making a noise like the cymbals of the Salvation Army parade; and Ole Man Pumpkin kept sharpening and sharpening his knife.
Next:
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The Story of Ole Man
Pumpkin 1 Fall Harvest 2 Pumpkin Pie 3 Jack - Ole Man Pumpkin 4 Jack O'Lantern 5 Ducking for
Apples 6 Cornfield Rebellion 7 Prisoner 8
Awakening
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