The Old Curiosities Shop

"Curiouser and curiouser", cried Alice
as she rummaged through the remnants
of other people's lives,
now offered for sale
to become part of
another person's life.
"Curiouser and curiouser", she said
holding up two fat schoolboy
salt and pepper pots.
"They look like real characters,
I shall name them Tweedle Dumb
and Tweedle Dumber,
for now.

She searched in vain for a looking glass
to see if she could walk through it.
She had heard that this was sometimes
a curious possibility.
But among the objects in a large shiny bag,
she did find a set of playing cards
with a fearsome looking Queen of Hearts.
"I could write a good story about her",
she thought.

The Old Curiosities Shop

She found the butler with his empty tray
somewhat unsatisfactory.
So she removed the tray
and hung a tape measure round his neck
and put a thimble on his finger.
Now he could measure his former master
for a new suit, she thought.
She was pleased with the transformation
and thought that maybe it was now time
to transform herself.

She undressed
and donned a little black dress
that she found in the shiny bag.
She painted her face
and covered her blond hair
with a dark wig
in a new style.
Such a pity
that there was no looking glass
for her to view her appearance.
She could only imagine
her new self.
Such a pity
that no one
would ever see
what she had created.
That no one
would ever know.

Or so she thought.