Aliz Mosonyi
Shop Tales
The Rich Men's Shop
The customers come into the Rich Men's Shop and say: "We're rich. We want to buy something expensive." The shopkeeper shows them everything, but they just make dismissive gestures with their golden hands, stamp their golden feet. "Haven't you got anything original?" "What have you got in mind?" says the shopkeeper, "We haven't had anything like that for a long time! A very long time!"
The Shop Fraught with Perils
Only the brave frequent the Shop Fraught with Perils, we're looking for danger, they say, we've come to risk our lives, where and how can we rescue what there is to be rescued? "I don't know, I don't know," says the old shopkeeper. "I just wonder where. And what for."
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The Old Dolls' Shop
In the Old Dolls' Shop the old dolls sit around on the shelves, thinking of the children of old. The door opens, the customers come in, the old dolls just glance at them, at the big paunches, the double chins, shake their heads and quickly put up the sign, NOT FOR SALE, CLOSED, NOT FOR SALE, CLOSED, and the customers jingle their coins and snap their banknotes in vain, the old dolls just creak and squeak, it's no good talking to them, the paunched, double chinned customers have to leave, no dolls on sale today. Then the old dolls walk around, inspecting one another, nod, proudly straighten their back, no paunches, no double chins there, thank goodness, that's all right then. And they sit back up on the shelves and think about the children of old.
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The Shop of Small Things
The Shop of Small Things sells small things. Small dresses, small shoes, small hats, small umbrellas, small buttons to go with the small dresses, small shoelaces to go with the small shoes, small flowers to go with the small hats. A small customer comes, buys a small dress, small buttons to go with the dress, small shoelaces to go with the shoes, small flowers to go with the hat, pays with small change, is there nothing to go with the small umbrella? Nothing, nothing, says the small shopkeeper. What a pity, says the small customer, then I shan't buy an umbrella. The small shopkeeper sighs, how's he going to get rid of all these umbrellas, no one's going to buy them. A small mouse comes along, slips into the small shop, looks at the small dresses, don't feel like a dress, looks at the small shoes, don't feel like shoes either, sees the small umbrellas, hm, hm, a taste of umbrella is just what I feel like. He nibbles a small hole in one umbrella, he nibbles a small hole in another umbrella, the small mouse's stomach is full. A small customer comes along, buys a small dress, small buttons to go with the small dress, buys a small hat, small flowers to go with the small hat, what can I buy to go with the small umbrella? The small shopkeeper looks at the umbrella, sees the hole, why, buy a hole to go with the umbrella! The small customer sees the small hole, what a pretty little hole, let me have it, I'll buy it! And now you can buy everything you want in the small shop, small buttons to go with small dresses, small shoelaces to go with small shoes, small holes to go with small umbrellas.
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The Shop of Serious Pieces of Advice
In the Shop of Serious Pieces of Advice, the shopkeeper, Dr Martha Stroller, strolls up and down. The customers come and say, tell us, Dr Martha Stroller, onions or apples, secretly or wittingly, awake or asleep, red or black, door or window, to open or to close, with tooth or with nail, with butter or with honey, sooner or later, to embrace or to kiss, come life or come death. Dr Martha Stroller strolls up and down, maybe onions, maybe apples, maybe secretly, maybe wittingly, maybe awake, maybe asleep, maybe red, maybe black, maybe the door, maybe the window, maybe open, maybe close, maybe with tooth, maybe with nail, maybe with butter, maybe with honey, maybe sooner, maybe later, maybe embrace, maybe kiss, maybe life, maybe death, you'd better go home now.
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Aliz Mosonyi
is the author of books for children.
