The Parade
by Sylvester Lewis
It was going
to be a glorious day for the parade. The sun was
shining. The slight breeze was crisp and fresh.
And, he was early enough to get one of the best
viewing points – the wall. He managed to
pull himself to the top and roll over into a
sitting position. Clapping his hands and swinging
his legs, he could hardly contain himself.
“You'd
better be careful, that's a mighty big drop”
his friend called out. “I'm going down front,”
he added, elbowing his way through the crowd.
“Don't
worry about me. I'll be okay up here” he
answered . “They're about to start. Oh, my.
Oh, my. Look! Look!” he shouted as he craned
his short little no-neck to get a better view. He
could see the Drum Major in his bright red
uniform with the shiny brass buttons as he pumped
his baton, setting the tempo. “.....five,
six, seven, eight....”. The sudden blare of
the trumpets scared the wits out of a flock of
foraging pigeons sending the terrified birds
knocking into each other as they frantically flew
away, helter-skelter, searching for safety. The
oom-pah-pahs of the tubas shook the quivering
leaves from the trees. And, the clip clip
clippety clop of the horses hooves seemed to echo
the pulsing in his temples.
The sight of
the riders, with uniforms that matched the Major's,
and their high feathered hats bobbing up and down
in time with the hoofbeats, excited him even more.
“Isn't this terrific? Just so great. No one
will ever forget this day,” he thought.
“Here
they come! Here they come,” he shouted,
twisting and turning to get a better view. They
were about to pass in front of him. He scrambled
to stand up on the wall. “Beautiful!
Beautiful!” he called out to no one in
particular and frantically began waving his
arms. Suddenly, his heel caught the front edge of
the wall and, like Newton's apple, he crashed to
earth. His friend, hearing the commotion behind
him, turned and pushed his way through the
horrified crowd. He almost fainted at the sight.
His knees started to buckle. “Oh, my gosh!
Yuucccchhh!” He turned and started to run to
the house as fast as he could.
She was
standing on the porch wiping her hands on her
apron. Just as he reached her he cried out
“Mrs. Dumpty! Come quick. Humpty had an
accident!”.
(Footnote:
Alas, all the King's horses and all the King's
men couldn't put Humpty together again.)
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