These particular dolls, however, are "strange" in more than just the sense of being unfamiliar. As Janice explained, "They have very bizarre faces. They're hideous, actually. Ghastly! It's unsettling enough to think that someone has been trespassing in my store. But for whoever it was to leave behind these grotesque things is frankly just plain disturbing. If this is some kind of joke, it's not at all funny."
Janice, who certainly knows her
business and her inventory, maintains she has never seen the gruesome
twosome of dolls before and asks that anyone who knows their origin please
call her at her shop as soon as possible. In the meantime, the playthings
non grata will be not offered for sale or even displayed. "I wouldn't
dream of it," insisted Janice. "And I hope to heaven that I don't dream of
those dreadful things when I go to sleep, either. Who on earth would make
dolls that look like that, anyway? Lord knows they're not fit to be gifts
for anyone."
Who on Earth, indeed. As an unidentified customer in the shop commented, "It's sure as shootin' that no one is gonna confuse those trolls with Tickle Me Elmo dolls! They look like they'd bite your finger right down to the bone...and smile as they were doing it." We say, just keep in mind that the jolly old gift-giver from the North Pole is not the only one who bears the moniker of "Nick." Another well-known persona, from far warmer climes that are much, much farther south, answers to the same name....
Articles from previous issues:
Darkness, Depression Push Some to Brink, Says Shrink
Library's Seasonal Scribes Series
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