ETTING   OME   O   LFANDRA

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Mithent's Confused Interdimensional Travels part 11

"I'm not opening that door." states the secretary.

"Well, neither am I. I haven't filled in my tax return yet." explains Min Tan, dropping to a sing-song voice.

Frank, very reasonably, notes, "I am too short."

Bob hides in the corner. "Don't look at me."

"I guess I'd better do it, then," replies Mithent resignedly. "Min Tan, you've got the feather, haven't you?"

Min Tan holds it out to Mithent, but when the dragon-canary tries to take it, he snatches it back and pokes his tongue out.

"You really are full of surprises, aren't you?" comments the secretary, entirely deadpan.

Mithent attempts reasoning. "Look, Min. I might give you a cookie if you give me the feather back."

Min Tan hides the feather behind his back. "Chocolate chips!"

"Okay, chocolate chips then," concedes Mithent with a sigh. "Now can I have the feather?"

"Gimme the cookie."

Mithent chants something which has more than a passing resemblance to 'I'm a Little Teapot', waves a wing in the air and a cookie appears with an implosion of octarine light. "Here you are," he says, handing the cookie to Min Tan. The obstinate woodcutter hands over the feather grudgingly and bites into the cookie.

"Hey! This tastes like blueberry! And I /hate/ giant blueberries!" exclaims Min Tan.

"You never said the cookie had to /taste/ like chocolate, did you?"

Bob looks suspiciously at Mithent. "Where did you get that cookie from, anyway?"

"It was up my sleeve," he bluffs. "And my staff is as well. I'll just get it." With a twitter, a staff with a knob on the end flickers into view. And with that, he opens the door decisively, forcing everyone to shrink back in surprise at the wave of honey which bursts out of the room.

A booming voice echoes out from the honey-filled room. "You pathetic excuse for a genie! I said I wanted money! I demand another wish!"

"I already gave you three. That's how many it said in the contract." states a whiney voice coming from the same direction.

"When I asked for girls, you gave me curls! And as for my wish for power - you gave me flour! Are you deaf?!"

"No, it's warm enough in here already."

Taking advantage of the confusion, Mithent bursts into the room, brandishing a feather and his staff. "Stand and be tickled!"

"Don't be so stupid. I don't want to be pickled." complains the genie.

"He said tickled, for heavens' sake!" roars back the curly-haired tax collector, complete with stereotypical crooked nose and pointed chin.

The genie recoils in horror. "You are going to steal four skies? I won't let you!"

"What on Schnozz do you mean?"

"You said, 'four heavens take'!"

"I did *not*! Will you *please* go - hahaha!"

"If you insist. Ha ha ha."

Mithent closes the door on the irate tax collector and half-deaf genie. "You know, that reminds me of a joke about a -"

"Not now, let's get out of here before he chases us!" demands Frank. "I don't think he'd be scared enough of me to run away!"

With that helpful advice, the group hurry out of the castle of the Tax Collector, collect Toronto (don't forget about him) and return to the Blizzard's area, ready to undergo the (possibly) final part of their adventure. Coming (moderately) soon to a newsgroup (as long as it's alt.fan.dragons) or Web site (if it's Hespa's GHTA page) near you!