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(Page 2 of 7) "The Witch Doctor of Grand Thneed" Chapter 1 by Rob Queen"How is my hair? Am I presentable?"
"You look fine, Rhunda!" Muma laughed. "Now get out there and greet those Lumbans!"
"Whoo!" exclaimed Rhunda as Muma swatted her generous behind. "Muma! How many times must I tell you not to do that?" Once through the kitchen doors and into the Great Hall, Rhunda scanned the room for any last-minute details. With precision borne from years of practice, she ignored the everyday details – such as the handsome paintings hung between the room's windows, the bright walls, the chandeliers – and focused only on the parts of the room that needed preparation for the meal. The table cloths were spread over the round tables without any bumps or folds. The girls were setting the last of the place settings. The beverage table was well-stocked. With most of the work seeming in good hands, she fell upon the buffet table with her meticulous eye. Everything seemed in order, except... "Vignet! Tupar in red sauce can't go beside caramelized FireFlower, silly girl. I know you're colorblind, but for future reference, those colors clash. There we go!"
With nothing left to immediately supervise, Rhunda crossed the Great Hall with astounding speed, where she arrived at the large doors of the Great Hall. Wrapping her thick fingers about the brass knob, she shoved the doors wide with a flourish and a curtsey. Old Chupe and his twin sons were just alighting upon the first step up to the door. With a broad grin that brought dimples to her round cheeks, she greeted the three men. "Good morning, Chupes! Welcome to another glorious... oh! It's raining still?"
"Yep, Old Girl," Chupe said, pressing his grizzled old lips to Rhunda's cheek in greeting. "Has been all day."
"Oh bother," Rhunda declared, gazing out into the grey doldrums of leaking water. For the past three weeks, the sky had been weeping. On any day devoid of such rainy torrents, she would greet the feasters as she bathed in the beauty of the view from the Great Hall's steps. And why shouldn't she? The Great Hall was built at the top of the slow incline of Lumbidoor's main street. From here, she could look out over the brightly-painted houses filling up the center of town. But in this unyielding rain, even the bright colors seemed to frown. Oh, this weather was so sickening that even the drains lining the street seemed to cough out extra water. And worse of all, the Great Hall had grown a puddle at the foot of its steps that was now the size of a small moat. In part to get away from this drab sight, she took Farmer Chupe by the arm to escort him into the Hall. "I had so hoped it would stop by the time of the feast. At least it's good for the plants!"
"Not this rain, ma'am," replied one of the twins, removing his Fish Skin Brand rain parka. The Narrator does not wish to generalize here, but the twins had long ago forsaken the concept of separate identity. They were so identical in appearance, thought, manner, and action, that no one in Lumbidoor could ever tell them apart, and as belief sometimes becomes reality, they accepted this, and even had come to think of themselves only as "the Chuple twins."
"Oh? And why is that?" Rhunda asked, hanging Old Chupe's parka on the long line of hooks beside the doorway.
"Three weeks non-stop tends-"
"-to drown whatever's in-"
"- the soil.
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