Pretty, Yet Fragile

It was awful to watch. Bobo, a plastic clown with orange hair made of yarn, fretted as the cat jumped up onto the shelf where the beautiful China doll sat, as she always did, unmoving, staring straight ahead. Bobo was in his comically-small chair made of red wood and wicker, watching the whole scene develop. He loved to look at her, fine porcelain complexion and perfectly shining black hair. As the cat walked along the front edge of the shelf, Bobo knew that things were about to become unstable. Bobo tried with all his might to move his hard plastic lips; he needed to yell “look out!” at the top of his lungs. But, his lungs were nothing more than a rubber squeak device inside his body. Finally, he was able to make the slightest little noise. The hamster, Dexter, was running on his exercise wheel when he heard the sound. Dexter said “Yeah, Bobo, I see it. And, I’ve seen how you look at that girl. But, don’t waste your energy – she has no ears under that hard black hair. She can’t hear you.” Bobo sat helplessly as he watched her fall to the floor, face down, and shatter into several pieces, as the cat leaped to her own safety on the desk below.