Part 7 (2/2)
”Dear me!” exclaimed Dot. ”What did you do with him?”
”Oh, as he was ruined beyond repair, we divided him up among the neighbors who loved him best, and ate him the next morning for breakfast.”
”Ate him!” cried the girl, who was greatly shocked.
”Certainly; Mr. Gunther was a very sweet man.”
”But this is horrible,” said Dot, with a shudder. ”You are all cannibals!”
”Cannibals! What are those?” inquired the candy man.
”Why, people who eat each other,” said Dot.
”Oh, then we are cannibals, sure enough,” declared the little man, calmly.
”But cannibals are wicked creatures,” said the child, aghast at such savagery.
”Is it wicked to eat candy in the country where you live?” demanded the man.
”No; but then people are not made of candy there.”
”Well, here there is nothing else than candy; so if we eat at all we must eat candy. Is it wicked to eat in the country you came from?”
”No,” replied Dot, who was beginning to be puzzled at all this.
”Then,” said the little man, ”you cannot consider us wicked for eating each other. Of course, we never eat anyone who is not broken; but when a man breaks himself into seventeen parts, it is considered quite a compliment to him for the neighbors who feast upon his pieces.”
This did not seem quite right to Dot, but she did not know how to reply; and to add to her confusion, the candy man suddenly held up his left hand, which he had placed behind him as he talked, and showed her that his thumb and two of the fingers were missing.
”Why, what can have happened to them?” she asked, in real distress.
The candy man looked at his hand carefully, and then quickly turned and looked at Tot.
”There are marks of teeth on my hand,” said he, ”and no one in this Valley has teeth except you two children.”
”Tot!” cried Dot; ”did you bite off this gentleman's fingers?”
Tot hung his head.
”Answer me!” said the girl. ”Have you been eating our friend?”
”Well,” said Tot, slowly, ”he said the folks here were good to eat; an'--an'--he held his hand behind his back--right in front of my mouth; an'--so I took one of little bite off his fingers, an'--”
”Tot,” said Dot, ”I'm ashamed of you! The idea of eating one who has been so kind to us, and so soon after luncheon, too!”
”Pray, do not scold him,” said the candy man. ”He says I am good to eat, and that makes me so proud that I shall not mind the loss of my fingers. When I have time I can get some new ones patched on; so it does not matter much in the least.”
Still, Dot was hurt and angry at the occurrence, and Tot walked behind them with hanging head.
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