Alice's Decoder Ring/Shanti Breaks the Lamp

One evening, Alice's decoder ring finally came in the mail. She took the package with the ring inside and began to read the note. "Be it known to all summary that Alice Maryanne Pleasance Liddell is hereby appointed a member of the Little Orphan Annie secret circle and is entitled to all honors and benefits occurring thereto. Signed, Little Orphan Annie." Pierre Andre in ink! The radio announcer began to stop the pirate broadcast as Alice started to listen. "It's time for Annie's secret message. For you members of the secret circle. Only members of the secret circle can decode her secret message. Remember, kids, Annie is depending on you! Set your pins to B2!" That's what Alice did. "Here is the message..." Alice wrote it as the announcer said it. "That's the message from Annie herself, so don't tell anyone!"

Alice turned off the radio and went up to her bedroom desk so she can decode. "Ah-ha! B!" She wrote it down and went to the next. "E? The first word is "Be""! It was becoming easier now as she completed the next two words of the decoding. "Be sure to what?" Alice thought. "D. What's next? R." She finished the word. "Be sure to drink? I don't do that." The next word she decoded was "Your". She's on the last one! As she finished decoding the last word, she read the secret message. "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine." She paused. It came to her the message was a trick. "A crummy commercial?" cried Alice. "Son of a biscuit!"

She put down her pencil and decoder ring and left for the kitchen to see what they were going to have. "Red cabbage." said Alice. "No, that's for tomorrow night. You love red cabbage, Alice." Cinderella told her. Alice nodded as she poured herself a glass of milk.

Suddenly, a crash was heard down in the furnace room. Sinbad was heard shouting in there, coughing, and laughing all the way. Shanti shook her head as she filled a pitcher with water and went to the living room. A crash of shattering glass was heard.

Alice heard Sinbad come up from the furnace, covered in black dust and smoke. "What was that? What happened?" Alice shrugged and pointed at the living room, where Sinbad went. "What happened? What broke!?" Shanti sat on her knees with the pieces of Sinbad's leg lamp, his major award. "I don't know what happened! I was watering the plant and I... broke your lamp."

Sinbad was stunned. As he slowly moved closer to the lamp, Shanti put pieces of it together. Sinbad took off his gloves and took the broken lamp. "Don't you touch that! You were always jealous of this lamp!" Shanti was stunned. "Jealous of a plastic leg?" "Yes!" Sinbad interrupted haphazardly. "Jealous because I won."

"That's ridiculous! I'm not jealous!" said Shanti angrily. "That's the ugliest piece of junk I have ever seen in my entire LIFE!!!"

Now it was out. "Get the glue." said Sinbad harshly. "We are OUT of glue!" said Shanti through gritted teeth. Sinbad almost screamed in fury. "You used up all the glue... on PURPOSE!!!" "Like, no, I didn't!"

Sinbad stood there, quivering with fury, stammering as he tried to come up with a real crusher, but all he got out was, "Not a finger!" as he took his goggles and hat and ran out for more glue.