“Not... boring “a corner of Selene's mind thought, and then she heard from somewhere in the distance the voice of the Toyman says “Come, we have other stops to make.”
Then, suddenly like the wink of a blackbird's eye, darkness fell. And from far, far away came the sound of the lid—
Closing.
Selene closed the cover of the little silver box.
The shimmer glass house had turned into a shimmer glass palace, with a million shining star chandelier overhead Selene yawned; feeling an out rough tactility to her hands as she rubbed her eyes.
She yawned again.
The Toyman gathered all the toys into his great hard white bands and put them carefully into the toybox. Then he called to Selene to come look. Down in the toybox, in the toyshop that was there, all the toys had resumed their places on the shelves. It was night in the toybox, and the amber glow had deepened to Halloween orange.
Do you see, “the Toyman said, “way down, that little shelf?”He pointed to an empty space under a pale rose skylight, a space where the rest of the orange glow was softer, more opaque.
Selene nodded sleepily.
“That’s yours,“ the Toyman said
:NO!“ Selene shouted, looking down now at her body her black-yarn hair, her cloth skin, her black buckle shoes that hurt the eyes, they shone so bright.
“You knew all along didn't you?” the Toyman continued. “A Toyman brings toys, but he must also get them from somewhere. “His voice softened “It won't be so bad. No more boredom....”
Selene was silent, staring up at him with her butter-brown eyes.
Table of Contents
Introduction by Joe R. Lansdale
Pumpkin Head
The Man With Legs
The Spook Man
Wish
Under My Bed
The Big House
The Corn Dolly
The Electric Fat Boy
Snow
Garden of Eden
The Dust
Father Dear
Children of Cain
Red Eve
Pigs
Richard's Head
Boxes
Toybox Page 23
