Crabby the Crabby Crab – Chapter 3

Nice to Meet you, Crabby

“Shhh, Crabby,” hissed Sylvia worriedly. “Don’t make a noise.”
“What do you want me to do, eh?” replied Crabby nervously, tapping his pointed pincers along the desk. “This is how we walk, we, the crabs. We don’t have bare feet like ye humans.”
“OK. Crabby. Relax! But please, we need to be careful.”
“Eh! I’m the great soldier of the king!” replied Crabby, shaking his head violently. “I don’t know why I feel like a cat burglar sneaking under his cloak in the middle of the night!”
“Wow! It is so eloquent, Crabby,” said Sylvia, trying to hide her muffled laughter between her fingers.
As the young girl tiptoed here and there, she carefully placed down her glass lantern on the desk and immediately, Crabby opened his mouth in astonishment. He found himself next to a pile of fabrics from various kinds of velvet, silk, wool and more. In front of his glinting large eyes, the crowded workshop looked like a luxurious, cinematic nature canvas.
“Keep your eyes peeled, Crabby.” Declared Sylvia excitedly, “Try to find the best fabric to make the shoes!”
“Okay. Don’t worry,” answered Crabby.
There was a large golden strip encrusted with some tiny diamonds on the desk, shining in the darkness.
“Wow! This is so charming!” yelled Crabby in great amazement.
“I know. My mum uses these stripes to make wedding dresses,” replied Sylvia whilst caressing an embroidered scarf hung over a mannequin.
A soft white fabric caught their attention as they advanced deeper into the workshop.
“Look, Crabby, this is silk,” explained Sylvia.
“Nah, it is velvet. I know it because I am the King’s tailor!” answered Crabby firmly.
“Crabby, it’s silk!”
“No, velvet!”
“Silk!”
“Velvet!!!!!!” insisted Crabby nervously.
“Pfft! OK. If you think this is velvet then it is velvet,” answered Sylvia, waving her hand indifferently.
As they walked forward, they spotted three enormous sewing machines placed on the top of a huge table in the corner. Close to them, there were plenty of vivid yarns and yarns and more yards of fabrics of a mixture of colours.
“Look, this is French Dentelle,” announced Sylvia, touching a fabric gently with the top of her fingers.
“Wow, this is very soft,” replied Crabby jumping in great excitement on the ”dentelle” and picking it with his pincers.
“And this is wool,” remarked Sylvia, pointing at a yard of red fabric on the chair.
“Nah, it’s not in my cup of tea. I don’t like wool. It’s not too soft,” announced Crabby.
“OK, and this is…”
“Sylvia? What are these vibrant tiny strings on the table, next to these pin cushions?”
“These…” pointed Sylvia at some spool of threads, “these are spools of Chinese pure silk threads. All you need is to cut a tiny bit with the scissors and sew the fabrics together.”
“Wow!”
“Look, do you see these golden buttons? They are so expensive. Mother uses them to decorate glamorous costumes for celebrities!” exclaimed Sylvia proudly pointing at some glittering golden pieces wrapped carefully inside a transparent bag.
“THESE!” exclaimed Crabby, chuckling. “They are ten a penny in my kingdom. They are so frugal.”
“ Really? You are a wealthy little Crab. Alright, Crabby, chop chop! We have to …”
“Sylvia, ummm… Sorry to interrupt you, but I owe you an apology about what happened in the classroom,” stammered Crabby scratching nervously his forehead. “I didn’t mean to be uncivil. I am so embarrassed.”
“Don’t worry Crabby. It was my fault. I shouldn’t take you with me to school.”
“You know Sylvia, I completely lost my rag. I did not feel well while trapped inside your pocket like a prey,” declared Crabby. “I was born free, Sylvia. I used to be free all my life. Crabs spent their whole lives swimming from sea to sea.”
Then, he added, looking down and away, trying to avoid Sylvia’s eyes, “What about Miss Graham? Is she fine?”
“Of course she is,” answered Sylvia with a reassuring smile. “I got a call from Adam. He told me that Miss Graham was fine. Moreover, she wants to meet you again.”
“OK. Now, what about this fabric?” said Sylvia, pointing at a large piece of black silk on the back of a chair. “I think that you will …”
CREAK!
All of a sudden, the door opened wide, and a young lady was standing in astonishment under the warm LED light. She was a woman in her thirties. Her furry, burgundy dressing gown looked ravishing whilst her brown, modest, wavy hair covered her thin shoulders, and her amazing dark eyes were gleaming like a pair of black pearls.
The lady’s name was Sarah. She was Sylvia’s mum. From a very young age, she had a keen interest in fashion and glamour.
However, when she got older, she pursued higher education in journalism and became a notorious journalist for BBC before getting married and giving birth to Sylvia. Since then, she decided to provide her child with all her care and affection and, simultaneously, make her childhood dreams come true.
“Sylvia, what are you doing here?” asked the young lady in wonder. “I was in your room and you weren’t in your bed. What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“I am sorry, Mum,” replied Sylvia, slumping her shoulders, “I needed to do something very urgent in your workshop.”
“That’s OK, sweetheart,” said Sarah approaching Sylvia, when she suddenly spotted Crabby on the desk.
“Oh, what creature is this?” Exclaimed Sylvia’s Mum.
“Mum, let me introduce you to Crabby Crabby.”
“Nice to meet you, Crabby.” Announced Sarah, with a wide smile.
“Greetings, Madame,” said Crabby, bowing his head elegantly towards Sarah. “You look gorgeous.”
“Oh, you’re such a cute, tiny crab!” murmured Sarah.
“Madame, I am not that tiny!” replied Crabby, puffing out his chest. “With all due respect, Madame, you are talking to the Major of His Majesty the king of the crab’s kingdom.”
“Oh sorry, Crabby.” snickered Sylvia’s mum.
“By the way, Mum, Crabby is here because he needs to get shoes for the king.”
“Oh, I see. Don’t worry, Crabby, I’ll make majestic shoes for the king, and also a sublime costume that whoever sees will open his mouth from amazement!”
“I cannot thank you enough, Madame! I will never forget this.” Replied Crabby cheerfully.
“You are welcome, Crabby,” said Sarah. “It is once in a blue moon to design shoes for the king of the crabs.”
Then, she added, caressing her daughter’s cheeks gently. “Sylvia, it’s very late. You must be tired. Go to sleep, my baby. I’ll make your friend all he needs. You know that I love working at night. I am a busy bee.”
“Mr. Crabby,” grinned Sylvia whilst walking out from the bright room, “it’s time to sleep! I have prepared your cozy bed next to mine.”
As Sylvia tiptoed down the gloomy attic stairs, holding Crabby warmly in her hand, she heard the resonant sound of the sewing machine.
“Thank you, Mum.” She whispered, smiling. “You have always been my lifesaver.”