entertainment, so to speak, I got down to business, making the suggestion that we paint the outside of our store yellow with green trimmings. The “yellow” would be the cucumber blossoms, I brilliantly explained, and the “green” would be the pickles. The inside was to be painted, too, but, of course, we couldn’t do that until the shelves and counter had been made. Spick and span and nothing else but—that was our idea of what a store should be. And it was the right idea, too.

“How about a sign?” says I, as the self-appointed decorator. “Do you want me to paint that, too?”

“What are we going to put on it?” says Poppy.

“‘Poppy’s Pickle Parlor,’ of course,” says I, looking at him in surprise. “I thought that was all settled.”

[30]“But it’s your Pickle Parlor,” says he, “just as much as it’s mine.”

[30]

“Of course,” says I, getting the point of his unselfishness. “But ‘Poppy’s Pickle Parlor’ is a better name than ‘Jerry’s Pickle Parlor.’ For the ‘P’ in Poppy sort of rhymes with the ‘P’ in pickles.”

“Alliteration,” old brain-bag swung in.

“What do you mean by that?” I cheerfully showed my ignorance.

“Using the three words, all beginning with ‘P,’ is what is called alliteration. You see a lot of it in advertising. In fact,” he admitted, “that’s where I got my idea.”

Getting the measurements of our new store, which proved to be six feet wide by eight feet long, we made a diagram, or, as Poppy called it, a floor plan, a copy of which is printed on the opposite page. You may wonder where we expected to pick off a cash register. As a matter of fact, we didn’t expect to own a cash register for a long time. But a floor plan, to use the leader’s words, was intended to show everything complete. And that is why we put the cash register in ahead of time, along with the two prospective pickle barrels.

[31]

[31]

[32]“Before we go any farther,” says Poppy, “I think we better check up and see how we stand on the money question. For it will take a good bit of jack to pay for the paint and shelf lumber. Then, too, we’ll have to hire a house mover.”

[32]

 Prev. P 18/141 next