The Musical Threads of Mr. Brimbee’s Hat

There were striped ones, polka dotted ones and ones that had both. Some were large and some were small, but all were shiny and new. Mr. Brimbee smiled as he admired them, until he noticed how expensive each one was. The cheapest one started at ten dollars. His smiling face soon turned sad. You see, Mr. Brimbee did not own a hat, but he had wanted one for a very long time. He was a short, thin Cricket who wore a pair of old scratched, wire-rimmed glasses. His hair was so unmanageable that it stuck out everywhere, as if he had not combed it since forever. The clothes he wore seemed to be much too large for him, and his complete lack of fashion sense, made his appearance even more dowdy. His plaid shirt, did not go with his dark brown, corduroy pants which were a half inch too short above his ankles. The soles of his faded, black patent leather shoes had holes in them, and since he could not afford to buy new ones, he put cardboard inside them to keep out the cold. He carried the tools of his humble sock-darning trade in a large sack, which was attached to the back-end of a pole, and slung over one shoulder of his small frame.

Mr. Brimbee lived in Traveler's End, which was a large floating island of land mass in the sky. The only way of getting there, was from the City of Lindstrom down many miles away, below. There, one had to locate the Fairy Gardens, right next to the Sands of Coball and depart on anything that could fly. If you were extremely lucky, you might find a Hermes Halter to wear. They had the power of levitation and you could float up to Traveler's End by yourself. If you were rich enough, you could ride in the only ferry that traveled there, a large Zeppelin balloon.