The Project Gutenberg EBook of Droozle, by Frank Banta

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Title: Droozle

Author: Frank Banta

Release Date: October 22, 2007 [EBook #23148]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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DROOZLE

_Droozle was probably the greatest writer in the world--any world!_

By FRANK BANTA

Jean Lanni could see that his girl friend, Judy Stokes, thought it was
the lamest excuse she had ever heard. If your ballpoint pen won't write
as you want it to, your life doesn't stop, she probably was thinking.
You just get yourself another pen--You don't call off a marriage....

Skeptically the girl with the long, golden red hair pointed at his
breast pocket. "This Droozle I must see. And who's that other member of
the partnership there beside him? An Eversharp pencil named Blackie?"

"No, that is the other end of Droozle. Permit me to introduce you."
Blandly the tall, young artist slid Droozle from his breast pocket,
straightened him from his U-shape and handed his twelve-inch pen to her.

"A snake!" she shrieked.

"What else?"

"Why, I thought those ruby eyes were jewels! I must have squeezed right
up against him when I kissed you," she cried indignantly.

"You did. I felt him squirm a little."

"Oh! And here I thought it was your heart beating wildly."

"Well, maybe it was. It does that sometimes."

"Let's try again. And this time hold your snake behind you." The
long-legged girl stood on tiptoe to reach him.

"It _was_ your heart beating wildly," she decided a moment later. "Which
makes me think you might not just be trying to get rid of me by a silly
excuse."

"Believe me, I'm not," he urged. "Droozle is the key to all my
fortunes."

"All right, tell me about it. But first tell me where in the universe
you got him."

"Oh, that was just after I graduated from art school. I was on my grand
tour. We had an unexpected stopover at the Coffin planetary system. I
discovered ballpoint snakes are the chief export of Coffin Two. When w