The Racketty-Packetty House
Week of August 4, 2008
Block 11:
The Tidy Castle folk are feeling better after all the careful nursing by the Racketty-Packetty folk. Lady Gwendolen spoke first and was as humble as a new born kitten. She vows she will never scorn “you dear, shabby, disrespectable, darling things” again. “Never, never!”
Peter Piper says it’s a mistake to scorn anyone and decides to cheer the Castle family up by dong some summersaults. Lord Hubert began to laugh, and then Lord Francis. Lady Doris squealed and Lady Muriel screamed. Lady Gwendolen and the Duchess rolled over and over in their beds, laughing as though they would have fits. The Racketty-Packettys joined hands and danced once round and round to help the Castle dolls drop off to sleep. When they finished, the dolls were snoring as softly as lambs.
The Racketty-Packetty dolls returned home and discussed why Cynthia had left the dolls in such condition. Ridiklis shared with them something she had heard from the Duchess. Cynthia went away because her Mama had sent for her and told her that a little girl Princess was coming to visit tomorrow. The nurse was so excited that she said she must have the Racketty-Packetty house taken downstairs and burned early tomorrow morning. Peter thought maybe the nurse was delirious from her illness but Ridiklis had taken care of her and said “she was as sensible as any of us.” Ridiklis sat down and cried.
Lady Patsy stood up and said “I will never leave you!” They all walked through Racketty-Packetty house together and looked at every hole in the carpet and every piece of stuffing sticking out of the dear old shabby sofas, and every broken window and chair leg and table and ragged blanket, and the tears ran down their faces for the first time in their lives.
DISCUSSION:
This block starts off happy with all the Tidy Castle folk feeling better after their illness, but then ends on distressing news that the Racketty-Packetty house is to be burned in the morning, and probably they will be burned, too, because what would Cynthia want with those shabby, disrespectable dolls? Lady Patsy declares she will never leave the Racketty-Packetty family so she will be lost also.
I wonder how they will get out of this mess!! Will the Tidy Castle folk allow the house and its inhabitants to be burned? Will the fairies intervene?
Isn’t it amazing after all the years of snobbery, that the Castle
family has a complete change of heart toward the Racketty-Packettys. Just that
one good deed from the Racketty-Packettys and they are changed persons. I am
sure they would never have gone to help the Racketty-Packettys before, but perhaps
now that the RP’s need help they will lend a hand.
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I would like to think that the Castle folk have been shown the error of their ways. Can one change overnight? Is it true that one event can open your eyes, make you step around a corner and see things from a different perspective? One can hope! Surely the fairies won't let the house be burned! They have been instrumental in rescuing it before, so surely they will be instrumental in rescuing it again!