When Marcus’s mother took him with her to town to buy groceries, Marcus was disgusted by an old man outside the store. The man’s face was all twisted, his nose was scrunched up like a giant raisin, his pants were rumpled and torn, his socks were mismatched and his shoes were on the wrong feet. Just seeing him gave Marcus the shivers.
One day Marcus asked his mother about the man.
“Oh, he’s a bad, bad boy Marcus. He’s not an old man but a boy just a little older than you, a very, very bad boy. His name is Rumplescowlson.”
“He looks like an old man. That’s a strange name. How did he get it?”
“It’s a long story Marcus. I don’t have time to tell you. Run along and play while I do the wash, the cooking, clean the house and get all the chores done before Daddy comes home from another long hard day’s work at the dynamo shop. Promise me you won’t talk to Rumplescowlson. People say he can be nasty, vindictive, and mean.”
Marcus’s father made dynamos which are little gadgets that generate electricity. Hardly anybody uses them anymore. Marcus’s father worked long, hard days for very little money. Marcus has a dynamo radio, a dynamo flashlight, and a dynamo battery charger for his toys. He sometimes gets jealous of the other kids who have fancier things than he has. When he feels this way, he gets all riled up and sometimes he screams, and yells, and jumps around.
Marcus gave his mother a confused look. He was just about to ask her more about Rumplescowlson when she waved him off.
“Run along and play Marcus, I’m busy.”
Try as he might, Marcus couldn’t get Rumplescowlson out of his mind. He knew his mother would never have enough time to tell him the story. Next time they went to the store, Marcus made an excuse to stay in the car. When his mother went inside he unbuckled his safety belt, opened the door, and jumped outside onto the street. Then, after looking both ways very carefully, he walked across the street toward Rumplescowlson. He didn’t get too close, but he did get close enough to get a good look. Rumplescowlson was even uglier than he imagined. Everything about him was contorted, especially his eyes. His eyes were strabismic. That means crooked. Marcus had learned the word in his preschool when he asked one of the teachers why she had such a cockeyed look about her.
“What you lookin’ at?” growled Rumplescowlson who sized up Marcus with his strabismic eyes.
“Nothing,” said Marcus in a small frightened voice.
“What? I couldn’t hear you?”
“Nothing,” said Marcus a bit louder. Marcus started to walk away.
“You’re lookin’ at me!”
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
“Am not.”
“Come here, or are you afraid little boy?” Marcus noticed there was even a hump on Rumplescowlson’s back.
“Are you as mean as people say?” blurted out Marcus before he had time to think.
“Hah! Who told you that little boy?”
Before Marcus could answer, his mother grabbed his neck from behind and pulled him to the car.
“I’m ashamed of you Marcus. I told you never to talk to that boy. When we go home I’m going to scrub out your mouth with soap then lock you in your room until Daddy gets back. Then, he will deal with you.”
Marcus saw the furious look in his mother’s eyes and he knew she meant it.
“I’m sorry, Mommy. I’m very sorry. I won’t do it again.”
“I certainly hope not, and I won’t take you to town with me again either.”
I don’t know if you’ve ever had to wash your mouth out with soap, but it’s not very much fun. It made Marcus sick and he threw up in the toilet. Luckily the toilet was very, very clean thanks to his mother so he was sure he didn’t pick up any germs.
After he threw up in the toilet, Marcus fell into a dreamy sleep.
Marcus’s mother was in town. He got bored in the house so he went outside to sit with the dog. He was astounded to see his dog with Rumplescowlson who petted and spoke with the dog. He didn’t know people could talk to dogs, and he certainly didn’t know that dogs could talk back.
“So, there you are little boy. I figured you would be afraid to come out.”
“What are you doing here at my house?”
“I came here to tell you my story.”
“I’m not supposed to speak to you. My Mommy will make me wash my mouth out with soap again.”
“Too late little boy ‘cause you’re already talkin’ to me in case you haven’t noticed. Now, listen up.”
Marcus sat down on the step. Rumplescowlson was right. He was going to have to wash his mouth out with soap anyway, so he might as well hear what Rumplescowlson’s was going to say.
“I used to be a little boy like you, Marcus. I didn’t have this hump on my back or these crooked eyes or this ugly nose and face. In fact, I was quite good looking. Here is a picture of how I looked then.”
Rumplescowlson handed Marcus a picture. It made Marcus’s heart jump because it looked just like him.
“You are a warlock!” screamed Marcus and he got up to go back inside the house. A warlock is someone who can’t be trusted, and who sometimes uses magic against you. Marcus knew about warlocks from the video games he played with his dynamo video machine.
“No Marcus, I’m not a warlock. Stay calm and listen, please. I must tell you the rest.”
Marcus was afraid, but he was not a coward. He sat back down and listened.
“You see, whenever I couldn’t get something I wanted, I would do this crazy dance. It drove my parents nuts, so if I did it long enough I could get whatever I wanted. I scrunched up my nose and twisted my face and stooped over like a camel and kicked up my heels and sometimes I even threw the furniture around. I did it and did it and did it until I finally got what I wanted. And then, after awhile, I returned to normal. Except one day I couldn’t come back. I had crossed the line and these ugly features had become permanent. That’s what happens when you lost your temper every time something doesn’t go your way. My parents no longer wanted me. They kicked me out. Now, I live all by myself on the street, and everyone calls me Rumplescowlson. It’s not my real name. You know what my real name is, don’t you? It’s Marcus.”
When Marcus woke up from his horrible dream, he gulped and gasped for air. His father came into his room. Marcus still had the sour taste of the soap in his mouth.
“Marcus, are you okay? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” Marcus’s father said.
“I’m fine, Dad.”
“I’m sorry, Marcus, that you upset your mother so. She’s frantic. Promise me you will never do that again.”
“I promise, Daddy. I really do promise.”
“Good, now let’s go and play with a new dynamo toy that I made for you.”
“But, Daddy, I don’t like the dynamo toys! I HATE them! I WANT … I WANT.” Marcus’s face contorted into a grimace. His nose wrinkled up into a raisin and his ears flashed red. He could feel a hump forming on his back.
“What was that Marcus? What did you say?”
“Nothing Daddy. Thanks for the new dynamo toy! It’s perfect. It’s all I need.”
NOTE: All images in this post were made by CHAT GPT-4o