“I’ll tell you what he does, and how he knew to do it, you tell me.
“I’ll tell you what he does!
“When he cannot get rid of his irritations he settles down to make them into one of the most beautiful things in this world. He uses the irritations to do the loveliest thing that an oyster ever has a chance to do!
“If there are irritations in your life, take an example from the oyster, my friends, and make a pearl.
“Make a pearl….” He stared out at us. “Have you got the love? Have you got the faith? … You … tell … me.”
Then the choir began singing:
“Throw out the lifeline across the dark wave,
There is a brother whom someone should save….”
“Will you walk up here to me, friends?” Little Lion began. “Walk up here for a blessing. Who will walk up here now for Christ?”
“Throw out the lifeline, throw out the lifeline,
Someone is drifting away,
Throw out the lifeline, throw out the lifeline,
Someone is sinking to-day.”
Dwarfs and normals began filing up the aisles as the choir continued and Little Lion shouted above it, “You know who I mean. There’s someone special here who needs this blessing, and you know who you are. I am talking to you directly now and you know it’s you I mean. And you know you’re special, and you know I’ve reached you, and why aren’t you walking down here to me? I’m going to keep after you until you do. I’m going to wait for you.”
Digger and Laura Gwen went past me with the babies, and Gus Gregory left his hat on his seat and squeezed past my legs.
I looked over my shoulder to see Little Little settled back in her seat, watching.
Little Lion’s voice rose even higher. “You know who you are! Can’t I reach you? Aren’t you coming? Don’t you care?”
There was no special expression on Little Little’s face.
“You can shout, ‘I’ll walk with you, Little Lion,’” Little Lion barked. “I wish you would. I wish you’d shout it out and come down here to walk with me!”
At first some people mumbled it, and then gathered courage and called it out, “I’ll walk with you, Little Lion.”
Little Lion had his handkerchief back out and was almost crying now, while he shouted, “What will it take to move you? O Lord, what do you want me to do? I’m trying everything I know! I’m breaking my heart here trying to get you to walk with me. Don’t you want to? Won’t you tell me that you want to and come forward? Please? Don’t you want to? Can’t you tell me that you want to?”
I kept looking over my shoulder to be sure Little Little hadn’t gotten down to go up the aisle.
Practically everyone in the church had, and they were lined up at the front, the TADs and TADpoles invited up to the stage to stand behind Little Lion.
“Who else?” Little Lion yelled out, his voice hoarse. “You know who you are! Oh, why won’t you do it? Don’t you want to? Won’t you tell me that you do?”
There was a sudden bolt of thunder, and then a female voice shrieked, “I do, Little Lion!”
I turned to see her dancing up the aisle, as I had seen her dance across my television screen so many times: Dora, minus her lettuce leaf.
Even Little Lion looked surprised.
20: Little Little La Belle
“LITTLE LITTLE,” SAID LITTLE Lion, “I want you to meet Eloise Ficklin, also known as Dora, The Dancing Lettuce Leaf.”
“Oh, happy happy days,” my mother sang. “When I lie down I’ll have a coat of golden mayonnaise.”
“We’ve met,” I said.
“We have? Where?”
“In Pennsylvania at a TADpole party. You were in the motel pool at the deep end and you told me you could stand at that end, that you weren’t one of us.”
“Well now, Little Little, you have the best memory!” Eloise Ficklin exclaimed. “I don’t remember meeting you at all.”
We were gathered in Grandfather La Belle’s study, at the back of the church, waiting for the crowds to thin out and the street in front to clear of traffic.
Grandfather La Belle had gone around back to the parking lot to bring my father’s car to the side door. Then we were all going to head for our house, for a light lunch before the banquet later that afternoon.
Eloise Ficklin was sticking to Little Lion like glue, dressed all in white the same as he was, and plucking his boutonniere from his lapel for a souvenir.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do about this rain,” she cooed down at him. “This rain is going to just ruin my hair.”
“I’ll tell you what,” said Little Lion. “I was going to leave my car behind the church so the Faithful wouldn’t get hurt mobbing it as they do. But they’re nearly all gone, and I could run you to where you’re going, and then drive up to the La Belles’.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t hear of that, Little Lion!”
“We can drop you on our way,” said my father.
“Now, I wouldn’t hear of that, sir,” Little Lion said to my father. “I will just back out my new little white Mercedes convertible quick as a wink and do the honors. It’ll be no trouble at all.”
Eloise Ficklin said, “Let me tell my manager that he can go on without me. Oh, it’ll be a relief to him, we spend so much time together! Are you sure it won’t be an imposition, Little Lion?”
“I’ll be delighted to do it,” said Little Lion, and my mother shot me one of her looks.
Little Lion grabbed my hand as Eloise Ficklin darted out of the study.
“Hallelujah, honey, it’s good to be with you at last!” He picked up our joined hands and kissed my knuckles. “I kept waiting for you to walk with me. You know that was what I was waiting for all along.”
“Little Little won’t walk with anyone,” said my mother. “She’s
