The Untitled Dictionary Book
  Cover
1. It was Ben's job to draw the little pictures which accompany certain pictures in the dictionary.
2. His desk was always neat and he was well thought of by the others in his office.
3. There was a window near his desk which showed him a beautiful view of the city
4. From his desk he could also see the neck and shoulders of the etymologist Lillian
5. One night after having stayed late to complete drawings for the letter "M" Ben decided he would walk home.
6. It had been snowing heavily all day but Ben had with him a pair of excellent shoes and he enjoyed the cold, dark air.
7. As he stepped onto the sidewalk in front of his office building he saw a small white rabbit in the snow on the other side of the street.
8. This was a peculiar thing to see; he thought it must have been someone's fugitive pet.
9. It was still for a moment and seemed to notice Ben then ran down the street and was gone.
10. Ben considered the rabbit, then thought of his quiet apartment.
11. Instead of going home he walked to a nearby coffee shop where his cousin frequently stopped on her way home from work.
12. She was not there.
13. There was, however, pumpkin pie; he sat down and ordered and picked up the newspaper.
14. A dog in Vermont had run into the elevator of a government building and had somehow pressed the "emergency stop" button between floors.
15. Scientists in Oregon had isolated the part of the brain responsible for melancholy in lab rats.
16. A woman in Ohio was caught marking the word "zymurgy" out of all the dictionaries in city library.
17. Ben thought that perhaps this woman had seen his drawings while vandalizing the dictionaries.
18. The restaurant was half full.
19. There was a waitress in training who stood by and watched another waitress take orders.
20. Ben admired the small drawings on the menu: french toast, eggs, orange juice.
21. He ate and paid for his pie, then started walking home.
22. He would be walking for an hour.
23. Although he knew it was unlikely he hoped to see another rabbit.
24. Soon it began to snow again.
25. Ben was reminded of the pale, lovely skin of the etymologist Lillian.
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