Revenge On The Nursemaid

The Deadfly Ensemble

1.
My nursemaid once gave me a kiss and a farthing. Two pence would have made sense; this was alarming. I was a good boy! I never got sick! So this slice of a penny induced a coin trick.

2.
I traded my farthing for an old metal soldier which I sold to my brother, a collector, much older. He gave me a penny which then begat three when I found for the soldier some staunch company.

3.
My threepenny bit soon turned to a tanner when I resold some fruit; some plums and bananas. A half-shilling’s worth of shoe polish came next, and two bob from the bank men left my pockets perplexed.

4.
With florin in hand I set up a stand and sold Penny Dreadfuls at second hand. Inside of a week I’d made half a crown, and my story appraisals had earned some renown.

5.
For one sovereign, one guinea, I sold off my stock and found my revenge when the nursemaid was shopping; she cried at the till, “All I need is two pence!” Said I, “All I’ve got is ten pound, four and six.”