Curiosity

The cure for boredom in curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.

~  Dorothy Parker

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The old lady invited the children into her house to play with her finger puppets. When the children saw the dish with the doll heads in it, they were uncomfortable. You're bound to be uncomfortable when you see a dish full of doll heads. If not, there is something a bit off about you.

"Go ahead," the old lady invited, "Take a puppet and put your finger in it and we'll do an entertainment together."

The children paused and then looked at Lucretia, who was the oldest. She would know what to do.

"Um..." Lucretia stalled. "Um... Will it be a tragedy or a comedy?"

The old lady stared over her smudgy spectacles at the girl. She didn't smile or frown. After a minute she said, "There are no comedies. Only prologues for tragedies."

The children backed toward the door. 

"No, no. Come now. Let's do an entertainment," the old lady begged, her walker scraping the floor as she chased after them in stumbly slow motion. The children then took off running, leaving the door open behind them.

"Hmh," the woman murmured in a satisfied way to herself. "That oughta keep 'em out of my yard for a while."