by J. S. Volpe
NOTES
1. The official currency of Glí. It was a disk of low-grade copper, the front of which was stamped with a portrait of Glí’s king, Arbuthort the Perfunctory, and the back with Glí’s official seal: five stars in an arc above an oak tree. Due to poor technology and inept craftsmanship, most people thought the oak tree was a mushroom. They were less sure about what was on the front of the coin. Guesses ranged from a house to a wombat. (Back to the story.)
2. He wasn’t lying, exactly. He could read, but only at a first-grade level. (Back to the story.)
3. A firebug was a small red beetle that emitted a burst of flame when crushed, a peculiarity thought to result when normally separated chemicals in its digestive and/or circulatory systems came into contact during the creature’s demise to form a highly volatile compound. This explosive property had no doubt evolved as a defense mechanism to discourage predation, for not even the hardiest predator is keen on getting its beak or mouth scorched. However, that very same defense mechanism led to the bugs’ being bred on special farms so humans could slaughter them in massive quantities as a fire-starting tool. The irony of this was lost on the bugs, of course, given their tiny brains. (Back to the story.)
4. An interlinguistic homonym. In the gorgim’s language, the word blood had nothing to do with bodily fluids of any kind. Instead it meant “pretty flower.” (Back to the story.)
5. Actually his mother had died five minutes after he left for Moe’s the previous night. (Back to the story.)
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