Then Jack heard the sound of hooves. He and the rest of the group – who
apart from the comb and the battery included a little plastic ruler, a rubber
in the shape of a panda, some shoelaces, and a pair of chopsticks – turned
to see a number of horse-shaped Things approaching. There were plastic
ponies, a cuddly pink unicorn, a pottery carthorse, and, largest of the lot, a
big wicker donkey carrying baskets of plastic fruit on either side of its
saddle. At the head of all these different Things rode another Loss Adjustor:
a pair of kitchen scissors wearing two black hats, one for each of his
handles. He was mounted, ends downwards, on a wooden horse with
squeaky wheels.
‘Hurry up, get on!’ snapped the scissors. ‘No!’ he added sharply to Jack
and the Christmas Pig, who were headed towards two of the plastic ponies.
‘You’re the biggest. You can share the donkey.’
So Jack and the Christmas Pig clambered onto the donkey, which gave a
groan and said, ‘Mind my wicker. It can snap, you know.’
