Bonus feature: An Icon of Children’s
Literature Reimagined in a series
of Screwball Paper Dolls.
Decamps is a tale for adults, despite the talking animals.
So, what’s with the paper dolls?
I’m entertaining myself. I hope my images entertain a few of you as well.
And, it’s an additional device for my storytelling.
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I HAVE three outfits ready to go. Next on my to-do list: Pirate-Sly, Seance-Sly (the cat assisted John Dee with his money-maker-readings for wealthy females), and Elizabethan Dandy-Sly.
Also to come:
A companion doll, Sha-Sha. That’s Sha, at right. Sly meets her at Queen Elizabeth’s court and goes for her in a big way. She loves the attention, but when push comes to shove, she kicks him to the curb. She has eyes for Robert Dudley, no one else.
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I HOPE to produce a paper doll book. When I get eight ensembles created, I’m going to investigate the Go-Fund-Me sites. How much will a print run of five hundred cost? Several thousand dollars, I’m sure.
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Sha-Sha is a Donc Langur, called the most beautiful of all primates. She’s the Queen’s pampered pet, dressed in high style. She’s Elizabeth’s Mini-Me. Sha loves the court balls, and especially the masquerade balls. Sly, knowing she is sensitive about her a certain body part, sees to it that she frequently dresses in an outfit with a veil that conceals a despised feature. She hates her big-nostril nose, so unlike the slender sniffer of a court beauty.
Sly, to comfort her, has written a sonnet praising the nose. Does it cheer her? I’m not sure. I haven’t gotten to that episode yet. Here’s his so-thoughtful verse:
To a Nose
by S. Boots
Where does your foremost fascination lie?
I tell you, Mistress, not where you suppose.
You are magnificent of brow and eye,
but I rejoice, above all, in your nose.
Abundance of the snout is no vile thing,
an aperture odd, no horrific flaw.
Cavernous nostrils suck the scents of spring
more readily than dimple dents. What law
requires that a nose be slim, or pert,
to be admired, to be reckoned fine?
High handsome is less focused, less alert,
so taken is the brat with a divine profile.
The buttonholes, so meek, so sleek, so pink,
just darling, do not snort with the same greed
to savor life in all its sweet and stink,
as does yours, ma’am, and charmingly indeed.
A placid, chiseled symmetry, it does not do
for a merry force of nature such as you.
Your thug has more exuberance than those
lady-like honkers. Celebrate your nose!
Sly is an enthusiastic versifier. He has a substantial body of semi-delightful work to share with you, if you’ll let him.
Comment below. Even better, reach me at
theroguedecamps@gmail.com.
This isn’t the interactive feature I’d like it to be.
I’m not too tech-savvy. I’m finding my way, bit by bit.
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