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Empty Box.

An empty box was delivered to my front door the other day. I signed for the box and after taking it indoors I opened the brown paper that it was wrapped in and saw this large box. The box is stained deep brown and is polished and not unpleasant to look at. The top of the box is inlaid with some wooden shapes that form a very intricate pattern. Inside the box a deep green colour is to be seen. The brown paper had no address on it apart from my address. I did not think this odd because I sometimes get the odd present from my friend Shamus who knows that I love anything that is unusual. I placed the box in the living room it fitted in one corner and looked as if it had stood there for a very long time. I did not give the box another glance and went about my household duties of cleaning and polishing. I love a nice clean house and am proud that my windows and house are always looking clean.

The box stayed in the corner for about six months and I had some wooden statues that I wanted to store away. To tell the truth the statues are not very nice to look at and I carefully placed them in the wooden box. I gave the statues and the box no more attention and must say I was rather surprised when my old friend Shamus came on one of his flying visits. Over a cup of sweet hot tea and a plateful of ginger biscuits he told me all of his news. Many things had happened to him since he last visited me and I listened to all he had to say. After tea we went into the living room and made ourselves comfortable over a bottle of red wine. Shamus‘s eyes caught sight of the box and he asked me what I thought of it. I said that I did not really know I had opened the parcel and looked in the box there was no note with it and I had guessed that it had came from Shamus.

The box said shamus is really a wonderful present to give to anyone that is why I sent it to you; I know that you like mysteries. Have you put anything in the box he asked me with a twinkle in his eye? I opened the box to show him the wooden statues that I had placed in the box so long ago. I could not believe my eyes the wooden statues were now solid gold statues and must be worth a fortune. Smiling all over his face Shamus told me that he had done some work for a wizard who was having trouble keeping the mice from out of his corn bins. Shamus had lined all of the corn bins with metal and the mice could not get into them now. The wizard asked me how much he owed me and I said nothing. I enjoyed the work and am happy to have solved your little problem for you. Then the wizard gave me the wooden box saying this will either give you a headache or it will bring you many surprises. As I listened to the wizard a picture of you came into my mind and I sent the box off to you. I know you like surprises.

We examined the now golden statues and could find no fault with them. The original statues I had brought many years ago in a second hand shop in London, England. They were of no monetary value and I now do not know why I bought them all that time ago. The statues I placed on the mantelpiece half expecting them to turn back into wood again. No the statues on the following days were still made of solid gold. As I was making our evening meal I saw that we were running very low on butter. I asked Shamus if the box would make more butter for our breakfast in the morning or would it turn my butter to a clump of gold. Shamus smiled and said, “Try it.” So I placed the rest of the butter in the wooden box. I felt a little silly on doing so but shrugged my shoulders and we sat down to our evening meal.

The following morning as I was making our breakfast I thought about the butter and went to the box. The butter was still as I had left it when I placed it in the box the evening before. Shamus looked at me and smiled “I said that it might give you a headache,” he said. I spread the butter on the toast and as I did so the butter did not get any less it was still the amount that I had put in the box the evening before. I spread a few more slices of toast but the butter remained the same. The box is still with me but I am very careful not to put anything in the box. I do not need gold and if I want butter why the shops are only a few hundred feet away. Shamus did not want the box either so when I am under the earth and my earthly goods are given away I feel I must warn you do not use the box it may turn objects into gold but it will give you headaches especially if it is used for greed or other foul purposes.