payment page
Once again, a shout from the real world brings an end to Mitty’s fantasy. A parking lot attendant yells at him for trying to enter through the exit-only lane. Befuddled, Mitty attempts to back out, but the attendant takes over parking the car. Mitty considers the man to be disrespectful and arrogant. He recalls a similar situation in which he attempted to take the snow chains off his car. When he failed, a young man from a garage had to fix the problem for him. After this incident, Mrs. Mitty insisted that Mitty take the car to the garage to have the chains removed from then on. Mitty finds this humiliating and plans to wear his arm in a sling next time he goes to the garage, so the men at the garage will see he has a valid excuse not to do it himself.
Mitty proceeds to a shoe shop and purchases new overshoes. As he leaves the store, he worries that he has forgotten something else his wife wanted him to buy. She had told him twice, but he has forgotten. He passes a boy selling newspapers who shouts about the big news of the day, the Waterbury trial. Mention of the trial causes Mitty’s mind to wander again. In this fantasy, Mitty stands trial for murder. In a courtroom, the district attorney interrogates Mitty aggressively, but Mitty maintains calm and is unfazed. He examines the impressive gun that is presented as evidence. Mitty dismisses his own lawyer’s defense that Mitty could not have fired the gun since his arm was in a sling. Mitty declares himself to be an expert shot, even with the sling. This assertion causes the courtroom to burst into chaos. Inexplicably, a lovely young woman falls into Mitty’s arms, only to be assaulted by the district attorney. Mitty defends her by striking the man on the chin.
The words “puppy biscuit” break the spell of Mitty’s courtroom fantasy. Mitty remembers what Mrs. Mitty had asked him to buy and has blurted it out loud. A woman passing by overhears his words and laughs at him, telling her friend about the absurd man talking to himself. Embarrassed, Mitty walks on to a grocery store. There he tells the clerk that he wants to buy puppy biscuits. The store clerk asks if Mitty wants a specific brand, but Mitty cannot remember the name. He can, however, remember the brand’s slogan from the box: “Puppies Bark for It.”
