The Chrome Crank

I scrambled past the garden gate and trotted down the sidewalk until I bumped into a bright red metal stand outside the corner shop! Resting right at eye level on a heavy pole was a vintage gumball machine with a gleaming chrome turn-lever. Shiny metal crank! I leaped onto the chrome dispenser ledge, locked both claws around the metal paddle, and threw my whole body sideways. Ka-CHUNK-ratchet! A heavy mechanical rumble vibrated straight into my paws, and clatter-roll—a giant, glossy red gumball plummeted down the chute, smacking the hinged flap right beside my toes! Ih! I snapped backward into a fierce crouch, arms flared wide to defend my perch against the clattering red sphere!