A Midnight Voyage Across the Map

I ambled back indoors from that canvas patio lounge to seek proper late-night lodging, only to discover an enormous, open leather-bound atlas sprawling across the library desk! Laid out in crisp blue and gold ink was the wide Gulf of Mexico, just begging for an old navigator to steer through. I marched my wooden boots straight onto the parchment, caught hold of a heavy brass magnifying glass by its turned rosewood handle, and hauled it across the longitude lines like a ship's anchor. Leaning on the cool rim, I squinted down through the thick lens—bless my soul, my own painted shoes looked as big as river barges! I gave a jolly hoot and curled right into the brass ring for the night.