A Springy Iron Belly

I poked my snout into the shadows beneath the wooden stairs and caught the dull gleam of an old steel oil can! Ha! A fat metal dome with a long, needle-thin brass spout jutting into the dark. A rival snout daring to challenge my kitchen knife? Not a chance! I bounded onto the dusty concrete, gripped my blade tight, and cracked the flat steel right against that slender brass tip—*TINK!* It rang out high and fierce. Then I stomped both heels down onto the flexible bottom. *THUMP-KLIK!* The springy metal popped back with a hollow shudder that buzzed straight through my soles! *Snicker!* Another iron beast bent to my will!