The Ringing Snip

I scrambled straight out of the shoe repair shop and ducked under the propped-open door of the corner tailor shop! Down in the cool shadows beneath the heavy timber cutting table, a pair of gigantic steel tailor's shears lay open across a folded scrap of green felt. Ha! Two polished blades gaping wide to slice my path! I let out a raspy, guttural grunt, dropped into a crouch, and shoved both rubber claws down onto the upper iron handle. SNAP-CHINK! The heavy shears slammed shut with an ear-splitting, metallic ring that shuddered through the floorboards! I froze in a dramatic, wide-clawed stance, daring the silver beak to bite back. Pure silence! Just a sharp, clean snip resting subdued on the felt.