A Stiff Envelope

I poked my snout out of that drainage pipe and climbed up a wooden post looking for an easy perch. Inside an open tin mailbox, a stiff white envelope was propped right against the metal wall, blocking the back corner. Without thinking, I swung the flat round face of my banjo right into it—THWAP! It bent cleanly in half with a dry snap. Seeing a poor letter folded into an accordion made me feel pretty crass, so I wedged my rump onto the cool metal floor, cradled the banjo on my knees, and picked out a perky, humming little morning tune to make peace with the crumpled postage.