Balancing Act

I trotted out from the drizzle straight under the striped canvas canopy at Surrey Street Market! Resting on a low wooden crate was a heavy cast-iron balance scale with two wide brass pans. One side was weighed down by three knobby red apples, leaving the other hovering high in the air. That scale needed some proper balance! I scrambled onto the crate, locked both hands around a cylindrical brass weight resting on a burlap sack, and hoisted it clean into the empty pan. Clink! The iron beam rocked with a hearty creak before settling completely level. Fair and square!