Early next week, the cellars of Fur & Fortune will be subjected to the annual Great Stocktaking, an event of tremendous solemnity. Eleven clerks, armed with clipboards and tiny lanterns, will descend at dawn to count each crate, tin and tassel.
Last year the count returned a puzzling surplus of seventeen teapots, a missing barrel of cream, and one extremely healthy rat who wished to be considered an employee. He was granted a staff badge and a small desk. He is now Assistant Manager of Lanterns. The cellar will be closed to customers from Monday, and all enquiries will be answered with a long, tired look.
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