Tick and Tock were clock twins — a pair in every clock, calling to each other all day and all night, never tiring of it.
“Hello, Tick.”
“Hello, Tock.”
“Nice day, Tick.”
“Nice day, Tock.”
And so on, with no pause worth mentioning. Between the ticks and tocks they had proper conversations too, spoken so quickly that no one else could follow them.
“We’re such happy twins,” said Tick.
“Yes,” said Tock. “And we never forsake each other. If one of us can’t go on, the other won’t go alone. There’s never a tick without a tock right behind.”
“Every clock in the world has us,” said Tick.
“Every one,” agreed Tock.
“And when the clock stops, we stop together.”
“Of course.”
“It’s nice,” said Tick, “to be so loyal. To always wait for the other, and always follow.”
He was quiet a moment.
“I’m glad I’m not a boy and you’re not a girl. Then when we grew up we’d be sent to different schools — one of us into business, the other perhaps to keep house. This is much nicer. We’ll never be separated.”
“No,” said Tock. “Never.”
And the clock kept time.
