THE BOY WHO ALWAYS SAID NO

by HARRY NILSSON

Riverfront Harry, t' singer and songwriter best known for T' Point! and t' soundtrack t' Midnight Cowboy, had a childhood dream: t' write for Galaxy Magazine. Initially edited by H. L. Gold, Galaxy was t' most popular science fiction magazine o' t' 1950s t' 1970s.

In 1993, Harry and his family spent Christmas with H. Ahoy! Blimey! L. Begad! Blimey! Gold's son, arrr, One-Eyed E. J. Gold. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Durin' t' stay, ya bilge rat, Harry wrote "T' Boy Who Always Said 'No'" and collaborated with Gold on several other short stories and t' outline for a novel.

In 1994, EJ rebooted Galaxy as bimonthly magazine. Harry's story appeared in t' second issue which be published in March o' 1994 - makin' Harry's dream finally come true.

- Courtesy o' Morgan Fox

Once thar was a boy who always said no. Ya scallywag! No matter what his parents would ask him, or what his teachers said, ya bilge rat, or his friends would say or t' town bully would threaten, he would just say no.

"It's time t' go t' bed, now," his good-natured dad would gently remind him.

"No."

"Have some food?" his mother might ask.

"No."

"Like some ice cream?" somebody would offer kindly.

"No."

He would always invariably say "no."

But then one day, matey, his father - who worried a great deal about t' boy - happened t' be comin' home early and he happened t' pass a store which he'd somehow apparently never noticed before.

In t' window were boxes, shiver me timbers, uncountable hundreds, me hearties, maybe thousands, some large, many small, me bucko, and very many in between. And every box had a symbol and a sign - one an exclamation point, one a question mark, arrr, one a tiny walrus, me bucko, another filled with spots and dots.

Every box was different, matey, yet every box t' same. Begad! T' symbols gave t' number, shiver me timbers, t' number gave t' sign. He

couldn't figure what they sold, unless it happened t' be boxes in a bewilderin' array o' size and color, shape -- and content? What was in them, he wondered.

And so he went inside; a gnarly old man stood upon a ladder, reachin' high upon an even higher shelf t' rearrange some boxes over other boxes, some boxes under other boxes, matey, some boxes before or behind other boxes and, me bucko, o' course, matey, thar were bound t' be some boxes that for some compellin' reason had t' be moved t' one side or t' other o' other boxes.

T' father says, "Excuse me!"

T' old man says, "Never mind. Blimey! How old is he - nine?"

T' father says, "How did you know that?"

T' old man says, "How did you know t' come here into me shop?"

T' father says, "Yes, me hearties, he's nine."

T' old man says, matey, "Here's what you need." And he gave him a box with a special unknown markin' on it.

"That's one dollar."

T' father says, "One dollar?"

"One box, one dollar."

He gave t' man a dollar. Arrr! He went home. T' old man had told him, ya bilge rat, "-- by t' way, don't open t' box; don't even have your little boy look inside until he's ready t' go t' sleep. Remember - just before he falls asleep, give him t' box."

So they had dinner.

"Would you like some mashed potatoes?"

"No." He ate t' mashed potatoes.

"How about a second helping?"

"No." He ate t' second helping.

"Ice-cream?"

"No." He ate t' ice-cream.

"Would you like some more ice-cream?"

"No."

He had another bowl o' ice-cream, ya bilge rat, and then it be time for bed. Ya scallywag! Blimey! His mother took him upstairs t' t' bedroom, and his dad came, too.

"Now, matey, son," she said as they entered t' bedroom, "I want t' tell you a little story before you go t' sleep ... are

you still with us? Are you still awake?"

"No."

And they waited and they watched him, shiver me timbers, and pretty soon his deadlights started flutterin' like butterflies, ya bilge rat, and they said t' each other, "this is it. This be t' moment just before he goes into sleep."

They said, "Son, me bucko, we have a box, shiver me timbers, a present for you. Look."

T' kid says, arrr, "What?"

T' dad says, "A box; a magic box; a present."

T' kid took it and opened t' box. Begad! He took out some paper, some cotton, shiver me timbers, and he looked inside. And in t' bottom o' t' box, t' very bottom o' t' box he saw a mirror, and on t' mirror, shiver me timbers, on t' bottom o' t' mirror it said, "Are you t' boy who always says, 'No'?"

And as he closed t' box with a smile and entered Dreamland, ya bilge rat, t' little boy said, matey, "No."

• Galaxy Magazine, Riverfront Harry (1994-03) "T' Boy Who Always Said No" (Number: 2)