"Well, Joe," said the trembling old lady. "I'm sure I have been a good mistress to you, Joe. You have invariably been treated very kindly. You have never had too much to do; and you have always had enough to eat."
. . .
"I know I has."
"Then what can you want to do now?" said the old lady, gaining courage.
"I wants to make your flesh creep," replied the boy.

In this exchange from Charles Dickens' "The Pickwick Papers," the interplay between the fat boy and the old lady showcases the humorous yet unsettling tension typical of Dickensian storytelling. The old lady, confident in her past kindness as a mistress, is initially anxious, mistaking the boy’s intentions for something more sinister. The fat boy’s response—"I wants to make your flesh creep"—serves as a mock-dramatic revelation, intended not to harm but to sensationalize the trivial news of a kiss. This moment of comic irony reflects Dickens' skill in juxtaposing the mundane with the melodramatic, thereby highlighting human tendencies to perceive simple matters with exaggerated seriousness. The scene underscores the theme of miscommunication and the consequences of gossip within social circles.