Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Initial Ideas
Posted below were some of the ideas which I had chosen to work with, but ultimately did not make use of any of them.
The Ingenious Patriot
HAVING obtained an audience of the King an Ingenious Patriot pulled
a paper from his pocket, saying:
"May it please your Majesty, I have here a formula for constructing
armour-plating which no gun can pierce. If these plates are
adopted in the Royal Navy our warships will be invulnerable, and
therefore invincible. Here, also, are reports of your Majesty's
Ministers, attesting the value of the invention. I will part with
my right in it for a million tumtums."
After examining the papers, the King put them away and promised him
an order on the Lord High Treasurer of the Extortion Department for
a million tumtums.
"And here," said the Ingenious Patriot, pulling another paper from
another pocket, "are the working plans of a gun that I have
invented, which will pierce that armour. Your Majesty's Royal
Brother, the Emperor of Bang, is anxious to purchase it, but
loyalty to your Majesty's throne and person constrains me to offer
it first to your Majesty. The price is one million tumtums."
Having received the promise of another check, he thrust his hand
into still another pocket, remarking:
"The price of the irresistible gun would have been much greater,
your Majesty, but for the fact that its missiles can be so
effectively averted by my peculiar method of treating the armour
plates with a new- "
The King signed to the Great Head Factotum to approach.
"Search this man," he said, "and report how many pockets he has."
"Forty-three, Sire," said the Great Head Factotum, completing the
scrutiny.
"May it please your Majesty," cried the Ingenious Patriot, in
terror, "one of them contains tobacco."
"Hold him up by the ankles and shake him," said the King; "then
give him a check for forty-two million tumtums and put him to
death. Let a decree issue declaring ingenuity a capital offence."
Moral- Don’t be a smart ass.
The Thoughtful Warden
THE Warden of a Penitentiary was one day putting locks on the doors
of all the cells when a mechanic said to him:
"Those locks can all be opened from the inside - you are very
imprudent."
The Warden did not look up from his work, but said:
"If that is called imprudence, I wonder what would be called a
thoughtful provision against the vicissitudes of fortune."
Moral- Things might not be as silly as they seem.
The Man and the Lightning
A MAN Running for Office was overtaken by Lightning.
"You see," said the Lightning, as it crept past him inch by inch,
"I can travel considerably faster than you."
"Yes," the Man Running for Office replied, "but think how much
longer I keep going!"
Moral- Lasting on in the long run is better than being ahead for a short while.
The Wooden Guns
AN Artillery Regiment of a State Militia applied to the Governor
for wooden guns to practise with.
"Those," they explained, "will be cheaper than real ones."
"It shall not be said that I sacrificed efficiency to economy,"
said the Governor. "You shall have real guns."
"Thank you, thank you," cried the warriors, effusively. "We will
take good care of them, and in the event of war return them to the
arsenal."
Moral- You should ensure that things bought will be put to good use.
The Vixen and the Lioness
A Vixen who was taking her babies out for an airing one balmy
morning, came across a Lioness, with her cub in arms. "Why such
airs, haughty dame, over one solitary cub?" sneered the Vixen. "Look
at my healthy and numerous litter here, and imagine, if you are
able, how a proud mother should feel." The Lioness gave her a
squelching look, and lifting up her nose, walked away, saying
calmly, "Yes, just look at that beautiful collection. What are they?
Foxes! I've only one, but remember, that one is a Lion."
Moral- "Quality is better than quantity."
The Boy and the Filberts
A BOY put his hand into a pitcher full of filberts. He grasped
as many as he could possibly hold, but when he tried to pull out
his hand, he was prevented from doing so by the neck of the
pitcher. Unwilling to lose his filberts, and yet unable to
withdraw his hand, he burst into tears and bitterly lamented his
disappointment. A bystander said to him, "Be satisfied with half
the quantity, and you will readily draw out your hand."
Moral- Do not attempt too much at once.
The Cat and the Youth
A CAT fell in love with a handsome Young Man, and entreated Venus
to change her into a woman.
"I should think," said Venus, "you might make so trifling a change
without bothering me. However, be a woman."
Afterward, wishing to see if the change were complete, Venus caused
a mouse to approach, whereupon the woman shrieked and made such a
show of herself that the Young Man would not marry her.
Moral- Changing yourself for the sake of others will make you seem foolish.
Mercury and the Woodman
A Woodman was felling a tree on the bank of a river, when his axe,
glancing off the trunk, flew out of his hands and fell into the water.
As he stood by the water's edge lamenting his loss, Mercury appeared
and asked him the reason for his grief. On learning what had happened,
out of pity for his distress, Mercury dived into the river and,
bringing up a golden axe, asked him if that was the one he had lost.
The Woodman replied that it was not, and Mercury then dived a second
time, and, bringing up a silver axe, asked if that was his. "No,
that is not mine either," said the Woodman. Once more Mercury dived
into the river, and brought up the missing axe. The Woodman was
overjoyed at recovering his property, and thanked his benefactor
warmly; and the latter was so pleased with his honesty that he made
him a present of the other two axes. When the Woodman told the story
to his companions, one of these was filled with envy of his good
fortune and determined to try his luck for himself. So he went and
began to fell a tree at the edge of the river, and presently contrived
to let his axe drop into the water. Mercury appeared as before, and,
on learning that his axe had fallen in, he dived and brought up a
golden axe, as he had done on the previous occasion. Without waiting
to be asked whether it was his or not, the fellow cried, "That's mine,
that's mine," and stretched out his hand eagerly for the prize: but
Mercury was so disgusted at his dishonesty that he not only declined
to give him the golden axe, but also refused to recover for him the
one he had let fall into the stream.
Moral- "Honesty is the best policy."
The Mule
A MULE, frolicsome from lack of work and from too much corn,
galloped about in a very extravagant manner, and said to himself:
"My father surely was a high-mettled racer, and I am his own
child in speed and spirit." On the next day, being driven a long
journey, and feeling very wearied, he exclaimed in a disconsolate
tone: "I must have made a mistake; my father, after all, could
have been only an ass."
Moral- Cherish yourself for what you are.
The Oxen and the Axle-Trees
A HEAVY WAGON was being dragged along a country lane by a team of
Oxen. The Axle-trees groaned and creaked terribly; whereupon the
Oxen, turning round, thus addressed the wheels: "Hullo there! why
do you make so much noise? We bear all the labor, and we, not
you, ought to cry out."
Those who suffer most cry out the least.
I was going to work on Mercury and The Woodman (honesty is the best policy), by making it a typical adaptation of why others should not lie, but I decided against it and ended up going with a fable called the Kings son and the lion painting.
The Ingenious Patriot
HAVING obtained an audience of the King an Ingenious Patriot pulled
a paper from his pocket, saying:
"May it please your Majesty, I have here a formula for constructing
armour-plating which no gun can pierce. If these plates are
adopted in the Royal Navy our warships will be invulnerable, and
therefore invincible. Here, also, are reports of your Majesty's
Ministers, attesting the value of the invention. I will part with
my right in it for a million tumtums."
After examining the papers, the King put them away and promised him
an order on the Lord High Treasurer of the Extortion Department for
a million tumtums.
"And here," said the Ingenious Patriot, pulling another paper from
another pocket, "are the working plans of a gun that I have
invented, which will pierce that armour. Your Majesty's Royal
Brother, the Emperor of Bang, is anxious to purchase it, but
loyalty to your Majesty's throne and person constrains me to offer
it first to your Majesty. The price is one million tumtums."
Having received the promise of another check, he thrust his hand
into still another pocket, remarking:
"The price of the irresistible gun would have been much greater,
your Majesty, but for the fact that its missiles can be so
effectively averted by my peculiar method of treating the armour
plates with a new- "
The King signed to the Great Head Factotum to approach.
"Search this man," he said, "and report how many pockets he has."
"Forty-three, Sire," said the Great Head Factotum, completing the
scrutiny.
"May it please your Majesty," cried the Ingenious Patriot, in
terror, "one of them contains tobacco."
"Hold him up by the ankles and shake him," said the King; "then
give him a check for forty-two million tumtums and put him to
death. Let a decree issue declaring ingenuity a capital offence."
Moral- Don’t be a smart ass.
The Thoughtful Warden
THE Warden of a Penitentiary was one day putting locks on the doors
of all the cells when a mechanic said to him:
"Those locks can all be opened from the inside - you are very
imprudent."
The Warden did not look up from his work, but said:
"If that is called imprudence, I wonder what would be called a
thoughtful provision against the vicissitudes of fortune."
Moral- Things might not be as silly as they seem.
The Man and the Lightning
A MAN Running for Office was overtaken by Lightning.
"You see," said the Lightning, as it crept past him inch by inch,
"I can travel considerably faster than you."
"Yes," the Man Running for Office replied, "but think how much
longer I keep going!"
Moral- Lasting on in the long run is better than being ahead for a short while.
The Wooden Guns
AN Artillery Regiment of a State Militia applied to the Governor
for wooden guns to practise with.
"Those," they explained, "will be cheaper than real ones."
"It shall not be said that I sacrificed efficiency to economy,"
said the Governor. "You shall have real guns."
"Thank you, thank you," cried the warriors, effusively. "We will
take good care of them, and in the event of war return them to the
arsenal."
Moral- You should ensure that things bought will be put to good use.
The Vixen and the Lioness
A Vixen who was taking her babies out for an airing one balmy
morning, came across a Lioness, with her cub in arms. "Why such
airs, haughty dame, over one solitary cub?" sneered the Vixen. "Look
at my healthy and numerous litter here, and imagine, if you are
able, how a proud mother should feel." The Lioness gave her a
squelching look, and lifting up her nose, walked away, saying
calmly, "Yes, just look at that beautiful collection. What are they?
Foxes! I've only one, but remember, that one is a Lion."
Moral- "Quality is better than quantity."
The Boy and the Filberts
A BOY put his hand into a pitcher full of filberts. He grasped
as many as he could possibly hold, but when he tried to pull out
his hand, he was prevented from doing so by the neck of the
pitcher. Unwilling to lose his filberts, and yet unable to
withdraw his hand, he burst into tears and bitterly lamented his
disappointment. A bystander said to him, "Be satisfied with half
the quantity, and you will readily draw out your hand."
Moral- Do not attempt too much at once.
The Cat and the Youth
A CAT fell in love with a handsome Young Man, and entreated Venus
to change her into a woman.
"I should think," said Venus, "you might make so trifling a change
without bothering me. However, be a woman."
Afterward, wishing to see if the change were complete, Venus caused
a mouse to approach, whereupon the woman shrieked and made such a
show of herself that the Young Man would not marry her.
Moral- Changing yourself for the sake of others will make you seem foolish.
Mercury and the Woodman
A Woodman was felling a tree on the bank of a river, when his axe,
glancing off the trunk, flew out of his hands and fell into the water.
As he stood by the water's edge lamenting his loss, Mercury appeared
and asked him the reason for his grief. On learning what had happened,
out of pity for his distress, Mercury dived into the river and,
bringing up a golden axe, asked him if that was the one he had lost.
The Woodman replied that it was not, and Mercury then dived a second
time, and, bringing up a silver axe, asked if that was his. "No,
that is not mine either," said the Woodman. Once more Mercury dived
into the river, and brought up the missing axe. The Woodman was
overjoyed at recovering his property, and thanked his benefactor
warmly; and the latter was so pleased with his honesty that he made
him a present of the other two axes. When the Woodman told the story
to his companions, one of these was filled with envy of his good
fortune and determined to try his luck for himself. So he went and
began to fell a tree at the edge of the river, and presently contrived
to let his axe drop into the water. Mercury appeared as before, and,
on learning that his axe had fallen in, he dived and brought up a
golden axe, as he had done on the previous occasion. Without waiting
to be asked whether it was his or not, the fellow cried, "That's mine,
that's mine," and stretched out his hand eagerly for the prize: but
Mercury was so disgusted at his dishonesty that he not only declined
to give him the golden axe, but also refused to recover for him the
one he had let fall into the stream.
Moral- "Honesty is the best policy."
The Mule
A MULE, frolicsome from lack of work and from too much corn,
galloped about in a very extravagant manner, and said to himself:
"My father surely was a high-mettled racer, and I am his own
child in speed and spirit." On the next day, being driven a long
journey, and feeling very wearied, he exclaimed in a disconsolate
tone: "I must have made a mistake; my father, after all, could
have been only an ass."
Moral- Cherish yourself for what you are.
The Oxen and the Axle-Trees
A HEAVY WAGON was being dragged along a country lane by a team of
Oxen. The Axle-trees groaned and creaked terribly; whereupon the
Oxen, turning round, thus addressed the wheels: "Hullo there! why
do you make so much noise? We bear all the labor, and we, not
you, ought to cry out."
Those who suffer most cry out the least.
I was going to work on Mercury and The Woodman (honesty is the best policy), by making it a typical adaptation of why others should not lie, but I decided against it and ended up going with a fable called the Kings son and the lion painting.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Obligatory First Post
Well, its here. Project 2... Stay tuned for regular updates as developments arise...
PS: Lazy template, but simple. We're not graded for blog design are we?
PS: Lazy template, but simple. We're not graded for blog design are we?
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