| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from O Pioneers! by Willa Cather: a red or a plaid shawl flashed out of one store
into the shelter of another. At the hitch-bars
along the street a few heavy work-horses, har-
nessed to farm wagons, shivered under their
blankets. About the station everything was
quiet, for there would not be another train in
until night.
On the sidewalk in front of one of the stores
sat a little Swede boy, crying bitterly. He was
about five years old. His black cloth coat was
O Pioneers! |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain: couldn't seem to touch a padlock, there in the dark,
without starting a rattle out of it which interrupted
somebody's sleep and made him turn over and wake
some more of the gang.
But finally I did get my last iron off, and was a free
man once more. I took a good breath of relief, and
reached for the king's irons. Too late! in comes the
master, with a light in one hand and his heavy walking-
staff in the other. I snuggled close among the wallow
of snorers, to conceal as nearly as possible that I was
naked of irons; and I kept a sharp lookout and pre-
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court |
