| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: The other man brought Ginger; James stood by while we were
rubbed down and cleaned.
I never was cleaned so lightly and quickly as by that little old man.
When he had done James stepped up and felt me over, as if he thought
I could not be thoroughly done, but he found my coat as clean and smooth
as silk.
"Well," he said, "I thought I was pretty quick, and our John quicker still,
but you do beat all I ever saw for being quick and thorough
at the same time."
"Practice makes perfect," said the crooked little hostler,
"and 'twould be a pity if it didn't; forty years' practice, and not perfect!
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne: birds taken with a line, but the sailor modestly confessed that it was not
his first attempt, and that besides he could not claim the merit of
invention.
"And at any rate," added he, "situated as we are, we must hope to hit
upon many other contrivances."
The grouse were fastened by their claws, and Pencroft, delighted at not
having to appear before their companions with empty hands, and observing
that the day had begun to decline, judged it best to return to their
dwelling.
The direction was indicated by the river, whose course they had only to
follow, and, towards six o'clock, tired enough with their excursion,
The Mysterious Island |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Tattine by Ruth Ogden [Mrs. Charles W. Ide]: hair should have done, and his eyes all the while fairly devouring the little
rabbit. "And the worst of it," continued Tattine, "is that no matter how sorry
you may feel" (Betsy was the only one who showed any signs of sorrow, and she
was more scared than sorry), "no matter how sorry you may feel, that will not
mend things. You do not know where this baby lived, and who are its father and
mother, and like as not it is too young to live at all away from them and will
die," and Tattine raised one plump little hand and gave Doctor a slap that at
least made him "turn tail," and slink rather doggedly away to his own
particular hole under the laundry steps. And now it was time to find Mamma--
high time, for it seemed to Tattine she would choke with all the feelings,
sorrowful and angry, welling up within her. Mamma was not far afield--that is,
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