| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Heart of the West by O. Henry: murdering mutts gets civilised enough to abolish suttee and quit using
his whiskers for a napkin, he calls himself the Roosevelt of the East,
and comes over to investigate our Chautauquas and cocktails. I'll
place 'em all yet. Now look here."
From an inside pocket he drew a tightly folded newspaper with much-
worn edges, and indicated a paragraph.
"Read that," said the saddler to royalty. The paragraph ran thus:
His Highness Seyyid Feysal bin Turkee, Imam of Muskat, is one of
the most progressive and enlightened rulers of the Old World. His
stables contain more than a thousand horses of the purest Persian
breeds. It is said that this powerful prince contemplates a visit
Heart of the West |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum: hear what you are saying."
After supper they took a walk together, and the former Nome King said:
"Do you know the Shaggy Man, and the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman,
and Dorothy, and Ozma and all the other Oz people?"
"No," replied the boy, "I have never been away from Mount Munch until
I flew over the Deadly Desert the other day in the shape of a hawk."
"Then you've never seen the Emerald City of Oz?"
"Never."
"Well," said the Nome, "I knew all the Oz people, and you can guess
I do not love them. All during my wanderings I have brooded on how I
can be revenged on them. Now that I've met you I can see a way to
The Magic of Oz |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: the Nautilus could not have gone through it."
We continued ascending. The steps became more and more perpendicular
and narrow. Deep excavations, which we were obliged to cross,
cut them here and there; sloping masses had to be turned.
We slid upon our knees and crawled along. But Conseil's
dexterity and the Canadian's strength surmounted all obstacles.
At a height of about 31 feet the nature of the ground changed
without becoming more practicable. To the conglomerate and trachyte
succeeded black basalt, the first dispread in layers full of bubbles,
the latter forming regular prisms, placed like a colonnade
supporting the spring of the immense vault, an admirable specimen
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
