| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Fanny Herself by Edna Ferber: expect to find I've made a mistake. I suppose you know
very little about buying and selling infants' wear?"
"Less than about almost any other article in the world--at
least, in the department store, or mail order world."
"I thought so. And it doesn't matter. I pretty well know
your history, which means that I know your training. You're
young; you're ambitious, you're experienced; you're
imaginative. There's no length you can't go, with these.
It just depends on how farsighted your mental vision is.
Now listen, Miss Brandeis: I'm not going to talk to you in
millions. The guides do enough of that. But you know we do
Fanny Herself |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Roads of Destiny by O. Henry: one or two of the timidest senoritas let out a screech or two. But up
prances the alcalde and almost wipes the dust off my shoes with his
forehead. No mere good looks could have won me that sensational
entrance.
"'I hear much, Senor Zamora,' says I, 'of the charm of your daughter.
It would give me great pleasure to be presented to her.'
"There were about six dozen willow rocking-chairs, with pink tidies
tied on to them, arranged against the walls. In one of them sat
Senorita Anabela in white Swiss and red slippers, with pearls and
fireflies in her hair. Fergus was at the other end of the room trying
to break away from two maroons and a claybank girl.
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum: frightened and began to wonder how he could make the ship go slower.
"It we're spilled in this sand, in the middle of the desert," Dorothy
thought to herself, "we'll be nothing but dust in a few minutes, and
that will be the end of us."
But they were not spilled, and by-and-by Polychrome, who was clinging
to the bow and looking straight ahead, saw a dark line before them and
wondered what it was. It grew plainer every second, until she
discovered it to be a row of jagged rocks at the end of the desert,
while high above these rocks she could see a tableland of green grass
and beautiful trees.
"Look out!" she screamed to the shaggy man. "Go slowly, or we shall
The Road to Oz |
The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from The Pool in the Desert by Sara Jeanette Duncan: The road in perpetual curve between its little stone parapet and the
broad flank of the hill rose and fell under the deodars; Innes took
its slopes and its steepnesses with even, unslackened stride, aware
of no difference, aware of little indeed except the physical
necessity of movement, spurred on by a futile instinct that the end
of his walk would be the end of his trouble--his amazing, black,
menacing trouble. A pony's trot behind him struck through the
silence like percussion-caps; all Jakko seemed to echo with it; and
it came nearer--insistent, purposeful--but he was hardly aware of it
until the creature pulled up beside him, and Madeline, slipping
quickly off, said--
|
