| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Father Sergius by Leo Tolstoy: loyally, that he would always be their best friend, and that when
necessary they might approach him direct. All the cadets were as
usual greatly moved, and Kasatsky even shed tears, remembering
the past, and vowed that he would serve his beloved Tsar with all
his soul.
When Kasatsky took up his commission his mother moved with her
daughter first to Moscow and then to their country estate.
Kasatsky gave half his property to his sister and kept only
enough to maintain himself in the expensive regiment he had
joined.
To all appearance he was just an ordinary, brilliant young
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: he had collected his senses he found that the wicked Daemons had
pulled him from the snowdrift and bound him tightly with many coils of
the stout rope. And then they carried the kidnapped Santa Claus away
to their mountain, where they thrust the prisoner into a secret cave
and chained him to the rocky wall so that he could not escape.
"Ha, ha!" laughed the Daemons, rubbing their hands together with cruel
glee. "What will the children do now? How they will cry and scold
and storm when they find there are no toys in their stockings and no
gifts on their Christmas trees! And what a lot of punishment they
will receive from their parents, and how they will flock to our Caves
of Selfishness, and Envy, and Hatred, and Malice! We have done a
A Kidnapped Santa Claus |
