| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Redheaded Outfield by Zane Grey: ``Where's the guy who called me redhead?'' he
yelled.
That was heaping fuel on the fire. From all
over the bleachers, from everywhere, came the
obnoxious word. Red heaved himself over the
fence and piled into the fans. Then followed the
roar of many voices, the tramping of many feet,
the pressing forward of line after line of shirt-
sleeved men and boys. That bleacher stand
suddenly assumed the maelstrom appearance of a
surging mob round an agitated center. In a
The Redheaded Outfield |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Aesop's Fables by Aesop: plight in which the Lion was, went up to him and soon gnawed away
the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. "Was I not right?"
said the little Mouse.
Little friends may prove great friends.
The Swallow and the Other Birds
It happened that a Countryman was sowing some hemp seeds in a
field where a Swallow and some other birds were hopping about
picking up their food. "Beware of that man," quoth the Swallow.
"Why, what is he doing?" said the others. "That is hemp seed he
is sowing; be careful to pick up every one of the seeds, or else
you will repent it." The birds paid no heed to the Swallow's
Aesop's Fables |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum: allowed to act foolishly if I want to. For centuries past I have not
had a chance to do a single foolish thing."
"Poor dear!" said Helda, softly.
Seseley had listened silently to this conversation. Now she inquired:
"What do you wish to become?"
"A mortal!" answered the fairy, promptly.
"A girl, like ourselves?" questioned the baron's daughter.
"Perhaps," said the fairy, as if undecided.
"Then you would be likely to endure many privations," said Seseley,
gently. "For you would have neither father nor mother to befriend
you, nor any house to live in."
The Enchanted Island of Yew |
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 Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart: open and closed again, that was the word he breathed into the
darkness.
"No," said a woman's voice in a whisper. "It's the maid, Hattie.
Be careful. There's a guard at the top of the stairs."
He heard her moving to his outer door, and he knew that she stood
there, listening, her head against the panel. When she was
satisfied she slipped, with the swiftness of familiarity with her
surroundings, to the stand beside his bed, and turned on the lamp.
In the shaded light he saw that she wore a dark cape, with its
hood drawn over her head. In some strange fashion the maid, even
the woman, was lost, and she stood, strange, mysterious, and
The Breaking Point |
