| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Cousin Pons by Honore de Balzac: records of extraordinary cures, and fitted the details to Mme. Cibot,
modestly attributing the success of the treatment to the great
surgeon, in whose steps (he said) he walked. Such is the impudence of
beginners in Paris. Everything is made to serve as a ladder by which
to climb upon the scene; and as everything, even the rungs of a
ladder, will wear out in time, the new members of every profession are
at a loss to find the right sort of wood of which to make steps for
themselves.
There are moments when the Parisian is not propitious. He grows tired
of raising pedestals, pouts like a spoiled child, and will have no
more idols; or, to state it more accurately, Paris cannot always find
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Schoolmistress and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov: breathe.
Andrey Andreyitch shook his head like a horse that has been
bitten, and to stifle painful memories began rapidly crossing
himself. . . .
"Be mindful, O Lord," he muttered, "of Thy departed servant, the
harlot Mariya, and forgive her sins, voluntary or involuntary. .
. ."
The unseemly word dropped from his lips again, but he did not
notice it: what is firmly imbedded in the consciousness cannot be
driven out by Father Grigory's exhortations or even knocked out
by a nail. Makaryevna sighed and whispered something, drawing in
The Schoolmistress and Other Stories |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from A Kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: thought and spoke with much deliberation.
"No, no!" exclaimed Peter the Knook, who, cross and crabbed though he
was, might always be depended upon in an emergency. "If we delay, or
go back, there will not be time to get the toys to the children before
morning; and that would grieve Santa Claus more than anything else."
"It is certain that some wicked creatures have captured him," added
Kilter thoughtfully, "and their object must be to make the children
unhappy. So our first duty is to get the toys distributed as
carefully as if Santa Claus were himself present. Afterward we
can search for our master and easily secure his freedom."
This seemed such good and sensible advice that the others at once
A Kidnapped Santa Claus |
