[etni] [FWD: Re: A simple story]
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- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 01:58:45 -0700
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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: A simple story]
From: "Barry" <barisil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
What is the tone of the following story?
1 desperate
2 sentimental
3 optimistic
4 sarcastic
5 humerous
Find 2 phrases in the story that support your answer, and one that
supports my ex-wife.
(12 points)
(PS: You all lost 12 points, ha ha. The answer is (3) Optimistic:
for surely in time, the corners of the wheels in the story will wear
away and the carriages will go again. I took a vote on this with my
whole family including the kitten, and this answer received the most
votes.)
Ronald wrote:
> A simple story for the new year.
> Once upon a time in a land far away, a king looked
> at all the carriages and decided that they weren't moving
> fast enough. After much thought he decreed (for he was king)
> that from that moment on carriages would have square wheels.
> When the sages heard about this, they looked up from their dusty
> parchments, called for the king and told him the idea was good.
> The king was gratified, because the sages that sat in their old
> buildings were wise beyond measure.
> When the carriage makers heard about the decree, they said,
> "But this won't work. Our carriages will move even more slowly
> than before." But the king did not listen, for he was king and
> knew what was best. And so all new carriages were built
> with square wheels.
> But the people who needed to get from place to place were
> mightily displeased and blamed the carriage makers. And
> they asked if square wheels had ever been tried before in
> another land, to which the king did not reply.
> But a decree is a decree, and the king told his courtiers to
> travel the length and breadth of the land to spread the word
> and to tell the people that square wheels were good. But the
> people were not convinced and wanted to continue with round
> wheels, so the king and his courtiers said, "No, you must not,"
> and commanded that all the old carriages with round wheels
> were to be destroyed.
> But many people were still not convinced, even though they
> knew the king was wise, and they asked him, "Why?" And
> the whys were frequent in the land. The king heard the people
> and let them talk, because he was a benevolent king.
> Sometimes he answered and sometimes he didn't. And when
> he did, he said, "It is very comfortable to sit in carriage with
> square wheels. And because it is a new idea. New must be
> better than old. New IS better than old." And to prove how right
> he was, he told the unbelieving people to look across the seas
> to the Great Sage, the one who lived in a big palace by the
> ocean. And the people saw that it was true: the Big Sage
> advised kings in every land and was given gold and silver for
> his words, so that his worth increased and nobody dared to
> question him, even those who wondered whether the Great Sage
> had ever travelled by carriage. The king, who knew he was right,
> invited the Great Sage to talk to the people, and with great
> fanfare he came. And everyone who heard him was impressed,
> because he was a mighty orator. The only problem was that
> the carriages did not go faster, and even seemed to go slower
> than before.
> When the king saw that people were finding it difficult to travel
> on square wheels, he understood that not everyone could be
> as wise as he (for he was king, after all), and so he commanded
> his treasurer to release much gold to teach the people how to
> ride on square wheels. And much, much gold was spread among
> the people all over the kingdom so that people could learn.
> And when people asked why so much gold was being spread,
> the king and his courtiers laughed and said, "You want to go
> back to round wheels?" And much laughing was heard around
> the land.
> But still the carriages weren't going faster, and when some
> people said that they were going even slower and that it took
> much effort, they were asked, "How do you know the carriages
> are going slower than before?" The people looked back in
> surprise, and before they could answer, they were told,
> "Surely you see that they are moving better." Thereafter even
> more gold was spread among the land to teach the people.
> And the king was not pleased that the people still mumbled
> and complained, so he pointed to those people who said that
> their carriages were going faster with the square wheels. And
> to those who said that it wasn't so, the courtiers answered,
> "You won't use square wheels because you are old and
> don't want to try new ideas." And gradually the people
> stopped complaining, for who wants to be told that he
> doesn't like new ideas?
> As the years passed and the carriages went slower and
> slower, all manner of words were used together with the gold.
> "You must look at the whole carriage," the courtiers said,
> "not just at the wheels." But when the people replied,
> "But the carriage won't move with square wheels," the courtiers
> spread the word that the people simply didn't understand.
> Every year at the carriage race, the king hoped that the
> people would see how much faster everything moved. But it
> didn't. And the king and his courtiers gave three reasons:
> there was not enough gold around, too many people were
> riding in each carriage, and the people didn't know how to ride
> in the carriages. But the king knew that once the people
> understood, the carriages would run faster.
> And the king was steadfast because knew he was right, and
> that once the old people would be replaced by new ones
> who had never known round wheels, the carriages would go
> much faster. And even more gold and effort was spread,
> especially among the young people, for they would take to
> square wheels naturally.
> And there came the big carriage race, the one where other
> lands sent their carriages. The race where the youngsters
> took part. It was only the king and his courtiers who was
> surprised when their carriages came almost last,
> driven by youngsters who would grow to ride the big carriages.
> A mighty cry was heard in the land, and the people looked
> to the king for help. And he was mightily displeased, for he
> knew that the people still didn't understand.
> And so to this day, carriages run on square wheels. But the
> king could not go back to round wheels because no more
> round wheels were being made. And what king would admit
> that he had been wrong? And, of course, he hadn't been:
> the people had been wrong.
> Moral of story (you may choose more than one):
> a. square wheels are better than round wheels
> because the king says so
> b. square wheels are better than round wheels
> because new ideas always work better
> c. round wheels are not better than square wheels
> because too many people are using them
> d. round wheels are not better than square wheels
> because they have been used for a long time
> e. round wheels are better than square wheels
> because they work better
> f. square wheel may be better than round wheels,
> but we don't know becausewe haven't tried hard enough
> g. just because carriages ran faster with round wheels
> doesn't mean that they were really running
> h. even if you think that carriages ran faster with round
> wheels, in fact they didn't run as well
> i. you can fool most of the people some of the time
> j. carriage races don't prove anything because they
> don't show whether the carriages actually move faster
> k. don't rock the carriage
> l. use round wheels but tell anyone that you are
> using square wheels
> m. always listen to sages
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