Welcome to a world where all things are dreams, but nothing is for real.
The Real World
Struwwelpeter
by Heinrich Hoffmann
See Slovenly Peter! Here he stands, With his dirty hair and hands. See! his nails are never cut; They are grim'd as black as soot; No water for many weeks, Has been near his cheeks; And the sloven, I declare, Not once this year has combed his hair! Anything to me is sweeter Than to see shock-headed Peter.
He used to tell a story
Unknown
He used to tell a story that summed up his attitude to life.
An old man was walking on the beach at dawn when he noticed a young man picking up starfish stranded by the retreating tide, and throwing them back into the sea one by one. He went up to him and asked him why he was doing this. The young man replied that the starfish would die if left exposed to the morning sun. "But the beach goes on for miles and there are thousands of starfish. You will not be able to save them all. How can your effort make a difference?" The young man looked at the starfish in his hand then threw it back to the safety of the waves. "To this one", he said, "it makes a difference."
He loved that story because he knew that we do not have to redeem the world altogether in one go. We do it one day at a time, one person at a time, one act at a time. A single life, said the sages, is like the universe. Save a life and you save a world. Change a life and you begin to change the world.
Little Black Sambo
by Helen Bannerman
Little Black Sambo is the story of a little boy intimidated by tigers into handing over his beautiful new clothes. The tigers' greed and arrogance leads them into an argument over "who is the grandest" when dressed in Sambo's clothes. They get so angry with each other they forget why they are fighting, getting more angry till finally they grab each other's tail and begin running around a palm tree, faster and faster until they melt into a big pool of butter. The big jar of melted butter (ex-tiger) that Sambo's dad collects from under the palm tree allows Sambo’s mum to cook a big pile of pancakes for all the family.
We see avarice, leading to pride, aggression, and ultimately self-destruction. A profound lesson for us all.
The only criticism levelled at this story is the blatant "tigerism".
LNER 4486 Class A4 Mallard
The holder of the world speed record for steam locomotives at 126 mph, achieved on July 3, 1938 on the slight downwards grade of Stoke Bank south of Grantham on theEast Coast Main Line.
