Friday’s Tale: The Golden Goose by The Brothers Grimm

by Carol2 Comments
This is not the story I think of when I think of the Golden Goose, but it's an amusing little tale by the Grimm brothers. It starts off with a pretty standard family, a husband and wife with three sons, the youngest of whom is always teased and put down. He even has the nickname of Dummling. As usual, the youngest one is the hero of our story, but we're not there yet. The oldest son goes out to the forest to cut wood and his mother sends with him a sweet cake and a bottle of wine. When he enters the woods, he meets a little gray-haired man who asks to share his cake and wine. The boy refuses and keeps going, but when he's cutting the tree, he cuts himself with the axe and has to go home to have it bandaged. The story leaves no doubt that the "accident" was due to the little man. The middle brother...
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Sharing a poem

by Carol4 Comments
As many of you know, April is National Poetry Month, and I wanted to share a couple of poems before the month is over. This one is by Kathleen Norris, award-winning poet, writer, and author of The New York Times bestsellers The Cloister Walk, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, and The Virgin of Bennington. "Luke 14, a Commentary" - Kathleen Norris (Luke 14:7-24) He is there like Clouseau at the odd moment, just right: when he climbs out of the fish pond into which he has spectacularly fallen, and says condescendingly to his hosts, the owners of the estate: "I fail where others succeed." You know this is truth. You know he'll solve the mystery. Unprepossessing as he is, the last of the great detectives. He'll blend again into the scenery, and more than once he'll be taken for the gardener. "Come now," he says, taking us for all we're worth, "Sit in the low place." ...
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Teaser from The Red Pyramid

by Carol22 Comments
I wouldn't have thought it possible so many scorpions existed in the world, much less in Manhattan. The glowing circle round us seemed like insignificant protection against the millions of arachnids crawling over one another, many layers deep, and the woman in brown, who was even more horrible. From a distance she looked all right, but as she got closer I saw that Serqet's pale skin glistened like an insect shell. (pg. 141, The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan) I borrowed this one from Amber and am finally going to start it today. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy and I only cheated a little. Grab your current read, open to a random page, and give us two teaser sentences. Remember, no spoilers. Amber received her copy as a gift and the above is my honest opinion....
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Short Story Monday: Ponies by Kij Johnson

by Carol12 Comments
I read another Nebula nominee today, "Ponies" by Kij Johnson, available on-line here at Tor.com. It's an awful little story, not because it's badly written, but the end made me cover my mouth in horror. In this world, every girl has a pony with wings, a unicorn horn and a voice. A time comes, as the girl gets older, when she and her pony are invited to a cutting-out party, where the girl has to cut out two of her pony's three gifts. It's more like cutting a doll; it doesn't seem to physically hurt the ponies. Barbara and her pony Sunny are looking forward to their cutting-out party, but what happens is just devastating. I understand that it's a story about growing up, about the pressures to fit in and the tendency for girls to be downright cruel at times, but I almost wish I hadn't read it. It's well-written but so disturbing. 1,255 words Tor.com 11/17/10 5 out of 5 stars John hosts...
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Shoes

by Carol14 Comments
My tennis shoes and I have been getting to know each other a lot better lately. David and I have been heading out to the track every other day or so, walking and jogging. I hate it. Exercise is not something I enjoy, but I know it's good for me, so I'm trying. Happily, David's doing it with me. He actually has a goal - to be in good enough shape that softball doesn't kill him when it starts at the end of May. I'm proud of us. We've gone out five times so far, once when it was sprinkling a little. I'll tell you though, my legs were killing me yesterday when we were done. Eventually it'll get easier, right?...
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