| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum: bear all sorts of fruits, one after another. The Cap'n stopped once
to pick a fine cantaloupe, which he held under his arm, and Trot,
having finished her plums, got a handful of cherries and an orange;
but when almost every sort of fruit had appeared on the bush, the crop
ceased and only flowers, as before, bloomed upon it.
"I wonder why it changed back," mused Trot, who was not worried
because she had enough fruit to satisfy her hunger.
"Well, you only wished it would bear fruit 'for a while,'" said the
sailor, "and it did. P'raps if you'd said 'forever,' Trot, it would
have always been fruit."
"But why should MY wish be obeyed?" asked the girl. "I'm not a
The Magic of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from My Antonia by Willa Cather: glittering white stretches of prairie was almost blinding.
As Antonia said, the whole world was changed by the snow;
we kept looking in vain for familiar landmarks. The deep
arroyo through which Squaw Creek wound was now only a cleft
between snowdrifts--very blue when one looked down into it.
The tree-tops that had been gold all the autumn were dwarfed
and twisted, as if they would never have any life in them again.
The few little cedars, which were so dull and dingy before,
now stood out a strong, dusky green. The wind had the burning
taste of fresh snow; my throat and nostrils smarted as if someone
had opened a hartshorn bottle. The cold stung, and at the same
My Antonia |
