| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Fanny Herself by Edna Ferber: spring Gerretson's offered Fanny the position of buyer and
head of the china, glassware, and kitchenware sections.
Gerretson's showed an imposing block of gleaming plate-glass
front now, and drew custom from a dozen thrifty little towns
throughout the Fox River Valley. Fanny refused the offer.
In March she sold outright the stock, good-will, and
fixtures of Brandeis' Bazaar. The purchaser was a thrifty,
farsighted traveling man who had wearied of the road
and wanted to settle down. She sold the household
goods too--those intimate, personal pieces of wood and cloth
that had become, somehow, part of her life. She had grown
Fanny Herself |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: not often captured by the Epeirae. The net shakes violently, seems
bound to break its moorings.
The Spider rushes from her leafy villa, runs boldly up to the
giantess, flings a single bundle of ropes at her and, without
further precautions, grips her with her legs, tries to subdue her
and then digs her fangs into the Dragon-fly's back. The bite is
prolonged in such a way as to astonish me. This is not the
perfunctory kiss with which I am already familiar; it is a deep,
determined wound. After striking her blow, the Spider retires to a
certain distance and waits for her poison to take effect.
I at once remove the Dragon-fly. She is dead, really and truly
The Life of the Spider |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Bureaucracy by Honore de Balzac: of material civilization which pay so well. He bore Bixiou's jests as
a busy man bears the buzzing of an insect; he was not even annoyed by
them. In spite of his cleverness, Bixiou never perceived the profound
contempt which Minard felt for him. Minard never dreamed of
quarrelling, however,--regarding it as a loss of time. After a while
his composure tired out his tormentor. He always breakfasted with his
wife, and ate nothing at the office. Once a month he took Zelie to the
theatre, with tickets bestowed by du Bruel or Bixiou; for Bixiou was
capable of anything, even of doing a kindness. Monsieur and Madame
Minard paid their visits in person on New-Year's day. Those who saw
them often asked how it was that a woman could keep her husband in
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