The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: With this he opened a back door that let in a flood of sunshine, and
Santa Claus sniffed the fresh air gratefully.
"I bear no malice," said he to the Daemon, in a gentle voice; "and I
am sure the world would be a dreary place without you. So, good
morning, and a Merry Christmas to you!"
With these words he stepped out to greet the bright morning, and a
moment later he was trudging along, whistling softly to himself, on
his way to his home in the Laughing Valley.
Marching over the snow toward the mountain was a vast army, made up of
the most curious creatures imaginable. There were numberless knooks
from the forest, as rough and crooked in appearance as the gnarled
A Kidnapped Santa Claus |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: placed on the tea-tray. It was evident that Victor had returned.
He wondered if he had met the men in the hall as they were leaving
the house and had wormed out of them what they had been doing.
He would be sure to miss the picture--had no doubt missed
it already, while he had been laying the tea-things. The screen
had not been set back, and a blank space was visible on the wall.
Perhaps some night he might find him creeping upstairs and trying
to force the door of the room. It was a horrible thing to have
a spy in one's house. He had heard of rich men who had been
blackmailed all their lives by some servant who had read a letter,
or overheard a conversation, or picked up a card with an address,
The Picture of Dorian Gray |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from O Pioneers! by Willa Cather: boys were jumping and wrestling and throwing
the discus. Some of the boys were in their
white baseball suits; they had just come up
from a Sunday practice game down in the ball-
grounds. Amedee, the newly married, Emil's
best friend, was their pitcher, renowned among
the country towns for his dash and skill.
Amedee was a little fellow, a year younger than
Emil and much more boyish in appearance;
very lithe and active and neatly made, with a
clear brown and white skin, and flashing white
O Pioneers! |