I Almost Wish I'd Had The Forethought

I Said With Perfect Honest, "i Have No Intention Of Trying To Take These Suckers Out By Myself, No.

At Least I Was True. My Intellectual Abilities Gave Me A Release, And An Excuse. I Shunned Company Because I Preferred Books; And The Dreams I Confided To My Father Were Of Becoming A Scholar In Good Earnest, And Going To University. It Was Unheard-of Several Shocked Governesses Were Only Too Quick To Tell Me, When I Spoke A Little Too Boldly -- But My Father Nodded And Smiled And Said, 'we'll See.' Since I Believed My Father Could Do Anything -- Except Of Course Make Me Pretty -- I Worked And Studied With Passionate Dedication, Lived In Hope, And Avoided Society And Mirrors.

I've Always Been Fascinated By The Grassroots Folktale Level Of A Culture, And As A Storyteller, I Have To Follow What Seems To Be Leading Me On.

There Had Been Certain Romantic Interludes In The Past That Had Included Galloping Across The Desert At Night; But He Had Never Abducted Any Woman Whose Enthusiastic Support For Such A Plan Had Not Been Secured Well In Advance.

Cats Were Often Familiars To Workers Of Magic Because To Anyone Used To Wrestling With Self-willed, Wayward, Devious Magic--which Was What All Magic Was--it Was Rather Soothing To Have All The Same Qualities Wrapped Up In A Small, Furry, Generally Attractive Bundle That...might, If It Were In A Good Mood, Sit On Your Knee And Purr. Magic Never Sat On Anybody's Knee And Purred.