The Tortoise and the Hare

Yesterday I asked my daughter:

If there is a second part to the tortoise and the hare story in which they will decide to go for another competition, who do you think will win?

While she was thinking, i said in my head the Hare. Surely he would have learned the lesson. He would never think to have a nap under the same tree. No way.

The tortoise, my daughter said and i looked at her surprised.

How? I asked believing the hare would never repeat the same mistake.

The Hare will copy the tortoise and crawl all the way next to her.

Why? I asked still surprised

Because she had won the first race and he thought if he followed her pace, he would too

Any why do you think it did not work with him?

Because his legs hurt. He got different legs to those of the tortoise. So he became very very tired and had some rest under the tree and fell asleep again.

Oh poor hare! Surely he was very disappointed, i said

No, he was not, my daughter said

Why? I asked.

Because he wasn’t himself in the race this time, my daughter said

Don’t understand, i said

He was pretending to be the tortoise but this can’t be. He should be himself, the hare, to win, my daughter said.

Good point! I smiled

Children will always give us wonderful lessons.

Wishing you all the best,

Nahla

An accident

 

 

Accidents happen;  at home, on the road, in the air, everywhere, and people usually panic, fight, yell, swear (probably), or be friends (sometimes) as a reaction to the unexpected clash and the physical or financial injuries.

In real life, we rarely do feel anything appealing about accidents; it’s something happen without any intention or expectation. We panic and react in different ways, but it’s hard to realise the significance of any disaster even if it was just broken glass, until late.

But, in books, the dramatisation of fictional accidents makes the story more exciting; for example, a car hit a cat on the road, and the driver pushed the accelerator down to the floor and disappeared.  Another car stopped, checked the cat, and the story goes on telling the journey of the cat, the hero, and the villain.  ‘that was a good story,’ some people will admit at the end of the book, when they realise the significance, the message, the mistakes, and the necessary precautions.

Fiction entertains and also gives a message.

Take care,

Wishing you all the best,

Nahla

 

 

 

Names in fiction

 

 

 

 

The more I read, the more I realise that the characters’ names play an important role in stories. There is a special moment when characters introduce themselves, and when others respond. When the name has a significance, this moment becomes exceptional and impressive.

In real life, we, sometimes, pause and stare at the person introducing himself or herself, and feel something special, real, or odd about them.

One day, a friend was telling me about her sister’s newborn baby;

‘Shadow was doing so and so,’ she said, and I asked whether her sister is living in the Uk?

‘No,’ she said.

‘What’s the baby’s name again?’ I asked.

‘Shadow,’ she said.

‘Why your sister gave her baby an English name?’ I asked.

‘It’s Shadow, the Arabic name,’ she replied.

I couldn’t help laughing because Shadow in Arabic means the birds’ singing, the pronunciation is different, slightly, but it spells the same as the shadow in English.

It is interesting to play with this similarity of names in Fiction, isn’t it?

Wishing you all the best,

Nahla

 

 

 

The ultimate sophistication

 

 

 

 

 

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Leonardo DaVinci

We might agree or disagree with this view, but this depends on how we understand it.

I read this quote on a photo of two old neighbours, talking together,  in a place that looks like an old rural lane. I wondered how can simplicity be the ultimate sophistication, but the photo explains a lot because not all people can appreciate such a simple life.

Simplicity is not a simple process; it’s sophisticated. To sit on the road to talk with a neighbour and feel such peace,  just like the two women in the photo, requires a simple way of being.

Simplicity is one of the writing techniques or a recommended one, but a simple piece can also be the most sophisticated.

Wishing you all the best,

Nahla

 

 

The most pleasant

 

 

 

 

One day a traveller asked a countryman; what’s the most pleasant thing in life?

He replied;

To tease the beloved,

To talk with a friend,

And to have hopes for tomorrow.

 

That’s a point of view, but of course, we can have ours too.

Wishing you all the best,

Nahla