reedak
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 1, 2014
- Messages
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A satirical fairy tale which I posted on May 2, 2014 under the title of "Political Satire: Hell Breaks Loose" amazingly mirrored an actual event that is happening at present, that is, Japan's biggest military expansion since the end of World War 2 under America's permission, assistance and persuasion. As it was posted about ten years ago, I think most people have already forgotten about it. Let us take a look at the following updated version of the fairy tale.
Narrator: As the door slowly opened, a beam of light came creeping in, followed by a tall, thin old man with a lantern in his right hand. Despite his age, as shown by his white goatee and shoulder-length white hair, he moved with incredible agility. After closing the door quietly behind him, he held the lantern aloft and looked around as if to check for intruders. There was no one else in the room save for scores of shrunken human heads hanging in several rows on a wall. They seemed to stare at him with a mixture of hatred, hostility and fear in their sunken eyes. He showed not a bit of fear as he seemed to respond to their sinister stares with a wicked smile.
The place appeared to be some kind of storeroom, with dozens of chests stacked neatly against the opposite wall. Beside the adjacent wall at the far end of the room were two old armchairs, flanked by two life-sized guardian statues with ferocious eyes gazing at the doorway. Hanging above each armchair was a large, shining sword, suspended from the ceiling by a thin rope.
The old man walked towards an armchair and sat down on it. Then he turned around to press one of the five hidden levers on the wall behind the armchair. At once, a hidden door in the stone wall swung open behind the guardian statue next to him, revealing a secret entrance to a basement. With one hand carrying the lantern and the other holding onto the handrail, he descended a narrow flight of stairs into the darkness below.
After reaching the bottom of the staircase, he walked along a winding passageway till he came to an old, rusty, heavy iron door. Opening a huge rusty padlock with a key from his pocket, he pushed hard on the door to open it. The hinges creaked eerily as the door swung open.
A nauseating stench rushed out from the room, almost bowling him over. He lamented: "Why am I so forgetful lately? I should have worn it before coming here." He put the lantern on the floor and took out a surgical mask from his pocket to wear it over his mouth and nose. A gruff voice thundered from inside the room: "There is no need to stand on ceremony. Come in to relax, old man!"
On entering a pitch-dark room, he saw two marble-sized spheres glowing red like burning coals in mid-air. As he moved his lantern nearer to the fiery red spheres, the light revealed that they were actually the malevolent flaming eyes of a huge black dog chained in a lying posture to a pillar. The beast was unusually large for a dog, about the size of s grizzly bear or a horse.
In the flickering light, it could be seen that the whole place, including the walls, ceiling, floor, pillars, even the iron door, was inscribed with unintelligible writing which appeared to be some sort of magic words or inscriptions. For what purpose were they inscribed is anybody's guess.
Old man: Doggy, how did you know I was outside the room?
Dog: It's just simple common sense, even if I don't have the psychic power of telesthesia. Who else dares to come to this dreary chamber at the witching hour when I am thirsting for hot, tasty blood?
Old man: I was hesitant to visit you lest I disturbed your sleep.
Dog: You are kidding. How can I sleep soundly in this cesspool of filth? I really lead a dog's life here. If I could escape back to the underworld, I would complain about you to Hades and sue you for animal rights violations.
Old man: I am second to none in championing the causes of human and animal rights.
Dog: Yes, you are the indisputable champion of all rights, including the right to insult others. It always drives me crazy to see anyone covering his mouth and nose with a mask in front of me.
Old man: Sorry, I wear a mask so as not to spread my flu to you.
Dog: What a considerate man you are, hypocrite!
Old man: To be frank with you, I don't like to come here, just like anybody else. I would rather forget your existence after dumping you here. It's advisable to let sleeping dogs lie, but I am coming here with a purpose tonight.
Dog: There is a Chinese saying, "Only in times of trouble can a man be found praying at the San Bao Temple (the Temple of Three Treasures)." You always come with no good purpose.
Old man: I am bringing you some good news tonight. I am going to grant you limited freedom as I need your assistance to fight against my new enemy.
Dog: New enemy? Your long list of enemies never ends.
Old man: If I find no enemies, I would feel something amiss. By the way, do you know who my new enemy is?
Dog: I know whom you are referring to as I can sense his presence miles away. I am sure you are talking about the priest whose youngest brother's soul was stolen by me. Right now he is on his way to your hideout to retrieve his brother's soul.
Old man: Yes, you have guessed correctly. The priest is the eldest of three wizard siblings. There was a long-standing feud between the priest and his remaining brother, thus giving me the opportunity to exploit the situation to my advantage. Even now, I still use the strategy of divide and conquer to weaken his tribe and sour his relations with his neighbours. I also spare no effort to shelter or support anyone who tries to break away from his tribe. Besides trying to retrieve his youngest brother's soul, I think he is coming here to challenge me to a duel. Some years ago, I took his brother's soul away from you and kept it as booty in a magic bottle after capturing you in a bitter battle.
Dog: You have banned the sale of all weapons to his tribe. In addition, you have collected all the magic weapons in the world including the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (lit. "Grass-Mowing Sword"), Excalibur, Thuan Thien (meaning "Heaven's Will" in Vietnamese), the silver lance of Olyndicus, the Aegis, the Armour of Achilles, the Flying Throne of Kai Kavus and the Canoe of Gluskab. You have the Sword of Damocles and the Honjo Masamune hanging from the ceiling above the armchairs in your storeroom. Any intruder who sits on the wrong armchair or presses a wrong hidden lever would succumb at once to the impending doom that hangs overhead. With so many magic swords and formidable weapons in your arsenal, you can easily defeat anyone in a single combat. I don't understand why you seek my help to fight your new adversary.
Old man: In order to satisfy your curiosity, I ask you this question. Which animal is known as the king of the beasts?
Dog: Of course the lion.
Old man: Even though it is called the king of the beasts, it is not as brave as most people think. A lion seldom hunts alone. On the contrary, lions hunt in a group known as a pride.
Taking another example, you will have more chances of checkmating your opponent in chess if you place as many pieces as possible within striking distance around his king. That's why I try to forge a "full global partnership" with you and another mythical animal.
Dog (joking): It would be an unholy trinity.
Old man: As I regard the priest as a formidable adversary or even a threat in the long run, I would not return your plunder and his brother's soul to him, his nephew or any member of his tribe. Instead, I shall hand the stolen soul over to you as a reward if you help me fight the priest.
Dog: I hate to say yes to others. But now that you are giving me such a rich reward, how can I say no to you?
Old man: I am glad that you do not say no to me at this juncture.
Dog: It's quite funny that we were fighting against each other in the past: literally, dog biting man, and man biting dog. But now we are allies!
Old man: I have no permanent friends or enemies, only interests. In the past, you were my bitter enemy but now you are my dear friend.
Dog: Honestly, I don't trust your friendship. I believe that freedom is not only the oxygen of humanity, but also of all beasts particularly for a miserable dog like me.
I have permanent interests but no permanent freedom. I wonder why you still imprison me even though you freed my two allies long ago. When can you grant me permanent freedom?
Old man: Permanent interests do not mean permanent freedom for you. Give you an inch and you'll take a mile. Vae victis! Woe to the vanquished! Being the vanquished, don't demand more than what I offer you!
Dog: Even though you regard me as your "full global partner" now, you still refuse to grant me full freedom. It looks like our united front against the priest is a marriage of convenience.
Old man: So are all alliances! There are two reasons for imprisoning you permanently. Firstly, as long as you could serve as a counterweight to my new enemy, I shall keep you like treasure under lock and key. Secondly, I don't trust you even if you are as faithful as Argos, the legendary dog of Odysseus.
Dog: I am very disappointed that I can't fill my lungs with the oxygen of freedom, and shout to the outside world that "I am a free dog now!"
Narrator: As the door slowly opened, a beam of light came creeping in, followed by a tall, thin old man with a lantern in his right hand. Despite his age, as shown by his white goatee and shoulder-length white hair, he moved with incredible agility. After closing the door quietly behind him, he held the lantern aloft and looked around as if to check for intruders. There was no one else in the room save for scores of shrunken human heads hanging in several rows on a wall. They seemed to stare at him with a mixture of hatred, hostility and fear in their sunken eyes. He showed not a bit of fear as he seemed to respond to their sinister stares with a wicked smile.
The place appeared to be some kind of storeroom, with dozens of chests stacked neatly against the opposite wall. Beside the adjacent wall at the far end of the room were two old armchairs, flanked by two life-sized guardian statues with ferocious eyes gazing at the doorway. Hanging above each armchair was a large, shining sword, suspended from the ceiling by a thin rope.
The old man walked towards an armchair and sat down on it. Then he turned around to press one of the five hidden levers on the wall behind the armchair. At once, a hidden door in the stone wall swung open behind the guardian statue next to him, revealing a secret entrance to a basement. With one hand carrying the lantern and the other holding onto the handrail, he descended a narrow flight of stairs into the darkness below.
After reaching the bottom of the staircase, he walked along a winding passageway till he came to an old, rusty, heavy iron door. Opening a huge rusty padlock with a key from his pocket, he pushed hard on the door to open it. The hinges creaked eerily as the door swung open.
A nauseating stench rushed out from the room, almost bowling him over. He lamented: "Why am I so forgetful lately? I should have worn it before coming here." He put the lantern on the floor and took out a surgical mask from his pocket to wear it over his mouth and nose. A gruff voice thundered from inside the room: "There is no need to stand on ceremony. Come in to relax, old man!"
On entering a pitch-dark room, he saw two marble-sized spheres glowing red like burning coals in mid-air. As he moved his lantern nearer to the fiery red spheres, the light revealed that they were actually the malevolent flaming eyes of a huge black dog chained in a lying posture to a pillar. The beast was unusually large for a dog, about the size of s grizzly bear or a horse.
In the flickering light, it could be seen that the whole place, including the walls, ceiling, floor, pillars, even the iron door, was inscribed with unintelligible writing which appeared to be some sort of magic words or inscriptions. For what purpose were they inscribed is anybody's guess.
Old man: Doggy, how did you know I was outside the room?
Dog: It's just simple common sense, even if I don't have the psychic power of telesthesia. Who else dares to come to this dreary chamber at the witching hour when I am thirsting for hot, tasty blood?
Old man: I was hesitant to visit you lest I disturbed your sleep.
Dog: You are kidding. How can I sleep soundly in this cesspool of filth? I really lead a dog's life here. If I could escape back to the underworld, I would complain about you to Hades and sue you for animal rights violations.
Old man: I am second to none in championing the causes of human and animal rights.
Dog: Yes, you are the indisputable champion of all rights, including the right to insult others. It always drives me crazy to see anyone covering his mouth and nose with a mask in front of me.
Old man: Sorry, I wear a mask so as not to spread my flu to you.
Dog: What a considerate man you are, hypocrite!
Old man: To be frank with you, I don't like to come here, just like anybody else. I would rather forget your existence after dumping you here. It's advisable to let sleeping dogs lie, but I am coming here with a purpose tonight.
Dog: There is a Chinese saying, "Only in times of trouble can a man be found praying at the San Bao Temple (the Temple of Three Treasures)." You always come with no good purpose.
Old man: I am bringing you some good news tonight. I am going to grant you limited freedom as I need your assistance to fight against my new enemy.
Dog: New enemy? Your long list of enemies never ends.
Old man: If I find no enemies, I would feel something amiss. By the way, do you know who my new enemy is?
Dog: I know whom you are referring to as I can sense his presence miles away. I am sure you are talking about the priest whose youngest brother's soul was stolen by me. Right now he is on his way to your hideout to retrieve his brother's soul.
Old man: Yes, you have guessed correctly. The priest is the eldest of three wizard siblings. There was a long-standing feud between the priest and his remaining brother, thus giving me the opportunity to exploit the situation to my advantage. Even now, I still use the strategy of divide and conquer to weaken his tribe and sour his relations with his neighbours. I also spare no effort to shelter or support anyone who tries to break away from his tribe. Besides trying to retrieve his youngest brother's soul, I think he is coming here to challenge me to a duel. Some years ago, I took his brother's soul away from you and kept it as booty in a magic bottle after capturing you in a bitter battle.
Dog: You have banned the sale of all weapons to his tribe. In addition, you have collected all the magic weapons in the world including the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (lit. "Grass-Mowing Sword"), Excalibur, Thuan Thien (meaning "Heaven's Will" in Vietnamese), the silver lance of Olyndicus, the Aegis, the Armour of Achilles, the Flying Throne of Kai Kavus and the Canoe of Gluskab. You have the Sword of Damocles and the Honjo Masamune hanging from the ceiling above the armchairs in your storeroom. Any intruder who sits on the wrong armchair or presses a wrong hidden lever would succumb at once to the impending doom that hangs overhead. With so many magic swords and formidable weapons in your arsenal, you can easily defeat anyone in a single combat. I don't understand why you seek my help to fight your new adversary.
Old man: In order to satisfy your curiosity, I ask you this question. Which animal is known as the king of the beasts?
Dog: Of course the lion.
Old man: Even though it is called the king of the beasts, it is not as brave as most people think. A lion seldom hunts alone. On the contrary, lions hunt in a group known as a pride.
Taking another example, you will have more chances of checkmating your opponent in chess if you place as many pieces as possible within striking distance around his king. That's why I try to forge a "full global partnership" with you and another mythical animal.
Dog (joking): It would be an unholy trinity.
Old man: As I regard the priest as a formidable adversary or even a threat in the long run, I would not return your plunder and his brother's soul to him, his nephew or any member of his tribe. Instead, I shall hand the stolen soul over to you as a reward if you help me fight the priest.
Dog: I hate to say yes to others. But now that you are giving me such a rich reward, how can I say no to you?
Old man: I am glad that you do not say no to me at this juncture.
Dog: It's quite funny that we were fighting against each other in the past: literally, dog biting man, and man biting dog. But now we are allies!
Old man: I have no permanent friends or enemies, only interests. In the past, you were my bitter enemy but now you are my dear friend.
Dog: Honestly, I don't trust your friendship. I believe that freedom is not only the oxygen of humanity, but also of all beasts particularly for a miserable dog like me.
I have permanent interests but no permanent freedom. I wonder why you still imprison me even though you freed my two allies long ago. When can you grant me permanent freedom?
Old man: Permanent interests do not mean permanent freedom for you. Give you an inch and you'll take a mile. Vae victis! Woe to the vanquished! Being the vanquished, don't demand more than what I offer you!
Dog: Even though you regard me as your "full global partner" now, you still refuse to grant me full freedom. It looks like our united front against the priest is a marriage of convenience.
Old man: So are all alliances! There are two reasons for imprisoning you permanently. Firstly, as long as you could serve as a counterweight to my new enemy, I shall keep you like treasure under lock and key. Secondly, I don't trust you even if you are as faithful as Argos, the legendary dog of Odysseus.
Dog: I am very disappointed that I can't fill my lungs with the oxygen of freedom, and shout to the outside world that "I am a free dog now!"
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