Stories From The Old Attic | Page 9

hives, convulsions, and hallucinations,
the natives were all familiar with these effects and attributed them to
swallowing the medicine wrong, rather than to the medicine itself. But
who knew what the fate of the cured natives would eventually be?
The cured natives said they felt fine, but they might have been lying.
And who was fool enough to trust an outsider, a stranger, rather than
the familiar witch doctor, who cursed those who took the cure because
they rejected his medicines as false and pernicious? The cured natives
said that a commitment must be made to trust the Eastern doctor; this
was too difficult or uncertain a step for many, especially in the face of
the social pressure around them. A decision accompanied by fear,
decried by the important, and rejected by society could not be made by
everyone.
After the time of his stay was over, the Eastern doctor showed the
cured natives how to compound the medicine and then left. As
generations passed, most of the natives remained loyal to the dunghill,
but a few took the cure.

Love
Otto and his girlfriend Brissa were driving merrily down the middle of
the road one rainy night on their way to a party when they approached a
little old lady trying vainly to change a flat tire.
"Gee, that's too bad," said Brissa.
"Yeah," agreed Otto.
"Maybe we should help her," added Brissa.

"We? You mean me. I'm not going to get wet. Besides, what good
would it do me to help her? I don't even know who she is, and she
probably doesn't have any money, or at least not enough to make
getting wet worthwhile."
"But it would make you feel good to do a good deed," Brissa offered.
"Well, it makes me feel good to stay in here and keep dry," snapped
Otto.
"It would make me happy, Otto," said Brissa, in her softest, most
feminine voice.
"You? Boy, you're awfully selfish. Always thinking about yourself.
You know, I wasn't put here just to cater to your stupid, idle whims."
As his anger rose, Otto sped up a little, just in time to hit a large puddle
near the little old lady, drenching her in a sheet of muddy water.
"Stop, Otto!" Brissa cried, exasperated. "I'll help her."
"Aw shut up," Otto snarled. "Do you think I'm going to walk into the
party with a girl who's all wet and disheveled, looking like a drowned
rat? You want people to laugh at me? Think of somebody besides
yourself for a change. Now fix your makeup and keep your mouth
shut."

Indecision
Once upon a time a dozen or so curious travelers rented a boat for a
cruise out to an enchanted island, where, it was said, Athena sat on her
throne dispensing rich gifts to all. The trip was smooth enough for
awhile, with only a few rough seas to endure and an occasional shoal to
avoid. But then one morning one of the passengers discovered that the
boat was taking on water.
"We're sinking, we're sinking!" some of the people cried.

"No," said the captain, "the flow is not yet so fast. If we will get some
buckets and bail the water out, everything will be all right." This
solution seemed simple enough.
However, a dissension soon arose among the travelers about who
would do the bailing, and what buckets would be used. "Allow me,"
said one. "It is my duty in this circumstance to bail, and I have here a
very solid bucket suitable to the task."
"Beg pardon, sir," said another, "but I must be the bailer. It is written in
the laws of the sea that a person of my parts must do this labor. Besides,
I have a superior bucket."
"Wait," said a third. "This gentleman's bucket is all right, but I think I
should be allowed to help bail, since I am a fellow passenger."
Everyone adduced many weighty, true, and worthy philosophical
arguments for his position, and cited laws, ethics, and political and
procedural rules, but no person succeeded in convincing any other.
Soon, therefore, the discussion ceased to remain at this level, but grew
rather heated, and shouts and aspersions began to fill the air, with
perhaps even a trace of ill will.
"I refuse to allow anyone to bail this boat unless he uses this bucket,
which, as any fool can see, is the only true bucket, clearly superior to
all others," screamed one.
"And I absolutely refuse to see this boat bailed unless I can take part in
the work," yelled another.
Now these passengers all had some interest in seeing the boat bailed,
and most hoped that this impasse could be overcome to the satisfaction
of everyone. But since no one knew exactly what to