a not so tall tale

Once upon a time in the land of Liberry there were was an amazing building called the Fortress of Knowledge. The Fortress of Knowledge wasn't really a fortress against any enemies, but rather acted as a fortress against stupidity, for anyone no matter how old, who came into the Fortress of Knowledge and tried earnestly to learn the secrets of the books; who studied the ancient maps and scrolls of Pages du' Yellow; who quietly tried to master the maze of Internetia--any of these persons would benefit from the Fortress and fend off ignorance for another day.

There was much activity in the Fortress, both good and bad. Many wonderful pupils came to study the many arts made accessible in the Fortress, these were people of all ages, from the oldest of the old to the youngest of the young. Many were the variety of these pupils: quiet, lively, talkative (in a Fortress-volume'd voice), studious, or thoughtful. These pupils visited the Fortress, respectfully observing the customs of the Fortress and those of polite society. And yet, as often happens, there were also those who came to the Fortress of Knowledge with dark and lazy thoughts in their hearts and minds; those who spoke loudly in the sacred space; those who were rude to the scholars and wizards who tended the Fortress; those who violated the rules of the Fortress and disregarded proper etiquette towards the fellow Liberry-ians. And for no better reasons than that the Fortress provided shelter against the winter these ogres would frequent daily.

And it was on one particular day, (not particular for the particularity of its happening, just particular in the particularity of it being a day) that some of the troublesome ogres stomped up to the Fortress--stewing and fuming outside the gates, riotously snarling at each other--when two of the females of that species began to fight. Fortunately for the Fortress of Knowledge the nearby Knights' station is not yet a stone's throw away, so within minutes the Knights were wresting the ogres from each others' grips and dragging them off to the local dungeon, shackled and yet unashamed.

The wizards and scholars who tend to the Fortress of Knowledge were disgusted.
"Why must the ogres act this way?"

"Why can't these ogres behave like the pupils do?"
And yet there is no answer. And unfortunately, unlike other fairy tales, this one doesn't end happily...doesn't end at all really. There is nothing that the wizards and scholars can do, but keep an even more trained eye on the gate to the Fortress...waiting, wondering what the ogres might do next...

Comments

Kt said…
Ugh, that's irritating. (Nice way of telling it, tho.) Maybe they have a deep latent desire to better themselves, but don't know how to address it other than hanging out in the proximity of the building? Or maybe there's an opportunity for a great outreach program here..."Smokes and Martial Arts and Also Storytime?"

I love the Mark Twain quote on the top of your blog, by the way.
Brett Minor said…
I have laboreded in the dungeon for the last two years and don't get to venture across many of the pupils. I have to seek them out at my local Fortress. Unfortunately, the ogres seem to outnumber the pupils, but the Fortress continues to promote hope for the Kingdom.
Brett,
Welcome to the blog--your comment made me smile. Thanks! Comment often!
Brett Minor said…
I will be happy to. I just discovered you last week and have enjoyed what I have read.

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