I am a busy little bumblebee this weekend, and I am afraid there is not an original thought in my head. However, not to leave you blogless, I decided to share a couple of fun passages from the book of short stories I am currently reading. These are from the works of Hector Hugh Munro, more commonly known by his pseudonym Saki. I like him because, brilliant as he was, his first book was not published until he was thirty-four, so I have some time to go.

From "The Jesting of Arlington Stringham":

"Arlington made a joke in the House last night," said Eleanor Stringham to her mother; "in all the years we've been married neither of us has made jokes, and I don't like it now. I'm afraid it's the beginning of the rift in the lute."

"What lute?" said her mother.

"It's a quotation," said Eleanor.

To say that anything was a quotation was an excellent method, in Eleanor's eyes, for withdrawing it from discussion, just as you could always defend indifferent lamb late in the season by saying "It's mutton."

From "Sredni Vashtar":

[Condradin's chant for the ferret-god hidden in the shed]

Sredni Vashtar went forth,
His thoughts were red thoughts and his teeth were white.
His enemies called for peace, but he brought them death.
Sredni Vashtar the Beautiful.