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Ishani came to me for another story last night.
And I began thus:
There was this Greek princess called Atalanta (Atala for short). She grew up into a very beautiful girl. And sprinting was her favorite hobby. By the by she became the best sprinter in her kingdom.
She asked her father to let her contest in the famous Greek Olympics. Her father said:
"No, dear, it is beneath our dignity to run for competitions, we being the rulers"
She was disappointed and bore a grudge against her father. When she came to a marriageable age her father asked her to marry any prince in the world she liked. Atala then said:
"I will never marry anyone unless he beats me in the 100-meter sprint. And anyone who competes for my hand and loses would become my slave"
Her father was sorry but made this announcement in all the news channels.
Several princes tried to run the sprint with Atala, but were defeated and became her slaves by and by. In fact 999 of them.
The 1000th was not a prince but a commoner by name Hippomenes (Hippo for short). He was told of the beauty of Atala and thought he could outrun her. So he was traveling to Atal's palace and that evening, as he reached its outskirts, there was a terrific cyclonic storm.
Ishani asked what was it called. I said:
"Hudhud"
and Ishani was not amused:
"What happened then?"
He took shelter in an abandoned temple and prayed to its goddess.
"What was the name of the goddess?"
"Aphrodite"
And I continued.
Aphrodite was pleased with Hippo and asked him what he wanted:
"I want to beat Atala in the race tomorrow so I can marry her"
"Ok, I am placing three golden apples in your hand, and use your wits, and your wish will be fulfilled...by the way, gold fascinates Atala immensely"
Hippo reached Atala's palace and a race was arranged between the two next morning. Atal proved too fast for Hippo and was about to overtake him. And then Hippo recalled Aphrodite's words and threw his first apple by the wayside.
Atal was too confident of herself and ran after the apple to pick it up, which she did. And then she returned and resumed the race.
And very soon she was about to overtake him again. Hippo repeated his earlier trick and threw his second apple aside. Atala went after it and recovered it and resumed the race behind Hippo and soon was about to overtake him again.
Ishani then said:
"I know how this story is going to end"
"How?"
"As Hippo approaches the last lap he throws his third apple far away and this time Atala was a bit slow in retrieving it and so loses the race. And marries Hippo who was indeed very handsome. And they lived happily ever after"
"More or less"
"At last I got one story right"
"Not quite but"
"Why not?"
After their marriage Hippo asked Atala to hand over his three apples to him, saying:
"Aphrodite gave them to me and not to you. So they are my property"
"No, not so... you threw them away and cheated and it was I who recovered them. So they are now my property"
Their quarrel went on for a whole year and Atala got tired and filed for divorce in a Greek Court. The Judge asked Hippo:
"Do you consent to divorcing Atala or will you contest?"
"I will contest"
"Why...do you love Atala so much?"
"Not that I love Atala less but I love my golden apples more"
The case dragged on for 10 years and Atala had to sell her golden apples one by one to pay her lawyer. After the last apple was sold and the money she got was also spent on her lawyer, Atala got dejected and withdraw her suit for divorce and, since she and Hippo were both poor by then, they lived happily ever after.
"Are Greek lawyers very expensive?"
"Not really...Atala engaged the best American lawyer"
"Are all American lawyers so greedy and wicked?"
"Not all, but this one was...he refused to be paid in Drachmas and wanted US dollars"
"I see. Granpa, what is the moral of this story? Is it that love is a better bond in marriage than gold?"
"No, child! My stories have no morals. But if you insist on one, here it is":
American lawyers in Greek courts are better than Indian ones in some Indian courts:
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Ishani came to me for another story last night.
And I began thus:
There was this Greek princess called Atalanta (Atala for short). She grew up into a very beautiful girl. And sprinting was her favorite hobby. By the by she became the best sprinter in her kingdom.
She asked her father to let her contest in the famous Greek Olympics. Her father said:
"No, dear, it is beneath our dignity to run for competitions, we being the rulers"
She was disappointed and bore a grudge against her father. When she came to a marriageable age her father asked her to marry any prince in the world she liked. Atala then said:
"I will never marry anyone unless he beats me in the 100-meter sprint. And anyone who competes for my hand and loses would become my slave"
Her father was sorry but made this announcement in all the news channels.
Several princes tried to run the sprint with Atala, but were defeated and became her slaves by and by. In fact 999 of them.
The 1000th was not a prince but a commoner by name Hippomenes (Hippo for short). He was told of the beauty of Atala and thought he could outrun her. So he was traveling to Atal's palace and that evening, as he reached its outskirts, there was a terrific cyclonic storm.
Ishani asked what was it called. I said:
"Hudhud"
and Ishani was not amused:
"What happened then?"
He took shelter in an abandoned temple and prayed to its goddess.
"What was the name of the goddess?"
"Aphrodite"
And I continued.
Aphrodite was pleased with Hippo and asked him what he wanted:
"I want to beat Atala in the race tomorrow so I can marry her"
"Ok, I am placing three golden apples in your hand, and use your wits, and your wish will be fulfilled...by the way, gold fascinates Atala immensely"
Hippo reached Atala's palace and a race was arranged between the two next morning. Atal proved too fast for Hippo and was about to overtake him. And then Hippo recalled Aphrodite's words and threw his first apple by the wayside.
Atal was too confident of herself and ran after the apple to pick it up, which she did. And then she returned and resumed the race.
And very soon she was about to overtake him again. Hippo repeated his earlier trick and threw his second apple aside. Atala went after it and recovered it and resumed the race behind Hippo and soon was about to overtake him again.
Ishani then said:
"I know how this story is going to end"
"How?"
"As Hippo approaches the last lap he throws his third apple far away and this time Atala was a bit slow in retrieving it and so loses the race. And marries Hippo who was indeed very handsome. And they lived happily ever after"
"More or less"
"At last I got one story right"
"Not quite but"
"Why not?"
After their marriage Hippo asked Atala to hand over his three apples to him, saying:
"Aphrodite gave them to me and not to you. So they are my property"
"No, not so... you threw them away and cheated and it was I who recovered them. So they are now my property"
Their quarrel went on for a whole year and Atala got tired and filed for divorce in a Greek Court. The Judge asked Hippo:
"Do you consent to divorcing Atala or will you contest?"
"I will contest"
"Why...do you love Atala so much?"
"Not that I love Atala less but I love my golden apples more"
The case dragged on for 10 years and Atala had to sell her golden apples one by one to pay her lawyer. After the last apple was sold and the money she got was also spent on her lawyer, Atala got dejected and withdraw her suit for divorce and, since she and Hippo were both poor by then, they lived happily ever after.
"Are Greek lawyers very expensive?"
"Not really...Atala engaged the best American lawyer"
"Are all American lawyers so greedy and wicked?"
"Not all, but this one was...he refused to be paid in Drachmas and wanted US dollars"
"I see. Granpa, what is the moral of this story? Is it that love is a better bond in marriage than gold?"
"No, child! My stories have no morals. But if you insist on one, here it is":
American lawyers in Greek courts are better than Indian ones in some Indian courts:
...Posted by Ishani
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