October 14
Among the tiny people Gulliver was a giant, among the giants a dwarf — he himself remained the same. Great and small are not in things; they are a matter of the yardstick one holds up beside them.
Gulliver's Travels (freely rendered)
Bigger Than That
Among the tiny people Gulliver was a giant, among the giants a dwarf — he himself remained the same. Great and small are not in things; they are a matter of the yardstick one holds up beside them.
The young wrens told their father about an enormous animal that had walked past the nest. He stretched out a leg. This big? Much bigger, they said. He added a wing. Bigger still. In the end he spread out everything he had. The young ones held to their answer.
That couldn't be, said the father. There was no animal bigger than him.
Then the camel came back. As it ate, the bird got caught between its teeth and slipped out again unhurt. He flew to his young.
Yes, he conceded, the camel really was enormous. But he still wasn't ashamed of himself.
