and , "The dreadful story of Harriet and the matches"
"... burnt with all her clothes,
And arms, and hands, and eyes, and nose
Till she had nothing more to lose
Except her little scarlet shoes;
And nothing else but these were found
Among her ashes on the ground."
Safe to say, thumb-less children will have difficulties playing with matches or lifting a dram.
Contemporary Germans have become more nuanced with their history and humor. Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives at passport control at a Paris airport.
"Nationality?" asks the immigration officer.
"German," she replies.
"Occupation?" the officer asks.
"No, just here for a few days."
Greek gods let loose peals of celestial laughter at man's follies. Not clear is whether the Judaic-Christian God laughs. Laughter is a sudden burst of superiority an omniscient God has no need of. For us, laughter is a hint at the immortality that awaits us: for one fleeting moment laughter suspends all sorrows and knowledge of our common fate.
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