Saturday, April 6, 2019

How the Whale Got His Throat

Just So Stories for Little Children (1902)
"How the Whale Got His Throat" – First published in St Nicholas Magazine, December 1897, as "How the Whale Got His Tiny Throat".

Story is inspired by state flag of Massachusetts
text
anime

THE WHALE = USA

a small ‘Stute Fish, = statue of liberty

Noble and generous Cetacean = Long Island

latitude Fifty North, longitude Forty West (that is magic), = N. Y. City

a pair of blue canvas breeches, a pair of suspenders, and a jack-knife, one ship-wrecked Mariner, =  state flag of Massachusetts & Brooklyn suspension Bridge

a man of infinite-resource-and-sagacity. = Moto on state flag of Massachusetts

the Whale opened his mouth back and back and back till it nearly touched his tail = Shape of N. Y. state

and he danced hornpipes where he shouldn’t, = City noise

the white-cliffs-of-Albion, = Vermont

‘Change here for Winchester, Ashuelot, Nashua, Keene, and stations on the Fitchburg Road;’ = Kipling live in Massachusetts

an Hi-ber-ni-an. = Anglo-indian

the Door-sills of the Equator. = concrete walls, up to 20 feet

Why, then you will know (if you haven’t guessed)      You’re ‘Fifty North and Forty West!’ = I gest corectly

No comments: