The summons went out at noon. We assembled under ‘the daisy’. In every kitchen pages of ‘the manual’ peeled from the walls. Upon inspection it was found that our ‘equipment’ was in order and we were ready for ‘action’. Well-trained, well-equipped, well-led, we were aching for ‘the big day’.
We marched ‘by company’, in single file, through the ‘forest’, always keeping close to the base of the ‘mountain’, and converging at last on the ‘clearing’ where the giant lay sleeping.
Without a word, for we all knew what had to be done, we deployed our ‘ropes’ and ‘pegs’. One company was assigned ‘the head’, another ‘the shoulders’, and so on down. Ours was assigned the left foot and ankle. The giant breathed deeply and steadily, his chest rising and falling like a mountain high above us. The air, as we set to, was heavy with his breath.
The work proceeded apace. Some of us were ‘detached’ and ordered to climb onto his chest, hauling up ‘the ropes’, and then to throw them down to those waiting on the other side; some to light fires in order to weld the ‘manacles’; some to sharpen the ‘pegs’; some to man the ‘field-kitchen’.
We worked for as long as it took. There was no question of rest or respite. As soon as it was done we ‘reformed’, and ‘presented arms’. A great feeling of relief spread through us. No longer in thrall to the giant, no longer driven by unassuageable desires, impossible...
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