Palindrome: A word
Palindrome: A word, phrase, verse,
or sentence that reads the same backward or forward. (The
Emordnilap and Palindrome
In
a time not so far from now, there was a stormy night. Rain poured down and flooded the streets. In one little house a woman was giving
birth. There was a huge crash of thunder
as the baby came out and began to cry.
But there was something wrong, she had given birth, and yet she felt she
was ready to give birth again. With
another crash of thunder out came another baby.
The
Dad looked at her and said, "We can not afford two children."
"I
know," the Mom said in tears.
Then
the Dad took the second born child out into the country and left him in a
field. "I am sorry for this thing
that I have done," the Dad said as he walked away.
(30 years later)
In this kingdom named
Modgnik, there lived a famous writer.
The writer, Emordnilap, would plug in elements of a story into this
magical box. The only thing that was
very strange is that when the stories would come out, they would all be written
backwards and the only way to read them was to hold them up to a mirror and
read the backwards words forward.
One day,
the king called upon Emordnilap and said to him, "Write me a story about a
very determined man who digs a huge ditch in some far off exotic place."
Emordnilap
replied, "I will have it ready for you this evening and I will read it to
you while you dine in the royal court."
Everyone in the kingdom was always invited to the readings and meals in
the royal court, because the king loved his subjects very much and they all
loved him. And everyone enjoyed hearing
Emordnilap's stories.
A
very short time after the king had made his request; Emordnilap was back in his
home plugging the magic elements into his box.
Into it he put, "A MAN A PLAN A CANAL PANAMA." Almost as soon as he finished plugging them
in, his backwards story started to come out.
That
evening, everyone in the kingdom came to the royal court as the rumor that
there was going to be a new reading circulated quickly because of the
excitement. The peasants all enjoyed
their home made wines and ales, while the royal court enjoyed the finest
beverages made in the whole countryside.
Near the end of the celebration, the majestic horns sounded from the
walls surrounding the courtyard.
Everyone silenced immediately knowing that the story was going to be
read soon. Emordnilap walked up to a
mighty stage that was in the center of the court and with a voice that seemed
to be the story itself began to read his new story. Everyone was enjoying it very much except one
stranger to these lands.
For
all practical purposes the stranger could have been Emordnilap's twin brother,
(but this was impossible due to the fact that Emordnilap was an only
child.) This sinister creature had
offset eyes that always seemed to be crossed.
He was very skinny and he always wore the five-pointed hat of a jester. When he spoke, which was very rare, it was a
very high pitched voice that made most people cringe.
At
the end of Emordnilap's story, everyone applauded and cheered for this
fantastic story that had been composed.
All except the stranger…
A
few months later, Emordnilap was once again summoned to the king's royal
court. It was the king's birthday, and
he wanted another story to be composed.
"Write
me a story about some mystical chariots that need no animals to pull them. They should enter a great race!" the
king requested from Emordnilap.
"Anything
for you my king," replied Emordnilap, "especially on this, you
glorious birthday." Then he took
his leave from the royal court and journeyed to his house.
Upon
arriving at his house, Emordnilap discovered that the door had been open. He entered to discover a sinister looking man
was there.
In
the high, squeaky voice this stranger said, "Ahh, my good Emordnilap, it
seems that you story writing days are going to have to be postponed a little
bit. It is time to give the magic box to
me, so I can get some attention and love."
"Who
are you," asked Emordnilap?
The
stranger scanned the room with his crossed eyes and replied with his irritating
voice, "Why don't you recognize me.
I am your twin brother who was cast out at birth for my strange eyes and
being the second born. I was never given
a proper name and have just been called 'The Stranger' through out my
life. People that I encounter fear me
because of my crossed eyes and my high voice.
It is time for me to get some love though, to have what I have never
had. It is not fair that just because I
was the second born that I get nothing besides a life of torment." He pauses for a moment. "Now I am going to assume your identity
only I am not going to be able to read of course, so I will have to loose my
voice. Now tell me how this machine
works."
"I am sorry
for all of the troubles that you have encountered in your life, but please, let
us work together and put the elements of the story into the box. We can build a great future together."
"So,
that is how it works. You just put the
elements in and out comes a story. What
are you supposed to write about for the King's birthday celebration?"
inquires the stranger."
"It
is supposed to be a story about some horseless chariots that race against one
another."
"That
sounds easy enough. Also, we can not have
you calling for help or running off, so I will have to tie and gag you."
"I
warn you, there is a special way…" which is about all that Emordnilap got
out be fore the gag was secured over his mouth.
The gag and ropes were tight enough to hold him, but they were not so
tight that they hurt, so he appreciated that.
Having
lost some time, the stranger began right away on the story that was to be
written. He thought for a moment before
he entered the elements.
"A
horseless chariot, hmmm," he was saying to himself. "It would have to be mobile and it would
have to do it automatically, and it has to be a race. I will put in 'AUTOMOBILE RACE!'"
As
soon as the stranger put in these key elements, the story began to print. He quickly raided Emordnilap's closet and
picked out an outfit that would be appropriate for the evening. With out even reading the printed copy, he
grabbed it and rushed out the door to show the king his new story and see if
they could get someone to read it for him since he had permanent laryngitis.
The
king received the silent Emordnilap and with a weighted heart helped him to
find someone who could read, (or at least read aloud.) For this task, the king summoned Modgnik's
royal Reader. This man read all of the
mail that was addressed to the king. He
was to make sure that none of the letters were too sad because they could
depress the king. If they were on the
sad side, then when he was reading the letter aloud to the king, he would
censor it and make it happy for the king.
Fortunately, he was a great reader, but unfortunately, he was a little
on the depressing side because of all of the depressing letters he read that he
just kept bottled up inside.
But
with a magnificent reading voice, the royal reader announced, "I will take
this job!"
The
king asked, "Do you need to read it through before tonight?"
"No,
I need only read it once, and that will be aloud tonight at the birthday
celebration," said the royal reader in his usual very dramatic speech.
Later
that evening, everyone had gathered in the royal courtyard for the celebration
of the king's birthday. They were upset
to hear that Emordnilap had gotten laryngitis, but thought that the new reader
could do and adequate job. As usual, the
peasants drank their homemade wines and ales while the royalty drank the finest
wines and ales in the land. The evening
was progressing quite nicely when the horns sounded from the walls surrounding
the courtyard.
The
moment had arrived and the royal reader stepped onto the stage and with a prepatory
cough he clears his throat and opens the parchment, held the story up to the
mirror and begins to read.
'Wonemenow
cherils slirehc nezomet ere temosen," he pronounced very
emphatically. "Vmeneof esneam
maense foenemv."
The
crowd begins to boo as a drop of sweat rolls down the royal reader's face. All of this is too funny for the stranger, he
can barely contain his high pitched laughter. The royal reader attempts on more
time to read the illegible words.
"Alskfksla
inegeni lnmnl."
This
sets the stranger over his limit and he laughs out loud blowing his cover with
a high squeak that permeates the air.
"Seize
him!!!" the mighty king yells and at once all of the guards surround the
stranger. "Bring me the
parchment," the king commanded.
The
king looks over the parchment and discovers the only word that makes any since
forwards or backwards is the word at the very end of the jumbled story where
the name usually is. And at once he
knows that there is an imposter. He
looks at the name, then he looks at the name in the mirror, and he discovers
that Emordnilap backwards is palindrome.
The king then sends people to rescue Emordnilap. The king then in all of his might declared
that the stranger would go on trial tomorrow for crimes against Modgnik, against
Emordnilap, and against the king.
A
well-known defense lawyer, Reywal, decided to take the case free of
charge. It looked like maybe he could
get the charges reduced, and it would look really good for his record. He also knew that the King looked favorably
on the system of laws that they had and had great respect for people who up
held the law and could create a good case.
The
King was residing over the case as judge and jury, (which was the way the
system worked in his kingdom). The trial
was beginning and everyone was in town to watch this trial since it was the
most sinister thing that had ever happened in their quaint little town. On the sunny spring day, Reywal stood before
the King and began his opening statement.
In
a powerful, eloquent voice Reywal began, "Your highness, my client is here
on charges against you, the King, and against his brother Emordnilap. He openly admits what he did was wrong, but
he is here today to tell his side of the story.
To give the reasons why he did what he did. Not to deny them, but to give them some
justification. And therefore, I call him
to the stand to give his story."
The
stranger rose and walked to the stand.
He was met by the town sheriff, who had him, told him to hold up his
right hand.
"By
the King's crown, by his soul, and by your own soul do you swear to tell the
truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"
In
his high squeaky voice the stranger replied, "I do."
"Please
take the stand."
"Now,
Stranger, I call you that because you do not actually have a name am I
correct?"
"Yes,
that is correct."
"Why
did you do the things you did? Was it
because you were seeking some kind of revenge?" Reywal asked.
"No,
not at all. I was never out for
revenge," the squeaky voice replied.
I was doing it because I wanted to know how it felt to be loved, how it
felt to lead a normal life, how it felt to be adored by so many people."
"Are
you saying that you have never been loved?"
"Yeah. When I was born, which is the time you are
supposed to get the most love, I was abandoned.
I don't blame anyone for that, I understand that my mother and father
did not have enough money for to people.
I just figured that I was the second born and that was the reason I was
left in a field. Then some dogs found me
and took care of me. They were the only
ones that showed me any affection ever.
Then one day when we were attacking some sheep, a man shot both of my
parents, that is to say the dogs that treated me like their pup."
"So,
the animals which became your parents were killed right in front of you?"
Reywal asked.
"Yes,
but I managed to escape. I survived on
my own for a while, but then I decided to stay close to a house that was near
some woods. I watched these people for
several years. That was where I learned
to speak. I discovered that my voice was
high and squeaky, though. I have always
figured that it was because I have never used my vocal chords until that time
when I went and tried to talk to the people in the house."
"What
happened next?"
"Well,
they were scared of me because I was so dirty and I had this voice. That was the general reaction that people had
when I was around. So, I started going
from city to city and I mostly stayed out at night. There was a lot less chance of encountering
people that way. I also started
collecting discarded books. I took them
and I eventually taught myself to read.
One day I came across a story by Emordnilap. At that point in time I did not realize that
he was my brother. It was a fabulous
story about to lovers. I decided that I
had to go to the kingdom where he was from.
That is how I came to be here."
"What
came next?"
"Well,
I started going to all of the town readings.
When I realized how similar we look, we must be related. We do after all look identical. If we were in the same outfit, I bet no one
could tell us apart, until I spoke that is.
After the story of the man building the canal, I decided I could not bare
to be alone any longer. I was hoping
that if I could write just one story and prove my self, I could then be
excepted here. I never intended to be
him forever."
"That
is enough, I do not need to hear any more from you. I would however like to hear from
Emordnilap."
The
stranger stepped down from the stand and Emordnilap walked up, was sworn in,
and took the stand.
"Your
highness?" he said looking at the king.
"Emordnilap,
we have know each other for a long time and I have great respect for your
opinion, especially since this case so directly involves you."
"Well,
I believe that he is telling the truth.
When he tied me up, he was very careful not to tie the ropes too
tightly. He also swore that he was very
sorry that he was inconveniencing me so much, and that it would only be for one
evening. I also knew that he had to be
my brother at first sight."
"So,
are you saying that you do not want to press charges against him?" the
king asked with a booming, inquiring voice.
"No,
I don't. I think that he has suffered
enough through his life. I say we accept
him into our town. I have already
accepted him as my brother."
"Well,
so be it!" the King announced.
"We shall have to name you though.
Since your give away was your brother's name backwards, and you do look
exactly the same as him, I shall name you Palindrome."
The
crowd all cheered for this show of humanity.
"I
thank you my King," Palindrome uttered back bowing.
"Now
we shall have a feast tonight, and I want you Emordnilap and you Palindrome to
go and create a story to be read this night.
Tell the tale of all that has transpired today."
Together
Emordnilap and Palindrome responded with a resounding yes! Then they journeyed to their now shared home
and began constructing it.
The End
This
story was brought to you by: Emordnilap and Palindrome