The Phoenix and the Carpet #11


 My reading of the eleventh chapter of Edith Nesbitt's (1904) children's story "The Phoenix and the Carpet". Here the children realise how badly they have worn out the magical carpet and then have a near-deadly trip to the theatre. The phoenix takes worship where he finds it (sometimes we all need to take it where we can get it).

It is a salutary reminder that, as an old Scottish saying has it, the value of a well is not known until it runs dry. Those of us blessed by magical forces - native skills, generous relatives, kindly friends etc. - can assume that they are a bottomless source of benefit that can be turned to again and again without ever running dry. Yet all things are finite and overuse can exhaust even the most plentiful source (something we are beginning to see with planet we dwell on). Sometimes the source can be patched up or will renew naturally if we give it a break, but sometimes gone is gone. The children will soon find out where the carpet sits in this situation.



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