This issue of ODM contains a program called "Story Teller." Story Teller allows you to create tales and improvisational works by typing in a series of words which are then inserted into the "story" file that is kept on disk. The results of this operation range from cute to hilarious. The program can create "tales" which are designed to be narratives with information about a person or people added in to "personalize" them, or they can be "improvs" which can become quite funny when chance combinations of words tickle your funny bone. Of course a "tale" can contain some "improv" characteristics, like the file used to create the tale told below: (the highlighted words are the words which were replaced by Story Teller.)
^CThe Slug and the Thimble
^Cby Sean Golden
There once was a {slug} named {Zagrub} who lived in the {compost heap} and had spent {his} life in the {compost heap}. You could say {he} was a {compost heap} {slug}, but {he} really thought of {himself} as a {slimy} {eggshell}.
Well, one day {Zagrub} was {ambulating} through the {compost heap} under the hot sun and {he} began to get very thirsty. So {he} began to look for something to drink. Suddenly {he} noticed a {moldy} {thimble} in the middle of the trail. {He} also could smell {swamp water}, which, of course, was {his} favorite drink. When {he} tried to pick up the {thimble}, {he} was unable to hold it, since a {slug} doesn't have opposable thumbs. "{Eenie Wah}!" thought {Zagrub}, "I keep forgetting that I don't have opposable thumbs!" So {Zagrub} decided to figure out another way to get a drink of {swamp water} to quench {his} {wilted} thirst.
{Zagrub} sat down on the trail to ponder the situation. {He} thought and thought and thought about it. Finally {he} noticed a bunch of {coffee grounds} laying around. "{Yippee}!" said {Zagrub}, "I can {slide} some of these {coffee grounds} into the {thimble} until the {swamp water} gets high enough in the {thimble} so I can sip some from the top!
And so {he} did. After {sliding} the {coffee grounds} into the {thimble}, {Zagrub} took a long drink of {swamp water} and sighed. The moral of the story is, you can't get {swamp water} from a {thimble} until you {slide} in all your {coffee grounds}.
