*
‘…Such a situation invites the approach of treating the various versions as at least theoretically, the garbled remnants of an episodic whole. While such a method can never lead us to the definitive story but merely and at every turn to a series of closely parallel yet different approximations of the definitive story, some approximations will be seen to be better or nearer the definitive story than others… ‘
… “Well, first off I suppose I’d better decide which of our seasons to drop,” said Wen, looking somewhat bemusedly at the sky, “and after much deliberation, I’ve decided that I’m going to drop winter.”
“Why, oh pray tell us why, Little Grub?”
“Because, psychologically, winter is death and the seasons should be all about life.”
“An admirable piece of deduction!”
“We do have a problem though.”
“We do?”
“We need to know the length of the year?”
“Don’t worry about being too precise just go with a thirteen month year.”
“Why?”
“Because in one of the extant versions of the story the princess had twelve hand-maids, and take the summer as being five months long, because of the king’s five eye patches.”
“Which makes autumn and spring each four months in length.”
“Perfectly balanced, that is, Little Grub, perfectly balanced.”
“And summer is not?”
“No, the fifth month of summer is an imbalance, hence the king’s baleful eye signifying the late summer sun which will blight the crops if they are not gathered in.”
“Does that also work psychologically?”
“How do you mean Little Grub?”
Continue reading here
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 