The Fairytale of Illusions Essay Example for Free

The Fairytale of Illusions Essay Once upon a time in a far away land unseen to man, there was a powerful realm called Fairytale country. The largest kingdom within Fairytale country was the Magical Kingdom which was owned by the selfish King Americus and Queen Eura. Magical Kingdom was a place filled with beauty, peace, and harmony. It was considered as such because of the beautiful, peaceful, and harmonious people inside the Magical Castle. What most outsiders did not know was the fact that the ordinary residents of Magical Kingdom have a different outlook on their situation. There was no beauty in their place, no peace, and absolutely no harmony. The Magical Castle took no notice of these predicaments. They merely solved the residents’ problems by means of magic tricks and illusions that their problems have been solved. When the farmers would complain about the lack of compensation from the castle, the King and Queen would order their illusionists to make the farmers believe that they have increased their payment. This way, believing that they were being given more than enough of what they truly deserve, all the residents loved the King and Queen The beloved King and Queen of Magical Kingdom later bore an extraordinary princess by the name of Selene. The King and Queen were so proud of their only daughter that they invited the most famous and powerful fairies of Fairyland on Selene’s baptism to grant her eternal gifts. There were thirteen fairies present on the baptismal celebration. Only twelve were recognized and invited by the King and Queen. They blessed her with eternal gifts of beauty, wisdom, kindness, compassion, obedience, creativity, wealth, diligence, honesty, loyalty, innocence, and happiness. All these gifts were believed to stay with her for the rest of her life to restrict her in a life that was to be dictated by her parents. The King and the Queen were so delighted that their daughter would be expected to live a perfect and happy life just like the other princesses in the Fairytale country like Snow White, Belle, Aurora, and Rapunzel. They hurriedly instructed all their servants to prepare a glamorous feast for the newly-baptized baby. Amidst the festivity, no one ever noticed the thirteenth fairy who attended the baptism. The thirteenth fairy, a loner who mostly enjoyed the company of the ogres and dwarves in the forest, thought that the gifts for baby Selene were too common and boring. She knew of the King’s evil and misleading deeds so she initially planned to end the life of the child on her eighteenth birthday. Remaining hidden among the crowd, the fairy flew silently and slowly to the elegant cradle of the royal baby. â€Å"How indeed beautiful you are, young Selene,† the thirteenth fairy whispered softly. The innocent look on the baby’s face made her change her mind about the death wish she was about to cast to her. She realized that she cared too much for the town to ruin a potential rescuer. She decided to give her something that the other stupid and ignorant princesses of Fairytale country do not possess. â€Å"Today, I will grant you the most powerful gift—a gift that no other princess deserves to have. This gift will soon change the wicked and cruel ways of this kingdom. However, the gift will only manifest upon your 18th year on Fairytale country. † In a silent chant, she whispered the gift to the innocent Selene and disappeared into the crowd. Years passed by and Selene grew up into a fine young woman. She was extremely beautiful extrinsically and intrinsically. The people of Magical Kingdom adored her, and even the other princesses within the Fairytale country wished to be a friend of hers. At a very young age of fifteen, she had plenty of royal suitors who desired to marry her once she turned eighteen and become ready for the throne. Quite expectedly, her parents had already pre-arranged her future marriage to Prince Gorf of Marioland. He was the son of King Harry and Queen Hermione. Selene reluctantly agreed for the sake of her parents’ happiness. However, her secret friend, Lance, would always convince her not to give her consent. He was a secret friend because he was an ordinary boy from outside the castle who would regularly sent her charcoal sketches of the world outside by wrapping the paper around a rock and throwing it over towards her bedroom window. Lance would write her stories about the outside world which she found to be exactly the opposite of what she saw from her castle window. She would often write back asking more questions about the real world. Lance claimed it was hell outside, and what she merely saw from her window were illusions created by her parent’s magicians and illusionists. However, the King and Queen were quite strict in terms of her extreme friendliness with the ordinary residents of Magical Kingdom, so they kept the friendship secret. Later on, they stopped writing to each other when Lance accused the King and Queen of fooling their people. Selene never believed him because her parents would always remind her how good they were to the residents and how ungrateful these residents were to them. Despite these claims, Selene wondered why they prohibited her to roam outside the kingdom. â€Å"There are dangerous people outside our gardens, dear Selene. You are not to go beyond those fences for you might be held captive by rebels who wish to dethrone your father,† the King explained when Selene implied an interest in seeing the world outside the castle grounds. â€Å"We cannot please everybody even though how hard we try, my dear. † â€Å"Dethrone you? How can they possibly even think of replacing you? They owe you their life, father,† Selene protested with a puzzled look. She could not believe that there were even evil people who exist. This was the result of being given the gift of innocence. â€Å"Indeed, indeed,† the Queen interfered. â€Å"We have given them everything they need but still some of them abhor us. Yet, it is understandable, Selene. They are of the lesser beings. Please just promise us never to cross that fence. † Since she was gifted with obedience, she never dared to see the world outside the castle until the morning of her eighteenth year on Fairytale country. Early that morning, when most of the servants were still asleep and the guards’ eyes were half-closed, she woke up in haste with a strange feeling of curiosity. She suddenly got out of bed and silently roamed around the garden of the castle. She noticed the tall and heavily-cemented fence that separates the castle from the world outside. She thought she heard a sound coming from behind that fence. â€Å"Is someone there? † She called out softly afraid to awaken the guards on duty nearby. â€Å"Selene! † She heard someone replied at the other side. She recognized that familiar voice and that voice was the only person who never called her princess. â€Å"Selene, come out here. I’ve dug a hole for you where you can slip out of these fences. † Selene followed where she thought she heard the voice the loudest then looked down. There was a small hole beneath the stone fence where her small stature was capable of crawling out. â€Å"I can’t,† she hesitated. â€Å"What do you mean, you can’t? I’ve dug this hole for over a month to prove what you previously accused of me as lies,† Lance insisted. Finally, she gave in. She carefully bent down to ease her way through the small hole that Lance had hollowed out for her. She was transformed into a world much different to her previous one. She saw dead trees and starving animals. She caught sight of a seemingly deserted town very much opposite of the town she saw from her window view. She saw the rugged and tired image of Lance looking at her. One by one, the ordinary residents came walking towards her. All of them appeared to be starving and filthy. Nobody seemed to be the reflection of the nourished people her parents have described before. She could not believe it. â€Å"What is this place? † She asked in horror unable to believe she was just a few steps away from her castle. â€Å"This is your town, Selene,† Lance murmured in a sympathetic tone. â€Å"Help us, Princess†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she heard the approaching townspeople said. â€Å"Help us. † She was startled by the sudden bolt of thunder and lightning which pierced the sky. She noticed the sudden shift of the townspeople’s attention from her to the castle behind her. In shock, she had forgotten the existence of a place before her. She shifted her gaze to the castle. She stared in horror as she caught whole view of the castle’s repulsiveness. It was covered in dark moss, fully surrounded and enveloped by dark bulging clouds. The facade were ornamented with cracks and the towers were fully nested with ugly crows. It was not an image of beauty and absolutely not a place of peace and harmony. It was an image of darkness and evil only covered with elegant ornaments and illusions. Illusions—everything the princess have known before were merely illusions. Among the flock of trees, the thirteenth fairy smiled as she saw the look on the princess’ face. The fairy was torn between the feeling of pity towards the princess’ previous life of ignorance and delight that she had finally made her way outside that ignorance. Her eyes were finally opened to the real world outside her fairytale life. â€Å"At last, the gift of reality has already been consumed. †

the Cathedral :: essays research papers

OUT and OUT The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood, Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it. And from there those that lifted eyes could count Five mountain ranges one behind the other Under the sunset far into Vermont. And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled, As it ran light, or had to bear a load. And nothing happened: day was all but done. Call it a day, so they said To please the boy by giving him the half hour That a boy counts so much when saved from work. His sister stood beside them in her apron To tell them "Supper." At the word, As to put the saw down to rest As the saw knew what â€Å"supper† meant The saw, leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap He must have given it a flick of the hand. However it was, The saw met its final lay at rest on the arm of the girl. The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh, As his sister remained silent as if nothing was of big matters As he froze in astonishment of what had just occurred, Half in appeal, but half as if to keep His sister’s life from spilling. Then the boy saw all Since he was old enough to know, big boy Doing a man's work, though a child at heart He could not bear to see what the saw has done. It was not his doing; but the saw, Or was it him that caused this atrocity? Why was he given the half hour? Why couldn’t they let him work into the evening? It was not his fault, His sister screamed â€Å"supper† to him. He saw all spoiled. "Don't them see who has done this The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!" Sister could not comprehend what has become of the boy, But the raising was done, and the outcome was the boy. What would happen to him? Not his sister, but to him? The doctor put him in the dark of ether. All attention was to be given to the boy’s sister. He cannot allow this to be his fault. He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath. He paced to and fro, thinking, thinking, Of what to do, what to say now. And then-the watcher of the girl’s pulse took fright. No one believed. They listened at her heart.

Meat Industry Essay

People all over the world eat meat for its nutritional value and taste. The United States Department of Agriculture reports that in the year 2011 people in the U.S consumed 25.6 billion pounds of beef. Most of this meat was produced in America. A Holistic approach to food production is important in order to improve the quality of beef. What we feed our cattle, the housing conditions and the slaughter procedure directly impacts our food. What the farmers feed cattle directly affects the quality of beef for the consumer. The cow has many more benefits from eating grass than being fed corn. It is a lot healthier for cows to consume grass because that is what their stomachs are made for. The stomachs have three sections that are made specifically for digesting grass (Healthy Theory -Corn-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). Today, most cows are put on a diet that is based on corn. The cows used to be fed grass and roam free but since than there have been changes. The idea about feeding cattle grain began during World War II. It all started when farmers were producing more grain than the American population could handle, so the rest of it was fed to cows. It was discovered that feeding a cow different types of grains fattened them up a lot faster than when cows were consuming grass. With a grass fed diet, it takes cows about five years to reach 1,200 pounds. However, with the grain-based diet it takes a cow about 390 days to get to a reachable weight for slaughter (Healthy Theory -Corn-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). Also, the producer benefits more from feeding his cows corn because it is cheaper than grass. Therefore, a diet based on corn is more cost effective but the quality of meat has less nutritional value (Why Grass Fed- Health Benefits of Grass Fed Beef). The consumer benefits more from meat that comes from cows that consume grass rather than in-taking different types of grains. The cow is a lot healthier and happier when it is eating grass, which results in higher quality meat. Since cows’ stomachs are meant to break down grass, a corn based diet causes changes in the digestion of a cow leading to serious health problems, such as diarrhea, ulcers, and a weakened immune system. As a result of these issues, the cows are given antibiotics to help prevent this from occurring, which makes the meat unhealthier (Healthy Theory -Corn-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). Another huge topic of concern is the disregard of animal welfare. These animals aren’t being cared for and they are treated as units of production (Learn About The Issues). In order to fatten up cows in time for slaughter, many farmers put them in feedlots. The conditions these cows go through are unbearable. As many cows as possible are crammed into each pen. The result of this is massive amounts of waste covering the animals living space (The Issues Animal Welfare). This causes the air to be unhealthy and creates many gases and diseases that aren’t wanted. During the whole time the cows are in the feedlot they are breathing in methane gas. Large amounts of methane are bad for animals because it takes away oxygen from the air, which can affect the central nervous system (2- Health Effects of Methane). The alternative is a more holistic way, which allows the cattle to roam around freely on huge pastures until they get fat enough to get slaughtered. In the United States, animal welfare is being ignored, because cows are being treated in a cruel and unhealthy way. When they are living in the feedlots, they are covered with manure and aren’t being cared for. As soon as cows are fat enough to get slaughtered, they are sent to the closest slaughterhouse. On their journey they are faced with heartbreaking situations. They are often transported from 1,200 to 1,500 miles away in scorching hot weather or freezing temperatures. Dr. Lester Friedlander, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian inspector said, â€Å"They are crammed onto trucks and go without food or water for days†. When it is cold, they are in the back of a trailer with nothing covering them. As the driver drives sixty miles per hour, cows are being exposed to a variety of extreme weather. Many cows collapse in hot weather. While they are traveling they urinate. After sometime it begins to freeze while their hooves are standing in it. Also, the fur of the cows â€Å"†¦ freezes to the sides of the trucks until workers pry them off with crowbars†(Cow Transport and Slaughter). When the cows get to the slaughterhouse, they are often in bad conditions. Most of them are sick and cannot walk because they are too weak. In order to move weak and injured cows they are dragged along with a bulldozer by a chain around their neck or leg. Even though they are in bad shape, cows are still being used for their meat because it means more money in the producer’s pocket. If some of the cows are able to walk, they are still abused. Workers beat them with a metal rod in order to move them faster (The Humane Society of the United States). Also, before they are killed the cows are lined up to wait for their turn to be stunned so that they will pass out before they get slaughtered. Sometimes the stunning procedure does not work. Ramon Moreno, a slaughterhouse worker has stated that he often has to cut the legs off of cows that are completely conscious. â€Å"They blink. They make noises,† he says. â€Å"The head moves, the eyes are wide and looking around. †¦ They die piece by piece.† If workers try to report that the cows are still alive they risk loosing their jobs (Cow Transport and Slaughter). After cows reach a certain weight they are ready to be slaughtered for meat consumption. The process of turning cows into packed meat can cause the meat to be infected. Before they are slaughtered, cows are cleaned. However, in some cases not well enough. The waste of the cow can get into the processed meat that is being cut by the workers. This can contaminate the meat with E-coli, which is a type of bacteria that can lead to death. â€Å"According to Centers for Disease Control estimates, up to 20,400 cases of E. coli infection and 500 deaths from E-coli disease occur annually in the United St ates† (Escherichia Coli 0157:H7). Another disease that is created in these fast paced industries is mad cow disease. (the issues-slaughterhouses and processing). Mad cow disease affects the cow’s nervous system and it causes the cow to act confused and loose control of the ability to walk (What is Mad Cow Disease). When people eat infected beef they may contract a human version of mad cow disease. It affects the nervous system causing depression and loss of coordination. As it becomes more severe, it causes dementia (The Basics of Mad Cow Disease). With our modern day technology, slaughterhouses are able to kill thousands and thousands of cow’s every day. There are many solutions that can change the food industry to produce their meat in a more animal friendly way. To help cut back more meat being produced in factories, consumers can support local farms by eating food that is grown locally. Holistic farming care for their animals and focus on getting delicious, healthy meat than just producing more and more for profit. The food quality of holistic farmed meat is a lot better because the cows are raised and treated well as opposed to when the animals are abused their whole life. If we really want a change, it is up to Americans to demand that. Currently, laws support the industrial farming methods and lack the attempt of helping small farms grow. An example is that American tax money goes to support research and the operating cost of large food producing companies (Learn About the Issues). In order for there to be a change, citizens need to become aware of the process. Change will happen by the consumer supporting politicians who are looking to change the food industry. Consequently, producers would need to be more focused on the care of the animals than earning as much money as possible. What American farmers feed their cattle, where they raise them and how they get slaughtered directly impacts the quality of our food. It is important for consumers to be aware of the United States food industry because there is so much more behind the food brought to you in the supermarket. If the consumer buys meat that is produced holistically, and legislation puts focus on the care of animals, the food industry will be forced to improve their methods.

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