介绍:
Once when i was six years old I saw a beautiful picture in a book about the primeval forest called true stories. It showed a boa constrictor swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of the drawing.
The book stated: ‘boa constrictors swallow their prey whole without chewing it whereupon they can no longer move and sleep for six months digesting it.’
I then reflected deeply upon the adventures in the jungle and in turn succeeded in making my first drawing with a colour pencil. my drawing NO.1 was like this:
I showed my masterpiece to the grown-ups and asked them if my drawing frightened them. they answered: ‘why should anyone be frightened by a hat?’
My drawing did not represent a hat. it was supposed to be a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. so i made another drawing of the inside of the boa constrictor to enable the grown-ups to understand. they always need explanations. my drawing no. 2 looked like this:
The grown- ups then advised me to give up my drawings of boa constrictors, whether from the inside or the outside, and to devote myself instead to geography,history,arithmetic and grammar. thus it was that i gave up a mangificent career as a painter at the age of six, i had been disappointed by the lack of success of my drawing no.1 and my drawing no.2.
Grown-ups never undertand abything by themselves and it is rather tedious for children to have to explain things to them time and again.
So I had to choose another job and I learnt to pilot aeroplanes. I flew more or less all over the world. and indeed geography has been extremely useful to me. I am able to distinguish between China and Arizona at a glance. It is extremely helpful if one gets lost in the night.
As a result of which i have been in touch through-out my life, with all kinds of serious people. i have spent a lot of time with grown-ups. i have seen them in very close quarters which im afraid has not greatly enhanced my opinion of them.
Whenever I met with one who seemed reasonably clear-sighted to me, i showed them my drawing no.1 which i had kept, as an experiment. i wanted to find out whether he or she was truly understanding. But the answer was always: ‘it is a hat.’
So I gave up mentioning boa constrictors or primeval forests or stars. i would bring myself back down to his or her level and talk about bridge, golf, politics and necktie’s. and the grown-up would be very pleased to have met such a sensible person.
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