… She might have remained just like that even though she was a modest young lady who, left to herself, was quite capable of falling in love and getting married. However, she was a very obedient child and dared not go against her father’s command. Well, that was until a particular time came and Mr. Tortoise devised a very clever way through which they eventually became husband and wife. But that is a story for another day.”

“But that large farm with all the plentiful harvest, how could he have cultivated it all if he was such a slow and lazy person?”

“But of course he did not do it by himself. He had servants in great numbers and they worked hard to cultivate plantations and more plantations, which were the envy of everyone.”

“So what did the oracle say to Mr. Snail about his great harvest?”

“ ‘Good is good and bad is bad. One is not like the other because they are opposite and different.

“ ‘But there is a common ground where they meet and they merge one with the other. The area of excess. In the area of excess, no-one can tell the difference between the two.

“ ‘In the area of excess, good and bad unite and both are bad. Too much bad remains bad, too much good turns bad. In the area of excess, good and bad meet and merge…

… “It was quite clear that she and her father did not see eye to eye on this matter at all. First, her father did not share her fond sentiments about her husband, and second, he held Mr. Tortoise guilty along with others unknown in the matter of the crime which had been committed on his farm. But Mrs. Tortoise felt sure that her husband could not have taken part in such a shameful act and she was anxious that he should be allowed to say what he knew about the whole matter.

“Mr. Snail was the one who controlled the crowd however. Whatever he told them they would do. At last he listened to his daughter’s plea and addressed the mob from one of the front windows of his mansion: ‘I thank you all for this support you have given me in dealing with one of the criminals in our midst. Much as I would have agreed that he should pay for the crime with his life so as to teach others like him a lesson, I am however persuaded by my daughter here who has been begging me to save his life. Still, I don’t want you to feel disappointed that I am so lenient with him. Therefore, I have now decided that he should be tied up hands and feet and put on public display so that he may carry the full burden of shame for his crime.’…