Believe it or not, beneath the sea of short stories and tales pre-occupied with the cruelty of human fate by Hardy, an occasional one can be found with a feel good factor and happy/morally appropriate ending, and 'Our Exploits at West Poley' is one of these.
Read 'Our Exploits at West Poley' not only while travelling to and from work on trams in Warsaw, but also while on a train to Modlin Airport from Warsaw Central train station.
The tale is set in the Mendip Hills in 'Somersetshire'. Two young cousins go exploring in a cave in the Mendips and end up diverting the course of a stream there which results in the West Poley village stream drying up, and a new stream springing up in East Poley. This leads to the two cousins weighing up a few utilitarian-type calculations and trying to remedy the situation.
In the end, the two cousins end up heroes, as, after a tug-of-war between the West Poley and East Poley folk over who should have a stream, the stream inside the Mendips is permanently restored to its original course, and the West Poley folk are left safe with their stream much-needed for several important livelihoods.
Found it incredibly unusual reading an adventure story for boys (something 'light') by Thomas Hardy.
No comments:
Post a Comment