“Woodcutter,” she said, “be of good cheer! I am your Gift Fairy, and I will give you and your family enough to live on. You will have food, and can buy shoes for your son and daughter!”

“Gracious lady,” said the woodcutter, “you are very kind. What can I do to deserve such a gift?”

“To deserve my gift, woodcutter, you must not work, but every day you must look for work,” said the lady. “You must try four times a day to find a job. No matter if there is no work to be found, you must not stop looking for it. I will be watching you. [...]

I'm so pleased to report that yesterday's story about Mierle Ukeles is, as I suspected, a bit too pat to be true. (It contains "wisps of truths," she says—and they're good wisps!) I'm pleased because I loved the story but I disliked the moral. Also? Hillary Clinton was just coughing in the situation room in that already-famous photograph. This is the deal with narrative, am I right?