Genesis & Catastrophe by Roald Dahl

Genesis and Catastrophe

Genesis and Catastrophe

"You are certain he is all right?"

The innkeeper's wife, who had come up to assist in the delivery, had told him that the husband worked at the local customs-house on the border and that the two of them had arrived quite suddenly at the inn with one trunk and one suitcase about three months ago.

The innkeeper's wife, who had come up to assist in the delivery, had told him that the husband worked at the local customs-house on the border and that the two of them had arrived quite suddenly at the inn with one trunk and one suitcase about three months ago.

The husband was a drunkard, the innkeeper's wife had said, an arrogant, overbearing, bullying little drunkard, but the young woman was gentle and religious.

I have lost all three of my children, so you mustn't blame me for being anxious."

Sometimes I used to get up in the night and creep over to the cradle and put my ear close to her mouth just to make sure that she was breathing.

The woman's face was white and bloodless, and there was a slight bluish-grey tinge around the nostrils and the mouth.

The woman's face was white and bloodless, and there was a slight bluish-grey tinge around the nostrils and the mouth.

And my husband ... he was strolling among the guests with a big glass of beer in his hand . . . he turned around quickly and said, 'I have news for you, Kiara, I have good news.'

"He put his head right into Otto's cradle as though he were examining a tiny insect and he said, 'All I am saying is why can't they be better specimens?

We baptized him quickly on the third day and he died the same evening.

Have you settled on a name for him yet?"

I was simply being an inquisitive old man, that is all.

I think Adolfus is a particularly fine name.

The baby was tightly swaddled in a white woollen shawl, and only the tiny pink head protruded.

Slowly, the mother turned her head and looked at the small, incredibly serene face that lay on the pillow beside her.

The mother lay on the bed gazing at the child and smiling and touching him and making little noises of pleasure.

The man had a pair of enormous whiskers meticulously groomed after the manner of the Emperor Franz

The father turned and walked with a curious little prancing stride over to the bed where his wife was lying.

"He has the most marvellous pair of lungs," the innkeeper's wife announced.

He seemed bewildered and stricken.

Great sobs were shaking her body.

Then he squeezed the husband's shoulder hard and began pushing him forward surreptitiously to the edge of the bed.

The husband hesitated.

At last, reluctantly, the husband bent down and kissed his

Oh God, be merciful unto him now..."

Oh God, be merciful unto him now..."