you stop by, she'll insist that you stay.

And say what you will or say what you may,
You'll remember the day that you met Ms. McKay.

XXXI

THE STORY OF YES AND NO

Before words were words, a boy named Yes lived in a small village in
a small kingdom. Yes was good at everything. He was the best,
smartest and most liked person in his village.

Yes had a brother, and his name was No. No was jealous of his
brother because he was not much good at anything himself. Whenever
the villagers asked No for help, he refused because he didn't like
people very much. Whenever someone asked Yes for a favor, he would
gladly help, and he secretly didn't mind the fact that it irritated
No when he did.

One day Yes and No's father, Okay, went on a long journey and he
left his two sons in charge of all the animals. Yes took good care
of the great guck, and the icks, and the three-toed yock. [Keep in
mind, my dear friend, that the guck, ick, and three-toed yock were
ancient animals, so you might know them by different names today.]
No didn't want to be bothered with the boring tasks involved with
taking care of the animals. So instead of helping his brother, No
went down to the lake and threw rocks into the water.

A few days after his father left, Yes asked his brother to watch the
three-toed yock while he went to find some food to eat. Instead of
doing what Yes had asked, No lay down, shut his eyes, and forgot
about the yock.

It just so happened that the King had a personal road nearby, and he
traveled on it often. So often, that when the three-toed yock
wandered onto the road, the King's carriage was passing by and had
to swerve to avoid hitting it. The King was thrown from the
carriage, fell to the ground, and was badly injured.

The King demanded to know why a three-toed yock had been allowed on
his road alone and he asked all the villagers for an explanation.
Yes was always honest, so he told the King the entire story.

The King thought for a moment, and then he came up with an idea that
he was quite happy with. Yes and No were to work in the castle as
his personal assistants as punishment for what was later referred to
as "the worst three-toed yock and carriage accident in the Kingdom's
history".

The King needed help with many things around the castle because a
King cannot be bothered with the daily tasks involved with running a
kingdom. However, soon after his decision about the two brothers,
the King realiz