Big Jobs

The Wee Free Men believe they are dead, so party and fight as their reward after a life forgotten, probably working in some dumpy job. They are a parody of smurfs and highlanders, and paint themselves with woad, making them blue. They love fighting, drinking, and stealing. They call humans "Big Jobs". They don't care about milk, but if you leave them a dish of it they'll steal your cow in retaliation. They prefer Special Sheep's Lineament, which smells suspiciously like ouisquie and should never be given to a sheep. They are about 3 inches tall and run faster than most people can see and use the ability to steal things. They call themselves the Nac Mac Feegles. They are very funny. Unfortunately, nobody has yet made a movie or cartoon of them, unless you count The Smurfs, which I don't. Smurfs aren't drunk, exactly. And smurfs are red communists. Always reading that red book.

In "A Hat Full Of Sky", the Mac Feegles are looking after an 11 year old girl who has just been taken on as an apprentice Witch. In Discworld, witches are about knowing stuff, and most of their magic is knowing answers others don't, often by paying more attention. They also act as midwives, make medicines and pain relievers, and pass along food people pay them with to those less fortunate, who repay the favor later on. It all balances out, so they say. Some witches in discworld are single. Some marry. Some marry many times. Some have quite a few children, so the term grandmother is literal, but all witches over 30 get called grandmother, and bow rather than curtsey because they have to do things differently. The pointy hat is compulsory identification and saves time, like a badge of office. The witches often say that they say the most by speaking the least, and resolve disputes best with a firm look. In villages with fewer homes than you can count on the fingers of both hands, they are the law, the mayor, the govt, and the doctor. Discworld witches are practical in all the ways that hippies aren't. I despise hippies. They were hypocrites and monsters when I was a child, and they haven't changed today. This is a real shame, but I shouldn't be surprised. Their nature is selfish, after all. They, of course, deny this.

After hours of gradually intensifying mist becoming rain and rain turning into light hail, we are having snow. It is big clumpy stuff, very wet, kinda warm, an inch across and slow falling, and it will probably melt once the storm passes in an hour or two. Its enough to cover the satellite dish and is accumulating about an inch on the fence top, half that on the grape vines, and a bit to the ground. Good thing DSL streaming is underground. Dad is indulging his common hobby with The Stig: watching Midsommer Murders. I am having some nice peppermint tea and will read a bit more about the Wee Free Men. Hope everyone is having a good Monday/Tuesday.