From: StoneOx17@aol.com
Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2002 07:41:01 EDT
Subject: Re: (urth) the dog-boy of Carnies Past

In a message dated 8/4/2002 7:58:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time, mantis writes:

> "Mason" has ties to the stoney fate of Mr. Tilly, as we've said before.
> The story of Tilly, while Southern Gothic in tone, seems at root to be a
> tale from the Arabian Nights involving a cheating wife and her semi-statue
> husband.

There's another connection nobody seems to have mentioned yet.  In the 
Arabian Nights story, the marid Naranj (corresponding to Julius) earned his 
living not only by turning roots into sherbet, but also by turning stones 
into kine, and making Ben Yahya (corresponding to Den) slaughter and sell 
them.  While Julius probably isn't able to turn stones into kine, Mr. Tilly 
(and Julius if, as I now believe, he took over the carnie practice) certainly 
could have turned kine to stone.  

- Stone Ox

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