Ship of Fools

by Katherine Anne Porter

“I tell you something, I believe we get what we want!” “Oh!” said Herr Glocken with a groan, and he began moving towards the door. “Oh no, excuse the strong word, it is not for you, but for this so-false belief—it is one of the great lies of life! Ah no, no—for I wanted only one thing in the world—” He paused to make his effect. “What was that?” asked David, obligingly. “To be a violinist!” said Herr Glocken as movingly as if he expected them to shed tears. “But why was that impossible?” asked David. “You can wonder in such a way, after one look at me?” Herr Glocken’s eyes were stricken … “Ah, well,” he ended, “it is impossible to make one understand. But I had the soul,” he said, patting himself lightly on the pointed misshapen ribs of his chest, “and I have it yet, and that consoles me a little.” He smiled his painful jester’s smile, and vanished.