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Show Little Fables of the Business World I Xo Encores. CHERE was once a Young Man who was Strong on backing an Acquaintance into a Corner and! Telling bin) his Troubles. As a Shifter of 'hardens to other people's; j Shoulders he was Right There. His idea of an Interesting Conversa-tlon Conversa-tlon was to Moan Plteously about some Big Deal that he had almost Put . ThrouKh when Something happened that Spilled the Salad Dressing. Or I if It wasn't a tale of a Slip-Up. it was apt to be an account of a Double Cross 'that somebody was trying to Hand him. A Singer of Mournful Songs, the whole world was Gloomy and Rotten j to hear him Tell It He spoke always j of Failure. ' of Disappointment, of Things Gone Wrong. And always he I was the Injured Party. To be in his Company ten minutes meant the development of a Fine Young Grouch and A Sad, Sad Outlook i on Life. He had never Seen a Doughnut Dough-nut with anything to It but a Hole. And. apparently, the word Optimism was missing from his Vocabulary. f course, If he flt That Way about It, he was entirely Within his Rights. BUi he was a Boob to imagine that Other People wanted to know about what was Worrying him as thousrh they hodn't enough Troubles of their own! So he kept on unfolding his Tale of Woe to all whom he could catch Unawares. At first he found it Easy Picking. He invariably corralled a Victim. But presently the Game became Scarce and """" His Idea of an Interesting Conversation Conversa-tion Was to Moan Plteously. there seemed to be a General Move- rawl : ment on foot to Dodge him. Once a LSs Victim thereafter a Side-Stepper II seemed to be the Order of the Day among those who Knew him. KmI It took a Long While for this to Percolate through his Ivory Dome. ! And even when he was beginning to yjjfi be Hep to himself he didn't quite Be- BH i lleve It. He couldn't see how anyone ASS ; could consider his Moanlngs unlnter- faa estlng, unlets that luckless Anyone Bsl happened to be an Unsympathetic iaSl But he finally had to admit that he r?? Landed a Listener only ones and I thereafter Said Listener avoided him W'-'-' , as though he were a Bill Collector. fc-'V Nobody wanted to Talk to him. H I was as popular as a wet Undershirt. F, So he Woke Up and Cut it Out- Not kSh because he was Merciful, nor even be- Fil cause he saw It was Up To him to do W$ gi But it was because he couldn't f1f llnd' even one Poor Listener who 'pSjj would Stand for It; and he found no GS Satisfaction in Talking To h:mself. Kffi He had realised at last that the W$tI chap Who Tells his Troubles to others Iv never kt n Encore. Even on the f , stage Comedy 8tuff gets a Laugh and F--.; a Hand, hut you never Call Back a Tragedian and set him to Do his Scene if over aain. And in Real Life It's Just I the same. |