The Project Gutenberg eBook of Box-garden
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: Box-garden
Author: Allen Kim Lang
Release date: June 19, 2024 [eBook #73868]
Language: English
Original publication: New York, NY: Royal Publications, Inc, 1958
Credits: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOX-GARDEN ***
Box-Garden
By Allen K. Lang
_He had big ears, hated TV commercials,
and talked about_ bansai (_with an_ s)....
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Science Fiction Adventures April 1958
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
The ears of the man to my left at the bar were blocking off my view of
the TV set. This annoyed me. The commercial was on, and I didn't want
to miss any of it. Leaning forward, trying to get the man's head and
ears out of my line of sight, I bumped against his shoulder. He turned,
taking my accidental nudge to be an invitation to converse.
"I'm getting pretty tired," the big-eared man said to me, "of being
treated like an adult pituitary-deficiency case." He nodded his head
and ears at the screen. "Look at that thing that's on now," he said.
"It's an insult and an outrage."
I watched the TV commercial closely, trying to discover what had
triggered this outburst from my neighbor. An elf in a scarlet hat was
pouring emerald golf balls onto a plate, to the tune of Bryant & May's
"Garden-Fresh" song. That commercial, I thought myself, was as much a
triumph of Yankee ingenuity as was color television itself. No child,
no housewife in America, could fail to identify that elf and his song
with Bryant & May's Garden-Fresh Peas.
My big-eared friend was still glaring at the screen as though
that commercial had been designed to insult him. "You don't like
commercials?" I demanded. I wasn't really the least bit angry. You meet
all kinds in the advertising business.
"Advertising may be necessary," he hedged, pulling at the lobe of
one of those magnificent ears of his. "Still, it doesn't take a choir
of TV elves or a cantata sung by squeaky-voiced animals to remind me
to launder my sox, or to point out that a beer would go good when I'm
thirsty. Hell, I outgrew the advice of teddy-bears years ago." He
sipped his beer, staring at my reflection in the bar mirror as though
trying to decide whether I was worthy of his further confidence. He
must have decided I had a sincere face, because he scooted up closer.
"What's more," he said, "some of these commercials, like the one we
just saw, frighten me terribly." Big-ears whispered this last like a
murderer in Shakespeare.
I laughed in spite of myself. "The Bryant & May elf? Afraid of him?
Man, that's like being scared of Santa Claus."
"It's not that simple," he rapped back. "It's not only fear those
commercials inspire, but pity." I stared at him now, thinking maybe he
was a recruiter for a nudist colony or a ward-worker for the Vegetarian
Party, or some other sort of fanatic peddling his exotic ritual. "Let
me explain," he asked quickly, seeing my hesitation. "Want another
beer?" I reflexively named the beer my agency handles, smooooth
Billygoat Beer.
When the bartender had set our refills before us and moved out of
earshot, my big-eared confidant explained. "Do you know what _bansai_
means?" he asked.
"Sure," I said. "That's when the little men come screaming out of the
palm-trees, waving their swords."
He smiled briefly. "You've got the right string, friend, but the
wrong yo-yo. It's Japanese, all right; but spelled with an "s," not a
"z." A _bansai_ is a dwarf tree raised for a Japanese box-garden, or
_hakoniwa_. They've been growing _bansais_ on those islands for fifteen
hundred years: full-grown pines you can put in a flowerpot, oaks two
hundred years old and a foot tall, all with perfect tiny limbs and
leaves."
"A trick?" I asked.
"Not exactly," Big-ears said. "Here's how they do it in Japan. You take
an ordinary acorn from an oak four stories tall. Plant it. Give the
little tree time to get its shell cracked and its leaves unfolded in
the sunlight. From that minute on, treat it like a wicked stepmother.
Keep it in a plate too shallow for its roots. When the taproot starts
twisting around, all frustrated, lop it off. Bend the trunk out of
shape with wires, so's it'll look as though it has been bent to the
storms off the North Pacific since granddad was a suckling. Takes a
long time, like the man said in the poem."
* * * * *
I made the V-sign for another pair of Billygoat Beers. "Interesting and
all," I admitted. "But what does this exposé of Jap silviculture have
to do with American television?"
"That's where my story gets ugly," said my friend with the ears. His
voice dropped low again, confidential. "The Japanese didn't have
hormones for their _bansais_. They made their midget oaks and pines and
ginko-trees without the help of negative catalysts or anti-vitamins.
They didn't even know B-12 from the far side of Fujiyama, when they
started their box-gardens.
"The people running TV know those things. You never see an announcer on
a toothpaste show who doesn't talk like a biochemistry Ph.D. explaining
paper chromatography in a kindergarten. You know what I mean. The guys
who point their index fingers at you from the screen, all tricked out
in doctor-coats with stethoscopes on their necks and reflectors on
their foreheads to prove that Science stands behind every tube of their
particular gunk. They talk a line that would take the Nobel Prize in
Medicine if it meant anything, then rub it in with shots of dancing
bears and gnomes and chorus girls six inches tall."
Big-ears shuddered. "The people who put the calories in our breakfast
woodchips know all about biology, now," he said, getting louder.
"They've got laboratories, and even brag about having them. What's
more," he said, his voice shrill now, "they use those laboratories of
theirs to do their commercials."
"Still can't see where you've got anything to be afraid of," I said,
tamping a cigarette tight on the bar.
Big-ears glanced up at the screen and shushed me. "Just watch this,"
he said, pointing. I watched. A tiny clown carried an opener at
right-shoulder-arms toward a palisade of beer cans. He did port-arms
with his opener, shoved one of the cans to the center of the screen,
and punched two holes in the top of the can. He grounded the opener,
still according to the Manual of Arms, bear-hugged the beer can to tip
it into a glass, then picked up the glass, which was tall as he was,
and chuga-lugged the lot.
While I don't like to commend the competition, that was a good,
workmanlike script. I'd be proud to have done that myself. We turned
from the screen as the show came on. "Did you see that?" Big-ears
demanded.
I paused before I answered, straining to be real objective. "Some
people might think it was a bit childish," I said.
"It's obscene!" he hissed. "Can't you see how the advertisers get
that horrible realism? Haven't you watched those tiny ballerinas
with king-sized cigarettes for partners? Didn't I tell you about the
_bansai_-trees and how they grow?"
People down the bar were staring at Big-ears now, impatient of
his shouts, his noise that didn't fit the show on the screen. The
bartender, glaring at my neighbor, twisted the TV's sound-knob so that
the laughter from the set became a niagara. Big-ears raised his voice
above his electronic competition. "Do you suppose those little bears,
and monkeys, and clowns and chorus girls are puppets, maybe? Was that
a doll that opened the beer, a toy that poured the peas for Bryant &
May? No! They're changing real people, that's what they're doing."
The bartender walked like a tank around the bar and came down our side
toward Big-ears. He folded the man's lapels in one hand and explained
softly, "These people want to hear our show. You'll have to go on down
the street if you want any more beer tonight, friend."
Big-ears didn't argue, but he called over his shoulder as the bartender
escorted him to the door. "Remember what I told you, please remember!"
I turned away, embarrassed. The poor little fellow had got so deep in
his story that he was actually crying as he left the bar.
I had another of those smooooth Billygoat Beers before I left, feeling
pretty sorry for my little friend with the big ears.
This was about a year ago--Washington's Birthday, I think.
Last night, watching TV at home, I saw a sad-eyed dwarf in an orange
cape and green shoes show how Pullo penetrates those sluggish kitchen
drains. He did a poor job. Those big, familiar ears just weren't made
for drainpipe work.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOX-GARDEN ***
Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will
be renamed.
Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.
START: FULL LICENSE
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when
you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work
on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg™ License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format
other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain
Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
provided that:
• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has
agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation.”
• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™
License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™
works.
• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
receipt of the work.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™
Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.
This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
