Beelzebubs-Tales-to-His-Grandson-by-G-I-Gurdjieff

eing struck a drinking companion on the head with a champagne bottle,simply because the latter refused to drink to the health of the prime ministerof some government or other, but insisted on drinking to the health of the'Sultan of Toogoort.'"One of the Americans who did not want to wait any longer for his friendwent with us to the other restaurant."On closer acquaintance, this American three-brained being proved to beobservant, jolly, and talkative."All the way there, and at the new place we went to, he talked all the timeand made us laugh, chiefly because of his clever and apt comments on thecomic aspects of the passers-by and the other customers in the restaurant."Upon questioning him, we learned that this American was the proprietorof a large, fashionable dancing school in Paris."From all that he told us about his business, I understood that the pupils ofhis school consisted entirely of American beings who came there especially tolearn a favorite American dance, the 'fox trot.'"I also learned that this 'fox trot' was purely American in origin and that itwas all the rage, especially in America."So when we had chosen a new brand of champagne, and this jollyAmerican had stopped his chatter for a moment, I asked him:" 'Tell me please, my dear sir, if this is the case, why do you not have yourschool at home in America instead of here in the city of Paris, so far fromyour own country and from the source of this beneficial "fox trot"?'" 'What on earth do you mean?' he exclaimed in a tone of sincere surprise'But I have a large family.'" 'If I had my school in my native country, not only would my familystarve to death, but I should not even be able to rent a damp basement in NewYork to shelter us in bad weather from the freezing north winds there.