Norwegian version of a "gruk" (Grook in English) written by Danish poet, author, inventor, designer and mathematician Piet Hein (1905 -1996):
Den som mister sin ene hanske
er heldig
i forhold til den som mister den ene
kasserer den andre
og finner
den første igjen.
English version found on the website http://chat.carleton.ca/~tcstewar/grooks/grooks.html
CONSOLATION GROOK
Losing one glove
is certainly painful,
but nothing
compared to the pain,
of losing one,
throwing away the other,
and finding
the first one again.
And indeed, the lesson of that poem helped me reunite my two mittens today!
This winter a pair of black knitted mittens with fleece lining has kept me warm.
About ten days ago one glove disappeared from the backseat of the car, around the time I was moving to my new apartment.
My basic feeling was that it had fallen out of the car somewhere, but I could not find it.
Remembering Piet Hein's grook I kept the "surviving" mitten in a drawer.
In the meantime the snow is melting and as the Norwegian saying goes: "What disappears in the snow, comes up when the snow melts".
Today I got out of the car, on the street, outside my new apartment and there, in the dirt, was the lost mitten!
The two mittens are now on their way to the washing machine....
Thanks, Piet Hein!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grook
Den som mister sin ene hanske
er heldig
i forhold til den som mister den ene
kasserer den andre
og finner
den første igjen.
English version found on the website http://chat.carleton.ca/~tcstewar/grooks/grooks.html
CONSOLATION GROOK
Losing one glove
is certainly painful,
but nothing
compared to the pain,
of losing one,
throwing away the other,
and finding
the first one again.
And indeed, the lesson of that poem helped me reunite my two mittens today!
This winter a pair of black knitted mittens with fleece lining has kept me warm.
About ten days ago one glove disappeared from the backseat of the car, around the time I was moving to my new apartment.
My basic feeling was that it had fallen out of the car somewhere, but I could not find it.
Remembering Piet Hein's grook I kept the "surviving" mitten in a drawer.
In the meantime the snow is melting and as the Norwegian saying goes: "What disappears in the snow, comes up when the snow melts".
Today I got out of the car, on the street, outside my new apartment and there, in the dirt, was the lost mitten!
The two mittens are now on their way to the washing machine....
Thanks, Piet Hein!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grook
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