Emil, you had some big announcement to make which you had mentioned in the earlier rounds here, can you share it with us?  And the news are about our agreement with World Chess, previously known as Aegon. You know Aegon previously had control over the whole World Championship cycle. It's no more, the agreement has been signed and starting from the already next candidate tournament and World Championship match everything, it passes under the direct control of FIDE. So FIDE would be in charge for all these events, regaining control. Aegon or World Chess, I call it Aegon because everybody knows under its name, although it's for a couple of years now World Chess, will conduct Grand Prix Series in cooperation with FIDE 2019 and 2021. They preserve this right to conduct the series. FIDE will actually help financially to raise the status of these events because of Grand Prix Series we are launching. We also wanted to be very strong and to have all the best players because we also have two spots to the candidate tournament through this Grand Prix Series. But the most important part that the World Championship, which is a pinnacle of whole chess activity, which is an event everybody follows, FIDE will be in full charge and control and responsibility of course. It is important also to notice that the Grand Prix Series changes its format and I think it will be rather attractive, KO knockout format with 16 players on every leg and we expect it to be attended by the most of the top players because once again two spots will be there and previously if you remember the Grand Prix Series did have a spot but it did not have a decent prize fund. And we found out that players basically had to play it even under not very convincing conditions just in order to try and qualify. We thought it should not be a case and FIDE stepped in just finding money to increase the prize funds to a decent level. This is big news. So FIDE and Aegon's agreement on the World Championship contract has been terminated? Yes, it has been terminated or amended whatever called it this way. And the new agreement has been signed and it has been just a couple of days ago confirmed by the FIDE Presidential Board, which means we are sort of untieing our hands and we are already announcing that we will stage a tender, a bidding procedure both for candidates and for World Championship match. The party is interested, could also take part in it so it would not be under the curtains decision, it would be proper tender. We would be welcoming bidding procedure for everybody who believes that second stage is on a high level and welcome to bid, of course under the regulations we are going to issue.


to books, books, books, where we discuss reading and writing and everything in between and beyond. I'm your host, Dr. Rita Forsythe, coming to you from Maui on the ThinkTech Network series broadcasting from our studio in downtown Honolulu. The title of today's episode is Between the Sea and Sky. Joining me is Dr. Donna Binkiewicz, professor of American history at Cal State Long Beach. Welcome, Donna. Hi, thanks for having me on. Thanks for being here. Well, now your book, fascinating book, Between the Sea and Sky, the saga of my Portuguese-American family in upcountry Maui, is personal to you, isn't it? You were born and raised on Maui, a descendant of Portuguese immigrants. What inspired you to write the book? Yes, well, for me, it's a very familiar story. But I've found that as I've moved around other places, people are always surprised to hear that I'm from Hawaii and that I'm Portuguese. And they want to know more about how there are Portuguese people in Hawaii and why my ancestors would have moved from islands in the middle of the Atlantic to another set of islands in the middle of the Pacific. And I just wrote the story partly for my own interest, to write about my family history, but also to inform people about the history of Hawaii and a group of people there as immigrants that many people don't know very much about. It's interesting that, like you say, you move from one set of islands to another set of islands. I've never been to the Azores, but that's where your family is from originally. Is that right? Yes, of course. That was several generations back. Fifth generation coming from that first generation that arrived in Hawaii in the early 1880s. And I really appreciate that your book is a mix of history, which we've been talking about, and storytelling, kind of a fictional, non-fictional, historical fiction, multi-generational family story, isn't it? Yes, it ended up being a rather a blend of different kind of writing. I'm a historian by trade, so it certainly is a history, and that was one of the things I wanted to do was write a history of this group. But it also took me in some different directions, in terms of trying to really tell the story in a way that was accessible to a wider reader audience in a way that would attract people's attention to the personal stories. So I really focused on, as I go through the generations, I focused on some of the women who were strong women characters who helped keep the family together and set up the communities here in Hawaii. And I told the story sort of from their perspectives. And I had done a lot of research, of course, on what this experience was like and read lots of great oral histories, many of which came from the University of Hawaii from the Ethnic Studies program there. So even though I'm writing sort of a fictionalized account in some places, I'm putting words in their mouth and I'm bringing them alive. I wanted people to sort of feel what that time was like and what their experiences would have been like. So that's one of the reasons I chose to use some of that creative writing element, as well as the history. Yeah, wonderful. Well, I can't wait to dig deeper into all of those elements, but before we do, I was wondering if you would read a little bit from your book. Sure, let's see. I picked up a little bit of a passage. I'll skip over some of it a little bit, but this is a section of the book that's part of the story that I learned a little bit about while I was doing my research and that's exactly what their arrival on Maui would have been like. So here's the little excerpt of Margarita and her children arriving on Maui. It says here, between 1877 and 1888, over 11,000 Portuguese immigrants arrived in the islands. For Margarita and her children, the view from aboard the small steamer nearing Kahlui Harbor encompassed the Spreckles sugar operations in the heyday of modernizing sugar mill production, rail transport and a harbor extension. Francisco and his brothers took in the scene with awe. Look at that, Antonio, pointed to the steamer puffing from the locomotive as it made its way toward the harbor. Is that where we'll work? He asked Francisco. Perhaps it looks like the sugar mill, he said, but we'll be working in the fields to start. Oh, I would like to see those machines up close and work in the thick of it when I'm able, said Antonio. But then he looked back as the ship kept moving east. Why are we not going to the harbor? Francisco watched as the ship slipped past and they continued sailing east. Soon, sandy beaches slipped by. Rocky shorefronts loomed higher as their vessel moved closer towards the land. The boys watched silently as they slowed near the mouth of a gulch and anchored there. Tall rocky cliffs surrounded by a small rocky beach with a stream entering into it. Out of Malico Bay, rode two small boats to meet them. They weren't heading for this larger Speckles Sugar Company, but farther up the mountain slopes to A and B's expanding plantation. Come on, all of you, the crewmen yelled in Portuguese. Bring your things along, this is it. Who among you can swim? What? Right, Margarita, you mean for us to swim from here? What about the children? And I cannot swim? She, he said, little one ride in the boats, right? Women can get in the boats with them or with the sacks and the men will swim alongside or hang on. Hurry up now. So the passengers gathered their belongings and queued up, some with their eyes wide as they watched the men lower their things into the rowboats that pulled up alongside. Now the ship had stopped and it bobbed up and down in the waves. Salty ocean waters splashed up into the rowboats, also bobbing alongside and not always in unison. Once the men had stacked the bags into the boats, they reached up to help the women and children. Teresa went first, over the side, down the rope ladder and into the arms of the boatmen. She sat on the bags and watched her sister, Moggy, climb over and they looked up to their mother with a mixture of excitement and dread that filled their expressions. Margarita lifted her skirts and slowly made her way down the side of the heaving ship. Her cheeks growing rosy as she released her billowing skirts and her modesty to grasp the ladder more tightly. In her mind, the two minute descent stretched much longer until she too settled in the little boat. I'll skip forward a little bit here. Next came the men. Many of the Portuguese men had learned to swim back in the Azores. Some had been fishermen and sailors themselves. Fewer farmers had taken to the water, though Francisco had. He climbed down, jumped into the sea and swam to the front of the rowboat and hung on. Your turn, Joao. The ocean is warm here, warmer than in Ponte de Costa. He laughed. It'll be like a baptism before entering our new home.  God forgive him his disrespect. And she looked up toward the sky as the other boys followed their brother down. The small rowboat turned toward the shore and with several men swimming along and the waves pushing them forward, it took a little time to approach the beach. The men pulled the boat in close and helped women out. At last they had arrived on Maui. Wow, what an ordeal, what an adventure. So Margarita came without a husband, with all the children? Yes, that's part of the story. It was that her husband had gone off to go and find work and died. So they found, they were left her and her eight children in the Azores of varying ages. But the youngest, not the oldest son, the oldest son I think never arrived in Hawaii. He stayed in San Miguel in the Azores. But the second oldest son was 17 years old at the time. And he's the one who signed on with a sugar contract. And in those days, that would allow them to bring family with them.  So they all arrived on Maui in 1883 as part of that wave of plantation workers. Unbelievable. Wow, what a story. So tell me the title between the sea and sky. Why that title? I think it captures a few things that the story contains. Number one is, of course, the place where they arrive and they live and set up in their community in Macauau on Maui, which is up the mountain. So people would have seen Haleaka Laws as reaching up to the sky. And of course, they came from the ocean, sailing halfway around the world to arrive in Hawaii. And here they are living right between the shores of Maui and the mountain on the top. So that's the sort of in-between place geographically. But I think also for Margarita, it was between sort of her old life with her husband in San Miguel and what you imagine would someday be her place in heaven with him again. And then the third thing, I think this title kind of captures is the relative place of Portuguese immigrants in the broader sort of ethnic communities because they were, while they were European, they certainly were not considered on par with the Anglo or German Europeans who were running a lot of the plantations and businesses. And yet they were seen as sort of above the Asian workers and the non-white people at the time. So they were what historians call sort of in-between immigrants at that late 19th century period. Well, let's talk more about immigration to the islands. And if we could start with King Kalakaua, during the time, I know you and I had chatted a little bit about this, the population of Hawaii was dropping and the king needed workers. So tell the story of what he did. Yeah, I think the numbers are, you know, something that speak for themselves. If you look at what happens in Hawaii, in the late 19th century, the Hawaiian population is dropping off considerably. So if you look at the time that Captain Cook would have arrived in the islands in the late 1700s, there were nearly 700,000 Hawaiians in the islands. But by 1880, there were only 50,000 left. So that's an enormous drop, right? And is that due to diseases that were brought into the islands? Yes, that was a major factor, right? As Europeans arrived and foreigners brought in with them all kinds of diseases that, you know, native populations had no immunities to.  And they really, you know, diminished the population greatly. So the Hawaiian kingdom was quite worried, right, about what would happen to Hawaii, right? As planters were starting to take off, the sugar industry was starting to take off. And yet the population and the workforce were decreasing. So King Kalakaua went on a tour around the world. In fact, the first monarch, right, to circumnavigate the world on a tour in part to drum up interests in Hawaii and to bring immigrants and settlers. So one of the places he went was Portugal. And that would have been about the time that my great-great-grandmother's husband passed away and they were trying to make some decisions about what to do. So King Kalakaua was instrumental, you know, with his ministers in inviting Portuguese immigrants to come to Hawaii. And of course, many tens of thousands took them up on that. And they stayed. A lot of the people that came over to work, the fields didn't stay, but Portuguese stayed. Why do you think that is? Yeah, well, I think a couple of things. They were invited by Kalakaua, certainly as settlers, not just workers. So he wanted to have a population that would stay, that would help bolster the population of the islands and not have people that just came and went. Many of the other immigrants, and certainly the first big immigrant group before Portuguese were Chinese immigrants who came in to work for the sugar plantations. And a lot of them were young, single men. So they would either intermarry with the Hawaiian population and stay or they would leave. And what Kalakaua wanted was a population that would bring their families and stay, right? And so the Portuguese sort of fit that bill. And they were interested because, you know, there was a lot of poverty in the Azores at that time. A lot of them were farmers. They had some blights on their crops and people were having a really difficult time in the Azores. So this was an opportunity, right, to find another way and go somewhere else, start over. I think many of them had hopes of maybe someday having their own farms. And this was really a way to do that. Oh, I see. So they came over on the sugar contracts, but did a lot of them move into pineapple cultivation also? Eventually, I would say this is one of the things I found surprising too when I was writing the book and doing my research is, you know, I did all this research about the sugar plantations and I certainly used that because that's where they started. But in my family, certainly many of the men only served their three years. And then they went off and did their own home farms or ranches. And again, this was in part due to King Kalakaua and then Queen Lillio Kalani, who wanted to encourage settlement. So one of the ways that they did this was to allow people to get land. And of course that varied quite a bit. Most of the land was already taken up by the plantations, right? So a lot of the good farmable land was not available, but they would allow people to homestead, essentially in properties in this case on Maui up the mountain. And what I found out in my family was that people did do that.  So they would chop down the trees, clear the land for their own farms and they became wood purveyors, right? Selling wood to the plantations so they could use it for the boilers. Oh, oh my goodness. Wasn't that about the time of the new deal and people were also finding- That would come later. A little later. I mean, that was another element that I found was you come down in the generations, a couple of generations down. There were other kinds of work that came along. So first they sort of set up their own home farms and they grew all kinds of different crops, meant much of what they would have used on their own home for their families, but they also sold goods and traded with the local stores. And this is where the pineapple comes in since you had mentioned that. Pineapple, it was just starting to take off in the 1890s, 1900, right? So one of the things that happened up country is a lot of the local people started to grow their own pineapple plots and they would sell a pineapple to the canneries. And as long as pineapple was doing really well, which it was in the 1910s, 1920s, everyone did really well with that. And then when they hit the Great Depression in the 1930s, the planters and the plantation canneries stopped buying their pineapples. They would only use the pineapples from their own fields. So a lot of these people went bankrupt and had to go and do something else. In fact, so two things happened. One is a lot of local people left the islands or at least left Maui and went to Honolulu to look for other jobs. Or people who had been working at the pineapple cannery left to go to Honolulu to work for the dole cannery because that one was still going. So you see this sort of movement of population. It's also a time period when many Portuguese begin to leave the islands and come to California. So in the 1920s, 1910s. But in the 1930s, when the Great Depression hits, a lot of people have lost their pineapple farms and are really sort of struggling again with poverty and lack of jobs. The New Deal comes along. And a lot of these young men, especially in the upcountry areas, get hired to work for the CCC, the Civilian Conservation Corps, that hired young men to work in national park areas and forests. So a lot of these young men went off and worked in Haleakwa. They built the trails, right? And they built the visitor center buildings. And they planted trees. And there were so many projects on Maui. I was really surprised to see how much was going on in that period. So it was really fascinating reading about what was going on up the mountain. But they were also building roads, right? They helped to build a road going up the mountain. They helped to build a Pinae airport. And many of the little roads and bridges all around the island came from that New Deal period. I wonder if some of the Hana Highway... I'm sure. Yes. Looked like they kind of came from that era. Exactly. And then I've heard that the Portuguese women were fantastic midwives. Yes, that was one of the things too. My great-grandmother was a well-known midwife in Markowale and she became someone who served the community in that way. And I think, again, that's a part of the story I wanted to tell in this book because people sometimes forget about the women and the work that they did, not on the plantations, of course, but in the communities, right? And a midwife was an important role for the community, literally sort of bringing the babies along. And doing other kinds of sort of healing work as well. Back in those days, the midwife used to go to the family and stay with them for a week, right? And take care of the baby and the mother and cook the food and do all kinds of things for them. So... Well, yeah. Her mother was always gone with everybody else's children. Oh, yeah. Well, it sounds like the women made a great contribution to Maui's growth. Yes, literally. And recipes. Your book has Portuguese recipes in there. Oh, my gosh, that was exciting. Yes, you know, as I'm writing about the families and the family stories, certainly food is part of that, part of that culture that Portuguese brought to Hawaii. So I had to put some recipes in there so you can find things like fingerdolls, pot roast and malasadas and Portuguese bean soup and the staples of the Portuguese community. Oh, my favorites, yeah. I'm not Portuguese, but I love Portuguese food. You know, we have a beautiful church of country, the Holy Ghost Church. Yes. It's just such a beautiful, unique. Isn't it like an octagon? It is. It's a unique church. It's an octagon shape. It was built, again, by a Portuguese community in Kula. In fact, all the churches kind of up country, from Kua'au to Pa'ia to Haiku, Maka'au, and then Kula. Those were all originally little Portuguese churches. And in Kula, in particular, you really see the legacy of that because you can go into that church today and they still have the Portuguese stations of the cross on walls. And you know, those, you know, if you imagine in those days, these poor immigrant communities trying to raising money, right, they sold sweet bread and they had cattle auctions and they did all that kind of things to raise the money to purchase and ship those stations of the cross and materials for the church from Europe, you know, to the islands. Amazing. I love your book. We can find it on Amazon and it's also at the Maui Sugar Museum. Yes. Shout out to your sister for that cover art. That is gorgeous. Thank you. Yes, this book is a family affair. I recruited my sister to do that little image for me and put that on the cover of the book and I think it captures that look, right, of up country looking up towards the mountain. Yeah. And a lot of the really old homes in Maka'au always had those big pine trees next to them. So you could see where all the houses were. I think those are those Captain Cook trees. Captain Cook pines or something. I don't know. I'm not sure about that. You're either. And I'm very proud of you for self-publishing the book. That's an accomplishment. Thank you. Yes, I was finishing the book up right as the pandemic was taking off and it was a sort of difficult time to reach out to publishers. But it's also, it's not a traditional academic book, you know, as my first book was. So I thought, you know, I'll try to do something a little different with this and, you know, I went and did the self-publishing, basically had a lot of freedom to kind of do what I wanted and how to put the book together myself and, you know, and bring in my sister as the artist. And in fact, my son who did the little map of Maui for me, that's also in the book. And nowadays we have access to, you know, this self-publishing venue. I mean, there's certainly many of them, but you know, Amazon is probably one of the better known and easily accessible. It's one of the reasons I chose that. But it gave me an opportunity to do something a little different, like I said, which is both a blend of history and sort of creative non-fiction. Wonderful. What did I not cover? What did I forget to ask? What is there anything else before we go? Well, the only other thing I would say is, you know, the book, like I said, it kind of captures the history of the Portuguese and their arrival and the voyage itself, which I think is an incredible voyage halfway around the world. I can't imagine doing that myself, let alone back then. But, you know, the things I really wanted to cover were the fact that the Portuguese came and helped set up, you know, the sort of small farm upcountry areas, right, that we know as upcountry areas today, that they helped bring their Portuguese traditions and their Catholicism with them to the islands and that they helped establish a more diversified agriculture, right, so not just sugar and pineapples, but other things as well. Oh, very good. Well, that's all the time we have today. I want to thank Dr. Binkiewicz for being my special guest, our broadcast engineer, our floor manager, and Jay Fidel, our executive producer, a special mahalo to our underwriters and thank you for joining us. Books, books, books will be back in two weeks. Until then, read, write, and create your world. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.


We will do an experiment to measure the vapor pressure of methanol at different temperatures. We have connected a pressure sensor to our CBL and the CBL to the calculator. I've already loaded and started the ChemBio program and set the ChemBio program to measure the pressure every three seconds for 40 samples. I'm going to fill the dropper with some liquid methanol. Once the pipette is filled, I'm going to put a small amount of parafilm over the end of the pipette tip to keep the liquid from leaking out of the pipette. I'm going to now attach the pipette to my bottle. I'm going to start the calculator and CBL and record a few pressure values to establish the initial pressure in the bottle. We've collected a few pressure points to establish the initial pressure. It's close to one atmosphere. We'll then squeeze the bulb and inject all the methanol. We'll swirl this a little bit to help the methanol to evaporate. The pressure probe is reading the pressure and reading the increase in pressure due to the evaporation of the methanol. Eventually, an equilibrium is reached between the methanol liquid and the methanol vapor and the pressure will level off. The difference between the initial pressure and the final pressure gives the vapor pressure of the liquid methanol at this temperature. We'll repeat the experiment at different temperatures. We'll record the initial pressure, the final pressure, and the change in pressure.


All right. So, we are all set now. So, my name is Jukka Birthila. I'm from University of Helsinki. I'm also a part of the Union Wider Network. So, I was very pleased to be asked to comment on this excellent report, but it was so well presented here. So, I think, I mean, tax economists and many other tax practitioners had long to view that the, I mean, we started to think about international tax. It was sort of depressing because on the other hand, there were very few instruments to target those rich individuals who are using tax havens to evade taxis. On the other hand, we also knew that international corporate income taxation is plagued by profit shifting and the tax competition. So, it was a depressing picture, really. So, that started to change, really, when it comes to the individual side. First, less than 10 years ago, with the onset of these information exchange agreements. So, now tax authorities know way better than beforehand about foreign incomes of individuals. But the corporate income tax competition and transfer pricing problem remained. But here, now, this tubular approach is the very first step to a major change to the international corporate income tax structure that is hopefully now going to start to remedy the situation that we have had with the tax rates declining and profits being shifted. So, this is big in the area of taxation. And this report, really, is an excellent addition to the analysis of some of the implications of this major reform. So, I think that we can congratulate Unktat for making a very good service to the profession on providing this very meticulous comprehensive analysis. And I especially the revenue estimations that come from this granular country-by-country reporting data are especially valuable. So, some of the key findings from the report is that the other following. So, the revenue gains for developing countries could be substantial. They are not automatic. They require implementation. So, then, this additional income or tax revenue that's generated by the minimum tax either goes to the country where the owners of these multinationals are located, typically in the north, or then they go to the host country in the global south. So, clearly, I mean, making a decision on who gets this revenue is an important one. But the striking feature of this report really is that it's even more important what happens via this indirect effect of curbing profit shifting. So, that doesn't mean that countries in the global south shouldn't try to grab the revenue itself mechanically, but that's only part of the story. They could be because tax rates are going up. They could be a small negative impact on the overall investment level. But on the other hand, then the allocation impacts could be even greater and the non-haven countries are all set to gain. And as I already said, this is not far from clear because it requires implementation. This comes fast. This comes on top of the existing regulation. So, this needs attention now. Let me comment on some of the things regarding the actual pillar two before I go on to the analysis in the paper and then I conclude. So, I understand that this 15 percent is a compromise.  And there's actually an interesting analysis by Hebu and Kiin who showed that even for the low income tax, low tax country in a joint equilibrium where countries collaborate, the Pareto improving tax rate could even go beyond the 15 percent. So, the 15 percent, it's unlikely to hurt them and we could go even further. So, it would be interesting to know is this just to start and is the discussion of further increases coming up. How about then the still a lot with the large firms between the categories, let's say more than 500 million, could be perhaps lower the threshold as well. And then there are some peculiarities which I don't completely understand. So, this minimum tax affects quite a bit of the tax incentives but not all. So, those that are like transfers to firms are still allowed. And I'm a little bit uncertain. I mean, why is that lower still there? But of course, this is nothing to do with the report but this is just some commentary on the contents of the second pillar. So, there are also in implementation there are potential pitfalls. So, first of all, the tax base is not the same as the corporate book profits because the tax base is the corporate book profits minus the so-called carveout. And the carveout is an allowance for things like some payroll expenditure, etc. So, the idea is that this minimum tax would then be akin to a rent tax. Of course, I mean, if the carveout is extremely large, then there's a very narrow base. So, this is going to be crucial. I'm not certain. I mean, how the carveout will be calculated. Are there risks that firms I can manipulate so that they would be including some maybe cover taxes or some expenditures that shouldn't be there, relaping expenses. I don't know if that's a concern. And finally, something that was not mentioned in the report at all is incidents. So, the corporations actually don't pay the tax. It's either the corporate owners, their workers, or the customers who pay the tax. There's evidence from developed countries that the corporate income tax incidence is actually quite a lot on the workers. Is there a concern that these large or effective tax rates would actually harmful impact the earnings of those who work for these companies? So, this is something that was not mentioned, but something that we should be aware of. This could be something that is relevant. Very small comments on the actual analysis. I really like that and these are small nitty-gritty points. Maybe the main one is that the elsewhere in the report is discussion on how widespread these tax incentives for corporate income tax are. So, then I was surprised to see that the difference between the statutory rate and the effective rate was actually not that large. So, colleagues of mine from Univider, they did a paper on Uganda M&E's or those multinational companies that are located in Uganda. And they found strikingly that because of all tax holidays that Uganda has given, multinational companies in the country face 20 percentage points lower effective tax rate than domestic firms do. And there's anecdotal evidence that this is not a Uganda specific story. This is something that is the fact probably many other sub-Saharan African countries. So, against this backdrop I found that effective tax rates are perhaps surprisingly large or high. And then there could be more comments on the coverage of country by country reporting on which these are based. I skipped the final bullet there. So, finally let me comment on the monitoring and evaluation because we have many of here are researchers. So, first of all, because this comes so fast it would be interesting to see to know how the implementation is progressing especially whether countries are adopting this rule which and this difficult acronym is the rule for which says that then the developing country host countries would get the revenue. So, they should be adopting this rule. I don't know what the progress there is. When it comes to research and looking at how the previous policy actions that are taken to curb profit shifting via the BEPS process have actually worked in developing countries that research space is extremely thin. So, it would be very interesting now to scale up that research activities on the existing policies and I completely agree that there is a need for now increased technical assistance for developing countries to manage all this. And maybe there could be also benefits of combining research activities on some of these technical assistance because if the research teams collaborate early on with the technical capacity people we could perhaps monitor the implementation and early on take corrective action if things are not progressing as they should. So, let me end there and then I'll hand over to the other discussion. So, thank you.


What's up guys my name is Michael and welcome to my YouTube channel today we are going to go over cycle detection on hacker rank. So basically if you have a link list of 123 and then then to here in this case what our function is trying to do is we're trying to return true if we have a cycle and false if we don't. So when we mean my cycle means that when we traverse through this list we get back to a node that we already seen before. So if I've had I go to two I go to three and then three I go back to two I already seen this to therefore there's a cycle it means there's like a loop here. So you can have like multiple cycles I'd say I had like one two and two goes back to one this is a cycle because if I were to traverse through one I would go back to one and I've already seen one so that's a cycle. So basically any like loops inside your link list so if I'd like three this goes back to here this is a cycle because if I go to one two and then three three goes back to one and that's cycle. Okay so how do you do this problem simplest way is actually just to have two pointers one called fast and one slow. So let's say we have our cycle right here I'm going to have a fast pointer and a slow pointer. So this is going to be slow and then we're going to have fast right here also. So fast is just going to go twice as fast. So what's going to do is on the first iteration slow is going to go to the next node right only going by once. So this is going to be slow and then fast is going to go twice as fast so fast is going to go dot next dot next so fast is going to go here right jumps twice as fast goes originally is more here goes to here now now after that slow is going to go to the next node so slow is going to go here and fast is going to jump twice as fast so fast is going to jump goes to two and then it's going to jump again back to three so fast is going to stay where it is. So then if if our slow node is ever equal to the same node as a fast node it is basically it would have a cycle. And this always works because if you were to always traverse twice as fast sooner or later you you're going to get to the same node. If there is a cycle right if we're traversing one time down the list and the second time in the faster pointer is going twice as fast if there is a cycle it's going to meet somewhere in the middle right because we're just going we're looping backwards right if it's not if it reaches the end and it never meet met each other then that means that there was no cycle. So here's a code for it we have slow and then we have fast pointing the head while fast is not equal to null and slow is not equal to null and fast next is not equal to null because fast since fast is going twice as fast we have to check if fast next is not equal to null. Then what we're going to do is we're going to set slow is going to equal to slows next and we're going to set fast is going to equal to fast next dot next then if fast is ever equal to slow we return true otherwise when we reach the end we just return false. So yeah that's pretty much the gist of this code it's not that much difficult another way you could do is you could just hash every single pointer every node you see and see if you've seen it again. If you've seen it again then yeah then that means that there's a there's a loop yeah that's pretty much the gist of this rate comps grab I'll check you guys later peace.


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Okay, earlier I asked you whether Descartes standard of knowledge is a good standard if you think his standard of knowledge is a good standard I've also asked you What reason you have to believe? That you're not in the matrix or one of these other skeptical hypotheses Well, I Asked if that reason can stand up to certainty Doesn't look like it. I mean let's run through the list, right? We've already talked about how Your sensory information has led you to false beliefs, right that there has been some time where you used your center information and You know you believe falsely you have not been infallible in your beliefs using Sensory information you mistook somebody's voice somebody's face. You've Misheard what somebody has said you have misread something. We've seen it on the page. You've misread something. You've been fooled by optical illusions you've been You know misled about how far something how far away something is right? You've misjudged the distance of velocity of your car and hit the car in front of you There's all kinds of ways that your sensory information has led you wrong, right? You might think it's really hot outside, but you just have a fever or maybe you think it's really cold But you just have a fever you Might think that some material is silk, but it turns out to be rayon, right? There's numerous numerous ways you have made I mean you've made at least one mistake and I you've made lots of mistakes Are I giving your sensory information? Well, if so then any belief that you have from sensory input is fallible Doesn't meet Descartes standard Right so saying I see the world around me doesn't do it doesn't meet Descartes standard I know what you what about your capacity is to calculate to use inference and reason You've made mistakes You've miscalculated Some formula mathematics and it actually won't take long right your exposure to mathematics is rather minimal Compared to somebody say with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, you know give you a formula in mathematics You know how to do what this right and only in fact not only a fallible but incapable of Calculating in terms of reason and inference right you are not Competent in the rules the basic rules of logic either deductive or inductive nobody watching this video But probably very rare exception. Maybe there's a couple of people with very rare exception know what it takes to have a good Survey right pretty much everybody watching this has been fooled by some survey at some time Either because the people were trying to intentionally fully or just they just didn't know what they're doing right you put some Numbers statistic on there. Aha. That's good. Does it know it's not right? So read my professor calm I shuddered to think of how many people either did or did not sign up for this course because of read my professor calm Their standards are not good standards of statistical inference, but you don't know that you don't know the basics of that Everybody watching this has been fooled by some commercial or another although if you go back and watch these commercials You realize that they're primarily for entertainment purposes They're not there to inform you about the product yet. You've gone out and bought something because of those commercials You've made some value judgments that are mistaken, right? You've you said that's just gonna solve all my problems He trying to go for it. Boom doesn't solve your problems I imagine even some of you are regretting signing up for this course at this point like wow that I make a really bad mistake You know you've made deep mistakes in terms of logical inference and value judgments, right in short And I'm not trying to you know, I'm not trying to Pick on you guys here, but I think everybody watching this video has Been willing has been willing to admit that you've made mistakes. Nobody watching this video is infallible You've made mistakes and sensory input and judgment calls and reasoning Yeah, you've made mistakes You know, we just went through Thales and X-men and X-men is all the way through the civets the Democrat is Nobody watching this video has given a non-controversial intro to the question. What's the unity of me through all this diversity? There's always a deep problem. It's such a deep problem that it gives you pause. You think wow, maybe I don't know this after all right So now you've made deep mistakes every every human being does Every human being does Well, if you make these deep mistakes, you are not infallible and If you're not infallible, there's room for doubt no matter what you believe You know Descartes tries to dig himself out of this hole too and his account is full of errors Yeah, he doesn't want to admit it, but they're there I mean he flat-out contradicts himself was called a Cartesian circle and this is a bit kind of a big thing You Have made mistakes, you know, and if you have made mistakes, you are not infallible And if you're not infallible you can't hold your own beliefs with certainty So even if you think That you know your reason before you're like you've been deeply confident in reasons before and you've made mistakes You like oh wow, I did not see that coming. Well, you could be deeply confident in these beliefs, too But you still make mistakes So no, whatever reason you come up with doesn't meet Descartes standard because you and me and everyone else


CHAPTER XVII of THE SANTA CLAWS STORYBOOK This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Greg Giardano. THE SANTA CLAWS STORYBOOK by Unknown Hector, The Dog Man loves the dog, the dog loves man, the dog is trusty, strong and brave, and God has on the dog bestowed the power and will man's life to save, and often has the tale been told, how born a long and eager strife, while struggling hard to rescue man, the noble dog has lost his life. The little inn of Martinie had but few guests on Christmas Eve, for men at home made festive cheer and cared not household joys to leave, but near the door a traveller stood, who with his host had earnest talk, with napsackgirt and staff in hand, all ready for a mountain walk. Nay, stay to-night, the way is long, dark clouds are flitting o'er the sky, a storm is brewing, trust my word, I hear the ravens' warning cry. Come, friend, give up thy toilsome walk, and spend thy Christmas with us here. The landlord spoke with kindly voice, himself a well-trained mountaineer. Nay, press me not, the man replied, I must get home by Christmas Day. The mountain pass I know right well, its hoary peaks and boulders gray. Ten years ago I left my home, my fortune in the world to seek. It seems to me a long, long time, since last I saw these mountains bleak. I promised them, that come what might, I would be home on Christmas Day. So farewell, may God's blessing be with me along my toilsome way. In the fast-fading evening light he then pursued his lonely road, onward and upward through the snow, leaving behind him man's abode. Both him rose the snowy peaks, still glowing white against the sky, and many acrovasts deep and wide, around his path he could decry. Upward and onward, still he toiled, his heart was beating, loud and fast. He'd reached his own dear fatherland, danger and toil were well nigh passed. He longed to hear his father's voice, his mother's kiss once more to feel, and in the quiet, restful home, with them once more in prayer to kneel. He longed to spread before their gaze, the honest gains of many a year, earned with hard toil for those he loved, and guarded with a jealous care. His father with his silver hair, his mother with her kind blue eyes, his sister's little playmates once. Would he, their faces, recognize? Colder and colder blew the wind, it whistled up the mountain pass. The blinding snowstorm flew before, the ice was slippery as glass. Onward he went, but cautiously. I have not missed my way. The night grows dark, it is piercing cold. Can I hold on till dawn of day? And still he battled with the storm, that every moment fiercer grew, and stronger came the dreadful thought, that he the way no longer knew. And now his strength is ebbing fast, his head is sinking on his breast. Oh! could he in that fearful storm, but find some shelter, gain some rest! Happy for him, that at that time, alone upon the mountain side, he knew that to his father's love, his life or death he might confide. The eddying snow wreathe world around, snow hid the path, snow filled the air. He fell unconscious to the ground, the object of a father's care. Above the smooth white-sheeted snow, the convent walls rose dark and high, and bright the clear cold stars looked down, from out the windswept winter sky. The stately shadows, broad and dark, lay stretched along the mountain side, and through the narrow windows gleaned, the blazing logs of Christmas tied. It was the holy Christmas Eve, when joy in Christian homes should be, and in this lonely monastery was friendly talk and quiet glee, and truly none deserved it more than these lone men of lowly mind, who in their master's steps to tread, had left the pleasant world behind. That was a scene for painter's art, those men so calm, so free from strife, who bore upon each rugged face the impress of a noble life, nor men alone composed the group, four dogs of pure St. Bernard blood, or slept unconscious on the hearth, or by their master's proudly stood. Calm, lofty, steadfast, great and strong, a picture of the mountain's round, both dogs and master's in one tie, of kindly brotherhood, vast bound. But was their life, had selfish aim, enticed them to this lonely spot, life's toil and burden, to escape, its battlefield to enter not? Though surely not in sinful ease, a daily life of each was spent, but to fight hand in hand with death, each nerve was strained, each power bent. For here, amongst the snow and ice, the everlasting winter cold, full many a weary traveller, had died unknown since days of old, and so to seek and save the lost, these men and dogs were living here. Surely they daily risked their lives, nor ever gave way to thoughts of fear. Vespers are over in the hall, the monks are gathered round the board, to celebrate the joyful feast, with the best cheer their stores afford. The noble dogs are feasting now, fed with kind hands and loving care, for if they share their master's toils, their joys and feasts they also share. Brethren and friends, the prior said, the night grows wild, the storm gets high, the dogs are restless, some must go, if help is needed to be nigh. This night we'll sing our hymn to God, with shepherds and the angelic host, which you will praise, whilst yet you serve, and by the serving praise him most. So taking hatchets, torches, ropes, the monks and dogs together went. They make towards the mountain pass, and soon the dogs are on ascent. Smelling and sniffing through the storm, their noble heads bent to the snow, close followed by the stalwart monks, they bravely up the mountain go. Full shore, I guess, said Brother Ralph, some traveller is out to-night, and sure I am that for his life, with storm and snow, we'll have to fight. But if but once he missed the path, hard by the precipice which winds, a fearful sight will be for him, the mangled traveller that finds. But see the dogs are on the track, see how with one consent they go. They've turned the point, they're out of sight, and hark that baying down below. The monks rush on with breathless speed, all on the strain, no word they say. But as they breast the storm blasts rage, with silent earnestness they pray. They turn the point, and down below, to eager, striving dogs they see. All on a narrow ledge that hangs, projecting over the icy sea. There's one way down, but even in light, when all is calm on summer's day, while in pursuit of mountain goat, the hunter dreads that dizzy way. The brothers pause, and peering down, each grasps the other as he stands. The noble hounds will do till death, with their life-saving law commands. First one, and then the other down, that fearful steep with shuttering cry. They creep, they cringe, they bound they roll, and now on snow-slip, swiftly fly. The snow-slip takes a happy turn, and lands them on the icy sea, and sharp glad markings upwards end, the tidings of their victory. And thanks to God the storm has passed. The gentle moon gives out her light, to guide their footsteps down each step, and aid their swing from height to height. They reach at length the sea of ice, three dogs come bounding to their side. The fourth brave hector, where was he, hurled by the avalanche's slide? Anxious and eager rush the dogs, to wear a face of hopeful glow, and firm resolve, and death-like swoon, peers upward from the open snow. What dogs could do these dogs have done? Man's skill and care must do the rest, and sooner farther and could be thought their efforts would success were blessed. But other cares await them now, though sooner had they shone the man, than darting off with eager haste the hounds too farther distance ran. Later they seek, with whine and cries, scratching the appalling mound of snow, which loosened from the mountain side, had swept them with it down below. Vane work for dogs, vane work for men, thousands of tons of ice and snow, heaped up in one best funeral pile, poor hector holds entombed below. Alas, poor hector, dawn for him, though scamper's on the mountain side, were to lead men from height to height, still upward was his joy and pride. Gone the sweet smell of Pineclad Hill, the bright blue sky, the sunny slope, the torrent's roar, the eagle's cry, the foes with which he used to cope. For winter oft would send the wolf to prowl among the flocks below, and off the bear would seek the herds that shudder on their path of snow. The mighty courage filled the heart of hector, bravest of the brave, and forth he rushed, with eager haste, the trembling flocks and herds to save. But now no more his work is done, the dog has met a hero's end. With deep-felt sigh the brethren mourn, their mute companion and their friend. Then on with heavy hearts and slow they bear with toil the rescued man, mounting still upward to the height from whence their steep descent began. And slow at hanging, low their heads, as if oppressed by sense of shame, mingled with grief the noble hounds, in silence to the convent came. There watchful care attends the couch, where rests the traveller returned, and swift feet carried to his home good news of one they might have mourned. But as each Christmas tide returned, and still he toiled in life's rough way, with thankful praise he joined in thought, Hector, the dog, and Christmas day. CHAPTER XVIII. THE BLUE BIRD. As upon a time there was a king who was very rich, both in lands and money. His wife died, and for a time he was inconsolable, but after a while his grief abated, and he married again. His second wife was a widow, and she had a very ugly and disagreeable daughter named Truetone. The king also had a daughter of nearly the same age, who was so sweet and beautiful that she was considered one of the wonders of the world. Her name was Florine.  Florine, who was as mild as she was beautiful, merely tried to keep out of the reach of the malice of the queen and her daughter. One day it was announced that a visit to the court might be expected from King Charmont, the young ruler of a neighboring country. In mind and person this prince, as his name implied, was charming, and being still unmarried he was, of course an object of great interest to all marriageable princesses. It at once became the ambition of the queen to secure him as a husband for Truetone. She employed all the dressmakers, milleners and broiderers and work people of every kind to fit out her daughter, and she requested the king to give nothing to Florine. The king, who disliked argument, answered that he left her to take any measures she pleased. The queen then ordered the waiting woman to take away Florine's clothes the very day that King Charmont arrived, so that she was left with only the gown she had on, which was very much soiled. She was so ashamed of her appearance that when Charmont came she hid herself in a corner of the great hall. The queen presented her daughter to the royal visitor, who was so little impressed with her magnificence that he turned his eyes from her as soon as possible. He inquired whether there was not another princess named Florine, for reports of her beauty had reached him. There being no help for it, Florine was called forward and came blushing and looking so beautiful in her confusion that King Charmont was dazzled. He displayed his admiration so openly that the queen became furious and compelled the king, her husband, to consent that during Charmont's stay Florine should be shed up in a tower of the castle. Charmont had been too deeply mitten by Florine's charms to regard her absence with indifference, but his inquiries as to its cause received no satisfactory answer from the queen, and he remained, for some time, ignorant of her whereabouts. At last one of his attendants succeeded in finding out through one of the queen's maids where the princess was confined, and Charmont managed to get a message to her that the next night he would be at a little window that's looked out from her room upon the garden, and would have much to say to her. Unfortunately, one of those through whom the message had to be conveyed portrayed it to the queen. She immediately decided to place her own daughter at the window, believing that in the dark Charmont would not be able to distinguish her from Florine. King Charmont was the owner of a magical flying chariot, drawn by four-winged frogs which had been presented to him by a powerful enchanter who was his friend. He determined that if Florine would consent he would carry her off to his kingdom in this chariot that very night. He was promptly at the appointed window, but the night was too dark for him to discover that true atone had been put in the place of Florine, and with her consent, given in a voice counterfeiting Florine's as closely as possible, he placed her in the chariot, and they set off through the air. Desiring to be married to his beloved princess as soon as possible, he asked the supposed Florine where she would like to have the wedding take place. True atone, self-personating Florine answered that she had a godmother named Sucio, who was a celebrated fairy, and she desired to be taken to her castle. When their arrival at Sucio's castle, Charmont discovered with indignation the trick that had been played upon him. He refused absolutely to marry True atone, and Sucio, in rage, touched him with her wand, and changed him into a bluebird, which form she declared he should have to retain for seven years. Overwhelmed with grief, Charmont flew away from the castle of Sucio. He naturally sought the neighborhood of the tower where his beloved Florine was confined, and one evening, as he was perched upon a lofty cypress which stood near, he heard her at her window complaining bitterly of her separation from the one she loved so dearly. He flew to the window, and Florine, pleased with the tamedness of the bird, took him in her hands and caressed him. When to her astonishment he began to speak to her, for the king's transformation had not deprived him of the power of speech. He told her who he was, and all that had happened, and Florine felt so happy in the presence of her lover, even in this form, that she no longer remembered the miseries of her prison. Day dawned before they parted, after agreeing that they would meet every night in the same manner. During the next day Charmont flew to his palace, and getting in, secured a magnificent pair of diamond earrings which he presented that evening to Florine, and for many days following he continued to make visits to the palace to obtain other gifts for his princess. Two years passed thus without Florine's once complaining of her captivity. Her resignation at last excited suspicion in the mind of the queen, and she determined to watch Florine closely. One night she listened at her door, and hearing voices within burst the door open and entered. Florine wore the jewels which Charmont had presented to her, and the queen's astonishment at the magnificence of these adornments fortunately prevented her from noticing the bluebird. She demanded savagely to know how Florine had obtained such jewels, but Florine refused to tell, and the queen retired greatly mystified. She was determined, however, to have her curiosity about the matter satisfied, so she sent a young girl to sleep in Florine's apartment, under pretense of waiting upon her, but really to spy upon her. The princess saw the snare, and for a time ceased to open her window to the bluebird, but at last one night the spy appeared to be overcome with drowsiness, and Florine, thinking that she was asleep, opened her little window and gave what had been her customary signal to the bluebird by singing, Bird as blue as cloudless sky hither hither quickly fly. The bird heard her, and was at the window in an instant. Such joy once more to behold each other, but alas the spy's sleep was only pretend, and she heard every word of the tender conversation of the lovers. The next morning she reported all to the queen in true atone. They of course knew at once that the bluebird was none other than King Charmont, and great was their rage. What in affront! cried the queen. This insolent creature whom I fancied to be so wretched was all this time quietly enjoying the most agreeable conversation with that ungrateful king. Oh, I will have a revenge so terrible that it shall be the talk of the world. Florine was alone the next evening, for the spy's presence was no longer thought to be needed, and she sang again her call to the bluebird. But she sang in vain, for the wicked queen had caused sharp edged knives to be placed in all the trees near the tower, so that when the bluebird flew among the branches, these weapons cut him frightfully. He managed with great difficulty to fly into the forest, leaving a track of blood behind him. His wounds were so grievous that he would certainly have died had not his friend the enchanter, who has been mentioned before, fortunately been passing through the forest and seen him. This enchanter's skill and magic was so great that it cost him but a few words to stop the flow of blood until the wounds of Charmont. Then the king told him of all his misfortunes. The enchanter, not having the power to undo the spell which Sucio had laid upon the king, decided to see her and propose some arrangement under which she would restore him to his own form, for there was danger that if he continued as a bluebird, his subjects might place someone else on the throne. Sucio received the enchanter politely, but the only concession she would make was to allow the king to resume his rightful shape for a short period, during which Truetone was to reside at his palace, and he was to consider whether he would marry her or not. If he persisted in refusing, he would become a bird again. This was agreed to, and a touch of Sucio's wand restored his own form to Charmont. He returned to his kingdom, but the idea of marrying Truetone grew no more agreeable to him, and his mind was less occupied with his government than with devising means to prolong the period which Sucio had agreed should elapse previous to this hateful union. But in the meantime shortly after Truetone's departure to Charmont's kingdom, a great change took place in Florine's fortunes. The king, her father, died, and the queen was so hated by the people that they rose in rebellion against her, broke into the palace, and stoned her to death. They then placed Florine on the throne. Florine's love for King Charmont had not grown less during their long separation, although she was ignorant as to what had interrupted his visits so suddenly, and could not feel sure that he had not willfully deserted her. As soon as the affairs of the kingdom had become settled, she named a council to govern it during her absence, and set out in search of the bluebird, going disguised as a poor peasant girl. One day as she set by a spring resting, a little old woman stopped to question her, and Florine told her all her troubles. Then the little old woman suddenly changed her appearance and became a most beautiful fairy. She smiled and said, Dear Florine, my sister Sousio has restored the king to his own form, and he is now in his kingdom where you must seek him. Here are three magical eggs. Break one whenever you need assistance. After saying this she disappeared. Florine was too fatigued to walk any further, and she determined to test the virtue of the eggs by breaking one immediately. Out of it came two pigeons attached to a car. She sat herself in this, and was at once transported to the capital city of Charmont's kingdom. The first news she heard upon her arrival there was that the king was soon to be married to Truetone. Florine felt as if she would die with grief at what she supposed was the perfidy of the king. She longed for a chance to appeal to him, hoping that she could still win him back, but could think of no means to gain his ear. In this emergency she resorted to her magic eggs, and broke the second of them. Out of it there came a most exquisite little coach, drawn by six green mice and driven by a rose-colored rat, while the footmen were two mice of a light violet color. In the coach sat four of the daintiest little puppets ever seen. Florine was enraptured with this marvel, and the way to make use of it at once suggested itself to her mind, no doubt by the fairies' inspiration. She presented herself in her peasant's garb before Truetone, giving the name of me, Swelin, and saying she had come to sell the future queen something very wonderful. Then she displayed the coach. Truetone showed at once that she was captivated by this novelty, and at the same time betrayed her mean disposition by offering for it a very small sum, which Florine refused. Truetone then imperiously said, without offending me further by thy filthy presence, tell me your price. You would find it difficult to pay, madam, said Florine, were I to ask its real value, so I will propose a different sort of bargain. If you will obtain permission for me to sleep one night in the cabinet of echoes, I will present you with this wonder.  Now the cabinet of echoes was a chamber which the king had once described to Florine as being one of the wonders of his palace. It was situated beneath his apartments, and was so constructed that the faintest whisper uttered in it could be heard by the king in his bedchamber. To this place, as soon as night fell, Florine was conducted. She spent the night in making the most piteous complaints addressed to the king. But he heard nothing. For having been unable to sleep soundly since he had been separated from Florine, he was in the habit of taking a dose of opium when he went to bed. Florine passed the greater part of the next day in extreme anxiety. If he heard me, thought she, there never yet was such cruel indifference. If he did not hear me, how shall I make him do so? There was but one egg left to give her further assistance. He broke it, and found in it a pie composed of six birds which were larded, dressed, and quite ready for eating, yet which sang admirably, told fortunes, and were as learned as college professors. Florine carried this marvellous pie to Truetone's antechamber. While waiting to be admitted to her presence, one of the king's valets came up to her and said, Me, Suelen, are you aware that if the king did not take opium you would disturb him dreadfully, for you chatter all night long in the most extraordinary manner? Florine was no longer surprised that the king had not hurt her. She had taken a purse of gold with her when she had left her kingdom, and she now produced all that she had left of it, and said, I sell little fear disturbing the king's sleep that if you will prevent his taking opium tonight, this gold shall be yours. The valet consented, and gave his word in the matter. The wonderful pie pleased Truetone as greatly as the coach had done, and Florine had no difficulty in getting permission to pass another night in the Cabinet of Echoes as its price. As soon as the night came, she was conducted there, ardently hoping that the king's valet would keep his word. And he did so. Florine had uttered but a few words ere the king recognized her voice. Scarcely daring to trust his senses he hastened by a back staircase to the Cabinet of Echoes. There he found Florine arranged in a robe of light silk which she wore under her coarse disguise. The moment he saw her, Charmont flung himself at her feet, bathed her hands with his tears, and felt ready to die with minkled joy, grief, and the multitude of different thoughts that rushed at once into his mind. He and Florine soon mutually explained and justified themselves to each other. Their affection was redoubled, and all that embarrassed them was the fairy Sucio. But at this moment the enchanter who was so fond of the king arrived with the famous fairy, who was none other than she who gave the three eggs to Florine. The enchanter and the fairy declared that their power being united in favor of the king and Florine, Sucio could do nothing against them, and that their marriage, consequently, might take place without delay. As soon as it was day, the news spread throughout the palace, and everybody was delighted to see Florine. The tidings reached true atone, and she ran to the king's apartment. The moment she opened her mouth to abuse Florine, the enchanter and the fairy transformed her into a pig. She ran out of the room grunting, and then into the kitchen courtyard where the peels of laughter with which she was greeted completed her despair. King Charmont and Queen Florine, delivered from so odious an enemy, now thought only of the wedding fate, the taste and magnificence of which were equally conspicuous. It is easy to conceive how great was their happiness after passing through such prolonged misfortunes. End of Chapter 18. Chapter 19 of The Santa Claus Storybook. This is a LibriVox recording. While LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Betty B. The Santa Claus Storybook by Unknown. Dame Trot and her comical cat. Dame Trot was out walking one very fine day, and close by her side went her nimble dog Trey. When all of a sudden she heard such a sound of somebody crying, she had to look round. And what do you think she beheld, the good soul?  As if it said, please let me go home with you. Dame Trot took the kitten up close in her arms and stroked it and quieted down its alarms. And soon it was purring quite happy enough. And the dame said, why puss, you're as good as a muff. So muff was the name that she gave to the cat, for she found it would readily answer to that. And when it lay curled on the floor in a fluff, it really and truly looked just like a muff.  Now Trey was as jealous as jealous could be, for the pet of the household he wanted to be. And he growled at Miss Muff when she wanted to play, and said very plainly, keep out of my way. But puss was forgiving and kind, it is true, nor wanted to fight as so many cats do. So she humped up her back like a camel, and went to her place on the rug where she slept quite content. Dame Trot fed her cat on the nicest of milk, till its fine suit of fur was as glossy as silk. And pussie was grateful, so neat and so nice. She soon rid the house of the rats and the mice. One morning Dame Trot went off early to town to buy her some tea and a calico gown, and she said as she parted from Muff and from Trey, now be very good children while I am away. The dog said bow-wow, and the cat said mew-mew, just as if every word that was spoken they knew. And Dame Trot went away with a smile on her face, quite sure that no robbers would enter her place.  She lifted her hands and exclaimed with surprise, for there on the floor, each as light as a feather, the cat and the dog she saw dancing together. Now kittens and children said worthy Dame Trot should always improve in their manners, why not? And that Trey and Miss Muff might learn all they were able, they each had a chair at their mistress's table. Muff daintily ate from a nice china dish and helped herself freely to oysters and fish, and out of a saucer of milk drank her fill and was careful indeed lest a drop she should spill. One day when the ground was all covered with snow, Puss begged to go out, but the Dame said, no, no, you'll get your feet wet and then sick you will be, and have to drink gallons of strong catnip tea.  How Pussy did frolic and flourish around in the snow that was not very deep on the ground, now sliding off here and then capering there and tossing the white flakes up high in the air. Then over and over she rolled with delight till her coat was all spotted with patches of white and played in this way till beginning to tire she was glad to come back to her place by the fire. Now Puss had a doll that Dame Trot bought to please her and gave it the beautiful name of Louisa and when Kitty was lonesome or wanted to play she'd cry for Lulu in a comical way. The dolly was petted, was kissed in caress, though often quite roughly it must be confessed she took her catnaps with the doll in her arms. Sometimes Master Tray would growl underneath his breath and get angry and show his white teeth and all because Pussy so graceful and slim had played with her doll took no notice of him and once I remember oh sad was the day the cat answered back in an impudent way and Tray was so jealous the two had a fight and between them the doll was a terrible fright. In a closet the catnip was kept on a shelf and Puss though quite handy it had helping herself had been taught by Dame Trot better manners than that and was really a very remarkable cat for when she was ill as was sometimes the case she'd go to Dame Trot and look up in her face then run to the closet and scratch on the door till some of the catnip was thrown on the floor. Dame Trot made a nice little dress for the cat all covered with ribbons and lace and all that and a Normandy cap with a crown and a puff that was very becoming indeed to Miss Muff and when she was stressed she would sit in a chair and look all around with a lady like air through a pair of large spectacles over her nose and she cut a fine figure as you may suppose. Dame Trot was well known and her cat had great fame and children to visit them frequently came for though in their houses they had play things enough they were much more amused by the antics of Muff she was better than any fine doll they possessed when in the long clothes like a babe she was dressed and in the doll's carriage they took her to drive delighted to know that the child was alive sometimes they would get up a circus and play for hours at a time with the cat and dog Tray and such comical tricks with these animals do that the children all laughed in the grown people too this would jump through a ring with astonishing grace or ride on Trace back at a runaway pace or swing in the air from a rope they let down while Tray was performing the part of a clown but Dame Trot was not willing her dog or her cat should day after day be so foolish as that where children and animals need to be taught that others grow weary of seeing them sport so she bought them some books and she taught them to spell and really and truly they did very well or soon they found out after many a spat DOG spelt dog and CAT spelt cat muff learned in good season to make up her bed and was clever at baking both biscuits and bread she could sweep she could dust and take care of her room as if all her life she'd been used to a broom but puss had one fault she was fond of fine clothes and as poorly dressed people she would turn up her nose and she studied the fashions and styles of the day and thought of them often her dreams I dare say so one day when Dame Trot had gone out for a walk with her friends and her neighbors to have a good talk was dressed herself up in her best hat and feather and she and dog Tray left the cottage together they'm trying coming home from her visit that day as the weather was fine took around about way and turning a corner she nearly fell flat with surprise at beholding her dog and her cat where Tray was the pony and there on his back set pretty miss muff in her fine suit of black and the dame with her laughter so long and so loud in a very few minutes attracted a crowd you're a very great lady miss pussy said she and puss gave a simpering giggle to he or it sounded like that for it never would do for one in such grandeur to utter amue portray was uneasy and restless the while for he wasn't much giving to putting on style and although pretty pussy he could but admire to welcome his mistress was now his desire so he sprang to the side of dame trot with a leap and down with the pussycat all in a heap and her flounces and feathers were dragged and torn you near saw creatures so crushed and forlorn dear puss a dame trot is the love of fine clothes that brings on good people one half of their woes and sooner or later you're certain to find that pride has a fall of the very worst kind you're a beautiful cat and I'm free to confess you please me the most in your natural dress and puss looking just as if ready to speak raised a velvety paw and then stroke the dame's cheek dame trot held the kitten a while in her lap where it had an exceedingly comforting nap and giving this pussy another good hug she settled her down on the cushion so snug I'm tired and sleepy the good woman said and his time I am sure that we all went to bed so good night said dame trot bow wow said dog tray you muse said the cat and they slept till next day end of chapter 19 chapter 20 of the Santa Claus storybook this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by iPhone the Santa Claus storybook by unknown Bluebeard a long time ago there lived a man who was very rich he owned fast tracts of fertile land and dwelt in a splendid castle which contained everything beautiful and luxurious that money could buy he had a multitude of servants and his horses and carriages were fine and numerous enough for a king but although this man was blessed with so much wealth he was so ill looking that he was an object of fear and dread to the people among whom he lived his face was stern and forbidding his eyes deep set and fears looking and these with his remarkable beard of a dark blue color made the people far and near dislike him and call him old Bluebeard not many miles from Bluebird's castle there lived a lady who had two very beautiful daughters the reports of the beauty of these two sisters reached Bluebeard and he heard of them so often that he began to take a great interest in the two young ladies until at last he made up his mind to visit their mother and ask one of them in marriage he was politely received by their mother and made his proposal they were both so lovely he said that he would be happy to get either for his wife and would therefore leave it for her and her daughters to choose which it should be but both miss Anne and her sister Fatima when their mother told him the object of Bluebeard's visit declared they would never marry an ugly man nor above all one with such a frightful Bluebeard besides it was talked over the country that Bluebeard had already married several very beautiful ladies and yet nobody could tell what had become of them not to be rude however they told her mother to say that they had no desire to change their lot and if they had neither would think of depriving the other of so good a match when their mother delivered this answer to Bluebeard he sighed deeply and went away feigning to feel very sad but as their mother was on his side he did not give up all hope knowing the attraction that fine houses fine furniture and fine dinners have for ladies in general Bluebeard invited the mother her two daughters and two or three other ladies who are visiting them to spend a day or two at his castle and they accepted his invitation Bluebeard entertained his guests in such princely style that a time glided by very pleasantly till a week had passed kindness and politeness even when shown by a very ugly person seldom failed to please and it was therefore no wonder that Fatima the youngest of the two sisters began to think Bluebeard a very well-bred kind and civil gentleman and that the beard which she and her sister had been so much afraid of was not so blue after all in fact so completely had Bluebeard's polite attentions removed her previous dislike for him that shortly after her return home she told her mother that she would now be willing to accept him as her husband her mother immediately sent word to Bluebeard of the change in her daughter's feelings he lost no time in paying a visit to the family and in a few days was privately married to Fatima he took his bride home at once to his castle and her sister and went with her a month was given up to festivity in honor of the marriage and the time passed away like a dream at the end of it Bluebeard told his wife that he was obliged to leave her for a few weeks as he had some affairs to attend to in a distant part of the country but my dear Fatima said he you can enjoy yourself in my absence in any way that you please you can give dinners and invite your friends to visit you for you are the sole mistress in this castle here are the keys of the two large wardrobes this is the key of the great box which contains the best plate this of my strongbox where I keep my money and this belongs to the casket where I keep my jewels here is a master key to all the rooms in the house but this small key belongs to the blue closet at the end of the long hall on the ground floor I give you leave he continued to open or do what you like with all of the castle except this closet but this my dear you must not enter nor even put the key into its lock now do not forget for if you fail to obey me you must expect the most dreadful punishment Fatima promised not to forget and Bluebeard after kissing her in a tender manner stepped into his coach and was driven away as soon as he was gone Fatima sent word to her friends to come without delay and make her a visit she also sent a note to her two brothers both officers in the army asking them to obtain a leave of absence and spend a few days with her her brothers wrote to her that they would arrive the next day so eager however where her other friends to see the riches of Bluebeard that they all came within two hours they went from room to room showing fresh wonder and admiration at every new object they beheld during the day Fatima was so busy that she never once thought of the blue closet but when all the guests were gone she felt a great desire to know what it contained she took out the key and went down the stairs that led to it on reaching the door she stopped and began to reason with herself and her heart failed her for she knew she was not doing right but her desire to know about the closet grew stronger each moment and at last she put the key into the lock and opened the door she walked into the closet a few steps and there's a horrible sight she was in the midst of blood and hanging around the walls where the bodies of the former wives of Bluebeard who may have slain Fatima trembled like a leaf and the key slipped from her fingers and fell on the floor it was some moments before she could recover strength enough to pick it up and fly from the place after locking the door observing the key to be stained with blood she tried to wipe it off but the blood would not come out in vain did she try washing and scouring the blood still remained for the key was a magic one the gift of a fairy to Bluebeard early next day Bluebeard suddenly arrived home saying he had received news which made his intended journey unnecessary he asked Fatima for his keys and she gave them to him all except the one to the blue closet he looked him over and then said how is it that the key of the blue closet is not here I must have left it in my room says she bring it to me at once then said Bluebeard the poor wife feeling that the end was near at hand went and got the key and brought it to her husband he looked at it a moment and then burst into a terrible rage pray madam said he how came this blood to be here I'm sure I do not know said Fatima turning very pale you do not know said Bluebeard in a voice like thunder I know full well you have been in the blue closet and since you are so fond of crying into secrets you shall take up your abode with the ladies you saw there almost dead with terror Fatima sank upon her knees and entreated him in the most piteous manner to forgive her but to cruel Bluebeard death to her cries drew his sword and batter prepare for death at once she begged that he would at least allow her a short time to pray I will give you half an hour said Bluebeard in a harsh voice and no more then he left the room as soon as he left her Fatima ran to her sister and told her as well she could for her sobs that she had but half an hour to live and asked her to go to the top of the tower and see if there were no signs of their brothers coming her sister did so and the poor trembling girl below cried out from time to time sister Anne my dear sister Anne do you see anyone coming yet her sister always replied no I see no one I see not but the Sun which makes a dust and the grass which is green at last they heard the angry voice of Bluebeard who cried out are you ready that time is up Fatima begged for five minutes more which he knowing she was holy at his mercy granted Fatima then called again to her sister sister and do you see anyone coming yet her sister replied as before I see nothing but the Sun which makes a dust and the grass which is green quickly the five minutes sped away and then the voice of Bluebeard was heard calling are you ready yet again she piteously begged for a brief delay only two minutes longer then she called and sister Anne do you not see someone now I see set her sister a cloud of dust on the left hand side of the road not far off do you think it is our brothers said the wife alas no dear sister said and as the cloud of dust turn here it is only a flock of sheep once more Bluebeard's terrible voice was heard and the poor wife begged again for a minute's delay then she called out for the last time sister Anne do you see anyone coming yet her sister quickly answered I see two men on horseback but they are still a great way off think heaven cried Fatima it must be your brothers make every signal in your power dear sister for them to lose no time even as she spoke Bluebeard was hurt pounding at the door and in his fury he burst it open and aimed to blow at the wretched girl as she knelt on the floor but she's brang forward close to him and the blow passed over her head wild at being thus foiled in his aim the furious man seized her by the hair and was about to strike the fatal blow when a loud noise as of persons coming with hasty strides caused him to stop and listen almost at the same moment the door flew open and two officers with drawn swords rushed into the room struck with terror Bluebeard turned to fly but he had gone only a few paces before Fatima's brothers for it was day had both plunged their swords into his body and he fell down Fatima had fallen into a faint at the time Bluebeard seized her by the hair and she lay so pale and lifeless that one would have thought that she was dead too but she recovered her senses and then she could scarcely believe that she was safe and that her cruel husband had met the death he so richly merited but dare he lay stark and cold and by her side where a sister Anne and her dear brothers whose coming had saved her from a horrible death as Bluebeard had no relations Fatima was so heir to the whole of his fast wealth and mistress of the castle she sent notices to all the families living near the castle telling them of the death of Bluebeard and laid open the proofs of his cruelty for two days to all who chose to view them though Doss made the owner of riches almost without limit Fatima used him with such good judgment that she gained the love of everyone who knew her she gave each of her brothers a fine castle with money enough to enable him to live in comfort and to her sister who was married shortly afterward she gave a large dowry she herself became in due time the wife of a young nobleman whose kind treatment soon made her forget Bluebeard's cruelty end of chapter 20 recording by phone end of the center class storybook by a known