The true secret in being a hero

[marycatelli]

The true secret in being a hero lies in knowing the order of things.The swineherd cannot already be wed to the princess when he embarks on his adventures, nor can the boy knock on the witch's door when she is already away on vacation. The wicked uncle cannot be found out and foiled before he does something wicked. Things must happen when it is time for them to happen. Quests may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit; unicorns may go unrescued for a very long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.

Peter S. Beagle

Comments

[mythusmage.livejournal.com]

The trick to being a hero is to be in the right place at the right time with the right skills, and no way of ducking out.

[marycatelli]

sure that's not the wrong place at the wrong time with the right skills?

"Accident, n.: A condition in which presence of mind is good, but absence of body is better."