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ysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the July 1, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by janetmiles. It also fills the "close-knit community" square in my 7-1-25 card for the Western Bingo fest. It belongs to the series Frankenstein's Family; it follows "Signs of Their Trespass," so read that first or this won't make much sense.
"Incompetence, Sloppy Thinking, and Laziness"
After the reprehensible incident
with trespassing and poaching
that had led to Janika's injury,
Victor had dispensed justice
upon the five perpetrators.
Four of them -- Laurentiu,
Veaceslav, Iancu, and Ilie --
were commoners, but the leader
was Ghenadie Grosu, the son of
the mazil in the next valley east.
Victor had taken the heir's signet
as part of the penalty for trespassing,
but allowed that his father could
ransom it back if he wished.
Lord Grosu had, of course,
tried to get it back for free.
Victor had insisted on
not only a fee in coin
which had gone toward,
the upkeep of the valley,
but also a season of labor
from Ghenadie as ransom.
Now Victor had to deal with
the consequences of that choice.
For the first day, Ghenadie had been
assigned to the villagers at large,
to help them with their chores.
The women had mostly set him
to sweeping or fetching things,
while the men had tried him
at their various professions.
"He is completely useless,"
said Anne the baker's wife.
"He can't even use a broom!"
Dénes the brewer nodded.
"I just had him sorting fruit,
to pull out the spoiled ones
to give the pigs, but he
couldn't even do that."
"I put Ghenadie to work
keeping the water troughs
full, but he spilled more of it
than he actually got into them,"
grumbled Imre the blacksmith.
"Anca is more use to me."
"My son Július is the same
with butchering," said Reznik.
"All I had Ghenadie doing was
wiping the work tables, but he
whined the smell made him sick."
Zolten Ervin, the chandler, just
shook his head. "I was packing
small candles for sale, tying them
in bundles of a dozen. He said
he didn't know what do with them.
Who doesn't understand candles?
How else would you light a room?"
Lóránt the woodcutter had flatly refused
to have anything to do with Ghenadie,
claiming that the sullen behavior
would upset his assistant Clyde.
"Mmm," said Victor. "I imagine
that Ghenadie is used to having
other people do everything for him.
"Of course I do, I'm a noble, not
a peasant!" Ghenadie snapped.
"And what do you have to say
for yourself?" Victor asked him.
"You were meant to work here
as your part of the ransom for
returning the heir's signet ring."
"A ring that you stole from me,"
said Ghenadie. "Besides, I don't
know how to do any of those things."
Oh, Victor had heard that one before,
and he had absolutely no patience for it.
In particular, he couldn't risk that kind
of misbehavior spreading around
the close-knit community of the village.
"I have little tolerance for incompetence,
sloppy thinking, and laziness," said Victor.
"Your labor was part of the bargain."
"The problem with incompetence lies
in its inability to recognize itself,"
said Igor. "Fools tend to be blind."
"Indeed," said Victor. "Fortunately,
I have a plan to handle this nonsense."
He turned to Dénes. "You will teach
Ghenadie how to distinguish between
ripe and spoiled fruit," Victor declared.
"Imre, show him how to haul water
and work the bellows in the forge."
"Yes, mazil," said Dénes and Imre.
"Reznik, you will teach Ghenadie
how to clean surfaces used for
preparing meat," said Victor.
"Zolten, check that he knows
his numbers, then introduce
him to the counting of candles."
"And if Ghenadie doesn't know
his numbers?" Zolten asked.
"Then we'll have Răzvan
teach him that," said Victor.
"But I can't do all that work,"
Ghenadie complained.
"Why not?" asked Victor.
"Are you feeble in mind
or in body somehow?"
He picked up one of
Ghenadie's hands and
noted the pink spots on
the palm and fingers.
Next he squeezed
a shoulder and found
little muscle there.
"Ghenadie is soft,"
Victor said. "He will
need gloves to do
most work, and also
someone to help him
learn his body's limits."
Imre nodded. "I've got
gloves to spare," he said.
"I can teach him limits, too;
you've got to be careful of
that around the forge heat."
"What if I can't learn it?"
said Ghenadie. "I'm not
meant to labor like that,
I'm not a commoner!"
Victor showed his teeth
and said, "In that case,
you'll stay here until you
do learn, even if it takes
longer than three months."
* * *
Notes:
"I have little tolerance for incompetence, sloppy thinking, and laziness."
-- Michael E. DeBakey
"The problem with incompetence is its inability to recognize itself."
-- Orrin Woodward
"Signs of Their Trespass" 9-6-20
Summary: Victor and the werewolves deal with poachers.
janetmiles. It also fills the "close-knit community" square in my 7-1-25 card for the Western Bingo fest. It belongs to the series Frankenstein's Family; it follows "Signs of Their Trespass," so read that first or this won't make much sense."Incompetence, Sloppy Thinking, and Laziness"
After the reprehensible incident
with trespassing and poaching
that had led to Janika's injury,
Victor had dispensed justice
upon the five perpetrators.
Four of them -- Laurentiu,
Veaceslav, Iancu, and Ilie --
were commoners, but the leader
was Ghenadie Grosu, the son of
the mazil in the next valley east.
Victor had taken the heir's signet
as part of the penalty for trespassing,
but allowed that his father could
ransom it back if he wished.
Lord Grosu had, of course,
tried to get it back for free.
Victor had insisted on
not only a fee in coin
which had gone toward,
the upkeep of the valley,
but also a season of labor
from Ghenadie as ransom.
Now Victor had to deal with
the consequences of that choice.
For the first day, Ghenadie had been
assigned to the villagers at large,
to help them with their chores.
The women had mostly set him
to sweeping or fetching things,
while the men had tried him
at their various professions.
"He is completely useless,"
said Anne the baker's wife.
"He can't even use a broom!"
Dénes the brewer nodded.
"I just had him sorting fruit,
to pull out the spoiled ones
to give the pigs, but he
couldn't even do that."
"I put Ghenadie to work
keeping the water troughs
full, but he spilled more of it
than he actually got into them,"
grumbled Imre the blacksmith.
"Anca is more use to me."
"My son Július is the same
with butchering," said Reznik.
"All I had Ghenadie doing was
wiping the work tables, but he
whined the smell made him sick."
Zolten Ervin, the chandler, just
shook his head. "I was packing
small candles for sale, tying them
in bundles of a dozen. He said
he didn't know what do with them.
Who doesn't understand candles?
How else would you light a room?"
Lóránt the woodcutter had flatly refused
to have anything to do with Ghenadie,
claiming that the sullen behavior
would upset his assistant Clyde.
"Mmm," said Victor. "I imagine
that Ghenadie is used to having
other people do everything for him.
"Of course I do, I'm a noble, not
a peasant!" Ghenadie snapped.
"And what do you have to say
for yourself?" Victor asked him.
"You were meant to work here
as your part of the ransom for
returning the heir's signet ring."
"A ring that you stole from me,"
said Ghenadie. "Besides, I don't
know how to do any of those things."
Oh, Victor had heard that one before,
and he had absolutely no patience for it.
In particular, he couldn't risk that kind
of misbehavior spreading around
the close-knit community of the village.
"I have little tolerance for incompetence,
sloppy thinking, and laziness," said Victor.
"Your labor was part of the bargain."
"The problem with incompetence lies
in its inability to recognize itself,"
said Igor. "Fools tend to be blind."
"Indeed," said Victor. "Fortunately,
I have a plan to handle this nonsense."
He turned to Dénes. "You will teach
Ghenadie how to distinguish between
ripe and spoiled fruit," Victor declared.
"Imre, show him how to haul water
and work the bellows in the forge."
"Yes, mazil," said Dénes and Imre.
"Reznik, you will teach Ghenadie
how to clean surfaces used for
preparing meat," said Victor.
"Zolten, check that he knows
his numbers, then introduce
him to the counting of candles."
"And if Ghenadie doesn't know
his numbers?" Zolten asked.
"Then we'll have Răzvan
teach him that," said Victor.
"But I can't do all that work,"
Ghenadie complained.
"Why not?" asked Victor.
"Are you feeble in mind
or in body somehow?"
He picked up one of
Ghenadie's hands and
noted the pink spots on
the palm and fingers.
Next he squeezed
a shoulder and found
little muscle there.
"Ghenadie is soft,"
Victor said. "He will
need gloves to do
most work, and also
someone to help him
learn his body's limits."
Imre nodded. "I've got
gloves to spare," he said.
"I can teach him limits, too;
you've got to be careful of
that around the forge heat."
"What if I can't learn it?"
said Ghenadie. "I'm not
meant to labor like that,
I'm not a commoner!"
Victor showed his teeth
and said, "In that case,
you'll stay here until you
do learn, even if it takes
longer than three months."
* * *
Notes:
"I have little tolerance for incompetence, sloppy thinking, and laziness."
-- Michael E. DeBakey
"The problem with incompetence is its inability to recognize itself."
-- Orrin Woodward
"Signs of Their Trespass" 9-6-20
Summary: Victor and the werewolves deal with poachers.
