Is Britain a Meritocratic Society

Is Britain a Meritocratic Society It was determined by history that people need a belief based upon which they would build their present and future. Here is where the need for formulating various concepts of society derives from. One of the popular approaches to defining society is that of the meritocratic society.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Is Britain a Meritocratic Society? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More First coined by Michael Young in his 1958 book named The Rise of Meritocracy, this conception is a combination of merit and aristocracy. Merit, broadly speaking, is a prominent value distinguishing one between the others and a will and hard work to use them as a tool for achieving success in life, and aristocracy is the upper class of the society who are the most privileged. In general, meritocracy is an aristocracy based on merit and ignoring kinship1. That said, meritocracy or a meritocratic society is a type of society in which those who have talents and extraordinary intellectual abilities and skills will achieve success in life and, what is more, reach the leading and ruling positions in their community regardless of their family ties and background2. According to the postulates of this approach to defining society, those who are the brightest and the most hard-working and persistent will occupy the highest positions in the society whether it be ruling a little group of people, an organization or a whole country. Generally speaking, meritocracy is: A principle of allocation of people to positions in the socio-economic hierarchy, typically jobs. †¦ The theory is that meritocracy offers a ‘ladder of opportunity’, on which everyone has an equal chance to climb as far as their ‘merit’ permits.3 Meritocratic society operates based on several principles, as initially defined by Michael Young in his book. First of all, meritocracy requires administrative tool controlling the redistribution of human talent. That means that there should be specially authorised organization testing people’s unique abilities and skills before they occupy their positions in the society. Generally speaking, it means that there should be a special network of examinations and that certain position requires a certain set of skills, so prior to entering it, the potential occupant should be tested for having such skills. Second, the skills mentioned above should be fixed and unchangeable.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It does not mean that they remain the same over centuries; instead, they change once in a while so that they correspond to the needs of certain historical epoch but what remains unchangeable is the high level of knowledge and talent required for taking up higher appointments. Third, there is no place for competition in a perfect meritocracy. This principle ma y sound a little weird if thinking about the very essence of the meritocratic approach but it is believed that administrative procedures have no defects thus eradicating competition as such. It may be explained by the fact that people are redistributed according to their abilities and talents so that they believe that they are exactly where they deserve to be thus there is no need to compete with others and prove that they are better than others4. Such a conception of society is a source of particular problems. First and foremost, meritocracy as such leads to socio-economic inequality in the society. From the theoretical perspective, it is viewed as the path towards equal opportunities but the practice has proven that society cannot operate when based on merit. Instead, family ties and the background, not intellectual abilities or unique skills, are the criteria for determining chances for success. It may be easily explained by one simple fact – those who have already occupie d high positions in the society do not want their children to hold lower ones thus blocking access to the talented people without the similar background5. The second challenge is the problem of defining the merit as such. As the times have changed, one new element was added to the concept of merit. It is that of kinship as it was already mentioned above. That said, as long as society values prestige and family ties instead of creative and intellectual potential, it cannot function and develop as a meritocracy in its traditional sense. The third problem of such a conception of the society is that living in the meritocratic conditions people are taught that inequality is justifiable. The reason for this belief lies in the definition of merit as such6. As long as people believe that they do not have the opportunity to obtain certain positions without certain skills or talents and that they deserve to be exactly where they are, they do not have the desire to change this reality, self-ev olve, and reach new horizons. Many may believe that meritocracies are as dead as Julius Caesar but, in fact, they are not the tales of the past. Nowadays most developed societies consider themselves to be meritocratic, as they believe that there are equal opportunities to succeed in life for everyone who has talent and works hard.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Is Britain a Meritocratic Society? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Moreover, they claim that the harder you work, the higher you get, and, of course, your talent and intellectual and creative potential are the only things that limit you in climbing the ladder. Together with that, people in the developed societies stress that they totally ignore the person’s background and family ties if he or she demonstrates yearning to succeed in life and has unique skills. Britain in this sense is not an exception, and it is a meritocratic society. In general, mos t people stick to a concept of merit. What is more, today, it almost does not matter what class you come from or what your ethnic background is because if you are talented and persistent, the possibility of achieving success is high. More than that, you are most likely to achieve the position your skills allow you to, so everyone in the society occupies exactly the right place. What is more prominent is that there have been many positive shifts in the movement towards perfect meritocratic society such as elevating a barrier of class. That means that birth in a working-class family, for example, does not preclude a talented person from gaining higher education and becoming a citizen of high-status. Regardless of the positive developments mentioned above class still matters in the overall setting of one’s life. It originates from the parents’ love and their desire to help their children find the best possible place in life not from stressing that class is a barrier to in tellectual and creative development. That said, parents might want to let their kids attend the most prestigious schools they can afford thus granting them certain merits in life7 as education has become one of them. What is more, they may help their children occupy particular positions thus inverting the natural course of meritocracy. Parents’ interference with their children’s lives is what is one of the main preclusions to perfect meritocracy. It should be said, however, that this statement is only fair in the case of high-status families, especially those occupying the highest ruling positions in the society. In most cases today, those who hold them cannot make a boast of their social status as they have it due to their background. It does not mean that they do not have any merits at all; it only means that, in the case they had not had the status of their family, they would not have been where they currently are since their skills and talents do not correspond to it. That said, the desire of the parents especially those who are involved in politics and ruling the country to prevent their children from falling is what keeps British society from achieving a state of perfect meritocracy.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Together with that, universal access to education including school and higher education is what is often viewed as a preclusion to build a perfect meritocratic society in its traditional sense. There is a point of view that the ability to obtain education should not be universal, as it inverts the natural course of the development of meritocracy because it is a primary source of inequality in the society8. The main argument in favour of this statement is that there is inequality in the ability of families to help their children with gaining the education and that the one with more prestigious education occupies better positions of higher status regardless of the level of knowledge, skills, and talent. I am strongly inclined to believe that even though there are many problems deriving from the meritocratic concept of society, there is one promising opportunity of the present times that can help return to the meritocratic society in its traditional sense. With the outburst of informat ion and communication technologies and the overall shift to the knowledge-driven world, those without family ties with the highest circles of the community have gotten their chance to succeed in life with the help of their skills and talents. Since higher education has become available to nearly anyone and is no longer a prerogative of the privileged ones, the educational system has become that administratively authorised unit that can control the redistribution of talent. I do believe in it because education leads to inequality in society not in the case of different level of the college prestige but in the case if some people had the opportunity to obtain the higher education because of their family’s status in the society, and others had not. When everyone is equal in access to education, even though the level of prestige differs, there emerges the possibility of equality because all that as the end results matters is not the name of the college indicated on the diploma bu t the level of knowledge and whether a person has skills needed for feeling the position. That said, the level of education has become one more merit. Of course, those enjoying the advantage of kinship will occupy most ruling positions but people with high intellectual abilities and robust creative potential will find their way to attaining a high place. One more argument in favour of the meritocracy of British society is the Queen’s Honour system9. It may be considered to be out in the left field but, in fact, meritocracy is about being rewarded for unique skills and persistent work. With this in mind, Queen’s system of Honours proves that there is some other way to reward people rather than the career, power, and money and that those who work for the good of their country should be titled and remembered. Together with the system of rewards, it also demonstrates the hierarchy in the society with being knighted as a symbol of reaching the highest ladder of it or the hi ghest rank possible. So, British society is just one little step away from becoming a perfect meritocracy. Since the end of World War II, there have been many positive shifts in achieving social justice and equality such as carrying out various reforms aimed at eradicating barriers keeping talented and skilled people away from becoming successful and obtaining high status in society. It should be said that taking one last step towards transforming in a perfectly meritocratic society may be even harder than all those previous ones that have already been taken, as it would mean that those occupying the highest ruling positions would let their children live their lives by means of their own unique character traits, knowledge, and persistence, i.e. their merits. Bearing in mind everything that was mentioned above building a society based on meritocratic approach is only possible in the case if every next generation forgets about the success and status of the current generation and start s its way from the very beginning with their intellectual and creative potential as the only criteria for achieving set objectives. It, to my mind, is impossible due to the human’s nature, as the parents always want their children to have the best conditions for living their lives. The only option that might be possible in such case is creating conditions for fair competition in the society even though it is contrary to the postulates of the meritocratic society. I can explain it by providing the statement that without the competition there is no opportunity for achieving equality, as there are people who might have similar skills and talents so there should be a way of choosing it. So, developing competitive atmosphere together with education may become that administrative tool for redistributing human talent that is necessary for meritocratic society in it traditional sense. Reference List Allen, Ansgar, ‘Michael Young’s The Rise of the Meritocracy: A Philosoph ical Critique, British Journal of Educational Studies, vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 367-382. Bloodworth, James, Meritocracy is a Myth, Independent (2014). Web. Duru-Bellat, Marie., Tenret, Elise., Whos for Meritocracy? Individual and Contextual Variations in the Faith’, Comparative Education Review, vol. 56, no. 2, p. 223-247. Gelman, Andrew, â€Å"Meritocracy Won’t Happen: The Problem with the Ocracy†, Washington Post (2014). Web. Lister, Ruth, ‘Ladder of Opportunity of Engine of Inequality?’, The Political Quarterly, vol. 77, no. 1, 2006, pp. 232-234. Saunders, Peter, Meritocracy and Popular Legitimacy, The Political Quarterly, vol. 77, no. 1, 2006, pp. 183-194. Strong, Roy, Englands Class System is a Meritocracy, The Telegraph (2014). Web. Wooldridge, Adrian, Measuring the Mind: Education and Psychology in England C. 1860-c.1990 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Footnotes 1 Adrian Wooldridge, Measuring the Mind: Education and Psychology in En gland C.1860-c.1990, p. 166. 2 Peter Saunders, Meritocracy and Popular Legitimacy, The Political Quarterly, vol. 77, no. 1, 2006, p. 183. 3 Ruth Lister, ‘Ladder of Opportunity of Engine of Inequality?’ The Political Quarterly, vol. 77, no. 1, 2006, p. 232. 4 Ansgar Allen, ‘Michael Young’s The Rise of the Meritocracy: A Philosophical Critique, British Journal of Educational Studies, vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 370-374. 5 Andrew Gelman, †Meritocracy Won’t Happen: The Problem with the Ocracy†, Washington Post. 6 Marie Duru-Bellat Elise Tenret, Whos for Meritocracy? Individual and Contextual Variations in the Faith’, Comparative Education Review, vol. 56, no. 2, p. 223. 7 Peter Saunders, Meritocracy and Popular Legitimacy, p. 183. 8 James Bloodworth, Meritocracy is a Myth, Independent. 9 Roy Strong, Englands Class System is a Meritocracy, The Telegraph.

Best Examples of Palindromes in the English Language

Best Examples of Palindromes in the English Language What do the words â€Å"madam,† â€Å"mom,† and â€Å"rotor† have in common? They are palindromes: words, phrases, verses, sentences, or a series of characters that read the same both forwards and backwards. A palindrome can be as short as three characters (mom, for instance), or as long as an entire novel. Take this multi-sentence palindrome as an example: Are we not pure? â€Å"No, sir!† Panama’s moody Noriega brags. â€Å"It is garbage!† Irony dooms a man - a prisoner up to new era. From dad to kayak, you likely encounter many palindromes in your daily life. In addition to everyday speech, this feature of language has applications from literature to classical music composition to molecular biology.   The History of Palindromes â€Å"Palindrome† derives from the Greek word palà ­ndromos, meaning â€Å"running back again.† However, the use of palindromes was not exclusive to the Greeks. Since at least 79 AD, palindromes appeared in Latin, Hebrew, and Sanskrit. English poet John Taylor was hailed as one of the first palindrome writers when he wrote: â€Å"Lewd did I live, evil I did dwel.† In the following centuries, palindromes increased in popularity, and by 1971, the Guinness Book of World Records began to officially recognize the worlds longest palindromes. Between 1971 and 1980, the winner grew from 242 words to 11,125 words. Today, palindromes are celebrated on Palindrome Days, when the numerical date is itself a palindrome (e.g. 11/02/2011). With palindromes, the same rules of punctuation, capitalization and spacing don’t apply. For example, the word â€Å"Hannah† is a palindrome, even though both â€Å"H’s† aren’t capitalized. And what about words that spell another word backwards, like â€Å"live† becoming â€Å"evil†? That’s called a semordnilap, which happens to be itself a semordnilap of palindrome. Record-Breaking Palindromes Youre probably familiar with some of the most famous palindromes in the English language, like Madam, Im Adam and a nut for a jar of tuna. How many of these lesser-known, record-breaking palindromes do you know? The longest palindromic English word, according to the Guinness Book of World records: detartrated. The Guinness Book of Records bestowed the honor of longest English palindrome to detartrated, which is the preterit and past participle of detartrate, meaning to remove tartrates, or organic compounds. Unlike most English palindromes, which usually have seven letters or fewer, this has 11- impressive, except that Finnish palindromes easily rival it, with two having 25 letters.   The longest palindromic English word, according to the Oxford English Dictionary: tattarrattat. Coined by James Joyce in his 1922 novel Ulysses, the word is an onomatopoeia. It has been used to describe the sound of someone knocking on a door. The most recognizable palindromic poem: â€Å"Doppelgnger† by English poet James A. Lindon. At the poem’s midway point, each line is repeated backwards. The use of the device has literary significance: the concept of a doppelgnger involves a ghostly reflection of oneself, and the palindromic structure means that the latter half of the poem serves as a reflection of the first half.   The best palindromic place name: Wassamassaw. Wassamassaw is a swamp in South Carolina   The best Finnish palindrome: saippuakuppinippukauppias. This is the Finnish word for a soap cup trader, one of the longest palindromes in the world The longest palindromic novel: Lawrence Levine’s Dr. Awkward Olson in Oslo. In 1986, Lawrence Levine published the 31,954-word Dr. Awkward Olson in Oslo. Like Stephen’s letter, the novel is primarily gibberish. The history-based palindrome: Able was I ere I saw Elba. This palindrome related to French leader Napoleon Bonaparte’s exile to the island of Elba.   The best album title: Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas (Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas). In 1991, American rock band Soundgarden included this bonus CD with some editions of Badmotorfinger, their third studio album.   The longest letter: David Stephen’s Satire: Veritas. Published in 1980 as a monograph, the letter is 58,706 words long. The ancient Roman palindrome: In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni. Like the Greeks, the Romans were also fans of palindromes, and this translates to â€Å"we enter the circle after dark and are consumed by fire,† which was believed to relate to how moths circled a flame. Palindromes in Math, Science, and Music Palindromic strands of DNA can be found in molecular biology, and mathematicians may look for palindromic numbers that have unique properties. Classical, experimental, and humorist composers have integrated musical palindromes into their work, including Joseph Haydn and Weird Al Yankovic.  Hadyns Symphony No. 47 in G Major was nicknamed The Palindrome since the Minuetto al Roverso and the Trio are both written so that second part of each piece is the same as the first, only backwards.

Aspects of sustainable transport mode. ( buses in scotland ) Thesis

Aspects of sustainable transport mode. ( buses in scotland ) - Thesis Example In any case, the success of such initiatives requires the active participation of governments. The above issue has been made clear in the case of Scotland where the private bus operators have introduced a series of schemes aiming to align their firms’ activities with the principles of sustainability. The success of this effort is examined in this study; the support of the Scottish Government towards these efforts seems to be important; it should be updated, though, in order to meet the needs of these firms in the terms of sustainability. It is proved that private bus operators across Scotland have made significant efforts in order to promote sustainability their firm’s daily activities; however, often the principles of sustainability are not fully applied; measures need to be taken in order for sustainability to become an actual part of bus industry in Scotland. Sustainability is a concept widely developed internationally; the increase of this concept’s power is mainly related to the deterioration of environmental conditions globally; sustainability can help to the limitation of the effects of human activities on the environment. However, the above target can be achieved only if the principles and the mission of sustainability are clearly understood by the initiators of the relevant projects. The needs of sustainability can be identified in the definition of Hakkinen (1997, 138): ‘the ecological criteria for sustainable development are the preservation of biodiversity and adaption of human activities to the natural resources and tolerance of nature’. The aspects of sustainability explored in this paper are related with a specific industry, the bus industry; therefore, it is in this context that sustainable policies in Scotland will be evaluated and criticized. Bus is an essential means of transport in Scotland; because of its importance for the

Information Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Information Security - Essay Example The next morning, Barry McPherson, their EVP, released a statement that was well phrased, but still unapologetic. Again, this was the wrong person to give such an announcement. The public relations and brand management team should have been the first people to make the announcement as it hurt their company’s image. The fact that the announcements were made by a spokesman and the EVP was damaging since their announcements came off as unapologetic, considering the major inconveniences suffered by their clients. The apology eventually came from the EVP, followed closely by the CEO three days after the malfunction of their anti-virus software (Harkins, 2013). This was too late, and the damage to McAfee as a trusted brand had already been done. If the CIO had liaised with the brand and public relations people, the issue would have been solved with less frustration from the clients. In this aspect, while McAfee was able to arrest the situation with relative speed, the communication of the malfunction was more damaging than the malfunction (Harkins, 2013). The effect that the anti-virus malfunction had on ordinary everyday computer users shows that the world is becoming too reliant on information systems. They have taken over the everyday running of organizations, as well as daily planning for individuals. Information systems are now used to store most of the information and transfer the information (Harkins, 2013). The use of cell phones and computers to communicate has gone up tremendously in the last ten years. It is almost impossible to imagine what life was like when one had to use a cell phone or write a letter. Increasingly, enterprises are transacting businesses using technology and most accounting is now information system based. The use of information system has also become indispensable to decision making and logistics for most medium and big organizations (Harkins, 2013). Finally, even government agencies are now reliant on information systems. This shows that, as a society, information systems have begun to define how man interacts with information. The advancement of information systems have been good for society and arguing otherwise overlooks how easy it has made decision making at multiple levels. However, this heightened use has ensured that the law of unintended consequences will apply (Harkins, 2013). In the case of any breach or failure for these systems, the consequences will be far reaching, particularly, if it is on a large scale. Over-reliance on information systems has made society a little more vulnerable. The use of passwords and pin numbers to guard these systems is basic to the threatening vulnerability. Because the society now uses interconnected systems for majority of their activities from banking, to food supply, to power, if anything goes wrong with the systems or they are sabotaged, the effects will be widespread. The collapse of information system networks due to cyber-attacks by terrorists or system f ailures, there would be mild paralysis (Harkins, 2013). As can be seen, the McAfee anti-virus update failure caused a lot of inconveniences to their clients. The reimbursement for reasonable expenses was the right thing to do, particularly for those home clients who were hit by the fault. In fact, McAfee was obligated legally to reimburse its clients (Harkins, 2013). Software is dealt with in the US and EU by the consumer guarantee act and other similar acts These require that, in a situation where

Role of Attitude in Organizational Behavior Essay

Role of Attitude in Organizational Behavior - Essay Example For example, the attitude of a person towards a friend can be examined in terms of cognitive component (â€Å"I think my friend is funny and pleasant†), affective component (â€Å"I feel nice when I am around this friend†) and behavioral component (â€Å"I try to spend time with this friend whenever I get an opportunity†). Attitudes of a person are influenced by both values and beliefs. Values reflect a general sense of right or wrong and do not require an identifiable object towards which it is directed (Cheek 2006). Values are therefore deeply rooted views that act as guiding principles for an individual. On the other hand beliefs are assumptions that one makes about oneself, about others and about how we expect things to be (Cheek 2006). Attitudes develop from past experiences or observations and have been found to guide future behavior. Behavior is the way one acts and includes the things that we say or do, like facial expressions, hand gestures, eye contact and choice of words (Standen n.d.). Behavior is usually an outward expression of one’s attitude. However, the two are not always related. Attitudes are only one of the determinants of behavior. It is the predisposition to behave in a particular way in a given situation. However, how one would actually behave in a given scenario, depends on many other factors like immediate consequences of the behavior, perception of others viewing the behavior, personal habits and other situational factors (Standen n.d.). A classic example to describe this is the study conducted by LaPiere (1934) where he went on a tour with a Chinese couple (at a time when Chinese were discriminated against) in the southwest. He asked the hotel proprietors if this couple could stay in their hotel and also if they could eat there.

Racism in the 1960s

Racism in the 1960s Racism in the 1960s The 1960s were a time where the world was changing. Music was changing, politics were changing, and people were changing. But one problem seemed to remain in society Racism. Although the 1960s were the era of the Baby Boom, the racist segregation did not subside. Although segregation thrived through Jim Crow Laws, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X both fought hard against it. This segregation lead to possibly the worlds greatest achievement, the African-American Civil Rights Movement. In the 1960s, the way of life was different for people with different colors of skin. There were separate bathrooms, separate restaurants, drinking fountains, and churches for black people. Restaurants had a Jim Crow law, that stated, It shall be unlawful to conduct a restaurant or other place for the serving of food in the city, at which white and colored people are served in the same room, unless such white and colored persons are effectively separated by a solid partition extending from the floor upward to a distance of seven feet or higher, and unless a separate entrance from the street is provided for each compartment. Black people were also forced to use different barbers, nurses and jail cells. The segregation between black people and white people was evident and enforced by law. These laws were called Jim Crow Laws, and were local laws that outlined the segregation between black people and white people. Any act against a Jim Crow law was punishable by law and received an unusually hefty punishment. These separate but equal approaches lead to much discrimination that African-American communities endured for much of the decade. These laws covered aspects such as barbers, prisons, nurses, and libraries. Some examples of Jim Crow laws were: 1. No colored barber shall serve as a barber (to) white girls or women (Georgia). 2. No person or corporation shall require any White female nurse to nurse in wards or rooms in hospitals, either public or private, in which Negro men are placed (Alabama). 3. The warden shall see that the white convicts shall have separate apartments for both eating and sleeping from the Negro convicts (Mississippi). Although these laws were all forced by law, they were all forced by the public as well. Many mobs of white men used lynching in the 1960s to try and manipulate the African-American population. Lynching is considered the punishment of any person without legal process or authority. Any person who tried to promote against, abolish, or defy the Jim Crow laws were often beaten and/or killed. With the help of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement, these laws were only in effect up until 1965. In 1968 the Supreme Court declared all types of segregation unconstitutional. Martin Luther King Jr. was an integral part of the abolishment of Jim Crow Laws and the public support of the Civil Rights Movement. Growing up as a child, Martin Luther King Jr. was a very smart human being. He attended segregated high schools in Georgia but only stayed for a short amount of time. Because of Martins superb intelligence, he was able to finish grades 9-12 in just two years, making him a high school graduate at the age of fifteen. After receiving a doctorate at Boston University, Martin had already started his effect on society. He participated in a 382 day boycott to remove the segregation between black and white people on buses. The supreme court agreed and on December 21, 1956, the law was ruled unconstitutional. Martin Luther King paid the price for this great achievement, finding himself arrested and his home was bombed. The African-American Civil Rights Movement took place in the 1960s and really gained support on August 28th, 1963. Martin Luther King Jr. made hi s plea to the world for racial equality during his I Have a Dream speech. This speech was a powerful moment in history and held the support of people all over the planet. I have a dream is still regarded as one of the greatest political statements ever to be made.

snozzing goddess :: essays research papers

Snoozing Goddess Once upon a time, there was a husband and wife. When the wife finally gave birth to a beautiful daughter they decided to throw a huge party. They invited their entire family, all their uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces and aunts. Now there were 13 aunts in the family altogether but the husband and queen only invited 12. They forgot about the 13th. End the end their forgetfulness would cost them dearly. It was a magnificent party, the caterers brought loads of delicious food. There was a DJ, magician and clown that entertained everyone. When everyone had finished eating, the aunts gathered around the baby's bassinet and they each made a wish. The princess shall be gorgeous said the first. And happy, said the second. And nice, said the third. And so they went on. The princess was to be smart, and content and precise. And, then, just as the twelfth aunt was about to make her wish, in came the thirteenth. She was angry, because she had not been invited to the party. Here is my wish, she said. "When your daughter is 16 years old, she will prick her finger on a sewing machine and she will die." And with that, the thirteenth aunt left as quickly as she arrived. The twelfth aunt still had her wish, now she couldn’t change the previous aunt’s entire wish, but she was able to change the ending. So the princess will prick her finger but she will not die! She will sleep for a hundred years. The husband and wife thanked the aunt for her kindness but they were not happy. They did not want their daughter to sleep for a hundred years. So they ordered that every sewing machine little or big be chopped up and send to China. Then they thought that the princess was safe. The years passed and the daughter grew up. She was very beautiful and clever at lots of different things. She was, in fact, everything her aunts had wished her to be. On her sixteenth birthday, the princess was exploring the mansion when she came to a little room at the top of a long staircase. In that room was an old woman sitting by a sewing machine. "What are you doing?" asked the princess. "I am spinning," said the old woman, who was really the evil aunt, "would you like to try?