In days past, in a region know
as Germania, there were two neighbouring
villages, Schadenfreude and Schandfleck Verärgern. The residents of
Schadenfreude were a horrible bunch of serfs and peasantry. As you would know,
they never did much to help anyone, they just sat back, watching and waiting
for others to try. Nothing brought them greater joy than watching their
neighbour try something new and failing. Pretty soon though, with everyone laughing
at one another, they all stopped trying. No one did anything for fear of
failure. So they started watching Schandfleck Verärgern.
The villages of Schandfleck Verärgern were nothing like those in Schadenfreude. Every village could say that every person they passed in a day was their friend. They were all hard workers and through their perseverance they were each rewarded with fruitful lives. But not equally.
I love my neighbour as a brother, husband would remark to wife, I just wish my crops were plentiful as his.
His neighbour would be heard to remark, I wish my children were as handsome as his next door.
The villages of Schandfleck Verärgern were nothing like those in Schadenfreude. Every village could say that every person they passed in a day was their friend. They were all hard workers and through their perseverance they were each rewarded with fruitful lives. But not equally.
I love my neighbour as a brother, husband would remark to wife, I just wish my crops were plentiful as his.
His neighbour would be heard to remark, I wish my children were as handsome as his next door.
And so on around town.
Consumed with bitterness over their friends’ success that might have been
theirs. The villagers of Schadenfreude loved it.
Authors Note
The preceding story was written purely as a launching device for my newly invented word:
Schandverärgern (Scha-nd-ver-ärg-ern) Noun: 1. The anger and jealously one feels at the success of good fortune of a friend or a loved one because it didn’t happen to them. Often followed immediately by shame. “He always wins things. That will be a great help for his career. I feel so much Schandverärgern right now.”
Schandverärgern is based on the German words Schandfleck and Verärgern, which literally translated mean shame and anger. Please go out into the world and use it in a sentence today or make up a better version and I will amend the story.
The preceding story was written purely as a launching device for my newly invented word:
Schandverärgern (Scha-nd-ver-ärg-ern) Noun: 1. The anger and jealously one feels at the success of good fortune of a friend or a loved one because it didn’t happen to them. Often followed immediately by shame. “He always wins things. That will be a great help for his career. I feel so much Schandverärgern right now.”
Schandverärgern is based on the German words Schandfleck and Verärgern, which literally translated mean shame and anger. Please go out into the world and use it in a sentence today or make up a better version and I will amend the story.
No comments:
Post a Comment