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A Simeon and Rufus Adventure
A Curious Mind
A Land Without Books ~ Part Three
Simeon opened each book like a chest full of treasures. Rufus watched closely as he turned each page — many filled with vivid illustrations — and how each picture was always paired with odd, consistent symbols (words). To Simeon, these seemed like keys that, once understood, could unlock the stories and adventures connecting the images.
At first, Simeon pointed to the symbols and attempted to guess their meaning. He began grouping similar pictures together, comparing the markings beside them. Slowly, he began to see patterns, and his brow furrowed. “If the same marks keep showing up near creatures… maybe that set means ‘animal’?”
He pulled another book closer, flipping through pages filled with tropical forests, jungles and desert dunes. Different symbols seemed to be associated with people, buildings, tools, etc. Symbols were repeated. Simeon began treating this like a game — one of pattern, guesswork, observation and deduction.
With each new picture, he spoke the imagined word aloud, echoing its shape and rhythm. Simeon giggled. “I think this means… ‘climb,” he said, pointing. Maybe that’s what this shape wants to say.” He began copying and tracing the symbols in the sand with his finger, carving the lines…
