thegoodfellas/blogset-br huggingface dataset:
other ones so that they won t come down again. he said with upturned hands.The floors showed signs of strange wing marks, but then again after so much wildlife had come and gone over the years, there was really no way of arriving at any conclusions.Lastly, Dippy positioned a chair below the eastside attic door and began pushing against it till cracks of sun light streamed in from the roofless, Westside of the house. He stretched his neck up like a swan in order to make sure that nothing had been left unnoticed in the preserved gable-end attic. Confirming his suspicions, he sealed it shut again.As dusk was approaching, Maria and Lagrecca called Dippy back to the car so that they could all make it to Bauernfest on time for her next presentation. However, Dippy yelled for them to go on ahead of him, in order to let Joao know about his house-reform estimate of around twenty grand$; all expenses paid. Meanwhile he d have time to baptize himself in the cold waterfall which flowed behind the cottage.That s ice water Dip! they called out simultaneously. You ll catch pneumonia in there at this time of year... finalized Maria. But to no avail, because Serendipity s crazy mind was as set as a cuckoo clock.I ll meet you two back at the farm gate! he yelled, while running upstream towards the glassy pool in his Clock House underwear and jumping into the pool head first. Maria shivered just thinking about the temperature, while Lagrecca lit his pipe, awaiting Dippy s resurgence.Tremblingly he said,You know what? Tell your brother that I ll reform it for free if you guys can t cover the costs, so you ll have nothing to lose. Dippy smiled from beneath a fallen log, as cold water ran from his long brown hair, and steam wafted off his shoulders.Maria couldn t fathom what she d just witnessed and signaled Lagrecca into her yellow beetle.In no time at all Dippy was alone in the encroaching silence where only the trickling sound of running water made itself heard'Ing s Home Farm'... he repeated to himself.That s 'Fazenda Ingelheim'...this is 'Ing s Place'? Marveled Dippy, watching the fog thicken.He shivered as he dressed, took a last look at the blackened gingerbread-looking house, and sprinted off in the direction of Joao s farm.However, as darkness was falling fast, he took a wrong turn down an ever-worsening track until finally it narrowed into a mere foot path which ended at what looked like a large, bromeliad-covered rock slab.Where am I? he asked, glancing over his shoulder through dark clouds.Suddenly Dippy began hearing footsteps edging their way along the bottom of the stone, and wondered if they were an echo of his own. But then came the rustling of dry brush beyond the stone, so he concluded that someone must have just walked past, and would be only a little ways ahead. He followed for a few more minutes calling out.Hey you, hold on!Then all at once, when the noise disappeared, he heard a farm
vehicle driving along a dirt road just before him. Serendipity made out the silhouette of an old gate in the approaching headlights. He jumped into the road to flag down an old truck and was given a lift back up to the Braun s farm.Thanks a million! Dippy called out to the driver in relief, who in turn, sent his regards to Maria, and sped off into the dark forest. It was at this time that a second set of headlights began illuminating the woods around him.Did you get lost Cali? asked Lagrecca from his passenger side window. Serendipity was soothed to see his friends, entered the car, and said,It s 'Ingel s-Heim' alright!Do you mean 'Ing' like in England? questioned Lagrecca.Yes, like 'Ing' lives here... answered Serendipity with a snorty laugh.Are you insinuating that this 'Ing' lives in my country too? continued Lagrecca.'I think 'Ing s overrunning the whole world! confirmed Dippy.What a load of cod s wallop mate... protested Lagrecca.Well this 'Ing', 'Eng', 'Ang', or whatever you want, is the founder of modern English, and English is the international language now, right? concluded Serendipity.A smile came over Lagrecca s face.The Angels and Saxons certainly brought the original form to the British Isles, but the question is, whether we can still call it English at all; and whether International means it now belongs to the world, or the world to it? inquired the Yorkshireman, in his stove-pipe voice, before pursing his lips again. After all, we ve got several Latin-based languages, but no more Roman Empire.Maria found difficulty in accompanying the foreigners whenever they argued in their native tongue, but was amused just the same.Ing s place? she finally questioned, with a nodding head.They saw humor in her seemingly sulky face, and soon went back to Portuguese.A pit stop in the Mosela neighborhood was just long enough for Maria to slip into a state of performance, because things tonight were beginning to feel different to her.All of a sudden Maria May began to see her world from an upside down standpoint. She perceived that Serendipity was connecting her with things she d always yearned for. Maria no longer felt alone now that they d met and seemed to sense his presence everywhere she turned.The hair that flashed through the light as she leaped over the fire on her second night was both hers and his. She saw him in her own smile, because, deep down inside, new bridges had formed.With Serendipity, grandma s gingerbread house had finally broken it s long silence, and began rising up from the ashes." she thought.Maria May continued going over the details as she lay down on the grass, exhausted from dancing, and stared up at the constellations and fast moving satellites, in gratitude for the wishes that seemed to have been granted.However, in no time at all, she was pulled back to her feet in order to participate in a human train, where each person held onto the shoulders of the one in front, forming a long centipede which twisted and turned, like time itself,
around the inside of Isabel s Crystal Palace, to the thumping beat of yet another Blumenau Oompah Band.Lagrecca claimed that he d never been so dizzy before and asked what they d given him.Serendipity passed Maria and the Brit with Natalie holding onto his shoulders. Then the train folded back again revealing countless other combinations, until finally the four held tightly to one another and detached from the rest, going off in their own direction.Serendipity led the way into a crowd assembled amongst heat lamps, and collapsed onto the grass; Natalie falling to his left and Maria to his right, while Lagrecca made himself comfortable across the three like a hatch mark.It took some time for the group to gather their scruples in order to stop laughing and converse like reasonable folk.Soon Dippy asked if they wanted to hear the medieval fairy tale about Hansel and Gretel. The Brazilians knew this story by the name of Joao e Maria. They gave him the go ahead, and when he was finished, everyone became ecstatic with questions.But how come the siblings couldn t get away from the bad witch?! they interrogated.It s probably because, like every professional sociopath, she was sure to have pinned one against the other. Gretel had been strategically turned against her own brother but didn t realize it, and probably agreed with the old woman that Hansel would eat them out of house and home.The story didn t explain that the witch was most certainly their evil stepmom, but that their dad wasn t aware of her two-face nature since she always waited for him to fall asleep before sneaking out into the woods to check on her captives.Do you really think Gretel wouldn t rather have freed her brother and escaped?! called Natalie.Why didn t she then..? I bet the bad witch had her believe that Hansel wanted the cookies all to himself. Besides, the evil woman probably convinced her that he d taste just like roast duck, and that the skinny little girl, would only turn into a beautiful maiden if she had a little more meat on her bones- "Better to eat him than you, right?!" People often prefer to believe in lies, even when they re from an ill-natured person!But the part of the story that only one or two of us know is that there was a good witch living in a real Pfefferkuchenhaus or gingerbread house', who was well aware of the bad witch s scheme, and saw an opportunity to finally break the spell and convince Gretel to push the step-witch into the cooking pot instead!Then she turned them into a pair of swans so that they could swim back to their dad.Everyone in the vicinity agreed, in one form or other, that the stepmother had mysteriously perished at exactly the same time as the bad witch, and that her wax gingerbread house was only a facade for stolen wealth and human traffic.Amongst the crowd now was the driver of the Audi, who d stopped by to pick Natalie up for the second
night. She blew everyone kisses, and stumbled towards his car.That s all for 'this kid' too, so I m leaving you lovebirds to get a taxi in your own direction; England plays tomorrow! affirmed Lagrecca, as he rubbed hands with Serendipity and Maria, and was off to Hotel York.Finally the gates closed and the couple was all alone on a dark, tree-lined street, where two significant rivers met; one coming from the North and the other from the South. They smiled bashfully at each other, but since the street lighting had difficulty penetrating the leafy canopy, their expressions went unnoticed, leaving each with only a mere guess at what the other was feeling.Maria put her cell phone into Serendipity s hand and wrapped her arm around his, the way couples used to do in old movies, for their promenade towards the point.They climbed to the top of a steeply-arched, red bridge, stopping in the middle to watch the water flow underneath.Maria May removed her worn, black dance slippers and tiptoed about the wooden boards, like the ballerina she was. Releve..? she whispered, while lifting herself high into the air.The cold planks felt soothing. She reached into her purse for a cigarette, throwing the spent match into the current below, and leaned far over the edge in pursuit of 'Nicolau s secret night fairies'.Serendipity became interested in her story and soon found himself accompanying the young woman s elegant figure over the rail, listening for signs of nocturnal village life.Within minutes, sounds of hammering began, followed by sawing.Dippy was impressed with this hidden world, but when he tried to make a comment, Maria immediately covered his mouth then pulled away.Shhhh! she whispered.They ll hear us.He nodded apologetically with eyes open wide; using his shoulders to affirm that he hadn t realized the delicate nature of the situation.When the cigarette reached its end, she lit them another and passed it to his outstretched fingers. The smoke floated gently down the busy canal like low clouds, in a way which the night fairies may have confused for a sign of coming rain. They didn t, however, stop working, but rather, appeared to be increasing production in hopes of completing things before the possible flood came.Maria May s pronounced design brushed repeatedly against Dippy s, provoking a continuous chain of kisses, who s sounds were concealed within the trickling of water. Maria would turn to look at Serendipity and study his features, which became quite distinguished whenever one of them took a puff off the cigarette; deepening desires. However, she d always turn her attention back towards the fairies just as the orange glow faded.When an eternity had finally passed, Maria held her black chamois at the end of extended arms and asked Serendipity to wish for the first thing that came to mind. He began picturing a snowy mountain, when, to his surprise a pair of dance slippers suddenly dropped straight into the water, being carried away to shoe heaven.He looked at her sadly.You didn t want them anymore?It s a proper burial. she affirmed,
while taking his arm once again for the last remaining steps toward the taxi cabs.Sunday s bright rays attempted to tan Maria s pleasant curves as she nestled further into the arms of her sun-bronzed lover, who d just fled a Virginia summer. They rolled around until noon, when the phone rang for the tenth time.Bloody hell mate, poor old England is getting smashed by those naughty Germans! Good thing you re not rooting for them twits! cried Lagrecca.Maria took hold of the remote control with the objective of watching her second favorite team win the game. The couple confirmed the Brit s sad state of affairs, apologizing to him for 'England s eventual departure.You re going to have to support the Brazilian team now! laughed Maria, stealing the phone from Dippy.I suspect I might be altering my citizenship too! added Lagrecca.Maria disappeared into the kitchen wrapped in a blanket, then returned with coffee and 'Helga s Brot toast. Serendipity replaced the TV with one of his rave techno cd s for her to check out. She claimed to have recognized a few tracks from her dance years out in Sao Paulo, but found it strange that a non-dancer would actually go out and purchase this genre of music.Meanwhile, without realizing it, an electronic pulse was drumming a Morris code clear across the empty lot to the next building over, and penetrating right into Nicolau s friend s house, serving as some kind of secret language which spoke only to Andre and Nicolau s young minds.Before Maria could get around to commenting on the potency of her new home theatre, knocking was heard at the front door.Who is it?! yelled Maria May.Is that American guy there? called Andre above the music. She waved Serendipity to the door.Boa tarde'... saluted the Californian, with a wave.Is the volume too high? he asked with a facetious smile.Sorry about that son. he continued in an apologetic manner.Could I just leave it on until this track finishes? asked Dippy.'Nao! Nao!' protested the twelve year old.Ok!!! If you insist then I ll just...Serendipity stopped talking in mid sentence, turning swiftly to lower the music. However, there had been a serious misunderstanding regarding the noise level, since Andre came running into the flat to turn the dial back to its previous decibel; just after Dippy had lowered it. This caused even more confusion, until Maria got off the phone with her son and intervened.Don t worry about it Dip, Andre loves loud music so much that we leave him in charge of dj ing at Pop s tavern some times.It was then that Serendipity got a thumbs up from the adolescent, who proceeded to take his hand and lead him down for a second visit to the little riverside village.Andre showed him to the latest construction site, which was situated on a piece of high ground where the summer floods wouldn t reach. Serendipity asked him what sort of building could be requiring so much digging.Andre smiled broadly when he introduced his head capitalist man; who was a Smurf-size
cat named Iggy. He was supposedly the town s rightful inheritor, and therefore, enjoyed something of an imperial status. It seemed that this cat had a secret police of his own, a family coat of arms, as well as a ranch that was soon to become a thriving border town, set up to deal in an endless array of black market products from neighboring countries.Serendipity hadn t realized the complexity of the situation until he d been shown a small farm situated between Iggy s ranch house and the river front area. According to Andre, this was a piece of property that had been unlawfully settled by landless peasants from over the border in British Guyana, in compensation for Iggy s family s neglect of payment for generations of migrant labor.Apparently, Iggy s family had considered that the countless debts which Nicolau s- kitchen chef had acquired were more than settled by the time of their mysterious disappearance; but that this was where the Iggy cat diverged from his late family, as he dishonored and tore up all the receipts regarding payment.If it s a family feud that Nicolau s low-class clan is looking for, then they ll be in for it because Iggy has the right to river access!But why can t he simply allow the chef to obtain a title to his land and build his desired Boa Adjetiva Restaurant there; then Iggy could lease the right of way for the future port? humored Serendipity, laughingly.I mean, you get half the city and a giant castle right? How many stories is that going to have by the way?The Lage do Iggy' is a dance club that ll be on the twentieth floor! answered Andre. Iggy knows how to make money because everybody s aware that border towns need red-light districts; but what s the chef going to cook in that filthy joint, caviar? giggled Andre.Serendipity stared at the boy in hopes of understanding what his logic was, but soon realized that Iggy simply wanted to run the show. Dippy put his hand to his forehead and began laughing again.It looks like the chef s going to need reinforcements. added Dippy while kneeling in front of Nicolau s dilapidated old farm building, and observing the sparkling little creek running behind the structure where cattle grazed. He noticed a collection of two storey buildings encroaching on farm property like at the West Bank, in Jordan. It seemed like a time bomb which would eventually have to be defused, however, Serendipity couldn t think of any immediate solutions.Suddenly Lagrecca pulled up in front of the Mosela Tavern for a visit, waved to Dippy s crouching figure, and headed up the stairs to cry on Maria s shoulder about his team s elimination from the cup. He began talking about how outdated the players had become and that it was time his country began putting more Brazilians in to stir things up.Suddenly Serendipity made out the image of a Tonka truck-size longboat rowing its way up the Mosela River towards the little village. The
crew of blue Smirfs was dressed in grey robes which made them look like monks, and were so silent that the Iggy cat didn t even seem to notice them. The small voyagers inspected the riverside area, exploring as far in as the chef s farm, then returned to their boat and quietly went floating back down stream with the current.Wake up 'Maple Syrup', you ll be late for work. said Maria May the following day, still half dreamingly. Serendipity saw he d overslept, and that the week at 'das Haus' had begun.He went straight for a cold wakeup shower, and strong coffee, then, sat in warm rays on the top of the stairs observing the winter clouds circling the mountain above the Mosela valley before the sun burnt them off. Then, finishing his French toast with honey, he packed a sandwich into a Helga s Brot bread bag and drove Lagrecca s borrowed car along the parallelepipeds stone road' to the Ingelheim farm.Upon arrival he was greeted by Joao and his ruff-neck friends- Julio Cesar, Augustino, and Claudio, who s immediate reactions were of a belittling nature, but which, due to his Jamestown Colony experience, had actually been expected. So he returned the rude comments with humorous ones, and that got the crew onto a comic roll.His tools hadn t yet arrived from Jamestown, so he d be counting on borrowing crowbars and hammers till midweek. Grandpa Lobato Monteiro had offered his own address down in Rio de Janeiro as the place for his serendipitous grandson s saws, drills, sanders and tool-belt to be sent.Joao and Maria d left the job completely to Serendipity s discretion, but the rest of the crew had the nasty habit of disrespecting the idea of having an American as their foreman. Plus they were still in the mindset that this building was worth more in pieces, which they could then conveniently utilize on their own residences at a reduced cost.Shall we start with the Dach-roof system' then? suggested Dippy.Yes mama! answered Claudio in a defiant tone. Augustino was the first to climb on top of the Dachfirst-ridge line', and begin crow-baring off the rotten 'Dachsparren-roofrafters' one by one; since they were all fixed in place using old fashioned, cut nails. Dippy requested that these small items be preserved for future use.Whatever you say, Longhair! spit Claudio again.Serendipity was becoming uneasy about the idea of having to get through four months of work in their presence, when suddenly lunch break was called.The three sat on one side of the picnic bench, leaving Dippy alone on the other. They observed him pulling out a fried egg sandwich from his bread bag in disgust, and Serendipity giggled as both Claudio and Augustino scrambled their way toward the fallen porch for the rest of their fine smelling Macdonald meals.American-style trash flew in all directions as Julio Cesar, who knew his friends were difficult to get along with, pardoned their offensive behavior and began a conversation with the foreigner.They re communists! reported Julio during an ironic discourse. He then informed
Serendipity of his affinity for catching smoking waves and babes down at the beach, and how he didn t really follow politics.These guys just like to go on about the way your country supported the military coup that held Brazil down long enough for Old Glory to get on top.Julio Cesar shook his head at Serendipity as though he understood the argument s futility; however, even he had certain distrust for Dippy s society.Serendipity tried in vain to dismiss the crew s rude comments as playfulness,But Julio affirmed that his friends mistreatment was a serious act of defiance against what they considered to be American Imperialism.By the end of lunch break, Coke cans, French fries and cigarette butts created a wasteland effect in all directions. Julio Cesar sheltered his face from the trash blowing wind in order to light his own and passed it around in hopes of bringing about some sort of cordiality amongst the crew.Too many chiefs and not enough Indians... he said tauntingly.Julio s logic worked like a charm and the guys synchronized into steady production till about midweek. However, beyond that, things would once again see a steep decline.Nobody wanted to try understanding Serendipity. One of the reasons might have been his insistence on making dual-language references for what would otherwise be no more than simple everyday house parts.Perhaps it was Serendipity s fault for having treated a Brazilian experience as though he d been confusing Petropolis with some icy gothic land. But ever since his return from a visit to 'Johan Gottlieb Kaiser s, 1847, Casa do Colono', which was presently a German Einwanderer or immigrant museum', situated on the other end of the city, the language equivalents for these house parts were still fresh in his mind.Serendipity was fascinated by the style used in the Imperial city.For instance: the gable end walls or Giebleseitewanden' were made of meter thick stone and mortar, while the connecting walls or Verbindungswande', utilized cement-covered straw. The museum had left exposed sections all around the structure for observation.What impressed Dippy most was its similarity to that used by the English settlers of Jamestown in 1607, which is considered the first village built by British immigrants in the United States.During his participation there, he d been taught equivalent techniques in 'Wattle and Daub Construction; a system where mud was spread onto a basket-like arrangement of tree trunks, branches and straw. Little by little he discovered how the cross braces worked, how to produce and secure a thatched roof, and the methods used in glass blowing' for window panes.It all looked so similar to pictures he d grown up seeing of his father s childhood Timber-frame house or Fachwerkhaus, near Hamburg Germany, where 'hand-hued wooden posts, fixed at all angles, supported swollen walls; giving the structure a pillow effect. These houses continued reminding Serendipity of the old story books he used to color in with crayons.This romanticizing of such a simple folk house was exactly the thing that the ruff neck crew had found so disturbing about Serendipity; aside from his girly hair,