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owlectomyA skinny girl of maybe 11 or 12 comes into the library. And asks:
"Do you have the book, Oedipus the King?"
We do not. I offer to request it. As I am unable to find a polite way to phrase, "No, seriously, Oedipus? Why?", so I settle for, "Do you want the original version that a Greek guy wrote a long time ago, or the retold version?"
She doesn't know, so I order the retelling. (Although: children's retelling of Oedipus? What's the point?)
"Do you have the book, Oedipus the King?"
We do not. I offer to request it. As I am unable to find a polite way to phrase, "No, seriously, Oedipus? Why?", so I settle for, "Do you want the original version that a Greek guy wrote a long time ago, or the retold version?"
She doesn't know, so I order the retelling. (Although: children's retelling of Oedipus? What's the point?)