By Lord Dunsany.
Read by Steve Anderson.
And all the people rejoiced and cried out, “There is none but Chu-bu.” And honey was offered to Chu-bu, and maize and fat. Thus was he magnified.
Chu-bu was an idol of some antiquity, as may be seen from the colour of the wood. He had been carved out of mahogany, and after he was carved he had been polished. Then they had set him up on the diorite pedestal with the brazier in front of it for burning spices and the flat gold plates for fat. Thus they worshipped Chu-bu.
He must have been there for over a hundred years when one day the priests came in with another idol into the temple of Chu-bu and set it up on a pedestal near Chu-bu’s and sang, “There is also Sheemish.”
Rated PG. Contains religious iconography, as described by the 18th Lord of Dunsany.
Stephen Gideon said,
May 29, 2009 @ 3:29 pm
Great reading Steve! Your voice is always a pleasure, be it on escapepod, pseudopod, or podcastle!
phignewton said,
May 30, 2009 @ 3:46 am
darrnit… i wanna chubu! and of course…. there is alllsoo sheeeeeemishhh.
Steve Anderson said,
May 30, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
Thanks, Stephen! I’m sure there’ll be disagreement–there always is–but this one was fun to read, and I’m glad it came across that way.
scatterbrain said,
June 3, 2009 @ 4:15 pm
Ha-ha! I love Dunsany, but I can’t help but think that if this story had been written this year instead of 1911 it would have been called “New God on the Block” instead.
Martha said,
June 11, 2009 @ 1:25 pm
Absolutely delightful! I could help but laugh out loud as the 2 gods called each other dirty. Wonderful narration!
Dave (aka Nev the Deranged) said,
June 11, 2009 @ 10:21 pm
Perfectly read by Mr. Anderson. He’s fast becoming one of my favorite voices in the Escape Artists family. He’s not perfect for every style, but for something like this, you really couldn’t have done better. It’s good to know that a clever and witty story from “ancient times” is still clever and witty today. Thanks, Lord Dunsany! And thanks, PodCastle!
LaShawn said,
July 21, 2009 @ 2:41 pm
Hee-hee! This one had me laughing out loud at work. Great story, but the reading by Mr. Anderson totally made it. Great work!
Dani said,
July 22, 2009 @ 8:29 pm
Even though it’s been a while since I last heard this, I can still hear Mr. Anderson’s narration in my head. I’m grateful for that! Thanks Podcastle!
Chrism said,
August 13, 2009 @ 10:44 am
Steve Anderson fooled me into thinking he was Scott Brick here. I mean that as a compliment to both Steven Anderson and Scott Brick. Two of my favorite narrators.