A Girl's Best Friend
Clive Cooke
- In
- the
- first
- story,
- a
- crew
- of
- astronauts
- is
- sent
- into
- the
- far
- reaches
- of
- the
- solar
- system.
- Their
- mission
- is
- to
- test
- the
- performance
- of
- a
- new
- type
- of
- spacecraft
- and
- to
- search
- for
- life
- forms
- on
- one
- of
- the
- moons
- of
- Saturn.
- They
- discover
- that
- diamonds
- are
- raining
- down
- onto
- the
- surface
- of
- the
- planet.
- Their
- decision
- is
- whether
- to
- pursue
- their
- scientific
- calling,
- or
- to
- collect
- a
- few
- diamonds
- for
- themselves.
The
- second
- story,
- set
- in
- Venice
- towards
- the
- end
- of
- the
- 18th
- century,
- is
- a
- duel
- between
- an
- impoverished
- aristocrat
- and
- a
- money
- lender.
- Rank
- and
- breeding
- count
- for
- little
- as
- the
- aristocrat
- turns
- out
- to
- be
- as
- ruthless
- as
- the
- money-lender.
In
- the
- third
- story,
- an
- idealistic
- young
- Englishman
- travels
- to
- Africa
- with
- the
- aim
- of
- helping
- his
- fellow-man.
- He
- meets
- two
- Europeans
- on
- the
- boat
- travelling
- to
- the
- same
- destination.
- The
- young
- man
- regards
- them
- as
- old
- and
- cynical.
- However,
- he
- is
- about
- to
- learn
- the
- lessons
- of
- life
- which
- the
- two
- cynical
- old
- men
- learnt
- before
- him.
In
- stories
- four,
- eight
- and
- eleven
- we
- meet
- two
- apprentice
- crooks
- aged
- twenty
- four
- and
- twenty
- five.
- Jerry
- is
- the
- leader
- and
- Charlie
- the
- follower.
- Jerry
- has
- a
- major
- personality
- problem
- while
- Charlie’s
- only
- defect
- is
- that
- he
- scores
- rather
- low
- on
- the
- IQ
- scale.
- The
- pair
- tries
- every
- possible
- stratagem
- to
- “get
- rich
- quick”.
- The
- first
- story
- is
- inspired
- by
- the
- famous
- Redford-Newman
- film:
- “The
- Sting”,
- but
- in
- this
- version,
- guess
- who
- gets
- stung?
The
- fourth
- story
- is
- about
- an
- adventurer-archaeologist
- digging
- for
- treasure
- in
- the
- remote
- deserts
- of
- north-west
- China.
- When
- he
- sees
- a
- statue
- of
- the
- Buddha
- with
- a
- large
- diamond
- as
- its
- third
- eye,
- he
- decides
- that
- it
- is
- easier
- to
- steal
- it
- than
- to
- dig
- for
- treasure.
The
- fifth
- story
- is
- a
- farcical
- tale
- about
- a
- brother
- and
- a
- sister
- competing
- for
- their
- inheritance.
- Their
- mother
- has
- a
- collection
- of
- diamond
- jewellery
- worth
- a
- small
- fortune.
- As
- she
- nears
- the
- end
- of
- her
- life,
- the
- two
- siblings
- try
- various
- strategies
- to
- get
- their
- hands
- on
- the
- jewellery.
The
- sixth
- story
- is
- set
- in
- Naples
- in
- the
- early
- nineteenth
- century.
- A
- servant
- girl
- in
- the
- employ
- of
- a
- jeweller
- saves
- her
- master
- from
- bankruptcy.
- However,
- her
- price
- for
- saving
- him
- is
- extremely
- high.
The
- eighth
- story
- is
- an
- African
- version
- of
- Shakespeare’s
- “Merry
- Wives
- of
- Windsor”.
- A
- handsome
- bigamist
- marries
- three
- women
- at
- various
- times
- and
- places
- without
- going
- through
- the
- inconvenience
- of
- a
- divorce.
- He
- travels
- to
- Kimberley
- in
- the
- early
- days
- of
- the
- diamond
- rush
- to
- make
- his
- fortune.
- The
- three
- wronged
- wives
- are
- unaware
- of
- one
- another’s
- existence
- until
- they
- book
- into
- the
- same
- hotel
- in
- Kimberley.
The
- ninth
- story
- is
- about
- the
- discovery
- of
- alluvial
- diamonds
- on
- the
- banks
- of
- the
- Orange
- River
- in
- the
- Northern
- Cape.
- Who
- owns
- the
- land
- and
- the
- diamonds?
- Is
- it
- the
- farmer-settlers,
- the
- mining
- company
- or
- the
- descendants
- of
- the
- original
- inhabitants?
A
- Girl’s
- Best
- Friend
- advances
- the
- hypothesis
- that
- we
- are
- closer
- to
- the
- animals
- than
- psychologists
- and
- men
- of
- religion
- would
- have
- us
- believe.
- How
- much
- of
- our
- behaviour
- is
- governed
- by
- instinct
- without
- us
- realizing
- it?
- Take
- Anthea
- Gibson
- for
- example,
- the
- most
- beautiful
- girl
- of
- her
- generation,
- and
- her
- choice
- of
- a
- husband.
Isotropy
- is
- the
- story
- about
- a
- gang
- of
- jewellery
- thieves
- based
- on
- the
- French
- Riviera.
“Switch”,
- is
- a
- farcical
- story
- about
- an
- employee
- at
- a
- wholesale
- diamond
- merchant
- who
- tries
- to
- steal
- from
- his
- company.
- His
- plan
- works
- perfectly,
- except
- that
- he
- makes
- the
- wrong
- “Switch”.
Chop
- Shop
- is
- a
- humorous
- story
- about
- two
- young
- car
- thieves
- involved
- in
- something
- way
- out
- of
- their
- league.
The
- last
- story
- traces
- the
- adventures
- of
- a
- fabulous
- diamond
- which
- has
- the
- unusual
- property
- of
- changing
- colour.
- The
- diamond
- was
- found
- by
- a
- Khoi
- Bushman
- and
- used
- by
- him
- in
- “throwing
- the
- bones”
- or
- foretelling
- the
- future.
- He
- gives
- it
- to
- a
- tramp
- who
- is
- then
- murdered.
- The
- diamond
- then
- passes
- through
- several
- hands
- bringing
- bad
- luck
- to
- its
- owners.
- The
- story
- ends
- in
- a
- laboratory
- where
- scientists
- subject
- the
- gemstone
- to
- various
- tests
- trying
- to
- discover
- the
- secret
- of
- its
- ability
- to
- change colour.
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