Anyhow, I resumed, "Hamlets dead father said that his own brother the one who became chief, had poisoned him. He wanted Hamlet to avenge him. Hamlet believed this in his heart for he did not like his fathers brother I took another swallow of beer In the country of the great chief living in the same homestead, for it was a very large one, was an important elder who was often with the chief to advise and help him. His name was Polonius. Hamlet was courting his daughter, but her father and her brother [I cast hastily about for some tribal analogy] warned her not to let Hamlet visit her when she was alone on her farm, for he would be a great chief and so could not marry her Why not? asked the wife, who had settled down on the edge of the old mans chair. He frowned at her for asking stupid questions and growled "They lived in the same homestead. That was not the reason, " I informed them. Polonius was a stranger who lived in the homestead because he helped the chief, not because he was a relative Then why couldn't Hamlet marry her? He could have, I explained, " but Polonius didn t think he would. After all Hamlet was a man of great importance who ought to marry a chiefs afraid that if Hamlet made love to his daughter, then no one else would i daughter, for in his country a man could have only one wife Polonius w give a high price for ner. love to That might be true, remarked one of the shrewder elders, but a chiefs more than make up the difference. Polonius sounds like a fool to me,6 son would give his mistress's father enough presents and patronage Many people think he was, I agreed. " Meanwhile Polonius sent his son Laertes off to Paris to learn the things of that country, for it was the homestead of a very great chief indeed. Because he was afraid that Laertes might waste a lot of money on beer and women and gambling, or get into trouble by fighting, he sent one of his servants to Paris secretly, to spy out what Laertes was doing. One day Hamlet came upon Polonius's daughter Ophelia. He behaved so oddly he frightened her Indeed"-I was fumbling for words to express the dubious quality of Hamlet's madness-"the chief and many others had also noticed that when hamlet talked one could understand the words but not what they meant. Many people thought that he had become mad. My audience suddenly became much more attentive“Anyhow,” I resumed, “Hamlet’s dead father said that his own brother, the one who became chief, had poisoned him. He wanted Hamlet to avenge him. Hamlet believed this in his heart, for he did not like his father’s brother.” I took another swallow of beer. “In the country of the great chief, living in the same homestead, for it was a very large one, was an important elder who was often with the chief to advise and help him. His name was Polonius. Hamlet was courting his daughter, but her father and her brother . . . [I cast hastily about for some tribal analogy] warned her not to let Hamlet visit her when she was alone on her farm, for he would be a great chief and so could not marry her.” “Why not?” asked the wife, who had settled down on the edge of the old man’s chair. He frowned at her for asking stupid questions and growled, “They lived in the same homestead.” “That was not the reason,” I informed them. “Polonius was a stranger who lived in the homestead because he helped the chief, not because he was a relative.” “Then why couldn’t Hamlet marry her?” “He could have,” I explained, “but Polonius didn’t think he would. After all, Hamlet was a man of great importance who ought to marry a chief’s daughter, for in his country a man could have only one wife. Polonius was afraid that if Hamlet made love to his daughter, then no one else would give a high price for her.” “That might be true,” remarked one of the shrewder elders, “but a chief’s son would give his mistress’s father enough presents and patronage to more than make up the difference. Polonius sounds like a fool to me.” “Many people think he was,” I agreed. “Meanwhile Polonius sent his son Laertes off to Paris to learn the things of that country, for it was the homestead of a very great chief indeed. Because he was afraid that Laertes might waste a lot of money on beer and women and gambling, or get into trouble by fighting, he sent one of his servants to Paris secretly, to spy out what Laertes was doing. One day Hamlet came upon Polonius’s daughter Ophelia. He behaved so oddly he frightened her. Indeed”—I was fumbling for words to express the dubious quality of Hamlet’s madness—“the chief and many others had also noticed that when Hamlet talked one could understand the words but not what they meant. Many people thought that he had become mad.” My audience suddenly became much more attentive