Leaf-eared Mouse Koans

[Scene: A scorching desert landscape of the Atacama. Two leaf-eared mice, KAITO and AKIRA, stand facing each other.]

KAITO:
"Does the hill burn?"

AKIRA:
"The hill is not burned. Yet, I am on fire."

[They vanish into the sand. Sound of wind.]

[Scene: A Parisian café. It is overcast outside a paint chipped window. Our protagonist, PIER, sits at a small table, sipping a cup of coffee. He strikes up a conversation with the café's proprietor, MONSIEUR LEFBOOL.]

PIER:

(skeptically)

Monsieur Lefbool, tell me... are these chocolate-covered espresso beans truly made from the finest espresso beans?

MONSIEUR LEFBOOL:

(with a hint of a smile)

Ah, Pier, my friend... (pauses to puff on his hashish pipe) The answer, she is not so simple. You see, some of these... (gestures to the chocolate-covered beans) ...are indeed made from the Arabica beans, roasted to perfection, no?

PIER:

(intrigued)

Oui? Your answer is a she, no? You said the answer, she is not so simple.

MONSIEUR LEFBOOL:

(leaning in, a conspiratorial whisper)

But others, Pier... they may use the Robusta beans, or perhaps even those pissy coffee beans from Oregon in the United States. Pissy, pissy, pissy. (shrugs) The world, she is full of mysteries, n'est-ce pas? And yes, my answer is a she. She is the answer, but she is not pissy.

PIER:

(thoughtfully)

I see. And how can one know, Monsieur Lefbool, which beans are used, and which ones are pissy.

MONSIEUR LEFBOOL:

(with a sly grin)

Ah, Pier... that, my friend, is the question, no? (winks) One must always be vigilant, always seek the truth... (pauses dramatically) especially when it comes to the sacred coffee, and the pissy cup?

[Scene fades as Pier nods, stoops over and vomits on the floor next to a woman about to purchase two baguettes.]

new moon
evening 
light rain
when the clouds 
break apart
you can see Cassiopeia