Fairy Tale
This is a story that was written specifically to benefit the Dyslexia Institute. It is a message book designed to bring attention to a very modern medical condition; or, that is to say, a very old problem which has been recognized as a medical condition which has been given a name only in the modern age. All standards and conventions take the story out of the realm of fairy tale and yet the story commences using the imagery that pretty much irrefutably defines that it is to be enjoyed as a fairy tale:
“Once upon a time there lived in England a charming and God-fearing vicar named Reverend Lee.”
Anxiety
The fairy tale twists on the plot turn that brings back to full force some form of the dyslexia that Robert Lee overcame as a kid. It comes back upon getting his first assignment as vicar. The anxiety of wondering if he is capable is the stimulus behind the onset of a rare (made-up) form of dyslexia. After being informed straight up that he was beginning to get nervous about the job, the details of that job making him nervous is presented in the form of imagery:
“Will I really be able to cope with this job? Weddings, funerals, christenings, Sunday Schools, the organist, the verger, the church committee, the choir, the bell-ringers and, above all, the dreaded sermons…
His mind whirled. He began to sweat.”
Back-to-Front Dyslexia
Reverend Lee will eventually be diagnosed by the town doctor with that rare (made-up) return form of his former problem: Back-to-Front Dyslexia. Before reaching the point of medical diagnosis, the specifics of his condition is presented in imagery much like the duties which spurred his anxieties which stimulated the Back-to-Front Dyslexia:
“He would be talking to somebody and suddenly his mind would subconsciously pick out the most significant word in the sentence and reverse it…For example: trap became part, drab became bard, God became dog, spirit became tirips and so on. I repeat that he was not aware of what he was doing and therefore he never thought to correct himself."
Park Spelled Backwards
None of the examples listed above are of the type capable of getting the Reverend in too much trouble with the parishioners. Somewhat ironically, however, it is precisely the imagery which is created by his Back-to-Front Dyslexia in one particularly unfortunate example that briefly turns an offended congregation against him. It is not even during a sermon, but a quite common and very typical sort of post-sermon announcement on the subject of where to park that turns very dark:
“I feel it only right to ask members of the congregation not to krap all along the front of the church before the service. It is not only unsightly, but it is also dangerous. If you all krap at the same time all along the side of the road you could be hit by a passing car at any time. There is plenty of room for you to do this alongside the church on the south side if you feel you must.”
