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1 The Penguin
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2
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3 by Jeramey Crawford <jacrawf@marko.net>
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4 and
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5 Rob Flynn <rflynn@blueridge.net>
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6
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7
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8 Once upon a term'nal dreary, while I hack'ed, weak and weary,
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9 Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten code--
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10 While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a beeping,
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11 As of some one gently feeping, feeping using damn talk mode.
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12 "'Tis some hacker," I muttered, "beeping using damn talk mode--
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13 Only this. I hate talk mode."
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14
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15 Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak semester,
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16 And college life wrought its terror as the school year became a bore.
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17 Eagerly I wished for privledges;--higher access I sought to borrow
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18 For my term'nal, unceasing sorrow--sorrow for a file called core--
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19 For the rare and radiant files of .c the coders call the core--
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20 Access Denied. Chown me more.
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21
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22 "Open Source," did all mutter, when, with very little flirt and flutter,
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23 In there stepped a stately Penguin of the saintly days of yore.
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24 Quite a bit obese was he; having eaten lots of fish had he,
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25 But, by deign of Finnish programmer, he sat in the middle of my floor--
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26 Looking upon my dusty term'nal in the middle of my floor--
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27 Came, and sat, and nothing more.
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28
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29 Then the tubby bird beguiling my sad code into shining,
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30 By the free and open decorum of the message that it bore,
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31 "Though thy term'nal be dusty and slow," he said, "Linux be not craven!"
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32 And thus I installed a new OS far from the proprietary shore--
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33 The kernel code open but documentation lacking on this shore.
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34 Quoth the Penguin, "pipe grep more!"
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35
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36 Much I marvelled this rotund fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
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37 Though its answer little meaning--little relevancy bore;
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38 For we cannot help believing that no living human being
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39 Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird in the middle of his floor--
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40 Bird or beast sitting in the middle of his cluttered floor,
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41 With such instructions as "pipe grep more."
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42
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43 But the Penguin, sitting lonely in that cluttered floor, spoke only
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44 Those words, as if its soul in that instruction he did outpour.
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45 Nothing more did he need utter; understood did I among that clutter--
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46 Understood his command as I could scarcely do a few moments before--
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47 I typed as furious as was willed me, understanding just a minute before.
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48 Again the bird said "pipe grep more!"
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49
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50 "Amazing!" said I, "Penguin we will conquor the world if you will!
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51 By the Network that interconnects us--by that Finn we both adore--
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52 We'll take this very world by storm!" For now grasped I what he'd meant,
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53 The thing I do while searching /usr/doc/* for that wond'rous lore--
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54 Those compendiums of plaintext documentation and descriptive lore.
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55 Quoth the Penguin, "pipe grep more!"
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56
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57 And the Penguin, never waddling, still is sitting, still is sitting
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58 In the middle of my room and still very cluttered floor;
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59 And his eyes have all the seeming of the free beer I am drinking
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60 And the term'nal-light o'er him glowing throws his shadows on the floor;
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61 And this OS from out the shadows that is pow'ring my term'nal on the floor
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62 Shall be dominating--"Pipe grep more!"
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63
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64
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