Source? "No answer came the stern reply"

[p***@hotmail.com]

I could be all wrong, but is it possibly from the poem (by Walter
DelaMare) that begins
"Is there anybody there, said the traveller
Knocking at the moonlit door"
It's 35yrs since I saw the poem, but it rings a bell.

Hi,
Thanks to anyone who can help. Someone I know needs to find the source
"no answer came the stern reply"
It sounds familiar to me, but distantly- really distantly. Any ideas?
And thanks again.
Michael Burns
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/

Yes, Walter DelaMare's 'The Listeners'

[c***@gmail.com]

The Bunyip By Frances King

"Who am I," asked the Bunyip. "What am I doing here?"
"Please tell me," begged the Bunyip," for my purpose isn't clear."

"No answer!" came the stern reply; "You'll get no help from me!"
Poor Bunyip, he began to cry, "Doesn't anyone know me?"

And thus he went a-wandering, searching far and wide
For someone who could put an end to his longing, deep inside.

One day, he found a piece of glass, discarded by a lake.
He gazed into its surface ... OH! That was his big mistake!

For in that glass, he met Himself ... the image struck him dumb;
No-one could love that ugly mug! (Except perhaps his Mum ...)

So, overcome by black despair, the poor old Bunyip sobbed.
The tears poured down his warty cheeks, and ran into his gob.

He cried all night, and then all day, and then all night again.
The rain it poured, the wind it howled as if to voice his pain ...

Then suddenly emerged a shape, out of the Primal Soup,
Round and warty ... big and black ... The Bunyip was cock-a-hoop!

"Who am I?" asked the creature,
(In strangely girlish voice.)

The Bunyip's pulse began to race ...
His lumpy heart rejoiced ...

"What am I?" begged the creature.
"Oh! I WISH that I could see!"

"You're a Bunyip!" cried the Bunyip,
"And you look, ... well,

"Just like ME!"

Post by p***@hotmail.com

I could be all wrong, but is it possibly from the poem (by Walter
DelaMare) that begins
"Is there anybody there, said the traveller
Knocking at the moonlit door"
It's 35yrs since I saw the poem, but it rings a bell.

Hi,
Thanks to anyone who can help. Someone I know needs to find the source
"no answer came the stern reply"
It sounds familiar to me, but distantly- really distantly. Any ideas?
And thanks again.
Michael Burns
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/

Yes, Walter DelaMare's 'The Listeners'

[m***@gmail.com]

Hi,
Thanks to anyone who can help. Someone I know needs to find the source
"no answer came the stern reply"
It sounds familiar to me, but distantly- really distantly. Any ideas?
And thanks again.
Michael Burns
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/

I believe that this line is used a couple of times in the novels of PG Wodehouse. He was an inveterate user of tasty quotes from earlier authors and was probably not the originator. It would be worth posting the query on a Wodehouse forum because "Wodehouseians" have a good track record of tracking down his quotes. Mike edwards

[r***@hearingandsightsolutions.org.uk]

There is a poem by Frances King called The Bunyip which uses these exact words. Not sure if it is the first use or if the poet is quoting something older.

[i***@gmail.com]

Try "Wind In The Willows". By Kenneth Grahame

[i***@gmail.com]

I thought it came from "Wind In The Willows" by Kenneth Grahame

[a***@gmail.com]

Hi,
Thanks to anyone who can help. Someone I know needs to find the source
"no answer came the stern reply"
It sounds familiar to me, but distantly- really distantly. Any ideas?
And thanks again.
Michael Burns
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/

The Bunyip
“Who am I,” asked the Bunyip. “What am I doing here?”
“Please tell me,” begged the Bunyip,” for my purpose isn’t clear.”

“No answer!” came the stern reply; “You’ll get no help from me!”
Poor Bunyip, he began to cry, “Doesn’t anyone know me?”

[SteveMR200]

Post by c***@gmail.com
The Bunyip
"Who am I," asked the Bunyip.
"What am I doing here?"
"Please tell me," begged the Bunyip,
"For my purpose isn't clear."

If you want to know why you were placed on this
planet, you must begin with God. You were born
by his purpose and for his purpose.

The search for the purpose of life has puzzled
people for thousands of years. That's because
we typically begin at the wrong starting point--
ourselves.

We ask self-centered questions like "What do I want
to be?" "What should I do with my life?" "What are
my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future?"

But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our
life's purpose. The Bible says, "It is God who
directs the lives of his creatures; everyone's
life is in His power." (Job 12:10 TEV)

Contrary to what many popular books, movies, and
seminars tell you, you won't discover your life's
meaning by looking within yourself. You've probably
tried that already. You didn't create yourself, so
there is no way you can tell yourself what you were
created for!

If I handed you an invention you had never seen
before, you wouldn't know its purpose, and the
invention itself wouldn't be able to tell you
either. Only the creator or the owner's manual
could reveal its purpose.

I once got lost in the mountains. When I stopped to
ask for directions to the campsite, I was told, "You
can't get there from here. You must start from the
other side of the mountain!"

In the same way, you cannot arrive at your life's
purpose by starting with a focus on yourself. You
must begin with God, your Creator. You exist only
because God wills that you exist.

You were made by God and for God--and until you
understand that, life will never make sense.
It is only in God that we discover our origin,
our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our
significance, and our destiny. Every other
path leads to a dead end.

--Rick Warren (1954- )
_The Purpose Driven Life_ [2002], Chapter 1

--
Steve

[Lucas Ramieux]

Post by c***@gmail.com

Hi,
Thanks to anyone who can help. Someone I know needs to find the source
"no answer came the stern reply"
It sounds familiar to me, but distantly- really distantly. Any ideas?
And thanks again.
Michael Burns
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/

The Bunyip
“Who am I,” asked the Bunyip. “What am I doing here?”
“Please tell me,” begged the Bunyip,” for my purpose isn’t clear.”
“No answer!” came the stern reply; “You’ll get no help from me!”
Poor Bunyip, he began to cry, “Doesn’t anyone know me?”

From Frances King, the author:


Go!

Find her.
It’s okay,
Make her happy …

(Stay!)

Gone.

Left me.
Gone away.
Doesn’t hurt now …

(Lie!)

==> Frances King, Confession,
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/confession_165086, accessed 28 June
2018

==================
Lucas Ramieux
"Memento mori; Live purposefully"

[h***@aruncoaches.co.uk]

Hi,
Thanks to anyone who can help. Someone I know needs to find the source
"no answer came the stern reply"
It sounds familiar to me, but distantly- really distantly. Any ideas?
And thanks again.
Michael Burns
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/

My mother was an avid reader, and when I was a child I remember her reading this to me. It was a very long time ago, but I'm sure it was a quote in response to a telegram. The boy delivered the telegram, and the recipient replied "No answer".

[r***@gmail.com]

I think it is from Beatrix Potter.