William Least Heat Moon has me under his narrative spell again: River Horse, his third great travelogue and his most ambitious journey, across the country from East to West by water.

At the very beginning of the trip, he quotes in full a translation of Japanese driving rules from 1935, arranged into stanzas by a friend. It had a familiar ring, and some of you may have seen it before, but it's worth the retyping anyway...

Fox

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Beware the Festive Dog

At the rise of the hand
of policeman, stop rapidly.
Do not pass him by
or otherwise disrespect him.

When a passenger of the foot
hove in sight, tootle the horn trumpet
to him melodiously at first.
If he still obstacles your passage,
tootle him with vigor
and express by word of mouth
the warning "Hi, Hi!"

Beware the wandering horse
that he shall not take fright
as you pass him.
Do not explode
the exhaust box at him.
Go soothingly by
or stop by the road-side
till he pass away.

Give big space
to the festive dog
that makes sport
in the road-way.
Avoid entanglement of dog
with your wheel spokes.

Go soothingly on the grease-mud,
as there lurk the skid-demon.
Press the brake of the foot
as you roll round the corners
to save the collapse
and tie-up.

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Heat-Moon, Wiliam Least; River Horse, 1999, Boston (Houghton-Mifflin); p. 14