It was a dark and stormy night...*

While in Peanuts, Snoopy the little beagle struggles with his typewriter to start his novel with some immortal lines in the English language, and the website cited below lampoons poor little Snoopy, plus his literary ancestor, the English novelist Edward George Bulwer Lytton(circa 1830), the fiercely loyal Mexican revolutionary general turned author Francisco L. Urquizo not only stands this phrase on its head, he makes it fly.

In fact, he makes it do more than merely fly, o.k.? Because in Urquizo's mastery of the Spanish language, Snoopy's opening line, "It was a dark and stormy night," really rocks. Big time!

Here we have Edward George Bulwer Lytton's original lines written by Lytton in 1830, in his novel Paul Clifford.

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents - except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

Score: 57 words, more or less!

Now, listo? Let's just see what General Francisco L. Urquizo does with his 57 words, more or less, in his opening scene on page 162 of his classic work Asesinato de Carranza.

"La noche estaba obscurísima, llovía copiasamente y el relampaueo incesante mezclábase con el estruendo de la tempestad que se cernía sobre nosotros. Amontonados todos en el centro del cobertizo, para no mojarnos, procuramos arreglarnos de la mejor manera para pasarla bien. Formé mi cama con los sudaderos de mi montura, puse ésta de cabecera y me acosté."

Score: still 57 words, more or less!

But! Man! What a difference in talent, artistry and sheer mastery of the author's native language: the early Twentieth Century Mexican revolutionary general whips his early Nineteenth Century English aristocratic competition to a fare-thee-well.

"Like, what more can we say?"

http://www.abc.net.au/centralvic/stories/s904089.htm