Use

Features: George

Time ← Use → Ventured

Use is one of the 27 words in Rolypolys no Nanakorobi Yaoki.

Plot

We see George setting up a picnic. He sits down on his picnic blanket and pours himself a mug of milk. He tries to drink the milk by shoving his whole head into the mug, which causes all of the milk to spill out. He pours himself a second mug of milk and spills it all in the exact same way. When he tries to pour himself a third mug of milk, he finds that he has run out of milk. The scene ends with George watching the sunset, and we see that he has smashed the mug with a hammer.

Proverb

"It's no use crying over spilt milk."

George walks across the screen and tosses the empty milk carton into a trash can.

Explanation

Literally: Spilt water never returns to the bowl.

What's done is done, and cannot be undone; so there is no use feeling regret or remorse. There is such a finality in this, don't you think? But isn't this how things really are? Haven't you found that it is simply impossible to take back a comment that you unwisely made, or reverse a decision that shouldn't have been made? George, for one, sure wishes he was more careful in drinking his milk. That's right, we must think before we act - not after, when it's too late.