Triggers

A monk of the Elephant's Footprint Clan asked, “What of database triggers?”

The master answered, “When you are hungry at midnight, then you will know.”

The monk lay awake pondering this. Eventually his clock read midnight, and since it had been many hours since supper the monk realized that he was in fact hungry.

Leaving his sandals behind so as not to make noise, the monk stole softly down to the temple kitchens. Through the blackness he felt his way inch by inch towards the humming of the great refrigerator. His fingers had barely closed around its cold handle when he heard a loud snap and his vision went white with pain. The monk fell backwards, struck his head, and was lost to oblivion.

He awoke at dawn with the monks of the Elephant’s Footprint standing over him. He still lay upon the kitchen floor—which, he could now see, was strewn with mousetraps. He could also see that some of the Elephant’s Footprint clan possessed mangled or missing toes. At that moment the monk was enlightened.