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Beowulf

King Hrothgar, Scyld's greatgrandson, is well loved by his people and successful in war. He builds a lavish hall, called Heorot, to house his vast army, and when the hall is finished, the Danish warriors gather under its roof to celebrate. Grendel, a monster who lives at the bottom of a nearby mere, is provoked by the singing and celebrating of Hrothgar's followers. He appears at the hall late one night and kills thirty of the warriors in their sleep. For the next twelve years, the fear of Grendel's fury casts a shadow over the lives of the Danes. Hrothgar and his advisors can think of nothing to calm the monster's anger. Beowulf, prince of the Geats, hears about Hrothgar's troubles, gathers fourteen of the bravest Geat warriors, and sets sail from his home in southern Sweden. The Geats are greeted by the members of Hrothgar's court, and Beowulf boasts to the king of his previous successes as a warrior, particularly his success in fighting sea monsters. Hrothgar welcomes the arrival of the Geats, hoping that Beowulf will live up to his reputation. During the banquet that follows Beowulf's arrival, Unferth, a Danish thane, voices doubt about Beowulf's past accomplishments, and Beowulf, in return, accuses Unferth of killing his brothers. Before the night ends, Hrothgar promises Beowulf great treasures if he meets with success against the monster. Grendel appears on the night of the Geats' arrival at Heorot. Beowulf, true to his word, wrestles the monster barehanded. He tears off the monster's arm at the shoulder, but Grendel escapes, only to die soon afterward at the bottom of his snakeinfested mere. The Danish warriors, who have fled the hall in fear, return singing songs in praise of Beowulf's triumph. Hrothgar rewards Beowulf with a great store of treasures. After another banquet, the warriors of both the Geats and the Danes retire for the night. Unknown to the warriors, however, Grendel's mother is plotting revenge. She arrives at the hall when all the warriors are sleeping and carries off Aeschere, Hrothgar's chief advisor along with her son's claw. Beowulf offers to dive to the bottom of the lake, find the monster and destroy her. He and his men follow the monster's tracks to the cliff overlooking the lake where Grendel's mother lives. They see Aeschere's bloody head sitting on the cliff. While preparing for battle, Beowulf asks Hrothgar to protect his warriors, and to send his treasures to his uncle, King Hygelac, if he doesn't return safely. Before Beowulf goes into the sea, Unferth offers him his sword, Hrunting. During the ensuing battle Grendel's mother carries Beowulf to her underwater home. After a terrible fight, Beowulf kills the monster with a magical sword, probably put there by 1

the Al-Weilder, that he finds on the wall of her home. He also finds Grendel's dead body, cuts off the head, and returns to land, where the Geat and Danish warriors are waiting expectantly. Beowulf has now abolished the race of evil monsters. The warriors return to Hrothgar's court, where the Danes and Geats prepare a feast in celebration of the death of the monsters. Beowulf bids farewell to Hrothgar and tells the old king that if the Danes ever again need help he will gladly come to their assistance. Hrothgar presents Beowulf with more treasures, and they embrace, emotionally, like father and son. The Geats sail home. After recounting the story of his battles with Grendel and Grendel's mother, Beowulf tells King Hygelac about the feud between Denmark and their enemies, the Heatho-bards. He describes the proposed peace settlement, in which Hrothgar will give his daughter Freawaru to Ingeld, king of the Heatho-bards, but predicts that the peace will not last long. Hygelac rewards Beowulf for his bravery with land, swords, and houses. The meeting between Hygelac and Beowulf marks the end of the first part of the poem. In the next part, Hygelac is dead, and Beowulf has been king of the Geats for fifty

years. A thief steals a jeweled cup from a sleeping dragon who avenges his loss by flying through the night burning down houses, including Beowulf's own hall and throne. Beowulf goes to the cave where the dragon lives, vowing to destroy it single-handedly. He's an old man now, and he is not as strong as he was when he fought Grendel. During the battle Beowulf breaks his sword against the dragon's side; the dragon, enraged, engulfs Beowulf in flames and wounds him in the neck. All of Beowulf's followers flee except Wiglaf, who rushes through the flames to assist the aging warrior. Wiglaf stabs the dragon with his sword, and Beowulf, in a final act of courage, cuts the dragon in half with his knife. Yet the damage is done. Beowulf realizes that he's dying, that he has fought his last battle. He asks Wiglaf to bring him the dragon's storehouse of treasures; seeing the jewels and gold will make him feel that the effort has been worthwhile. He instructs Wiglaf to build a tomb to be known as "Beowulf's tower" on the edge of the sea. After Beowulf dies, Wiglaf admonishes the troops who deserted their leader when he was fighting against the dragon. He tells them that they have been untrue to the standards of bravery, courage, and loyalty that Beowulf has taught.

Helen of Troy
were "petty and cruel," three of the leading goddesses had a contest to determine who was most beautiful. The prize was Eris' golden apple, an apple no less dangerous than the one in the story of Sleeping Beauty despite its lack of consumable poison. To make the contest objective, the goddesses hired a human judge, Paris (also called Alexander), son of the Eastern potentate, Priam of Troy. Since Paris was to be paid according to the largesse of the winner, the contest was really to see who provided the most attractive incentive. Aphrodite won hands down, but the prize she offered was the wife of another man. Paris, after seducing Helen while a guest in the palace of her husband, King Menelaus of Sparta, went blithely on his way back to Troy with Helen. This abduction and violation of all rules of hospitality launched 1000 (Greek) ships to bring Helen back to Menelaus. Meanwhile, King Agamemnon of Mycenae, summoned the tribal kings from all over Greece to come to the aid of his cuckolded brother. Two of his best men -- one a strategist and the other a great warrior -- were Odysseus (aka Ulysses) of Ithaca, who would later come up with the idea of the Trojan Horse, and Achilles of Phthia, who may have married Helen in the Afterlife..
During the time when Gods

Odysseus feigned madness by plowing his field destructively, perhaps with mismatched draft animals, perhaps with salt (a powerful destructive agent used according to legend at least one other time -- by the Romans on Carthage). Agamemnon's messenger placed Telemachus, Odysseus' infant son, on the path of the plough. When Odysseus swerved to avoid killing him, he was recognized as sane. Achilles -- with blame for cowardice conveniently laid at the feet of his mother, Thetis -- was made to look like and live with the maidens. Odysseus tricked him with the lure of a peddler's bag of trinkets. All the other maidens reached for the ornaments, but Achilles grabbed the sword stuck in their midst. The Greek (Achaean) leaders met together at Aulis where they awaited Agamemnon's command to set sail. When an inordinate amount of time had passed and the winds still remained unfavorable, Agamemnon sought the services of Calchas the seer. Calchas told him that Artemis was angry with Agamemnon -- perhaps because he had promised her his finest sheep as a sacrifice to the goddess, but when the time came to sacrifice a golden sheep, he had, instead, substituted an ordinary one -and to appease her, Agamemnon must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. Upon the death of Iphigenia, the winds became favorable and the fleet set sail. The head of the Greek 3

forces, Agamemnon, killed his own daughter in order to appease the goddess Artemis, who, angry with Agamemnon, had stalled the Greek forces at Aulis. In order to set sail for Troy they needed a favorable wind, but Artemis arranged for uncooperative winds until Agamemnon performed her required sacrifice. Once Artemis was satisfied, the Greeks set sail for Troy where to fight the Trojan War. Agamemnon did not stay in the good graces of either of the children of Leto for long. He soon incurred the wrath of her son Apollo, the brother of Artemis. In revenge, Apollo caused an outbreak of plague to lay the troops low. Agamemnon and Achilles had received Chryseis and Briseis as prizes of war or war brides. Chryseis was the daughter of Chryses, who was a priest of Apollo. Chryses wanted his daughter back and even offered a ransom, but Agamemnon refused. Calchas the seer advised Agamemnon on the connection between his behavior toward the priest of Apollo and the plague that was decimating his army. Agamemnon had to return Chryseis to the priest of Apollo if he wanted the plague to end. After much Greek suffering, Agamemnon agreed to the recommendation of Calchas the seer, but only on condition that he take possession of the war prize of Achilles -- Briseis -- as a replacement.

No one could stop Agamemnon. Achilles was enraged. The honor of the leader of the Greeks, Agamemnon, had been assuaged, but what about the honor of the greatest of the Greek heroes -Achilles? Following the dictates of his own conscience, Achilles could no longer cooperate, so he withdrew his troops (the Myrmidons) and sat on the sidelines. With the help of fickle Gods, the Trojans began to inflict heavy personal damages on the Greeks, as Achilles and the Myrmidons sat on the sidelines. Patroclus, Achilles' friend, persuaded Achilles that his Myrmidons would make the difference in the battle, so Achilles let Patroclus take his men as well as Achilles' personal armor so that Patroclus would appear to be Achilles in the battlefield. It worked, but since Patroclus was not so great a warrior as Achilles, Prince Hector, the noble son of Trojan King Priam, struck Patroclus down. What even Patroclus' words had failed to do, Hector accomplished. The death of Patroclus spurred Achilles into action and armed with a new shield forged by Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the Gods (as a favor for Achilles' sea goddess mother Thetis) Achilles went into battle. Achilles soon avenged himself. After killing Hector, he tied the body to the back of his war chariot, the grief-maddened Achilles then dragged Hector's corpse through the sand and 4

dirt for days. In time, Achilles calmed down and returned the corpse of Hector to his grieving father. In a later battle, Achilles was killed by an arrow to the one part of his body Thetis had held when she had dipped the baby Achilles into the River Styx to confer immortality. With Achilles' death, the Greeks lost their greatest fighter. The greatest of the Greek heroes -- Achilles -- was dead. The 10-year Trojan War, which had begun when the Greeks set sail to retrieve Menelaus' wife, Helen, form the Trojans, was at a stalemate. Crafty Odysseus devised a plan that ultimately doomed the Trojans. Sending all the Greek ships away or into hiding, it appeared to the Trojans that the Greeks had given up. The Greeks left a parting gift in front of the walls of the city of Troy. it was a giant wooden horse which appeared to be an offering to Athena -- a peace offering. The jubilant Trojans dragged

the monstrous, wheeled, wooden horse into their city to celebrate the end of the 10 years of fighting. That night, while the Trojans were more than a little comatose from too much drinking, the Greeks slipped quietly out the trap door Odysseus had had built in the Trojan horse's belly. Killing Trojans and setting fire to the city, they quickly won the war. Having won the war, the filicidal King Agamemnon went back to his wife for the reward he so richly deserved. Ajax, who had lost out to Odysseus in the contest for Achilles' arms, went crazy and killed himself. Odysseus set out on the voyage that made him more famous than his help with Troy. And Aphrodite's son, the Trojan hero Aeneas, set out from his burning homeland -- carrying his father on his shoulders -- on his way to Dido, in Carthage, and, finally, to the land that was to become Rome.

A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens

A mean-spirited, miserly old man named Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his counting-house on a frigid Christmas Eve. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in the anteroom because Scrooge refuses to spend money on heating coals for a fire. Scrooge's nephew, Fred, pays his uncle a visit and invites him to his annual Christmas party. Two portly gentlemen also drop by and ask Scrooge for a contribution to their charity. Scrooge reacts to the holiday visitors with bitterness and venom, spitting out an angry "Bah! Humbug!" in response to his nephew's "Merry Christmas!" Later that evening, after returning to his dark, cold apartment, Scrooge receives a chilling visitation from the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, looking haggard and pallid, relates his unfortunate story. As punishment for his greedy and self-serving life his spirit has been condemned to wander the Earth weighted down with heavy chains. Marley hopes to save Scrooge from sharing the same fate. Marley informs Scrooge that three spirits will visit him during each of the next three nights. After the wraith disappears, Scrooge collapses into a deep sleep. He wakes moments before the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Past, a strange childlike phantom with a brightly glowing head. The spirit escorts Scrooge on a journey into the past to previous Christmases from the

curmudgeon's earlier years. Invisible to those he watches, Scrooge revisits his childhood school days, his apprenticeship with a jolly merchant named Fezziwig, and his engagement to Belle, a woman who leaves Scrooge because his lust for money eclipses his ability to love another. Scrooge, deeply moved, sheds tears of regret before the phantom returns him to his bed. The Ghost of Christmas Present, a majestic giant clad in a green fur robe, takes Scrooge through London to unveil Christmas as it will happen that year. Scrooge watches the large, bustling Cratchit family prepare a miniature feast in its meager home. He discovers Bob Cratchit's crippled son, Tiny Tim, a courageous boy whose kindness and humility warms Scrooge's heart. The specter then zips Scrooge to his nephew's to witness the Christmas party. Scrooge finds the jovial gathering delightful and pleads with the spirit to stay until the very end of the festivities. As the day passes, the spirit ages, becoming noticeably older. Toward the end of the day, he shows Scrooge two starved children, Ignorance and Want, living under his coat. He vanishes instantly as Scrooge notices a dark, hooded figure coming toward him. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come leads Scrooge through a sequence of mysterious scenes relating to an unnamed man's recent 6

death. Scrooge sees businessmen discussing the dead man's riches, some vagabonds trading his personal effects for cash, and a poor couple expressing relief at the death of their unforgiving creditor. Scrooge, anxious to learn the lesson of his latest visitor, begs to know the name of the dead man. After pleading with the ghost, Scrooge finds himself in a churchyard, the spirit pointing to a grave. Scrooge looks at the headstone and is shocked to read his own name. He desperately implores the spirit to alter his fate, promising to renounce his insensitive, avaricious ways and to honor Christmas with all his heart. Whoosh! He suddenly finds himself safely tucked in his bed.

Overwhelmed with joy by the chance to redeem himself and grateful that he has been returned to Christmas Day, Scrooge rushes out onto the street hoping to share his newfound Christmas spirit. He sends a giant Christmas turkey to the Cratchit house and attends Fred's party, to the stifled surprise of the other guests. As the years go by, he holds true to his promise and honors Christmas with all his heart: he treats Tiny Tim as if he were his own child, provides lavish gifts for the poor, and treats his fellow human beings with kindness, generosity, and warmth.

A Lost Lady
Willa Cather

In a small railroad town of Sweet Water, on the Western plains, there lives the finest family, the Forresters, and Mrs. Forrester is known far and wide as being an enchanting hostess. The leaders of the railroads often stop by the house and spend an evening there while passing through Sweet Water. Niel Herbert, a young boy when the novel opens, goes to the Forrester estate in order to play in the marsh with his friends. While there, an older boy named Ivy Peters arrives. Ivy sees a woodpecker and shoots her out of a nearby tree. He then takes a blade and slits her eyes, watching as she flutters around helplessly before luckily finding her hole in the tree. Feeling sympathetic, Niel starts to climb the tree in order to put the bird out of its misery. Near the top he slips and falls to the ground, breaking his arm in the process and knocking himself out. Ivy carries him to the Forrester residence where Niel is cared for by Mrs. Forrester. He immediately becomes enchanted by her nice house and her sweet smell. He does not see much of her after that until one day, several years later, she invites Niel and his uncle, Judge Pommeroy, to her house for dinner. At the meal Niel meets Ellinger, whom he later learns is Mrs. Forrester's lover, and Constance Ogden, a young girl who will marry Ellinger.

Niel starts to spend a lot of time with the Forresters that winter, often playing cards up to three evenings a week. One day a telegram arrives informing Captain Forrester that a small bank of which he is the president has declared bankruptcy. He and Judge Pommeroy leave to take care of the problem. During their absence, Ellinger arrives and Niel accidently spots Mrs. Forrester and Ellinger together in the house, a scene that destroys his image of her. When her husband returns, he announces that he has been financially wiped out. He soon suffers a stroke but survives, and Niel leaves to go to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Two years later Niel is returning to the town when he encounters Ivy Peters on the train. Ivy tells him that he has drained the Forrester's marsh and turned it into wheat fields. Once he arrives home, Niel visits the Forresters. The Captain has become a fat old man who sits and watches a sun-dial all day long. Mrs. Forrester is as beautiful as always, but she greets Niel as if he were still a young boy. Niel is put off by the fact that Ivy Peters is on the Forrester estate nearly every day, walking around as if he owns the place. He asks Mrs. Forrester why she allows Ivy to be so rude to her, and she tells him that he is a savvy business man who is

investing money for so she can get away from the place. A few weeks later Niel reads that Ellinger has married Constance Ogden and realizes that Mrs. Forrester will be upset. That night she arrives at his door and makes a long distance phone call to Ellinger. Niel is worried that the phone operator will listen in, and when Mrs. Forrester starts to get hysterical, he cuts the phone wire. Soon thereafter the Captain suffers another stroke and Mrs. Forrester is soon unable to care for him by herself. The local women help her, eager for the chance to get into her house and gossip about it. Niel is offended by the way things are going and he chooses to postpone his education for a year in order to take care of the Forresters. The Captain dies within a few months and Mrs. Forrester has the sun-dial place on his grave. Niel ends up staying in the town because his uncle has become sick and needs someone to take care of the law offices. Mrs. Forrester soon switches lawyers from the Judge to Ivy Peters, thereby severing all her old contacts. Ivy spends more time at her place than ever, and she soon get s reputation of

chasing the younger men. Niel approaches her to ask her to stop, but she claims that she needs some company. A few months later she invites Niel to a dinner party with some of the town's younger men. He reluctantly goes and watches as the uncouth boys eat and dine with her. She then tells them the story of how she met Captain Forrester as a young girl. She had been mountain climbing and fallen, landing in a pine tree with two broken legs. The Captain rescued her and he and his men carried her back to their camp. Some months later Niel goes to say goodbye to her before returning to school. He watches from a distance as Ivy puts his arms around her and touches her breasts. Deeply dismayed, Niel leaves without talking to her. Some years later he meets one of his childhood friends. The other man informs Niel that Mrs. Forrester moved to California and from there made her way to Buenos Aires and married an Englishman. He mentions that she always had flowers placed on the Captain's grave each year. When Niel asks him if she is still alive, he says that she died three years earlier.

The Scarlet Letter


By: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hester is being led to the scaffold, where she is to be publicly shamed for having committed adultery. Hester is forced to wear the letter A on her gown at all times. She has stitched a large scarlet A onto her dress with gold thread, giving the letter an air of elegance. Hester carries Pearl, her daughter, with her. On the scaffold she is asked to reveal the name of Pearl's father, but she refuses. In the crowd Hester recognizes her husband from Amsterdam, Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth visits Hester after she is returned to the prison. He tells her that he will find out who the man was, and he will read the truth on the man's heart. Chillingworth then forces her to promise never to reveal his true identity as her cuckolded husband. Hester moves into a cottage bordering the woods. She and Pearl live there in relative solitude. Hester earns her money by doing stitchwork for local dignitaries, but she often spends her time helping the poor and sick. Pearl grows up to be wild, even refusing to obey her mother. Roger Chillingworth earns a reputation as a good physician. He uses his reputation to get transferred into the same home asArthur Dimmesdale, an ailing minister. Chillingworth eventually discovers that Dimmesdale is the true father of Pearl, at which point he spends every

moment trying to torment the minister. One night Dimmesdale is so overcome with shame about hiding his secret that he walks to the scaffold where Hester was publicly humiliated. He stands on the scaffold and imagines the whole town watching him with a letter emblazoned on his chest. While standing there, Hester and Pearl arrive. He asks them to stand with him, which they do. Pearl then asks him to stand with her the next day at noon. When a meteor illuminates the three people standing on the scaffold, they see Roger Chillingworth watching them. Dimmesdale tells Hester that he is terrified of Chillingworth, who offers to take Dimmesdale home. Hester realizes that Chillingworth is slowly killing Dimmesdale and that she has to help Dimmesdale. A few weeks later, Hester sees Chillingworth picking herbs in the woods. She tells him that she is going to reveal the fact that he is her husband to Dimmesdale. He tells her that Providence is now in charge of their fates, and she may do as she sees fit. Hester takes Pearl into the woods, where they wait for Dimmesdale to arrive. He is surprised to see them, but he confesses to Hester that he is desperate for a friend who knows his secret. She comforts him and tells him Chillingworth's true identity. He is furious but finally agrees that they 10

should run away together. He returns to town with more energy than he has ever shown before. Hester finds a ship that will carry all three of them, and it works out that the ship is due to sail the day after Dimmesdale gives his Election Sermon. But on the day of the sermon, Chillingworth persuades the ship's captain to take him on board as well. Hester does not know how to get out of this dilemma. Dimmesdale gives his Election Sermon, and it receives the highest accolades of any preaching he has ever performed. He then unexpectedly walks to the scaffold and stands on it, in full view of the gathered masses. Dimmesdale calls Hester and Pearl to come to him. Chillingworth tries to stop him, but

Dimmesdale laughs and tells him that he cannot win. Hester and Pearl join Dimmesdale on the scaffold. Dimmesdale then tells the people that he is also a sinner like Hester, and that he should have assumed his rightful place by her side over seven years earlier. He then rips open his shirt to reveal a scarlet letter on his flesh. Dimmesdale falls to his knees and dies on the scaffold. Hester and Pearl leave the town for a while, and several years later Hester returns. No one hears from Pearl again, but it is assumed that she has gotten married and has had children in Europe. Hester never removes her scarlet letter, and when she passes away she is buried in the site of King's Chapel.

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William Tell
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller

About seven hundred years ago the little country of Switzerland was governed by a man called Hermann Gessler. He was in the service of the Austrian Emperor, and his harsh ways had made him very unpopular. One day a man called Wilhelm (William) Tell walked into the village of Altdorf, his little son by his side. He came from the nearby hamlet of Brglen, and was reputed to be the best crossbowman and the best handler of a boat in the region. He was talking to his son and did not see a hat set atop a long pole that stood in the marketplace. Suddenly two soldiers laid hold of him, and asked him how he dared walk by the Governors hat without bowing down. What do you mean? Why should I bow to an empty hat? said Wilhelm Tell. It is Gesslers orders. Whoever passes by must show their loyalty to Austria, and bow to his hat. Those who disobey will be executed. A crowd had gathered about the little group, and a low murmur now went up as a party of men on horseback clattered into the marketplace the Governor himself had arrived. What is happening here? said Gessler. Why have you arrested this man?

He refuses to pay homage to your hat, my lord, said the soldiers. It is Wilhelm Tell, the crossbowman from Brglen. Ah, I have heard of your skill with the crossbow, said Gessler. Now, let us see if the tales are true. Take that boy and tie him to yonder linden tree. Wilhelm Tell watched in horror as his son was dragged from him, and bound to the trunk of the tree. Now set this apple on his head, said Gessler. Tell, if you can split that apple with your arrow I will spare your life. When Wilhelm Tell heard these words he went pale. I cannot do that, your grace, he said. What if I miss? I cannot aim at my own child. Then he shall be killed in your sight, said Gessler. Come, I wish to see a display of your skill. Slowly Wilhelm Tell drew two arrows from his quiver, and set one in his belt. The second he fitted to his bow, and set it upon his shoulder. A moment later a loud cheer arose among the bystanders; the apple had been pierced through the centre, and fell in two equal pieces.

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A mighty shot! said Gessler. But tell me why did you take two arrows? If the first arrow had hurt my child I would have killed you with the second, said Tell. The Governors face darkened with anger. Indeed? So long as you are at liberty I am at risk. I will spare your life, but you shall spend what is left of it in the prison across the lake. Guards, seize him! To the crowds dismay the soldiers once again laid hold of Tell, and hustled him down to a boat that was moored on the lake. With Gessler on board, they cast off and set sail for the fortress in which Tell was to be imprisoned. Soon, however, a terrible storm arose, and the Governor and his men began to lose hope of ever reaching the opposite shore alive. Your honour, said one of the soldiers. This Tell is the best helmsman in Switzerland. Let us release him and give him control of the boat otherwise we will all be drowned!

Wilhelm Tell agreed to guide them to safety, and, taking the rudder, directed the vessel towards a large, overhanging rock. Suddenly he made a spring upwards, and caught hold of the rock. Before Gessler could recover his wits Tell had pulled himself up and disappeared. Cast anchor, cast anchor! cried Gessler. We cannot let him escape! The Governor and his men disembarked, and set off along the narrow gully between Kussnacht and Immensee. I shall destroy this Tell, muttered Gessler as he rode along. I will kill him, and his wife, and his children Before he could go any further an arrow whizzed through the air and entered his heart. The Governor fell back, deprived of life, and a figure with a crossbow appeared for a moment against the sky. Wilhelm Tell had freed the people of Switzerland from their oppressor, and they hailed him as a hero. Some even wanted to make him king, but he refused, and returned to his peaceful cottage in the mountains.

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Man Without A Country


Edward Everett Hale

Philip Nolan is a young lieutenant army of the United States, who develops a friendship with the visiting Aaron Burr. When Burr is tried for treason, Nolan is tried as an accomplice. During his testimony, he bitterly renounces his nation, angrily shouting, I wish I may never hear of the United States again! The judge was completely shocked at his announcement, and on convincing him, icily grants him his wish, he is to spend the rest of his life aboard United States Navy warships, in exile, with no right ever again to set foot on U.S. soil, and with explicit orders that no one shall ever mention his country to him again. The sentence is carried out to the letter. For the rest of his life, Nolan is transported from ship to ship, living out his life as a prisoner on the high seas, never once allowed back in a home port. Though he is treated according to his former rank, nothing of his country was ever mentioned to him. None of the sailors in whose custody Nolan remains are allowed to speak to him about the U.S. and his newspapers are censored. Nolan is unrepentant at first, but over the years becomes sadder and wiser, and desperate for news. One day, as he is being transferred to another ship, he beseeches a young sailor never to make the same mistake that he had, Remember, boy, that behind all these men behind officers and

government, and people even, there is the Country Herself, youre Country, and that you belong to her as you belong to your own mother. Stand by her, boy, as you would stand by your mother! In his time on one such ship, he attends a party in which he dances with a young lady he had formerly known. He then beseeches her to tell him something, anything, about the United States, but she quickly withdraws and speaks no longer to him. Deprived of a homeland, Nolan slowly and painfully learns the true worth of his country. He misses it more than his friends and family, more than art or music or love or nature. Without it, he is nothing. Dying, he shows his room to an officer named Danforth; it is a little shrine of patriotism. The Stars and Stripes are draped around a picture of George Washington. Over his bed, Nolan has painted a bald eagle, with lightning blazing from his beak and claws grasping the globe. At the foot of his bed is an outdated map of the Untied States, showing many of its old territories that had unbeknownst to him, been admitted to statehood. Nolan smiles, Here, you see, I have a country! The dying man asks desperately to be told the news of American history since 1807, and Danforth finally relates to him almost all of the major events that have happened to the U.S. since his sentence was imposed; the narrator confesses, however, that I could not 14

make up my mouth to tell him a word about this infernal rebellion. Nolan asks him to have them bury him in the sea and have a gravestone placed in memory of him at Fort Adams, Mississippi or at New Orleans. When he is found dead later that day, he is found to have drafted a suitably patriotic epitaph for himself. The

epitaph states: In memory of PHILIP NOLAN, Lieutenant in the army of the United States. He loved his country as no other man has loved her; but no man deserved less at her hands.

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Romeo and Juliet


Charles Shakers

There was a large fight between the Capulets and the Montagues, two prestigious families in Verona, Italy. These families have been fighting for quite some time, and the Prince declares that their next public brawl will be punished by death. When the fight is over, Romeos cousin Benvolio tries to cheer him of his melancholy. Romeo reveals that he is in love with a woman named Rosaline, but she has chosen to live a life of chastity. Romeo and Benvolio are accidentally invited to their enemys party; Benvolio convinces Romeo to go. At the party, Romeo locks eyes with a young woman named Juliet. They instantly fall in love, but they do not realize that their families are mortal enemies. When they realize each others identities, they are devastated, but they cannot help the way that they feel. Romeo sneaks into Juliets yard after the party and proclaims his love for her. She returns his sentiments and the two decide to marry. The next day, Romeo and Juliet are married by Friar Lawrence; an event witnessed by Juliets Nurse and Romeos loyal servant, Balthasar. They plan to meet in Juliets chambers that night. Romeo visits his best friend Mercutio and his cousin Benvolio but his good mood is curtailed. Juliets cousin, Tybalt, starts a verbal quarrel with Romeo, which soon turns into a duel with Mercutio. Romeo tries to

stop the fight but it is too late: Tybalt kills Mercutio. Romeo, enraged, retaliates by killing Tybalt. Once Romeo realizes the consequences of his actions, he hides at Friar Lawrences cell. Friar Lawrence informs Romeo that he has been banished from Verona and will be killed if he stays. The Friar suggests Romeo spend the night with Juliet, then leave for Mantua in the morning. He tells Romeo that he will attempt to settle the Capulet and Montague dispute so Romeo can later return to a united family. Romeo takes his advice, spending one night with Juliet before fleeing Verona. Juliets mother, completely unaware of her daughter's secret marriage to Romeo, informs Juliet that she will marry a man named Paris in a few days. Juliet, outraged, refuses to comply. Her parents tell her that she must marry Paris and the Nurse agrees with them. Juliet asks Friar Lawrence for advice, insisting she would rather die than marry Paris. Fr. Lawrence gives Juliet a potion which will make her appear dead and tells her to take it the night before the wedding. He promises to send word to Romeo - intending the two lovers be reunited in the Capulet vault. Juliet drinks the potion and everybody assumes that she is dead including Balthasar, who immediately 16

tells Romeo. Friar Lawrences letter fails to reach Romeo, so he assumes that his wife is dead. He rushes to Juliets tomb and, in deep grief, drinks a vial of poison. Moments later, Juliet wakes to find Romeo dead and kills herself due to grief. Once the families discover what happened, they finally end their bitter feud. Thus the

youngsters' deaths bring the families together. Romeo and Juliet is a true tragedy in the literary sense because the families gather sufficient selfknowledge to correct their behaviour but not until it is too late to save the situation.

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Bambi
Felix Salten

A doe gives birth to a fawn in the thicket that she names Bambi. After he learns to walk, Bambi befriends Thumper, a young rabbit, and while learning to talk he meets Flower, a young skunk. One day his mother takes him to the meadow, a place that is both wonderful and frightening. There he meets Faline, a doe-fawn, and his father, the Great Prince of the Forest. It is also during this visit that Bambi has his first encounter with man, who causes all the animals to flee the meadow. During a harsh winter, Bambi and his mother go to the meadow and discover a patch of new grass, heralding the arrival of spring. As they eat, his mother senses a hunter and orders Bambi to flee. As they run, gun shots ring out. When Bambi arrives at their thicket, he discovers his mother is no longer with him. He wanders the forest calling for her, but she doesn't answer. His father appears in front of him and tells Bambi "your mother can't be with you anymore," then leads him away. In the spring, an adult Bambi is reunited with Thumper and Flower as the animals around them begin pairing up with mates. Though they resolve not to be "twitterpated" like the other animals in love, Thumper and Flower each leave with newly found mates. Bambi is disgusted, until he runs into Faline and become a couple. As they happily dance and flirt through the woods, another buck

appears who tries to force Faline to go with him. Though he initially struggles, Bambi's rage gives him the strength to defeat the older buck and push him off a cliff and into a river below. That night, Bambi is awoken by the smell of smoke. His Father explains that Man is in the forest and they must flee. Bambi goes back to search for Faline, but she is being chased by hunting dogs. Bambi finds her in time and fights off the dogs, allowing Faline to escape. With Faline safe, Bambi runs but is shot as he leaps over a ravine. The Great Prince finds him there and urges him back to his feet. Together, they escape the forest fire and go to a small island in a lake where the other animals, including Faline, have taken refuge. At the end, Faline gives birth to twin fawns, Bambi stands watch on the large hill, and the Great Prince silently turns and walks away.

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Great Expectations
William Dickens

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God Sees The Truth, But Waits


Leo Tolstoy

Once there lived a young merchant named Ivan Dmitri Aksenov with his family in the land of Vladimir, who in his younger days lived life to the fullest by experiencing all the material things world has to offer. Until he got married. One summer, he planned to go to Nizhny fair but his wife warned him that she had a bad dream of her husband-- she dreamt about Ivan that he returned from the town with hair of grey. Ivan laughed as if he doesn't care and went on the fair. He travelled half way and met a merchant, whom he spent the night drinking tea with and shared an adjoining room in the inn. Since Aksenov is not used of sleeping for long hours he decided to wake up and continued his journey. Along the way of his journey, two soldiers in a troika stopped him, and began asking questions, for the merchant he met halfway on his travel was found dead. Since all evidences of the crime are pointing Aksenov guilty he was imprisoned. Learning the sad fate of Aksenov, his wife remembered her dream about Aksenov and was worried and even considered the thought of her husband being guilty. The thought made Aksenov even sadder.

26 years in prison made Aksenov a well grounded and Godfearing man. In spite the fact that his family has completely forgotten him, he still serves as a Grandpa to the other prisoners. Then came a new prisoner named Makar Semyonich. After months of knowing each other, Aksenov discovered that Makar is the one who killed the merchant whom he was told he murdered. He was furious with what he found out but didn't speak or uttered a word about it. Until one night, Aksenov heard some earth rolling under where the prisoners were sleeping. He went out and saw Makar. Makar told him not to tell a word about what he had witnessed or else he will kill him. When they were led out to work, a soldier noticed a prisoner took of some earth off his boots. The soldier searched for escaping plans and found the tunnel. Then, they asked each of them who knew about this but they denied for they knew they will be killed before the one who did it as Makar warned them. Finally, the governor asked Ivan for he knew he was a just man. But then Ivan said it wasn't his right or his will but God's to tell such name. Night fell and Makar went to Ivan. He thanked him and felt sorry for what he had done to him a long time ago that made Ivan suffer for all 20

this years. He sobbed as well as Ivan and said that the Lord will forgive you. Makar said that he will confess to the governor so that Ivan would be sent free--back to his home. Ivan did not want to go out of prison for he has no family neither home to back to; rather, he waited for his last hour to come. In spite of what they've talked about, Makar Semyonich confessed his guilt. But when the order for Ivan Dmitri Aksenov's release came, he was already dead.

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