1. The Fun They Had Issac Asimov Let's Recall * The story is set in 2157 and is about Margie, 11, and her friend Tommy, 13, finding a ‘real’ book with stories printed on paper just as Tommy's grandfather's grandfather had talked about. * Used to having thousands of books on their television screens, the two find the stationary words on the book's yellow and crinkly pages funny. * Margie is surprised to find that the book is about a school from centuries ago where a human teacher teaches the same thing to a group of students. In 2157, children have schoolrooms in their houses, and robotic teachers teach courses adjusted to fit the mind of each student. * Margie hates her teacher, her schoolroom, and most of all, having to submit homework and test papers. When her mechanical teacher developed a minor problem, she even hoped it would be taken away altogether. * As she is asked by her mother to go to the schoolroom for her next lesson, she thinks about how much fun the kids in old schools must have had, enjoying the school day together and learning the same things so they could help each other with homework.2. The Sound of Music 1. Evelyn Glennie Listens to Sound without Hearing jt Deborah Cowley Let’s Recall ¢ This is the real-life story of Evelyn Glennie. It is revealed right at the beginning of the story that she is deaf but is on her way to attend the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London. « When Evelyn was eleven, it was discovered that her hearing was severely impaired due to nerve damage. « After losing her sense of hearing completely, she faced discouragement from many teachers. However, with encouragement from the percussionist Ron Forbes, she began learning to play the drums after realizing she could feel the notes in different parts of her body. + Through hard work and determination, she learnt to play many instruments, played with an orchestra and solo, scored one of the highest marks in the history of the Royal Academy, and became an internationally sought-after multi-percussionist, all at a very young age. + Today, she is a source of inspiration to deaf and other physically challenged people who see her and feel that they can also achieve their dreams.+? Il. The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan Let's Recall The chapter begins with introducing the musical instrument called shehnai, which was developed by a barber from an earlier reeded instrument called pungi, after the pungi was banned by Emperor Aurangzeb. Considered auspicious, the shehnai was played only in temples and weddings till recent times when Ustad Bismillah Khan brought it onto the classical stage. Bismillah Khan, born to a well-known family of shehnai players from Bihar, began his training in shehnai early in life when he would accompany his uncle to the Vishnu temple in Benaras. The flowing waters of the Ganga inspired him to improvise and invent ragas earlier considered to be beyond the range of the instrument. Bismillah’s big break came with the opening of the All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938. He went on to give many memorable performances in India and abroad, including at the Red Fort on 15 August 1947. Recognised with many national and international awards, including the Bharat Ratna in 2001, Khansaab, as he was fondly called, never left Benaras and was a perfect example of India’s rich cultural heritage. He passed away on 21 August 2006 and was given a state funeral.3. The Little Girl Katherine Mansfield Let’s Recall The story is about a little girl called Kezia who fears her father. His giant appearance intimidates her, and she starts stuttering if he asks her something. On Sunday afternoons, when she tries to spend time with him, she finds him fast asleep on the sofa. When her grandmother suggests she should make him a pin-cushion as a birthday gift, she ends up using some of his important papers to fill the cushion. Angry with her, he raps her soft palms with a ruler. As her grandmother consoles her, she wonders why God made fathers. When she sees Mr Macdonald, her neighbour, play with his kids, she decides that there are different sorts of fathers. She is envious of how friendly Mr Macdonald is with his own children. Then one day, Kezia’s mother falls ill and is taken to the hospital by Kezia’s grandmother. Alone in the house with the cook, Kezia has a terrifying nightmare while sleeping at night. She wakes up crying out for her grandmother only to find her father sitting beside her. He takes her to his own bed, tucks her in, and lies down beside her to comfort her. Kezia seems to understand her father for the first time — he doesn't have anyone to look after him, and he is too tired after work to be like Mr Macdonald. As she places her head on his chest, she thinks how big her father’s heart is.* * * « ° + 4. A Truly Beautiful Mind Let's Recall This is the real-life story of Albert Einstein, the great physicist. He was born in 1879 and was considered ordinary as a child, His headmaster even predicted that he would never be successful, He turned out to be a good pupil, doing well in most subjects. However, the young Einstein hated the regimentation of Munich and convinced his parents to let him move to more liberal Switzerland for further studies. Gifted in science, Einstein joined a university in Zurich, where he fell in love with Mileva Maric, a fellow student from Serbia. After graduating in 1900 at 21, Einstein was unemployed for a while before finding a job in a patent office in Bern. He was developing his own ideas in secret, which resulted in his 1905 paper on the Special Theory of Relativity, which contains the world’s most famous formula E = mc’. His personal life wasn't going as smoothly. After being refused marriage to Mileva, who was three years older than him, the two finally married in 1903. It wasn't a happy marriage for long, and the two divorced in 1919 after years of fighting. He married his cousin Elsa the same year. This change coincided with his rise in world fame. In 1915, he published his General Theory of Relativity, which was proven by the solar eclipse of 1919. He was showered with honours from all over the world, including the Nobel Physics Prize in 1921. Having migrated to the US in 1933 after the Nazis came to power in Germany, Einstein recommended the building of the atomic bomb to the US President. This played an important role in the Americans developing the bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Repentant after seeing the destruction caused by the bombs, Einstein worked to put an end to the arms build-up by countries and promote Peace and democracy until his death in 1955. He is celebrated as much for being a visionary as for being a scientific genius,° ° > 5. The Snake and the Mirror Vaikom Muhammad Basheer Let's Recall This is a humorous story in the form of a personal experience that homeopathic doctor narrates to a group of people who are talking about snakes. The experience is from the time when the doctor was starting off his practice, had meagre earnings and was living in a room without electricity. It's about ten one hot summer night. The doctor has returned to his room after dinner and hears a noise from above, which he assumes to come from the rats running around. As the noise continues, he sits at his table with a medical book. The table has a lamp and a mirror on it. He admires himself in the mirror and thinks about his looks and the kind of wife he will marry. suddenly, there’s a dull thud as ifa rubber tube has fallen to the ground. To his horror, the doctor discovers that a fat snake has wriggled up the chair and landed on his shoulder. As the doctor begins to pray to God, while realizing that there's no snakebite medicine in his room, he notices that the snake has begun to look at its image in the mirror. The snake leaves him and moves closer to the mirror, and the doctor runs with all his might outside the door. He runs to a friend’s house, takes a bath, and changes into fresh clothes. The next morning, he goes back to the house with a few people to discover that a thief has stolen most of his things and just left a dirty vest behind. He never saw that snake that was so taken with its own beauty ever again.* * + 6. My Childhood APJ Abdul Kalam Let's Recall This chapter is an excerpt from Wings of Fire the autobiography of the renowned scientist x and India’s eleventh President, Dr A PJ Abdul Kalam. In this section of the book, Kalam talks of several incidents from his childhood that shaped his personality. Kalam was born to a middle-class Tamil family in Rameswaram in 1931. Kalam inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father, and goodness and kindness from his mother. He experienced the pride of earning money when the Second World War broke out in 1939. He would collect tamarind seeds when they were in high demand, and help his cousin catch bundles of newspaper thrown from a train passing the town, Kalam’s closest friends in school were all from orthodox Hindu families, but they never felt any difference because of religion. One of his friends, Ramanadha Sastry, was the son of the high priest of the Rameswaram temple and went on to take over the priesthood from his father. Kalam’s family was also involved in arranging boats for Hindu religious ceremonies. A teacher once asked Kalam and Ramanadha to sit separately as the two were from different religions. Kalam still remembers his friend weeping on being separated, Ramanadha’s father's intervention made the teacher regret his behaviour. In the small, segregated society of Rameswaram, Kalam’s science teacher tried to break social barriers. Despite his wife's initial concern, he invited Kalam into his kitchen for meals. When independence was imminent, Kalam asked his father for permission to move to a bigger city for education. Kalam’s mother was hesitant, but his father consoled her by comparing children to seagulls who fly alone and far from the nest.8. Reach for the Top I. Santosh Yadav Let's Recall Santosh Yadav, the only woman in the world to scale Mt Everest twice, was born in a small village in Haryana. In a community where sons are preferred to daughters, her family wanted a daughter after having five sons. She began living life on her own terms from an early age, believing that if her path was correct, she didn’t have to change. Despite being from an affluent family, she had to study in the village school because of the prevailing custom. However, at sixteen, when most other girls in the village began getting married, she managed to convince her parents to send her to Delhi. After high school, she enrolled in a college in Jaipur, where she first got interested in mountaineering after watching people climb the Aravalli Hills. Without informing her father, to whom she later apologised, she joined the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi. Her climbing skills matured rapidly after that, and her iron will, endurance, and mental toughness helped her become a successful mountaineer. In 1992, Santosh became the youngest woman in the world to climb Everest. Within a year, she set another record by becoming the only woman to climb the mountain twice. She was awarded the Padmashri for her achievements. Admired for her concern for others, Yadav saved the life of a member of the 1992 Everest mission. She is also a fervent environmentalist and brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas.8. Reach for the Top Il. Maria Sharapova — Let's Recall This chapter covers the early life of Maria Sharapova, who became the top-ranked player in women’s tennis in 2005, just four years after beginning her professional career. Her tennis journey began at the age of nine, when she had to leave her country Russia with her father and move to the US for training, For two years, the little girl could not meet her mother, who had to stay back because of visa restrictions. In the US, she was lonely as her father was busy working to pay for her training. Older students would bully her. Instead of letting all this depress her, she became more determined to achieve her dream. This mental toughness was key to her winning the Wimbledon women’s singles crown in 2004, and her meteoric rise to the number one spot a year later. Even after spending many years in the US, she remains proudly Russian. Despite being a world champion, her interests are just like other teenagers, making her even more popular. Sharapova truly deserves all the fame and riches she has earned. For this highly competitive girl, money is a motivation, but becoming number one is the most important thing.10. Kathmandu Vikram Seth Let's Recall In this short e cerpt from his book From Heaven Lake, the author Vikram Seth captures his experiences from a few hours Spent in Kathmandu, Nepal. After waking up from a long sleep, his short gt; ay) in the city begins with visits to two prominent temples, At Pashupatinath, a temple that allows entry only to Hindus, the scene is chaotic, with devotees, tourists, hawkers, priests, and even animals jostling for space. Daily life goes on around the holy river Bagmati, which flows near the temple. It is more peaceful at Baudhnath stupa, a white dome surrounded by signs of Tibetan culture and very few tourists. The city itself is vivid, filled with small religious shrines, traffic, shops and hawkers, and cows. The author purchases different eatables, enjoying the whole experience. He thinks of the route he should take back to India. Instead of the scenic but longer route by bus and train, he finally opts for the flight that will take him directly to Delhi. As he returns to his hotel, he comes across a laidback flute seller, He finds it difficult to tear himself away from the music of the flute, an instrument that is found in many cultures in different forms. As the excerpt comes to an end, the author wonders why the flute’s music has captured his thoughts like this when he has never noticed such details in the past. Perhaps, the music reminds him of home, to which the author is returning after a long absence abroad.i. If | Were You Douglas James Let's Recall This is a short play involving two characters. At the beginning Of the play, Vincent Charles Gerrard speaks briefly on the phone and gets back to packing his bag, Another man, similar in build to Gerrard, enters the room silently with a revolver in hand. > ‘The intruder bumps into a table, making Gerrard turn towards him, Gerrard seems surprised but unruffled. The intruder asks Gerrard to sit down and answer his questions. The conversation that follows reveals that the intruder has researched Gerrard and is aware that he lives alone, has a car and does not get many visitors. The intruder discloses that he is a jewel thief, running from the police after he killed a cop. He plans to murder Gerrard, take up his. identity and hide from the police. Gerrard explains to the intruder that there is a reason why he lives such a mysterious life. He is a criminal himself on the run from the police. Unfortunately, the police have found out who he is, and that is why he has packed his bag to leave. The intruder sees that the bag is filled with false moustaches and other items meant for disguise. The telephone rings, which, according to Gerrard, is his man signalling that the police are close by. Gerrard says both of them can escape through the garage. The intruder is still not fully convinced. Gerrard asks him to take a look, and as the intruder leans to look through the door, Gerrard pushes him through and locks the door. It is a cupboard not a door. As the intruder bangs on the door to let him out, Gerrard answers the phone apologising to the caller for the delay in getting the props in time for the rehearsal. He also asks the caller to get his friend, the Sergeant, to come over to his house.1. The Road Not Taken Robert Frost Let’s Recall The poem is about the choices that everyone has to make in their lives and the consequences those choices entail. The poet, while walking in a forest, reaches a place where two roads diverge in two different directions. He expresses his helplessness at not being able to take both roads, He must choose between the two. The poet stands there for long in a state of indecision deliberating upon which road to choose, He looks down one of the roads as far as he can to the point where the road bends in the distance. He then decides to take the other road. The other road is equally fair and appealing but the narrator chooses to travel on it because it is grassy and looks as if it has not been tread upon much. So the poet chooses the road less travelled. He consoles himself, thinking that he will perhaps come one day to travel on the oft-taken road. However, he is well aware that in life one road leads to another, and having once made a choice it is not possible to go back. He thus doubts whether his wish to come back one day to travel the other toad will ever be fulfilled. The poet acknowledges that the choice he has made has been of momentous significance for him. In fact, he says it is that choice which has made all the difference in his life. The poem ends on an ambiguous note as the poet does not say whether the difference has been for better or for worse.2. Wind Subramania Bharati Let's Recall In this poem the poet uses the wind as a metaphor for the adversities of life, and calls upon everyone to be strong enough to meet the challenges it throws. The poet addresses the wind and asks him to blow softly. He asks him not to break the shutters of the windows, scatter the papers and throw down books from the shelf. Using a familiar tone, he speaks to the wind as if it were a person, rebuking him for all the unpleasant things he has done: he has thrown down books, torn pages, brought the rain again. The-wind is very good at making fun of the weak and vulnerable: frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters, crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives, crumbling hearts - all are destroyed by the wind. To add emphasis, the poet uses the imagery of winnowing - ‘the wind god winnows and crushes them all? The poet then addresses his readers telling them what they can do to protect themselves from the devastating tendencies of the wind. Since the wind is a natural force that will do no one’s bidding but what pleases him, it is we who must brace ourselves to meet the challenge he poses: we must build strong homes, joint our doors firmly, practise to firm our bodies and hearts. If we can do this, the wind will be a friend to us, for he blows out only weak fires. Strong fires become stronger in the wind and burn with greater flourish. The poem ends with a praise to the wind: he is a positive natural force and his friendship is good.3. Rain on the Roof Coates Kinney Let’s Recall The poem is both about the bliss of rain and the act of remembering occasioned by it. The poet describes the pleasure he feels when it rains, When the rain- laden clouds ~ ‘humid shadows’ - cover the skies and the melancholy of the night falls as drops of water on the roof of his cottage, he finds it a bliss to press himself against the pillow of his bed and listen to the soft sound of the rain falling overhead. Every drop of the rain that falls on the roof has a direct echo in the poet's heart, and triggers a chain of dreamy thoughts in his whole being. As he listens to the patter of the rain upon the roof, memories of the past make a pattern in his mind. The sound of the falling rain makes the poet to recall an image from his childhood. His mother would watch over her children — her darling dreamers — as they slept. The poet can feel her fond look on him as he listens to the pitter-patter of the rain falling on the roof of his cottage. For the poet, rain — or in a broader sense nature itself — thus assumes the role of a caregiver much like his mother from his childhood.+ 4. The Lake Isle of Innisfree William Butler Yeats Let's Recall In the poem, the poet expresses his deep longing to leave his Present state and take refuge in a quiet place tucked away in nature, The poet says he will now arise and go to the island of Innisfree, There he will build a small cabin of mud and wattles. He will also have nine bean-rows and a bechive. He will live there alone in a small clearing alive with the sound of the buzzing bees. The poet gives the-reason for his wish to go to Innisfree: he hopes to find some peace there. He says that in Innisfree, peace comes dropping from the morning skies ~ ‘veils of the morning’ - to the place where the cricket sings. Midnight in Innisfree glimmers with the light of the moon and the stars, and the noon shines with a crimson glow. In the evenings, linnets can be seen flying across the sky. The poet says Innisfree exerts a strong pull on his heart even when he is in the city, far away from the island. Night and day he can hear the sound of the water lapping the shore of the lake. Even as he stands on the grey roads and pavements of the city, he can hear the sound deep in his heart. The island of Innisfree and the contentment and happiness it gives is in sharp contrast to the feelings of tedium and weariness that city life gives.* ° + 5. A Legend of the Northland Phoebe Cary Let's Recall This poem narrates a legend about St Peter and an old woman, |p faraway Northland, where winters are long and extremely fy; sh People tell an interesting story which, though the poet does not believe is true, nonetheless may have a moral for us, While trav elling around the earth, St Peter came to a cottage where a litte woman was baking cakes, Faint with hunger, the saint asked the woman for a cake. She made a very small cake, but while it Was baking, she looked at it and thought it was too large to give away, So she made the dough for a smaller one. But this too seemed as big as the first one. Then she took a tiny scrap of dough and baked a cake as thin as a wafer, but she could not part with that either, The woman said that when she ate the cakes herself they seemed too small, yet when she had to give them to someone they seemed too big to part with. St Peter grew livid at the woman for being so selfish and greedy, and rebuked her severely, telling her that she was too selfish to dwell in a human form. He put a curse on her: henceforth she would have to build her house like birds and find her food by boring in the hard, dry branches of trees. The very next moment, the old lady was changed into a woodpecker and flew out of her cottage through the chimney. Even to this day she lives in the trees where every village schoolboy has seen her boring the hard wood for food.6. No Men Are Foreign James Kirkup Let's Recall jn the poem, the poet talks about the oneness of all human beings, irrespective of their country or race. et says that no men are strange and no countries are foreign. might dress differently, the body that breathes beneath ame human body, Despite the different countries he land which people walk on and which they ‘The po Though people their uniforms is the s. to which they belong, t will lie in after death is the same earth. earth share the same sun, breathe the same air, ter and are fed by the same land. They all feel the pain, suffering and hunger that come with wars. Irrespective of the country they belong to, everyone must work hard to make a living: the same labour shines in the lines of their hands. All people of the drink the same wal the same eyes that wake or sleep. We all want to love We all have and and can be and be loved. A common humanity binds every | recognized and understood as such. poet calls upon everyone not to heed calls In the last stanza, the hate our fellow-beings, it is of hatred by war-mongers: when we ourselves that we dispossess, betray and condemn, for all humanity is connected. When we take up arms against each other, it is our arth that we defile. The hells of fire and dust - a common own € nce of air which is our own sight during wars - degrade the innoce! everywhere.8. On Killing a Tree Gieve Patel Let's Recall In this poem, by detailing the process involved in killing a tree, the poet makes the point that trees must not be felled. The poet says that it takes a long time to kill a tree: a simple jab of the knife will not do it. A tree grows slowly from the earth, feeding upon its crust, absorbing years of sunlight, air and water and growing strong in the process. So merely hacking and chopping its branches will not kill a tree. The bleeding bark will heal over time and new green twigs and miniature boughs will come out again which in time will grow to their former size. To kill a tree, one has to strike at its roots, because it is the root that anchors a tree to the earth. The root has to be roped, tied and pulled out from the earth. Once this is done, the strength of the tree will lie exposed. A tree's strength lies in its root, which is also its most sensitive part - it is wet and white from inside having been hidden for years inside the earth. Once the root is exposed, it begins to choke and harden in the sun and the air. It slowly twists and withers away, and with this the process of killing the tree is complete.10. A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal William Wordsworth Let's Recall ¢ Inthe poem, the poet grows into a new awareness about death and immortality as he comes to terms with the loss of his beloved. One becomes a part of nature after death and, in that sense, becomes immortal. ¢ The poet contrasts his two states of mind:-one when his beloved was alive and one following her death. He says that while his beloved was still living, he had forgotten all human fears related to her: she seemed to him as someone who was unaffected by the ravages of time, someone who ‘could not feel the touch of earthly years. The poet thinks of this state of oblivion as a ‘slumber’ which his soul or spirit reposed in. + But now, after she has died, the poet knows that she is motionless in her grave and cannot hear or see anything. She has become a part of nature and, along with rocks, stones and trees, moves round with the earth as it rotates on its axis. + The loss of his beloved thus brings the poet to a deeper understanding of life, death and nature.* * 2 2 ° 1. The Lost Child Mulk Raj Anand Let's Recall qhe story is set in an Indian village during the spring festival and presents the experience of a little boy visiting a crowded fair, On the way to the fair, he is fascinated by the toys in a shop and requests his parents to buy one for him. They don't, and the boy's mother asks him to look at the beauty of the things they cross on the way to the fair. while following his parents, we see that the boy keeps getting left behind after being distracted by insects, flowers, and the overall beauty of nature. As they get closer to the fair, the boy wishes his parents would buy him sweets, flowers, and balloons or allow him to listen to the snake- charmer’s music. He knows they won't, so he doesn’t ask them. Finally, he asks them to let him go on the roundabout, but he notices that his parents are not there. He is lost and runs around crying trying to find them. He runs to a shrine where the crowd is even thicker. A man picks him up and asks him where his parents are. To soothe the crying child, the man takes him to the roundabout, the snake-charmer, the balloon-seller, the flower-seller and the sweet shop. The boy had wanted all these things earlier, but now, he just keeps sobbing and asking for his parents.+ * 2. The Adventures of Toto Ruskin Bond Let's Recall This is a story about a mischievous monkey called Toto, bought by the author's grandfather from a tonga-driver for five rupees. Grandfather wants to keep Toto's presence in the house a secret from Grandmother and hides him in a closet. After Toto manages to cause a lot of damage in just a few hours, he is transferred to Grandfather's mini zoo that has a few other domesticated animals. Toto does not let the other animals sleep, so he's taken by Grandfather on the train trip from Dehra Dun to Saharanpur. At Saharanpur Tailway Station, there is a funny incident when Toto peeks from the canvas bag he is kept in, and the cunning ticket-collector charges Grandfather for carrying a dog. After being accepted by Grandmother, Toto gets a home in the stable with the family donkey, Nana. He keeps troubling Nana as well, and the two never become friends. One of Toto’s peculiarities is that he loves a warm bath on cold winter evenings. He tests the water's temperature and cleans himself in a manner similar to that of a human being, but feels hurt when someone laughs at him. One day, he nearly boils himself when he Steps into a kettle kept on a stove to make tea, confusing it with water meant for bathing. His mischiefs continue with him trying to tear a hole in the author's aunts’ dresses and stealing a dish of pullao from the dining-table and then smashing the plate. Eventually, realizing that Toto's antics are proving too expensive for the family, Grandfather sells him back to the tonga-driver for three rupees.3. Iswaran the Storyteller RK Laxman Let's Recall This is a story narrated by Mahendra, a junior supervisor jn a construction firm, His work used to take him to different construction Sites, including remote areas. His companion on these postings wag his cook Iswaran, who handled all the house chores, 'swaran loved reading Tamil thriller novels, and influenced by these books, would use suspense to make his own stories exciting, After his Meal, Mahendra would stretch out and enjoy listening to these stories, One of Isw: aran’s fantastic stories involved himself, still a schoolboy, bringing ‘rampaging elephant under control by whacking the beast’s third toenail. Another night, after a particularly good meal, Iswaran started talking about their location being the haunt of ghosts. The site was supposed to have been a burial ground, and there were skulls and bones still lying around. Sometimes he saw ghosts at nij Scared of the ugly ghost of a woman. Mahe ight, and was especially ndra reprimanded Iswaran for talking about silly things. He stressed that ghosts were a figment of imagination. However, from that day, he always went to bed with a certain unease. One night, Mahendra was woken up by a low moan close to his room window. As the wailing grew louder, he looked out and saw a cloudy form resembling the ghost of the woman Iswaran had mentioned. He gradually recovered from the scare and convinced himself that it was a mind trick. However, the next morning, Iswaran greeted him cheerfully and told him that the woman's ghost he had spoken of had turned up again the previous night. This scared Mahendra all over again. He rushed to his office to hand in his papers, resolving to leave the haunted site the very next day.* + + * * * © ° 4. In the Kingdom of Fools AK Ramanujan Let's Recall This story about a kingdom ruled over by a king and his minister who are both fools. They order everyone in the kingdom to Stay up and work at night and sleep during the day. When a guru and his disciple come to the city, they are Surprised to see this. They also find that everything has the same price ~ one duddu, This ‘es the food very cheap, which the disciple loves ag s only about good food. he car ‘The guru worries that anything can happen in this kingdom of fools and decides to leave, but his disciple stays back. Over time, he grows fat because of the cheap food. One day, a thief breaks into a rich merchant's house after making a hole in the wall. The wall falls down, killing the thief. The thiefs brother pleads to the king to punish the merchant for making a weak wall that killed his brother. The king accepts the argument and summons the merchant to be punished. The merchant blames the bricklayer, who blames a dancing girl, who blames a goldsmith, who, in turn, blames the merchant's father. The king believes that since the merchant has inherited his father's wealth, he should also inherit the sins, and orders the merchant to be put to death on a stake. The stake, however, is too large for the thin merchant. The search for a man fat enough for the stake brings the king’s men to the disciple. The disciple now sees the wisdom of his guru's words and prays to him. The guru can see far because of magic powers and turns up to save his disciple. The guru whispers something to the disciple and then asks the king to put him to death first. The guru and the disciple get into a fight about who should be killed first, which puzzles the king.+ 5. The Happy Prince Oscar Wilde Let's Recall This Story is about the statue of the Happy Prince, a tall, gilde, Structure with eyes made of two bright sapphires and a large rs Tuby on the hilt of the sword. One day, a swallow, eager to fly off to Egypt for the winter to meet his friends, takes refuge at the feet of the statue. The swallow feels drops of water falling on him and realizes that the statue is weeping. Having lived a prosperous and happy life, the Happy Prince can now see the misery in the city. The Happy Prince wants the swallow to take the ruby from his sword and deliver it far away to a poor seamstress with an ill child. The swallow is desperate to leave for Egypt but agrees to stay one night and fulfil the statue's request. The next night, the swallow is ready to fly away when the statue asks him to deliver one of the sapphires in his eyes to a poor young playwright. The swallow unwillingly plucks the eye and does as asked, The next night, the swallow is asked by the statue to deliver the other sapphire to a poor matchgirl who would get beaten by her father if she did not bring home some money. Despite being unhappy that the Happy Prince will become blind, the swallow slips the jewel into the little girl’s hand. The swallow then decides to stay with the Happy Prince as he has become blind now. When the swallow tells him of the poor in the city, the statue asks him to remove the gold on his body leaf by leaf and give to the needy. The swallow does this and as poor children grow happier, the Happy Prince's statue turns dull and grey. When the snow comes, the swallow keeps getting colder but does not leave the Happy Prince's side. Eventually he dies, and right then, the leaden heart inside the statue snaps into two.7. The Last Leaf O Henry Let’s Recall This story is about two young artist flat-mates Sue and Johnsy. Johnsy falls seriously ill with pneumonia in the winter and it looks like she has made up her mind that she’s going to die. The doctor says that unless she desires to live, she won't survive. While balancing her work and taking care of Johnsy, Sue finds out that Johnsy is counting the leaves remaining on the ivy creeper outside their window. Johnsy is convinced that she will pass away when the last leaf falls from the ivy. Sue begs Johnsy to avoid looking out the window and goes to fetch Behrman, a sixty-year-old man living on the ground floor, to pose asa miner for her painting. Behrman, a painter with the unfulfilled dream of painting a masterpiece, hears of Johnsy’s obsession with the leaves and sees that there's just one leaf left, which could fall any minute. The next morning, when the girls draw back the curtains, they find that the leaf is still there, green and healthy despite the storm. Johnsy keeps checking on the leaf through the day and, in the evening, accepts that she has been unreasonable, Thereafter, she lets Sue and the doctor help her recover. The doctor informs Sue and Johnsy that Behrman has suddenly taken ill with pneumonia. The next morning, Behrman passes away. Sue tells Johnsy that Behrman had fallen ill after being out in the storm all night and getting wet. A ladder and a lantern, along with some brushes and green and yellow paints, were found near his bed. The last leaf hanging on the ivy, which inspired Johnsy to get better, had been painted by Behrman - his masterpiece.* * * ° 8. A House Is Not a Home Zan Gaudioso i Let's Recall This story is about a young boy who comes to terms with changes in his life after facing a tragedy, He has moved from junior high to high school and misses his old school. His friends have gone to another school, making him feel isolated. One afternoon, soon after joining the high school, he is sitting at the dining table in front of the fireplace doing his homework. His red tabby cat, whom he had rescued as @ kitten, is sitting with him, Suddenly, he and his mother realize that the house is on fire and rush outside. His mother manages to save his late father’s pictures and letters, but everything else is lost. In all the chaos, it is only after several hours that he realizes that his cat is missing, He does not know what has happened to her, but has to leave to spend the night at his grandparents’ house. When he goes to school, he is wearing clothes that seem awkward because alll his clothes have been lost in the fire. There are no books or his backpack. He feels even more like an outcast with everything he loved taken away from him. ‘As the rubble from his burnt house is cleared, he keeps going back there to look for his cat. Not finding her compounds his feeling of misery he has been feeling in school. A few days later, he finds that the people at school are acting even stranger than usual. They seem to be forcing him into the gym. On getting there, he finds a big table covered with clothes and school supplies collected for him by the other students. This touching outpouring of concern makes him believe for the first time that things will be fine. A month later, he is watching his house being rebuilt, but instead of being alone, he is with two new friends from school. He is sitting at the curb when a lady walks up to him carrying his cat. The cat had run far from the fire and reached the lady's house, who had been searching for the owner since that time. Sitting there with his cat and his friends, the boy’s feelings of loss and tragedy are replaced by a feeling of gratitude for his life.+ * * © * ° + 10. The Beggar Anton Chekhov Let's Recall This Story is about a man called Lushkoff who stops Sergei, an advocate, on the street to beg for money. Lushkoff, who has the appearance of an alcoholic, tells Sergei that he used to be schoolteacher but had lost his job because of intrigue and slander. However, Sergei recognises the man from another street, where he had been begging two days earlier saying that he was an expelled student. On being scolded, Lushkoff admits that he has to lie because he can't find any work to do. Sergei takes Lushkoff home to get him to chop wood for money, Sergei’s cook Olga takes Lushkoff to the wood-shed, but he doesn't look like he can do any physical work. Sergei feels sorry for asking a weak man to do hard labour in the cold. An hour later Olga comes and tells Sergei that all the wood is chopped. Sergei gives him some money, and Lushkoff keeps coming regularly for some chore or the other in exchange for a few copecks. When Sergei has to move to a new house, Lushkoff is hired to help pack and carry the furniture. On seeing Lushkoffs difficulty with physical labour, Sergei offers to get him a better job. He sends Lushkoff off with a letter to his friend, who has a copying job to offer. Two years later, Sergei is buying a ticket for a play when he sees Lushkoff, much better dressed than before, standing in the line. Lushkoff tells Sergei that he is a notary now, making good money. Sergei is delighted that his words had such an effect on the drunkard that he turned into a sober, productive man. Lushkoff clarifies that while Sergei’s words were helpful, the real credit goes to Olga. It was Olga who kept chopping wood for Lushkoff because she felt bad for him. The tears she shed for Lushkoff and all the work she did on his behalf made him give up drinking and start working again.