The North Star
Among the multitude of stars in the universe, there are a couple that are of great importance to people on Earth. The sun, of course, is one of them. The other is known as Polaris, the North Star. Polaris is special because it is the only star that always appears to be in the same place in the sky. Therefore, Polaris is a great compass. When people in the northern hemisphere of Earth look toward Polaris, they can be certain that they are facing north. The permanence of Polaris in the north sky has helped countless people find their destinations.
Before the invention of modern navigation tools, mariners relied on Polaris. From the top of their hulls, sailors would look for Polaris to figure out their place at sea. They figured out the angle between the star and the horizon to determine their latitude. As long as the equations weren’t erroneous, the results were very reliable. Polaris also let sailors determine North, South, East, and West. By knowing directions and their location, mariners could easily navigate their ships.
To those who sail at night, volatile storms and dark clouds were more than nuisances. They could disrupt entire journeys by blocking the view of Polaris. A captain could err and make an inadvertent wrong turn. The ship could become stranded at sea, and the frantic captain would have no way to improvise to get the ship back on the right course. The mariner’s fears wouldn’t be soothed until the clouds cleared and Polaris came back into view. Even today, sailors sometimes opt to navigate by using Polaris on clear nights.
It’s not difficult to differentiate Polaris from other stars. The Big Dipper, a constellation that is well known in astrology, appears to revolve around Polaris. The handle of the Big Dipper always points to the North Star. When people get lost, it’s comforting to know that their problems can be alleviated by looking at the sky.
The Fossil Hunters
Tim and Dean were great fossil hunters. They were the very best at finding dinosaur bones. Although Tim and Dean were quite similar, they were outright enemies. The two men got into vicious arguments all the time. They couldn’t coexist peacefully because their egos were too large. Tim thought he was the best fossil hunter, while Dean was sure that he was much better than Tim.
One day, Tim was searching for fossils on the periphery of the city when he discovered a huge bone. He had never seen anything like it! He took his shovel and carefully excavated the dirt around it. As he dug, he uncovered more jagged bones. He realized that he had found an entire dinosaur skeleton! Tim couldn’t conceive a plan to remove the huge skeleton all by himself. Such an endeavor would be too arduous. He needed help. He tried to think of people who would be capable of helping him remove the skeleton without breaking it. The only person Tim could think of was Dean, his enemy.
Tim ran into the city to find Dean. Tim found him and said, “ Dean, I’ve found the skeletal remains of a huge terrestrial animal. But I can’t get the skeleton out by myself. Will you please help me?
Dean thought that Tim’s claim might be dubious. He replied, “ If you’re serious about the skeleton, I’ll help.”
Tim excitedly showed Dean the skeleton’s locale. They worked together to carefully remove each bone. And to keep the bones together, they tied them with elastic strips. When they were finished, they had attained a perfect skeleton. They used plaster to make a mold of the dinosaur’s skull. They engraved their initials into it and gave it to the curator of a local museum.
Tim and Dean found out that they could work very well together. They decided to end their feud and become friends. By combining their talents, the men became even greater than they were before.
Dressed to Excess
If you traveled back in time to the 1700s in Europe, you would laugh when you saw how the aristocracy dressed. Soon you’d realize, though, that the aristocrats of Europe were very serious about their appearance.
The predominant style in women’s attire was enormous dresses. They were often three times larger than the wearer. Ladies even used pads to enlarge the appearance of their hips and shoulders. On the other extreme, the aristocratic women made their waists appear extremely thin. It took several maids stretching fabric and pulling straps in order to get a lady’s waist to the proper thinness. These ladies could barely breathe and often fainted.
Pale skin was also a craze, yet this too was done in excess. One could not simply be pale. Instead, she needed to look as if she had anemia. In order to look paler, ladies actually cut themselves daily, so they would bleed.
The hairstyles, however, were the hallmark of women’s fashion. These stood a meter high on the ladies’ heads. The columns of hair were a ridiculous tangle of wigs, jewels, flowers, and even stuffed birds.
Men’s fashion was similarly absurd. Today it would probably seem very feminine. Reputable men wore wigs of long curly hair. Their shoes had large soles or high heels so that they could walk high above the filth on the streets. Furthermore, just like the ladies, the men wore lipstick and put rouge on their cheeks.
Their clothes were brightly colored, often purple and pink. They were made from the finest of fabrics and decorated with jewels and lace. The men vied with one another to see who wore the more expensive clothes, for the clothing signified his wealth and status.
Both men and women spent huge amounts of money and time on how they looked. Though such vanity would seem vulgar today, three hundred years from now, the fashions of our time might also seem completely ridiculous.
The Butler’s Bad Day
The Superintendent of Civic Projects was a busy man. He worked every day of the week and had fancy parties at his house every night.
However, if there was someone busier than him, it was his butler. He worked all day organizing the superintendent’s parties and then cleaned up after them late at night. Hence, while the superintendent slept soundly, snoring loudly in his bed, the butler was still awake.
Sadly, though the butler was always overworked, his profession’s intrinsic nature demanded he never be outspoken. Therefore, his employer never knew the butler hadn’t slept for several days. On any day the butler might make a mistake.
One day, the superintendent said, “This particular party is important. People from the ministry are coming. Everything must be perfect.”
The butler began preparing at once. First he went to the attic to get more chairs and tables. But on his descent, he realized he needed to make the food. A gourmet dinner was necessary for such a party. He boiled water in a kettle for soup and chopped some beef into chunks. Just as he was starting the soup, he remembered that he had to sweep the veranda. As he was sweeping the veranda, he realized that he had to clean the sauna.
By this time, the first guests had arrived. The veranda was still dirty. There were not enough chairs for the guests to sit on, and the soup tasted too pungent. Some guests were dissatisfied. They started to make a fuss, and the party was filled with a din of complaints.
The superintendent’s party was a disaster. He wondered why his butler had made so many mistakes. At last, the butler admitted to being exhausted. His boss felt pity for the butler. He had no idea the butler was so tired. He said, “You should have told me earlier, then we could have avoided this whole ordeal.”
A Bet
Russell finished running a relay and joined his friend Becky in the cafeteria. He asked, “What’s for lunch?”
“Sesame chicken. It’s OK, except the meat’s charred. Oh, and watch out for the chili peppers,” Becky said.
“Chilies don’t bother me!” said Russell.
“ My stepmother says you should be careful with them,” replied Becky.
An argument ensued about eating chilies. “Chilies aren’t so bad. I bet I can take more bites of this chili than you,” Russell said.
Becky was wary of eating the pepper. Despite her reluctance, she didn’t want to say no to the bet. She wavered about whether to do it or not. She negotiated the details. “What will the winner get?” she asked.
“The loser has to carry the winner’s books for a year! I’ll even let you go first.”
Becky replied, “ Fine, but to clarify, you’ll carry my books for the entire school year, right?”
Russell restated the agreement, “That’s right I’ll carry your books all year if you win—which you won’t!”
His dogged persuasion convinced her. The chili looked benign, but Becky knew it could cause a lot of pain. She bit the bottom of the pepper. Surprisingly, she felt nothing.
“ My turn,” said Russell. He bit the middle of the chili. Immediately, he seemed to be in distress. He gasped and his face alternated between brave and pained expressions. He experienced an overdose of spice. He was on the verge of tears and finally let out a horrible cry.
“Take this,” said Becky, handing him her drink.
“That was awful!” he said, continuing to sip from the glass.
That night, Becky researched chilies. The next day she said in an apologetic voice, “ I read that the hot part of chilies is in the middle, where the seeds are. I’m sorry—I feel like I cheated by going first.”
Russell was relieved, not only did he learn something new about chilies, but he learned that Becky was a good friend.
Amazing Komodo Dragons
Once, a British gazette had an unusual story. Scientists at a zoo made a discovery about komodo dragons. Komodo dragons are giant lizards that grow up to two and a half meters long. A female lizard at the zoo had babies. However, it had never been around a male lizard in its entire life. After the scientists publicized their discovery, many people thought it was fictitious.
But it was true. It was discovered that female komodo dragons can have babies without the help of their male counterparts. This contradicts what scientists know about how most animals have babies.
In most cases, there are many things that can obstruct this type of reproduction. For example, adult males and females carry different genes needed to make an embryo. If the genes are homogeneous, the babies are weaker and have genetic problems. Over time, the weakened species dies out completely. This makes it necessary for the male to be involved. However, scientists verified that when Komodo babies are born, their genes aren’t the exact same genes as their mother. Also, they are devoid of any genetic problems.
Scientists theorize that Komodo dragons developed the ability because it helps the species fend off extinction. If a volcano erupts, lava can kill all of the komodo dragons on an island. However, as long as one female eludes death, she can prolong the survival of the species. Luckily, Komodo dragons are vigorous swimmers. So the surviving female can plunge into the ocean and swim to another island. When she comes ashore, she can reproduce by herself. Over time, the genes within the population diverge. Then, the sparse population increases. Once again there is a surplus of lizards on one island. Scientists think that this may be how the lizards took over all of the islands in that area.
Greek Magical Papyri
The Greek Magical Papyri is a collection of writing about magic. After it was found in the Egyptian desert, it took experts years to decipher it. The text was written in at least three different ancient languages. After many years, experts realized it contained a number of spells that varied greatly in scope.
The most common types of magic in the collection dealt with healing illnesses like pneumonia. Some spells also gave advice for treating people with mental illnesses, such as those who became psychotic. Some spells asked for unusual things, like crocodile dung. But botany was an important part of the magic. Many healing spells gave instructions on how to use herbs and plants that were believed to be therapeutic. For example, in order to cure arthritis, the book says that the magician should build an ornate altar. Then he should mash different types of herbs and place them on top of it. At dusk, he is supposed to say a spell, so the gods would be gratified.
Other parts of the collection describe how to hone one’s psychic abilities and how to give credible descriptions of the future. Often, the book advised people how to use different objects to tell the future, including tea leaves. Also, one part of the book tells what different dreams might mean. It gives advice for using dreams to tell the future.
A small part of the book, however, is more sinister than the rest. It is meant to cause strife and deception. For example, one tells how to give someone warts, while another will make all of the victim’s farm animals die. However, if someone’s farm animals died as a result of a curse, he could ask a magician to perform magic that makes the deceased come back to life.
Watch Out!
Kevin stepped off the tram and walked toward the ship, holding a package tightly in his hands. He had been hired as a courier for an important broker. All he needed to do was deliver a package to an office in New York City; the ship would take him there.
When he boarded, the ship was congested with people. As Kevin walked to his cabin, he saw the exclusive first-class section. Everybody inside was wearing fancy garments. He would have liked to socialize with the people inside, but it was against proper etiquette. People paid a premium for the privilege to ride in first-class.
Instead, he went to his cabin next to the freight section of the boat. His room smelled bad, and the floorboards were warped and deformed in some areas. He could also hear the motor humming as it waited to propel the ship forward. Suddenly, Kevin was unsettled by something, but he wasn’t sure why.
He took a short walk on the ship’s deck, but he still felt strange. That night, he suffered from insomnia—he couldn’t suppress his obsessing over how strange he felt.
Kevin went back on deck. It was cold and dark outside. He looked overboard, but it seemed that everything was all right. “Just go back inside,” he thought. Then Kevin saw it. A giant iceberg was sticking out of the ocean in the distance!
“ Help!” he yelled.
People looked at him as if he was crazy, but he continued to shout until he saw the captain.
“There’s an iceberg out there,” Kevin said to him. “ If the ship doesn’t move, we’re liable to crash,” he said, pointing toward the iceberg.
The captain saw it and immediately instructed the crew to change the ship’s direction. “Without your help, we would have definitely hit the iceberg. That would have been a terrible disaster!” he said to Kevin.
Kevin felt relieved. Now he knew to always trust his intuitive sense.
Dangerous Bites
There are many animals with dangerous bites in the world, but which one is the worst? Some would say that the elusive short-tailed mamushi has the worst bite. The snake only goes into homes to chase pests such as mice. Otherwise, it stays in the fields, where it’s dangerous to people who forage for food there. If someone stuns it by accidentally stepping on it, it bites to protect itself. At first, the effects of the bite may seem negligible because it doesn’t cause a lot of bleeding. However, after a few moments, the venom induces paralysis in the area where the individual was bitten. Furthermore, the venom can also impede respiration. If the person doesn’t go to the doctor, they are susceptible to kidney deterioration.
Others would argue that tigers have the worst bite. Mother tigers are inseparable from their babies and seem to be the gentlest creatures when they are around their young. However, if the babies are threatened, the mother tiger’s savage nature prevails. With strong jaws and the ability to move quickly, the tiger can kill someone with one bite. That’s because it always tries to bite an important artery when it attacks. If the artery is ruptured, the victim will bleed to death.
In the mainstream, animal bites are seen as the most dangerous. But some scientists think this idea is invalid. In fact, the most dangerous bite might be the human bite. When scientists magnified the contents in human saliva, they found about three hundred different microbes in it. A human bite can be dangerous if the bacteria enters the body through a cut, which can make people very sick. Furthermore, most people don’t realize how serious a man bit can be, so they don’t go to the doctor right away. This gives the wound a chance to get infected and cause more problems.
The Avalanche
Randy was a forest ranger. Because of his job, he was secluded in a cabin in the wilderness.
One day, the radio reported, “Convection in the atmosphere is causing a lot of clouds to form. A serious storm …” Suddenly, the radio went silent. The signal was lost.
He went outside and looked at the overcast sky. Anybody else would have taken the dark sky as an omen of a very bad storm, but not Randy. His upbringing had taught him consistency. He had done this job for years, and nothing could stop him. Besides, he thought nothing could hurt him.
Today, he had a very important task to do. The snow was starting to pile up high on the mountain. If too much accumulated, it could cause an avalanche. But Randy had an apparatus to get rid of the snow. It used dynamite to shake the snow and make the top * layer of snow come down.
As the snow started falling, he thought about returning to the office until the storm stopped, but he decided not to. Suddenly, he heard a loud noise behind him. It was an avalanche! He started to run, but within seconds, he was knocked sideways and buried by the snow and rubble from an old cabin that had been destroyed. An aerial rescue team came quickly. Randy was just a speck amongst the great pile of snow, but the team found him thanks to his brightly colored jacket. They quickly took him to a hospital.
After a few hours, Randy woke up in the hospital. He looked at the sober faces of the doctors and saw his wife sobbing.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. He didn’t remember what had happened.
“You were almost killed!” his wife said.
“You broke several ribs. But the rest of you is still reasonably intact. You are really lucky to be alive,” the doctor said.
After five days, Randy was discharged from the hospital. The experience had taught him a poignant lesson: he was a mortal, and nature was much more powerful than him.
The Lydian King
King Croesus was once one of the richest kings in the world. He ruled over Lydia, an ancient empire located near modern-day Turkey and controlled a valuable commodity: gold. Many people were very envious of him.
One day, a messenger disclosed some interesting news: political unrest in Persia had weakened the empire. Before then, the Persians had taken over many countries. Many leaders were scared of the Persian conquest. But King Croesus understood the dynamics of war better than most. He decided that it would be a good time to try to beat the Persians while they were weak.
He advocated starting war, but nobody shared his sentiment. Then he asked a wise member of the senate who was visiting from Athens. The sage didn’t say whether he should attack the Persians or not. He only warned him that his good luck wouldn’t last.
Finally, King Croesus sent a messenger to visit the Oracle, a special lady who could see % the future. The messenger gave the Oracle jugs of wine and baskets of lentils in order to make her happy.
When the messenger came back, he was in a festive mood.
“What was the Oracle’s prophecy?” asked King Croesus.
The jolly messenger responded, “She said that if you attack Persia, you will destroy a great empire.”
The news filled Croesus with euphoria. After hearing the Oracle’s prophecy, many civilians enrolled in the Lydian army. The king marshaled his troops and prepared them for a war with Persia. Their morale was high because they were sure they would win. Soon, King Croesus authorized an attack against the Persians.
However, the Persian army was still very strong. After a few months of fighting, it was obvious that the Oracle’s prophecy had come true: by attacking the Persians, King Croesus had destroyed a great empire—his own! King Croesus should have considered the advice more carefully.
The Butler
Greta was an elderly lady who lived alone in a huge, dilapidated mansion. The mansion was in terrible condition. It was covered with filth, and most of the furniture was broken. Plus, the kitchen sink leaked water all over the floor. Greta was too old to do housekeeping and repairs herself, so she hired a butler named Gordon.
Gordon was a young, muscular man. His muscles were a testament to his strong work ethic. He believed that if he worked hard, great things would happen for him. On his first day, he worked for hours cleaning and making repairs. He swept up mounds of dirt. He tightened the valve underneath the kitchen faucet to stop the leak. He even bought timber to build new stools for the kitchen. He worked so hard that his fingers went numb, and he got cramps in his shoulders.
Gordon worked hard every day. Even when tasks were boring, he was never reckless. He made sure there were no flaws in his work. Gordon was worried, however, that Greta wasn’t pleased. She never expressed thanks or said that he did a good job. The lack of appreciation evoked unhappy feelings in Gordon. He even thought about quitting. But he decided the right thing to do was to keep working hard.
One day, while Gordon was sweeping, Greta said, “Gordon! I have a surprise for you!” He went to Greta’s room and saw a beautiful slate statue. It looked just like him! It was adorned with a banner that read: “Welcome home.”
Greta said, “You’ve made this ugly old mansion look new again. I’m so thankful for your hard work that I want you to have it. I’ll move into a smaller house.”
He grinned and gave Greta a big hug. He said, “ I’m in bliss! My hard work really paid off!”
The two said their farewells, and Gordon spent the afternoon admiring his beautiful new home.
The End of Smallpox
Smallpox was once the most deadly disease in the world. During the 1800s, more than 20 million people got the disease every year. Of those, nearly half died. At the onset of smallpox, people suffered from high fevers, headaches, vomiting, and aching muscles. Yet the worst symptom of all was an intolerable rash that caused irritation on the entire body. Those who survived the disease were often rendered blind or left with gross scars on their face and body.
Today, however, cases of smallpox are very rare due to the work of many countries during the late 1900s. This federation of countries collaborated to completely destroy smallpox. Early in the century, wealthy countries in Europe and North America had developed a substance that made the body immune to smallpox. They had required all their citizens to get this vaccine to counteract the disease. Hence, the people of these countries no longer had to worry about smallpox.
However, many of the needy people in poorer parts of the world still suffered from the disease. Their countries could not afford the vaccine nor supply enough doctors to curb the spread of smallpox.
In 1950, the wealthier countries of the world vowed to free the world of the disease. They pledged to supply the vaccine to any country that could not afford it. Scientists compiled lists of areas where the disease still thrived. Then doctors diagnosed people who had the disease in these areas. They enacted laws that prohibited people with smallpox from mixing with those who did not. In this way, they could not transmit the disease to others. Then the doctors gave all of them the vaccine.
It took a longtime and a lot of work. But nearly thirty years later, on December 9,1979, a group of scientists certified that smallpox had been successfully stopped. The humane efforts of people from all over the world had accomplished a great task.
The Coward’s Lesson
Tom was easily frightened. He enlisted in the army because he thought the military would teach him courage. And though he needed courage, he never imagined how he would learn it.
During a march across a tract of wilderness near his country’s frontier, Tom strayed from his squad. He had stopped to gaze at a splendid view of a lush valley. When he turned around, his squad was gone. He searched for them, but because their outfits had camouflage, he couldn’t find them.
It was getting dark, and Tom grew weary. All he had was a knife, a boomerang, and his handbook. He made a camp for the night. It was cold, and the ground was hard. He wished he had his cot and a blanket. Instead, he made a fire, wrapped himself tightly in his jacket, and fell asleep.
A loud noise roused him from his sleep. “What was that?” he wondered.
Then he noticed it. An animal of substantial size had left a print from its paw in the dirt. He sat closer to the fire and looked into the darkness. He imagined a large beast jumping from the gloom and attacking him. He shook so much from fear that it felt like the marrow in his bones quivered.
Tom contemplated many different plans. He was hesitant to act. He decided to stay by the fire, but during his vigil, he heard more noises.
He couldn’t contend with his fear any longer. He knew what he had to do. He made a torch and followed the prints. He heard a twig snap very close ahead, but he bravely went on. Seconds later, he discovered what had scared him. It was only a kangaroo.
Tom went back to his camp and slept. In the morning, he found his squad. He had finally learned courage. He learned that he had to confront his fear in order to conquer it.
Epidemic in Zimbabwe
In August of 2008, a deadly cholera epidemic manifested in Zimbabwe. A severe health hazard caused the outbreak. There was an extreme lack of clean drinking water in the overcrowded urban cities. Garbage and chemicals got into the public water supplies and contaminated them. Since people did not have access to other sources, they had to drink the dirty water.
The outbreak spread rapidly and infected almost 16,000 people. The illness caused extreme pain in people’s intestines. It also caused a deficiency of important fluids in sick people’s bodies. Without the proper fluids and minerals, metabolic processes stopped working correctly. People were unable to digest food properly or replenish their lost nutrients. If they had not received viable treatment, they would have been likely to die. It was imperative for help to come soon.
However, the government of Zimbabwe was unable to provide help to its people. The government didn’t have a plan to stop the spread of cholera. In addition, the country was too poor to get clean water or medication for the sick. The people seemed to be doomed.
Luckily, many other countries recognized the paramount need to contain the outbreak. Dozens of voluntary practitioners from Britain, France, the United States, and other countries went to Zimbabwe to treat the disease. Through the provision of sterile drinking water and medication, people finally got the treatment they badly needed. The compassionate doctors were able to save the lives of thousands. By January of 2009, the epidemic was almost completely contained.
Today, the Zimbabwean government is working with other countries to prevent future epidemics. They are cleaning up the water supply and learning how to avoid health hazards. The system used to filter water is being upgraded. The government now administers the water supply plants and makes sure that they adhere to strict safety guidelines. Hopefully, future instances of cholera will be treated before they start deadly epidemics.
The Brute and the Billionaire
Hundreds of people had come to see a popular satire, but during the performance a fire started in the theater. The audience and actors evacuated the building. Luckily, no one was hurt, and the fire was soon put out. Immediately, the audience assembled into an angry mob and demanded to know what had happened.
It was soon revealed that the fire had started backstage, and only two people were in the area at the time. One was the husband of the play’s star actress, the billionaire Henry Rich. The other was the theater’s janitor, Bill, a large and strong man who looked like a brute.
The crowd segregated the two men and demanded to know who the culprit was. Most of the crowd thought that Bill was to blame. They felt that he had started the fire without ever subjecting him to any scrutiny. Bill resented this but said nothing.
Luckily, the billionaire’s wife testified in his defense. “Your decision is premature,” she told the crowd. “ I fell down amid the tumult while everyone fled the fire. Bill rescued me and carried me out of the building. I think you underestimate his character. Besides, in order to be close enough to save me, he couldn’t have been near the place where the fire began.”
The crowd then turned their eyes to the billionaire. “ He did it!” they shouted. “Make him pay!”
“Wait,” the billionaire said over the uproar. “ I admit that I started the fire, but it was an accident. I was going backstage to see my wife and was clumsy. I collided with a lamp, and it fell to the floor. The floor was flammable. A fire started, and I fled.”
The mob was surprised. The man they blamed was innocent, and the billionaire was guilty. To pay for his error, the billionaire not only repaired the theater but had it remade to be better than before.
The Tenacious Inventor
A young student of meteorology was having a difficult time with an experiment. He was attempting to duplicate lightning in clouds. He had made a device that could simulate lightning. It worked by releasing an electromagnetic pulse into the cloud. This pulse, in turn, stimulated the electrons in the cloud’s particles. Then the electrons produced lightning.
But his meteorological experiment had a major defect. He couldn’t get the device into the sky.
He had tied it to balloons, but they had burst. He had shot the device from a cannon, but the force of the cannon had damaged it.
“You should give up,” his friends told him. “You’ll never get that thing into the air.”
But his friends’ criticisms only spurred him to try again. The student was very innovative, and at last, he thought that he had an innovation that would work. He attached wings to the device, and on one dreary day, when clouds blocked the light of the sun, he started his experiment anew.
He placed the device on a rocket and launched it into the sky. The propulsion of the rocket carried the device high into the air. The rocket accelerated into the clouds and then released the device. It glided on its wings through the clouds, and when it penetrated the center of a large black cloud, it emitted the electromagnetic pulse. And just as he had predicted, lightning shot from the cloud!
He called his professors, and the next day they came to watch. He successfully duplicated the experiment. His teachers were extremely impressed and called the student and his invention ingenious.
The student was given many awards and became a famous inventor. He had not given up. He had remained tenacious and succeeded.
The Nurse’s Lesson
One of the children in the nursery was sick. The child’s mother, who was usually quite vivacious and chattered constantly, was quiet and worried. She knew that if she did not act quickly, the child’s condition would deteriorate.
She summoned the children’s nurse and said to her, “The monks make a medicine that can cure my child’s sickness. Please, hurry tonight to the monastery and get it.”
The nurse immediately hurried from the manor to get the medicine. The monastery was far away by Rabbit Cove, and there was no freeway leading to it. The only way there was to walk along a dark and winding trail.
The temperature was close to zero degrees centigrade, and it was raining. Luckily, the nurse had grabbed her raincoat beforehand. She zipped it up and pulled the hood over her head.
“ I’ll never make it there,” she thought. “ Perhaps I should return and go in the morning.” But she remembered the sick child and decided to continue.
Finally, she arrived at the monastery. It was very late. She feared the monks would not be hospitable. But she approached the door and knocked anyway. The rain had condensed on the exterior of the windows by the door. All she could see was the profile of a large man coming to answer the door. Again, she was filled with fear.
But the monk smiled at her when he opened the door. He took her outstretched hand and welcomed her with a hearty voice. The place was warm, and she heard a concerto playing in another room. She relaxed.
“ How can I help you?” the monk asked, and the nurse explained the situation.
He instantly knew what to do. He grabbed a parcel of medicine and took her back to the manor in a carriage. The medicine worked. The nurse was happy she had persevered through the bad weather and found the monastery. Now the boy would be able to live a long natural life.
Seizures Then and Now
If a person who lived 200 years ago was treated for a seizure today, they would be surprised by the treatment’s novelty. That’s because doctors in the 1800s were influenced more by primal medical beliefs than science.
Rather than thinking the brain caused seizures, people in the 180′ still thought they were the result of strange forces. They equated seizures with the work of evil spirits. Others felt that the seizures had a cosmic or lunar cause. They believed that the cycles of the moon and constellations could make someone have a seizure.
During a session to treat a patient who had seizures, doctors would force the patient to invoke the grace of the Almighty. They thought if the patient did this, then the patient would rid themselves of the evil spirits causing the seizures.
The advent of modern psychiatry occurred during the 1800s. At that time people who suffered from seizures were placed in psychiatric hospitals. They were treated like they were insane. However, none of the outmoded treatments worked.
It wasn’t until the late 1850s that the causes of seizures were understood. We know today that these causes pertain to the brain. Misfired signals from the brain cause a jerking reflex in the body. These usually occur when someone is very tired.
Once the causes of seizures were known, definitive treatments were developed. Today, treatments range from taking pills to having surgery. Treatment is personalized according to the type of seizure the patient has.
Even today, some people are unsure about seizures. Their most common mistake is thinking that a person having a seizure will swallow their tongue. They often shove some utensil in the person’s mouth. However, this doesn’t help. The utensil often blocks the airway and prevents the person from inhaling. Yet most of the public no longer fear people who have seizures. Instead, they can now help and comfort a person if they have a seizure.
The Greedy Bee
A young bee had passed his intermediate level exams. He now knew everything about flowers. He understood how they used photosynthesis to make oxygen and which ones produced the best pollen. Bees had an important dependency on pollen. From the beginning of time, bees’ eternal task was to gather pollen and make honey with it.
Since he passed his exams, the little bee had earned his inclusion in the swarms that gathered pollen. He was excited because he was finally allowed to leave the hive. He left with the next swarm and was determined to find the perfect flower. Soon he saw a large, vibrant flower full of pollen. He landed on a petal and walked toward the pollen at the flower’s center.
Immediately, he began rolling in the pollen, gathering it on his legs and wings. The fine texture of the pollen tickled when it stuck to his body. It was the best experience the little bee had ever had. He gathered as much as he could.
But when he was flying back home, he realized that all the pollen had an adverse effect. He had no control over his flight. The intermittent wind fluctuated in power. He was blown to and fro. One minute he was flying straight, and the next minute the wind had reversed his course.
He tried to dump some of the pollen, but it acted as an adhesive. He couldn’t get it off. He became tired and fell to the ground.
“What am I going to do now?” he thought. Just then, his mentor landed next to him and began cleaning the excess pollen off the little bee. “You shouldn’t have taken so much,” his mentor said.
Finally, with the pollen off of him, the bee easily regained his strength, and like a phoenix, the young bee flew back into the air. When he returned to the hive, he turned to his mentor and said, “ I learned an important lesson today. I will never be greedy again.”
The Mayor of Sherman
The cosmopolitan city of Sherman needed to elect a new mayor. Two men aspired to become mayor: Mr. Jones and Mr. Webb. Mr. Jones was a tall, handsome man. He was a phenomenal speaker, and the citizens loved him. However, Mr. Jones didn’t know much about running a city. He was a pathological liar who merely flattered people with his words. Mr. Webb was very different. He was a small, unattractive man. He was lame and limped when he walked. But he was an expert on politics and knew what was best for the people.
The citizens of Sherman didn’t care about what the politicians had to say. No one listened to Mr. Webb, even though he had great ideas. They cheered when Mr. Jones spoke, although he didn’t talk about important things. His pretty words put people in a trance. All the polls predicted that Mr. Jones would win the election.
When the votes were totaled, Mr. Jones won easily. But when he took office, he didn’t know what to do! He tried to hide his ignorance by working in secrecy. He added a law to the city’s constitution that prevented citizens from seeing the mayor. He even censored newspapers that tried to disseminate information about his inability to help the people.
Soon, however, Mr. Jones became infamous for his poor leadership. There was an outburst of anger among the citizens. They were full of remorse for their misguided decision to elect an ignorant mayor. They voted to remove Mr. Jones and let Mr. Webb take over. Immediately, Mr. Webb proved that he was a great mayor. He abolished Mr. Jones’s law, and he was willing to talk openly with everyone. He tackled important issues and amended unfair laws in the city’s charter.
The citizens learned that a pleasant appearance and nice words do not make a good leader. The most important qualities are intelligence and a desire to help others.
Reading Comprehension
The Editor’s Choice
A newspaper editor sat at his desk and stared at the flashing cursor on his computer’s screen. He didn’t know if he should delete the article he had just written or go ahead and publish it. He was scared and filled with doubt.
The empire had passed a new law stating that citizens could only use the imperial language. The editor disagreed with the law and decided to write an article about why it was wrong. He felt that the new law excluded people of different nationalities and racial and ethnic backgrounds. He had firsthand knowledge of what it feels like not to be fluent in the imperial language because he was from a remote part of the empire.
He felt that the empire shouldn’t be monolingual and should be more inclusive. Yet he was afraid that he would get in trouble for having this belief. Many would say that he was not a patriot—that he didn’t love the empire. But he didn’t wish to undermine the authority of the empire. He wanted to argue that the empire could be stronger if it accepted people of various cultures and beliefs.
At last, he decided to stop being a coward and to be earnest about how he felt. He wrote the article. It wasn’t rude or angry, but rather, very solemn and intelligent. The next day it was published in all the papers.
Everyone was impressed by his tact and showed solidarity with his ideas. He expected to be arrested any day, but the police never came. Surprisingly, instead of being prosecuted, he became a hero. The legislature changed the law, and people from many linguistic backgrounds praised him.
“Never be afraid to be vocal,” the editor later wrote. “If you think something is wrong, then stand up for what you believe.”
The Ice House
Last year, Erik constructed one of the world’s strangest houses in the glacial landscape of northern Sweden. He called it the Ice House: a house made entirely of ice and snow. All of the beds, chairs, tables, and walls are cold, hard sculptures of ice.
A group of architects and volunteers from all over the world traveled to the site of the Ice House and began its construction. The multicultural group journeyed through blizzards and frigid temperatures to reach the site. Once the builders arrived, there was an interchange of ideas, and tools were allocated to each worker. An expert was selected to oversee the building process to make sure there was no discord between the workers. Once a plan was generated, they got right to work. The design was very unique; the builders couldn’t replicate the design from normal houses.
The first step was to build the walls and ceiling. The builders used a metal frame to help them build the structure. After the ice was in place, the frame was removed. The builders then created furniture and art pieces. Designs were carved into each piece. One worker carved big wavy lines, and another made tiny clockwise, concentric circles. Finally, the workers carved small cavities in the roof and inserted colored lights. When the work was finished, the beautiful house was ready for a resident to enjoy.
Living in the Ice House is an experience like no other. Erik stores his belongings in an ice locker and lays out a sleeping bag on his ice bed. At dinner, he dines on a delicious salad with crisp toppings. And for the main course, he enjoys appetizing fish caught from a nearby river. The fish are pierced with icicles and served on ice plates. After dinner, he gets ready for a cold night. The omission of heaters can be too much for his visitors sometimes. Luckily, there are warm rooms nearby, as a courtesy to people who get too cold.
Preparing of the Future
Overpopulation is a big problem in the world today. Too many people are crammed into cities and towns around the globe. Earth’s population is about 6.5 billion people. This number is growing every day. In just 50 years, the population will be almost 9 billion.
Many people worry that the Earth won’t have enough resources to support so many people. One major reason for this is that wasting resources and polluting have become habitual behaviors. Industrial output results in polluting the air with dangerous fumes. Also, cars and machines waste a ton of important natural resources like oil and water. It’s possible that the Earth may become so damaged that it cannot support a large population of humans.
Another issue is the lack of useful land for cultivating crops. Even today, many people subsist on mere scraps of food and little water. In 50 years, many experts worry that huge numbers of people will starve to death. So what is being done to prepare for the future?
People are realizing they can no longer justify their wasteful behavior or defer action to fix it. Many car companies already have patents on prototypes for very efficient cars. Such cars waste no resources and produce no pollution. A conversion to clean cars means that petroleum can be saved for the future. In addition, the environmental sectors of many governments are setting strict rules for industries that pollute too much. If companies do not abide by the standards, they are penalized with higher taxes. In some cases, their operations might be suspended altogether.
Food is also an issue that is being tackled. Many countries are now subscribing to the point of view that immediate action is needed. They are determining ways to export goods to people in need, so that no one goes hungry. Experts will continue to come up with ideas for the future, and a synthesis of these ideas will help to support the growing population.
Hundred Plays
Over two thousand years ago, Chinese farmers had a problem. Even though they were very industrious, the weather became too cold outside to plant their staple food, rice. So what did they do? Since they had so much free time during the long, cold winters, the inventive farmers started performing tricks to entertain themselves. They used their farm tools and anything they could find to make their tricks more spectacular. They even twisted their bodies into crazy shapes and performed awesome jumps. Overtime, they became great acrobats, and their art form came to be known as “ Hundred Plays.”
Hundred Plays involves doing many kinds of tricks. For example, in Mandarin-speaking parts of China, performers do the lion dance. They wear costumes and mimic the animal’s movements. Early performers also did tricks on ropes and vines that were high above the ground.
Even though the acrobats’ fluid movements may have looked easy, they took a lot of work.
Learning Hundred Plays is a communal event. A veteran of the acrobatic arts usually teaches younger people in the village. They spend a lot of time rehearsing. The young performers also learn an old philosophy. The teachings help them harmonize the sensory aspects of acrobatics with mental aspects. In other words, it teaches them to use their physical and mental strength together.
Since the art has its origins with poor farmers, rich people used to scorn acrobats. They thought acrobats were villains. The rich people thought the acrobats just wanted to trick them. But later, their misguided opinions changed. Acrobats came to be respected in Chinese society. They were invited to perform in metropolitan areas as well as in small villages. They performed for important people, including judicial officers. Arts advocacy groups convinced the government to support Chinese acrobatics. As a result, there is now a statute that made several villages the center of training future acrobats.
The Kidnapping
Anne was a very quiet girl who had an inherent fear of almost everything. The kids at school would play tricks on her all the time. They would hide behind the door of the school janitor’s closet, then jump out to scare her. Once, a boy dressed up like a vampire and chased her down the street. Anne hated being constrained by her fears, but she didn’t know how to be brave.
She was walking home from school one day when someone came up behind her. Before she could turn around, a powerful man grabbed her. She couldn’t scream because a huge hand was put over her mouth. Anne knew that this could not be another stunt by her classmates. The scary man restrained her arms and legs and carried her to his house. He tied Anne to a chair. Her guts began to hurt because she was so scared.
The man prodded Anne with his forefinger and said, “You’ll stay right here until I get a ransom from your parents. Then I’ll be rich!” The dirty man spit when he talked. A string of saliva hung from his moist lips. Anne was terrified and intimidated by the horrible man. But she knew she had to escape somehow.
Eventually, the man yawned. Anne waited quietly until he fell asleep. As he slept, she carefully wiggled her arms and legs until the ropes became loose. She slipped out of the ropes and carefully opened the door. She sprinted to the bus depot and boarded a bus to the police station. She told the police what happened, and they arrested the kidnapper.
The kids at school were amazed. They asked her, “Weren’t you too scared to escape?”
She said, “Nope, I knew that I had to be brave and get out of there!”
The kids were very tolerant of Anne from then on. They even decided that they would emulate her bravery if they ever got into a tough situation.
The Earl of Shining
In the village of Hampton, there was an old soldier named Michael, but he was known to the world as the Earl of Shining. Michael was once an expert archer and a great fighter. In fact, his skills seemed to be hereditary; all the people in his ancestry were famous warriors. However, he was getting old and no longer wished to fight.
One day, he was in the forest hunting prey when he saw a beautiful prophet singing a hymn. She said, “Michael, an evil army is involved in a conspiracy to take over Hampton. You’re the only one who can defeat them and stop the tyranny. The village needs you!”
Michael replied, “ But I’m too old to fight! I’m not confident that I can do it.”
The prophet said, “You must try. I will even make a potion to increase your strength.”
The prophet took out a bottle and a funnel. She poured some vinegar and garlic into the bottle. Next, she added some seasoning and sodium and shook it up.
Michael smelled the potion. “Wow, this is fragrant,” he said in a sarcastic tone. He inverted the bottle and drank the whole potion. He immediately felt stronger. “ I’ll try my best,” he promised.
Michael rode his horse to a hilltop, where he could see the village of Hampton below. He saw the evil tyrant and his men marching in a procession through the town.
Michael charged down the hill and into the village. An enemy deputy officer shouted, “ He looks as strong as an ox!” It was an apt analogy. Michael grabbed the officer and threw him across the street with one arm. The rest of the officers screamed and rode away, and their army followed.
The prophet reappeared. Michael said, “ It’s a good thing you gave me the potion.”
She replied, “ But Michael, the potion was fake! Your strength really came from having confidence!
Michael realized he really was still great. He just needed to believe in himself.
The Lord and the Farmers
A wealthy lord was renovating his mansion. He had added another story to his home with large windows that overlooked the farmers’ pastures on the eastern border of his land. Around the mansion, he then erected a great wall. He built an arch for the gate out of huge slabs of stone. The lord was overjoyed with the addition to his home.
However, one day while he was sitting on the terrace, some farmers knocked at his door. He invited them in. Despite his hospitality, the farmers appeared to be in a foul mood.
“Why are you so upset?” the lord asked.
One farmer replied, “That is actually the reason for our visit.” He then handed the lord a petition. It alleged that the shadow cast by the mansion was harming their pastures. “Your mansion now casts a shadow over several hectares of our land,” the farmer explained. “The turf in the shadow has died, and our cattle now have less grass to eat.”
“ It is too late for me to revise my plans,” the lord answered. “You will just have to live with the change.”
His reply only heightened the farmers’ anger. They left, but they assembled that night outside the mansion’s gate. They planned to destroy the mansion. The lord’s servants tried to defend the house, but the farmers outnumbered them.
The servants fled, and the farmers rushed into the mansion and set it on fire. Everyone got out of the house, and there were no casualties. However, the fire soon spread from the house to the adjoining pastures that belonged to the farmers.
Both sides’ properties were destroyed. The lord and the farmers were sorry for their actions. The lord promised to pay for the burned pastures, and the farmers promised to rebuild the mansion. They had learned that when you fight, both sides lose.
The Shortcut
A truck driver was driving cargo from the outback to the coast. His load was comprised of many types of ore. He needed a huge truck to carry its bulk to a ship waiting at a pier on the country’s eastern coast. At the border between two counties, he’d have to pay a tariff on the cargo. However, he could keep his money if he avoided the station at the border. He worried about getting in trouble for not paying the tariff, but the thought of extra money outweighed this concern.
He took out his road map. To his surprise, it depicted a small road that had a dual advantage. It not only avoided the border station but also was a shorter route to the coast. He decided to take the shortcut.
However, along his journey, he soon ran into problems. First, he had to cross a small wooden bridge. His truck weighed too much for the bridge. It was analogous to an elephant trying to stand on a tree branch. The bridge started to break as the truck crossed, and the trailer tilted to the right. Fortunately, the truck made it safely across, but most of the ore fell into the river below.
Next, it was a very hot day. The thermometer read over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The truck’s engine became too hot, so the driver parked it in the shade of a grove of trees until it cooled down.
Later, he took a wrong turn. He stopped and took out his binoculars. He scanned his surroundings and eventually discovered a landmark that led him back to the proper route.
Finally, he arrived at the pier, but the ship wasn’t there. When he asked about the ship’s whereabouts, a man said that it had left thirty minutes ago. He had not fulfilled his duty. He realized then the paradox of the shortcut. The shortest route can be the longest, and vice versa, a long route may be the fastest.
The Mad Hatter
One morning, Lucas sat outside with his grandfather. They looked past the gravel road that led to a natural reservoir on the delta. On the other side of the water, there was a cottage.
“ Does a ghost live there?” Lucas asked.
“ No, a mad hatter lives there,” said his grandfather. Lucas didn’t know what a mad hatter was, but the image of a scary man haunted him.
Later, Lucas went for a walk in the forest. He collected pieces of amber and granite that he found on the ground. He looked at the moss on the trees and watched a bird peck at the ground. But the forest was like a maze. Soon, Lucas was lost.
Lucas heard somebody behind him. He wanted to run away, but he fell. He had a streak of blood on his shirt and some pebbles stuck in his skin. Then a man appeared.
“ I will take you home. First, let’s get you cleaned up,” he said.
Lucas followed him. When they arrived at the cottage, he realized the man was the mad hatter!
He sat down inside. It smelled like charcoal, but it looked like a normal house. The man brought Lucas back some medicine.
“ It’s a bit old, but it’s not expired,” the man said.
While Lucas cleaned his cut, the man washed the blood out of his shirt with detergent.
Lucas asked, “Are you a mad hatter?”
The man laughed and replied, “That’s a euphemism for a crazy person. Actually, I’m pretty normal. I’m a columnist fora newspaper,” said the man. He pointed to his credentials which hung on the wall.
Lucas could hear the crickets outside. It was getting dark, so he asked, “Could you take me home now?”
The man said yes. Lucas was surprised that people thought the man was crazy. He was actually very courteous. Maybe Lucas should have a more liberal attitude. Next time, Lucas wouldn’t make judgments about people without getting to know them first.