Despite the loud name, this story is about another Sleepy Hollow. This text has almost nothing to do with the famous movie. The names of the heroes and the ominous ghost are similar, but the plot and the legend itself are other. The story isn't less interesting than the film by Tim Burton. The plot goes slowly. There is a strong, gloomy atmosphere with some notes of high-quality irony. The plot offers a difficult task and immediately throws a clue to the reader. Abrupt transitions from the ominous mystical atmosphere to a light, bright and amusing manner will not let get bored and make a pleasant variety. The main manner of Washington Irving is to show the vices of his characters and society. He does it with irony and witty jokes. The writer considers superstition and cowardice the main negative qualities of every human.
This book includes two stories written by the famous Irish author Oscar Wilde. Both tales are about kindness and self-sacrifice. The first story takes us to a big city. In the middle of the city, there is a statue of the Happy Prince. He is made of gold and decorated with some precious stones. He always looks happy. But in reality, he has a reason to be sad. The Prince asks a little Swallow for help. The Swallow faces a difficult choice, as his friends are waiting for him in Egypt. A Giant is the main character of the second story. He is the owner of a beautiful garden. The Giant is very selfish and he does not allow children to play near his house. That is why Spring never comes to his garden. Only one little boy manages to melt the Selfish Giant's heart and return beauty to the garden.
Max and Lara are brother and a sister. They are twins. The children spend another summer in a small picturesque village, not far from Stonehenge. First it seems too much boring — the nearest city is far from there, there are only forests, fields and clear air. Absolutely nothing to do! But still the curious twins will not be bored, because there's a lot of interesting things to discover around. They find an ancient mysterious symbol and a book full of ciphers and secrets. Their uncle is not who they thought he was. Max and Lara boldly take up the investigation, like real professional detectives. Soon, these two brave teenagers are involved in some exciting adventures. What will their search lead to? Is it enough just one summer to reveal all the secrets?
The courtroom is full of people. Everybody gathered for the sake of today's court case. Two young men Dan Smith and Simon Clark get up from the dock. The clerk strictly looks at them and asks: «Who killed Mary Jones?» They said: «We are not guilty. We did not do it.» But this can be a lie. There is a possibility these young men are real killers. The police officers found a murder weapon in the stolen car. Later they found some traces of blood on Simon's head. If the jury decides they are guilty – Dan and Simon will be sentenced to prison up to a lot of years. Will the lawyers be able save young people and find out the truth? Each present man in that building also wants to know about the murder of that poor woman. The reader can learn everything too.
Gail is a nurse in the casualty department. A man has been severely injured in a car crash. His face is unrecognizable, but there is information that he's a famous rock star Alex Hayle. The singer is supposed to be on concert tour worth10 million pounds. But instead of it he's in a coma and the doctors say his condition is serious. Gail is surprised by the strange behaviour of his manager Clarence Tucker. He doesn't allow the doctors to speak to the media about Alex's health. Then he even lies to the TV reporters that the singer is feeling much better and will perform soon. Despite the doctor's advice, Tucker decides to move Alex to a private hospital. In a few months, there is shocking news — Alex Hayle is ready to perform but with a new face, as he's had a plastic surgery. But is it really the same singer that was in a coma only several months ago? Gail is determined to find out the truth.
How did the history of America begin? Did it start from the settlers who came to the Indian tribes? No, everything started much earlier. The Indians arrived from another land about 40 000 years ago! They crossed the sea and settled in America. The contacts with more civilized nations brought Indians weapons, new knowledge about agriculture and a lot of dangerous diseases from which the entire tribes died. Immerse yourself in this interesting time and learn more than can be seen in the films about the Wild West. In reality, everything was much more complicated. Find out the names of the most famous Indian leaders and ancient explorers, learn more about the key moments that have changed the history of the whole world.
This is a story from a world famous writer who wrote a book about the first vampire in the world. A young lawyer named John Moore comes to a small town to prepare for the exams in a relaxed atmosphere. After spending one night in a hotel, he firmly decides to rent a big beautiful mansion to live in it. The hostess of the hotel warns the young man that this mansion has a bad reputation. A cruel judge had lived there before. Nowadays some mysterious ghosts live in this house. It is a bad idea to rent it. But John doesn’t believe in ghosts, and the house seems very comfortable. The young man moves to a new place but it is not possible to live peacefully. Everything begins with a huge rat, that comes to him at night. And then the events start evolving rapidly.
Do you like traveling? Don't you think, that the trains have their own individual charming atmosphere and romance? A quick flight by plane will not give so much bright emotion as a leisurely journey by train. Tom Walsh lived long enough in the world. He met lots of different people and knew many interesting stories. He was a calm quiet man who loved travelling. Travelling by trains was his special passion. Tom found it a real pleasure to meet new people. Once he got interested in two American girls in the train during another trip. Tom thought they were smart enough, cheerful and sociable. This is a collection of short stories. It presents numerous interesting situations that Tom got in while travelling by trains.
Parents said goodbye to their children, wives kissed their husbands and friends shook hands with each other. They perfectly understood that they were seeing each other for the last time. The husband stayed on the ship but told his wife to get into the lifeboat. Titanic was not destined to return to the port from that voyage and many people died. But during this catastrophe many instances of courage and self-sacrifice were noticed. The night of April 14, 1912 is remembered by the whole world. The crew worked the whole night to save as many passengers as possible. But there were also such passengers who thought only of themselves and did not even try to help others. They pushed the women and children away to take their places in the lifeboats. People say that Titanic showed the real face of people — their best and worst sides.
The book begins as a diary in which one woman leaves a message for her granddaughter. She says that when the girl reads this — she herself will be already dead. She wants her granddaughter to read this diary ?fter her twenty-fifth birthday. Many years ago the grandmother had a good friend — a young student named Milo. He was very silent, intelligent and loved listening to her stories. Once he confessed to the girl how he differed from other ordinary young people of his age. Milo revealed who he really was. At first, the girl did not believe him, but soon she understood that the boy was not lying. She immediately sat down to write a diary to warn her future granddaughter. This information was too necessary.
Corrected version This story became widely known after its adaptation in movie. The literary original itself was written a long time ago. The protagonist of the story is Walter. He has a boring and ordinary life, like hundreds of thousands of other people. Walter goes to work he doesn't like; the weekend goes fast. The only feature of this person is a rich imagination. In his fantasies, he is transported far from the annoying routine. He becomes a fearless traveler, astronaut or real Casanova. In dreams, Walter achieves everything he wants. In real life he is in love with his colleague, but he cannot tell her about it. Soon something happens and changes Walter's monotonous life. He will have to go on a long journey not in his fantasies, but in reality.
In April 1912 a new British ship set sail for the first time. Her name was Titanic. She was big, fast and beautiful. The naval architects were very proud. They said the Titanic was the safest ship in the world. She was unsinkable. The passengers felt happy. Some of them enjoyed the luxury of the Titanic, others hoped to get to America and start a new life there. But their excitement was not to last long. Just in several days the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the ocean. The tragedy took over 1,500 lives. People still wonder how this could happen to seemingly the safest ship in the world. This book is an attempt to give a detailed description of the disaster. It introduces us to the real passengers and crew members of the Titanic telling their stories and allowing us to go through the terror of that historic night.
This is one of the detective stories of the famous English writer Charles Dickens. The main character is a smart and attentive man named Sampson. One day he sees a strange Mr. Julius Silton in his office. Sampson begins to suspect that this man is hiding something necessary from other people. This Mr. Silton appears in the life of the main character more often. Sampson understands that a crime is occurring and it must be stopped. Sampson turns into a real hunter of criminals. The writer once again demonstrates his talent: he perfectly describes the character and psychology of the people's behavior. Charles Dickens also gives a vivid imagery of the society of his time. The story is dynamic and the reader won't be bored.
Everything happened in Alabama. Bill Driscoll and Old Hank thought they needed more money. They decided to kidnap a child. People in small towns love their children very much. In such places you can find lazy fat sheriffs who do not like investigating crimes. They found a boy in one of the courtyards. First thing the child threw a stone in the Bill’s eye. With great difficulty, they managed to grab the boy, even though he fought like a bear. The child was taken to a cave, not far from the town. There was already a small supply of food. When Bill returned to the cave, he saw a fire in front of it and the boy with feathers in his hair. Old Hank said they were playing Indians. And that was just the beginning. Bill realized that this child could cause more problems than any adult.
King Henry VIII was an influential leader of his time. However, today he is mostly remembered for having six wives. He was known as a good king but a terrible husband. All his wives were very unhappy. There are many legends and rumors concerning Henry's life. This book allows the reader to get more insight into what was really happening in the King's palace. The story is narrated from the perspective of the sixth wife Catherine Parr. After her husband's death the woman goes back to the palace to collect her things. There she comes across a box with five letters. It turns out that the King kept one letter from each of his wives. Catherine reads these messages to her young maid Margaret. Together they discover the former Queens' true feelings and thoughts about King Henry.
