A small family restaurant is not the most famous or posh place in the city. Most clients are people who need an inexpensive but tasty food. Large portions for hungry men. The restaurant owner personally works in the hall and accepts money from guests. There are also two waitresses working there: a tall and beautiful woman and a low, fat partner who looks like a gnome. Mostly men visit the restaurant. Certainly, they love the tall beautiful girl more. They enjoy talking to her and just watching. She is able to support any conversation and to be pleasant and sweet. The young girl often receives expensive gifts from the customers. Nobody pays attention to the short fat waitress. Men do not want to talk to her and, of course, do not give gifts. She is just a good waitress, but that is not enough.
Once Thor woke up in his bedroom and did not find his hammer. Every day he would wake up and first of all take Mjolnir into his hands. This hammer helped him invoke thunder and lightning. It was even able to make Thor stronger than one hundred warriors. With the hammer the God of Thunder could defeat any rival. He fought the formidable giants, but no one could stop him when Thor was holding his hammer. But that strange morning there was no faithful weapon in the bedroom. Thor called Loki. He realized that when unpleasant or strange things happened — the God of liars had definitely something to do with it. Loki insisted that he knew nothing about the missing hammer. And this time he did not lie. Loki offered his help and the gods soon found out who had stolen the great weapon.
This is the story by the famous writer Edgar Allan Poe. It is this author who is considered to be the progenitor of such a popular genre in literature as horror fiction. Even Howard Lovecraft was inspired by his books. This story was published in the collection at the end of the nineteenth century. The main character's name is Montezor. At the beginning of the story, he brags about how he got even with a mean nobleman, avenging for all bitter offences. He planned to commit a murder during the carnival: the people around would be drunk and cheerful, everyone would be dancing — no one would notice the real crime. Everyone would decide it as a part of the fun. He lured the foe into his mansion to show a collection of wines in the cellar. Further, Montezor thought up a particularly exquisite crime, which no one expected.
Once the main character of this story received a letter from an old friend who lived in the East. He asked to visit one old man whose name was Mr. Wheeler. Simon Wheeler should have known something important that the friend wanted to learn. The young man decided to fulfill this request and went to the meeting. He saw the old man in the tavern. He was sleeping near the old stove. The young man woke Simon Wheeler up and started questioning about his childhood friend Leonidas. Simon readily told his story. It happened in 1849. A man who called himself Jim Smiley came to their camp. He was very lucky and loved to bet on what was going to happen. He always guessed what would happen in the camp of the miners. He also easily predicted the results of the horse racing or dog fighting.
Tom Smith is a usual polite and nice young man. He really wants to find a job, but he always fails. There are a lot of people around, but very few jobs. The young man has no money even for food and clothing. This upsets him very much. As a child, Tom dreamed of becoming a professional football player, because he really played well. He was also a good tennis player, but there were a lot of much better athletes around. Tom thought that he could go to work in a sports shop if he was not able to become a real athlete. Unfortunately, he failed. The days go by, but he still can't find a job. Until that moment, when Tom reads one announcement of the fair in the local newspaper. The next Saturday he goes there, spending the last money on the ticket.
The passenger who got off the boat looked like an ordinary man. He did not stand out among the others. It was difficult to guess that he had a gun in his pocket. It was even more difficult to assume that he was one of the smartest people in Europe. Valentine was one of the most famous detectives on the planet. He was also a French policeman. This man arrived in London to arrest an elusive villain. The police officers from three countries chased Flambeau, but no one could catch him. The culprit was smart and confident. He could change either appearance or clothes. The only thing that Flambeau could not change was his tall stature. This was Valentine's main lead. And he was sure only of the fact that the criminal did not sail with him on the boat. But he could be hiding in any other place and Valentine intended to find him at any cost.
In some distant northern lands there was a mountain, the top of which was hidden in a big ring of hot flames. The fire was so strong that the top could not be seen from the ground. One day a mighty and fearless warrior was riding a horse near this mountain. It was Sigurd. Certainly he became interested in this bright fire. The warrior immediately drove to the top. The horse was frightened, but Sigurd kept riding. When he got to the ring of flame, he realized that he needed to cross it to find out what was next. The horse submitted to its owner and jumped through the firewall. The flame was left behind and Sigurd saw a palace on the top of the mountain. It was a real mystery. He felt that he could not leave without learning what was inside.
The protagonist of this book spent his youth in eastern Africa. He was a good hunter. He loved his country and spent time on the plains, in many cozy valleys and loved walking at cold nights. But soon the war began. World War II overtook Europe. The man was preparing to become a pilot. Once he took a plane and flew to watch wild animals during maneuvering exercises in the sky. He damaged the wing of the plane, but was able to return to the airport. Soon he was again entrusted with the aircraft. But the next time the pilot was unlucky — the aircraft's engine died out and he had to make an emergency landing. This time it was without damage. He saw a small hut and went to her. There lived an old man who grew food. He warmly welcomed the pilot and allowed him to live in his hut.
People, who know much about ghosts, can understand this story better, than somebody else. The main character lived for a long time in India and witnessed these events. Dumoise worked as a doctor in the north-west of India, in Punjab. Dumoise was a small, plump man and married a young woman, as round and unhurried as he himself was. For some time, the couple was happy. But their happiness was not to last long. A typhus epidemic began in the city. His wife also got sick. For several days, the doctor thought it was a normal fever and a lot of time was lost. The woman passed away. Dumoise returned to his usual life. The widower did not want to accept help from any friends. He thought that he would be able to cope with everything on his own.
The protagonist of this story is a professional writer. He wrote and sold books. He writes them nowadays too, but people don't know about it. Once he decided to write a very big novel: he found a small room and thought that this was a very good place to write a book. He began his work and was very pleased. But later strange things started happening. One day he decided that he wanted a cup of coffee. The man left his pen on the table and went out. But when he returned — the pen was gone, even though he was trying to find it. And at night he woke up and realized that there was someone in the room, but nobody was visible. After this, the oddities continued. They became even more. But the writer wanted to finish the book and he stayed in this small strange room. Once he saw another person's face in a small mirror on the wall.
Freya was the most beautiful out of all the gods and goddesses in Asgrad. She was tall and stately with long blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was a good woman. Still Freya had one fault — greed. She loved not food or weapon, but adored jewelry: pearls, gold, precious stones, rings and necklaces. The goddess had a lot of jewels. Despite this, she always wanted more. Her wish for these precious things turned into an obsession. She had the largest collection in Asgard. But those jewels from other worlds were an enormous temptation for her. Freya loved travelling to Midgard in search of countless new bracelets and necklaces. One day, Loki put on his cloak that made him invisible and followed the goddess to play another joke on her.
The main character of this story is a young man named Barr Lassiter. He lived near Carthage with his parents and older sister. The Lassiters were simple farmers. They were not wealthy enough to own a huge house or buy slaves. But they were never hungry. There was always enough food. Barr was twenty-two years old when the Civil War began. This event divided many families. Many children started opposing their parents. The people of the North did not support slavery, and the Southerners wanted to preserve the existing order of things at any cost. The Barr's family supported the Confederates. The young man was against it. In the end Barr was forced to leave home. The family did not try to stop him and did not even say goodbye.
When the White House in Virginia burned down — the main character of this book lost his home and his precious trunk, and also happiness. It was not a problem. A home without close people who take care of you is not a real home. Happiness is also not a problem. But the loss of the trunk was important, it was insulting for him. On the first day after the fire, he caught a cold and constantly sneezed. A friend told him to pour hot water into a basin and warm legs there. The next morning, the ill man had a cold shower and went to a restaurant to eat well. Another friend advised him to drink a bottle of warm salt water — this is the best cold medicine. This method was also useless. Now he suffered not only from a cold, but also from stomach ache. He would rather have survived an earthquake; this is better than drinking warm, salty water.
The main character of this book is Jack Collis. When he got engaged to Laura, he knew that their young family would not have much money. Despite everything the couple decided to get married. Jack was a painter. Laura wrote stories. Living in the city was very expensive, so they started looking for a suitable house in the suburb. They wanted a nice and cozy home with a toilet inside, not outside. But Jack and Laura could not find a suitable cottage for a long time: either too expensive or not comfortable enough. On their wedding day, they found a perfect house in a small village near the coast. The house was two miles away from the village. It turned out to be incredibly cheap. The newlyweds immediately decided to rent it on the same day.
Mr. Dileth saw an amazing dollhouse in one store. He wanted to buy it. He knew a good antique thing and understood that this house could be very old. Having bargained with the seller, he agreed on less than seventy-five pounds but more than fifty pounds. After this, the seller was relieved to tell his wife that somebody had finally bought the house. And Mr. Dilett was already examining this purchase in his own bedroom. The dollhouse was clearly made in the eighteenth century. It was large, wide, with four rooms and furniture. There were stained-glass windows, dolls and a clock with a bell inside. Mr. Dileth realized that it could be sold ten times more expensive. A wonderful deal! Still it turned out to be not so simple.