Featured Stories

The Ant-Lion

The Ant-Lion: Short story by Judith WrightIn this story by Judith Wight, a brother and sister playing in the Australian bush discover the pit of an ant-lion larvae. Out of curiosity, the boy drops small ants into it. When these prove easy prey, and against his sister’s protests, he drops a much larger meat-ant into the pit. He prevents the meat-ant’s desperate attempts to escape, and the two watch in silent horror as the meat-ant’s abdomen is severed from its body. Disgusted, the two run from the scene. Themes include childhood curiosity, the cruelty of mankind vs. cruelty in nature, horror, shame.

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The Philanthropist’s Christmas

The Philanthropist's Christmas: Children's story by J.W. LinnIn this Christmas story by J. W. Linn, a philanthropist (a rich person who gives a lot of money to help make life better for other people) learns an important lesson. Eighteen months ago, the philanthropist helped rescue a puppy stuck in a drain. He bought the puppy, and it is now his closest companion. Recently, the puppy has gone missing. During the philanthropist’s search for it, a young boy takes him to the apartment of a poor family. As he helps with their Christmas preparations, he experiences a special joy that changes the way he thinks about his work.

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The Near Departed

The Near Departed: Short story by Richard MathesonIn this story by Richard Matheson, a man hides a sinister secret as he visits a mortician to arrange an elaborate funeral for his wife. He emphasises that cost is unimportant. “There’ll be many people,” he says. “Everybody loved her. She’s so beautiful. So young. She has to have the very best.” The mortician reassures him that he will be more than satisfied and, after completing the necessary paperwork, says his people will collect the body within the hour. As they part, the mortician asks the man a question which he pretends not to hear. Themes include marriage, death, dissimulation.

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My Father Goes to Court

My Father Goes to Court: Short story by Carlos BulosanThe message of this Carlos Bulosan story is that money can’t buy health and happiness. The children of a poor family, full of vitality and laughter, spend a lot of time playing outdoors. Their rich neighbor, who keeps his children secluded indoors, files a legal complaint against the poor family for standing outside his house and enjoying the aroma of his food. Their father goes to court and uses a novel approach to win the case. Themes include family, social inequality, standing up for one’s rights, justice, the importance of fresh air, exercise and laughter for a healthy, happy life.

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He-y, Come On Ou-t!

He-y, Come On Out!: Short story by Shinichi HoshiIn this parable by Shinichi Hoshi, a landslide opens up a seemingly bottomless hole in the ground. A businessman obtains the rights to fill the hole. He gets permission to dispose of toxic waste, and soon hazardous materials from nuclear power plants and contagious disease experiments are being poured into the hole along with domestic waste and classified government documents from a nearby city. The city and ocean are cleaner, and even the sky seems clearer than before. That is until a workman atop a tall city building hears a voice from above shouting: He-y, come on ou-t!

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The Whimper of Whipped Dogs

The Whimper of Whipped Dogs: Short story by Harlan Ellison This horror story from Harlan Ellison uses magical realism to explain a crime: the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese. Newspapers at the time (incorrectly) reported that 38 people, none of whom did anything to help, witnessed her stabbing. Here, a witness to a particularly brutal murder senses an evil presence. She later learns that it was a form of black mass, and joins the demonic cult as a means of survival. Themes include negative aspects of city life (competitive pressure, lack of connection, loneliness), behavioral effects of city life (depression, insensitivity, anger, rudeness, aggression, violence), supernatural (demonic) forces, and cultism.

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The Tenth Man

The Tenth Man: Short story by Ida FinkIn this story by Ida Fink, a small group of Jewish holocaust survivors trickle back to their Polish village to try and rebuild their lives. There are eleven of them, nine men and two women. Five had hidden in the forests and one, a woman, had hidden in plain sight. The others had survived the camps. All are physically and/or psychologically scarred. The men wait in vain for a tenth to return so that prayers for the murdered might be properly offered in the ruins of their synagogue. Themes include devastation, survival, freedom, trauma, loss, piety.

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Passing Wind

Passing Wind: Flash story by Lydia DavisFor me, the most enjoyable aspect of this humorous flash story from Lydia Davis is that it describes an embarrassing situation we have all probably encountered: after going to great lengths to silently pass wind among a group of strangers, the smell gives us away. Do we say nothing, excuse ourselves, or immediately cast a dirty look at the person standing next to us? Here the narrator faces a slightly different dilemma. She tries to think of a polite way to let a guest know that if he didn’t do it, then it wasn’t her but the dog.

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