Aquifer
Aquifer is from Tim Winton’s collection The Turning. Set in an Australian immigrant suburb, the overlapping stories explore life-shaping events in otherwise ordinary lives. Here, a drop in the aquifer brought about by land clearing and prolonged dry weather drains a nearby swamp. A news story about the discovery of human bones at the water’s edge prompts a middle-aged ex-resident to re-live his childhood and the time when, as the only witness, he calmly stood by and watched a neighborhood bully drown. Themes: change, racial stereotyping, perceptions of time. Change is explored on three levels: personal, community and the environment.
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In this Philippine (Kalingga) folktale, a mother revives a rotting corpse to punish her only son for not sharing a meal. Not only is the punishment rather extreme, but when the poor lad is no more she regrets the decision… not because she loved the boy, but because she is lonely and has nobody else to help around the house. So, off to the river with some of his blood, a few magic words, and presto! He is back, having learned an important lesson about sharing. Unfortunately, there is no punishment for the mother’s cruelty and heartlessness!
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This light-hearted children’s tale from master storyteller