Grade 7-8 Story by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. On the surface, a humorous tale about a tense encounter between a young doctor and a cobra that becomes taken with its own beauty. However, if one looks more deeply, it is not clear which “snake” the title refers to
Novelette by Peter Høeg. A naïve young mathematician finds himself discussing European notions of colonial Africa with three fellow passengers on a train journey through the Dark Continent. He later learns that one is a rebel leader, another a gunrunner, and a bridge ahead has been sabotaged.
Short Story by Katherine Porter. A feisty eighty-year-old lies dying. Satisfied with her life, she awaits a sign from God to say that her time has come. In her last moments, she likens the absence of such a sign to being left standing at the altar sixty earlier.
Norwegian Folktale. A poor boy joins a group of robbers, and is so good at stealing that he becomes their leader. He returns home a rich man and decides to marry the Governor’s daughter. In order to marry the girl, he must prove how good a thief he is.
Short Story by Joyce Carol Oates. A man behaves strangely as he confronts pleasant and unpleasant memories during a visit to his childhood home. Interpretations include revisiting a scene of child abuse and/or patricide, and a ghostly warning from the past or future about looming danger or a cursed house.