In this adventure story by H. G. Wells, two men arriving by canoe on a deserted Borneo island have killed another to get their hands on a map. As well as including some strange symbols and unintelligible Chinese writing, the map shows the location of a buried treasure. When the men reach the spot, they are delighted to find the treasure intact. As they carry some of it away, they learn to their cost the meaning of the symbols on the map, and why its owner was smiling as they killed him. Themes include greed, crime and punishment, karma. More…
Solipsist
Wikipedia defines solipsism as the idea that only one’s (your own) mind is sure to exist. This story by Fredric Brown takes an irreverent view of the universe and the place of one solipsist in it. Walter B. Jehovah has had a bad week. He decides to end it all… not just his life, but everything. After some initial success, he finds that the only way for him to cease to exist is to create a new universe and float around alone for millions of years until another suicidal solipsist emerges to replace him. Themes include perspective, existence, creation. More…
The Lumber Room
This humorous story by Saki describes a clever but mischievous boy’s efforts to explore the wonders of his house’s off-limits-to-children lumber-room. [Not to be confused with planks of wood, the word “lumber” here is a British term for miscellaneous stored articles.] In disgrace for putting a frog in his breakfast bowl, the boy devises an elaborate plan to distract his strict aunt while in the forbidden room. His day gets even better when the suspicious woman falls into a rain-water tank and he tricks her into giving him cause to leave her there. Themes: mischief, curiosity, imagination, oppression, defiance More…
The Street-sweeping Show
This story by Feng Jicai provides an insight as to how Chinese bureaucracy functioned under the Mao regime. A town Mayor, surrounded by groveling officials, puts on an artificial media show to be seen supporting National Cleanup Week. The event needs no publicity, as the town’s population is already out sweeping the streets. Moreover, the carefully choreographed newspaper and T.V. shoot is held in the Central Square, which has already been swept clean. When the Mayor’s grandson points out that he is on TV, he comments: It’s not worth watching! Themes include social class, propaganda, media manipulation, appearance vs. reality. More…
The Station
In this story by H. E. Bates, a stop at an all-night café run by an attractive young woman has a disturbing effect on an eighteen-year-old truck driver’s assistant. The young man is new to the job, and driver had warned him that he shouldn’t take any special attention by woman the wrong way: She won’t have it. She’s nice to (all) the chaps because it’s business, that’s all.. Despite this, the assistant is spellbound by the woman. She senses this and flirts a little, raising sexual tension in the naïve young man. Themes include innocence, female sexuality, desire. More…