In this German folktale (also known as The Magic Porridge Pot), a kind old woman gives a magic pot to a poor girl looking for something to eat in a forest. When someone says special words, the pot cooks sweet porridge. The only problem for the girl, her mother and the village they live in is that you need to say special words to make the pot stop cooking. This is a popular teaching story for 3-5 year-olds, made more so because the poem that inspired it was also the source for a famous Disney film segment. More…
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The major themes of this stream of conscience narrative by Ernest Hemingway are death, and regret for one’s life choices and things left undone. A bitter, failed writer lies dying in a safari camp on the plains below Mt Kilimanjaro. While cruelly taunting his wife, he evaluates his life through a series of flashbacks. Having lived an adventurous, hedonistic life including loving and leaving many women, each with more money than the last, he has a lot to reflect upon. Minor themes introduced through the flashbacks include post-war (WW1) trauma, loss, loneliness, misogyny and redemption. More…
Immigration Blues
This story by Bienvenido Santos deals with the plight of a Filipino woman wanting to make a future in the United States. Without a permanent visa, her only hope is to gain residence through marriage. Her sister learns of a retired Filipino widower with U.S. Citizenship. In a humorous visit laced with dramatic irony, the two women are initially too embarrassed to raise the topic of marriage. When the old man finally understands their purpose, he thanks God for allowing lightning to strike him twice. Themes include immigration, cultural isolation, hope, fear, pride, the emptiness of growing old alone. More…
The Bridegroom
This story by Nadine Gordimer begins with a poetic description of the camaraderie between an Afrikaans overseer and his native African work crew as they enjoy a musical evening around a campfire. The living arrangements in their isolated road-building camp are segregated. However, loneliness has brought the overseer relatively close to the men, who look upon him indulgently. Things are about to change. The overseer is bringing his new wife to live in the camp. He shows his true self by having all the cooking and cleaning done for her, and forbidding the men from going anywhere near their caravan. More…
One Day
In this story by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, a timid Norwegian teenager becomes infatuated with an older villager whose voice moves her to tears at a choral performance. In his absence overseas, she is wooed by and finally marries a handsome sea captain. Within five years, she has two children and lives in fear of her dominating, hard drinking husband’s homecomings. She is enlivened when her teenage idol returns and is a regular visitor. They become close, but her hopes are crushed when, on a special outing together, he reveals his true self. Themes include unrequited love, obsession, loveless marriage, alcoholism, heartache. More…