In a time and culture where women left their wares in the marketplace knowing that those things would be intact when they returned the next day; where bonds of friendship were like blood ties, where when men shake hands over a deal, it was like iron clad agreements, breaking one’s word or promise was odious and people would inconvenience themselves to keep promises made. Socializations in Igbo societies indoctrinate members to subconsciously defer to cultural norms. One of the reasons, I believe, is the action and reward belief systems of traditional and Christian religions. While traditional religion instantly rewards actions, good or bad, Christian religion on the other hand prolongs the rewards to the point that people often disregard their consequences. The cultural beliefs that underpin many of these stories are profound. The dilemma of straddling between traditional and Christian beliefs, can be enervating. This book explores the faithfulness of friendship in The Pact Reloaded, and how fate and people’s destiny were often determined by the gods in The Dilemma of a Firstborn Priest and The Flute. Only the gods can ring a man’s eyes to see what other people can’t see. Oftentimes, peoples’ yesterdays catch up with their today, and the actions of their distant past haunt their present as explored in The Twins.

10 new and original stories with painted illustrations by Nadia Ilchuk. Imaginative stories of day-to-day adventures with human and animal characters that teach a life lesson. The story-telling is in the style of classics like The Adventures of Peter Rabbit, The Wind in the Willows or Winnie the Pooh in which animal characters have normal yet imaginative adventures, providing a vehicle for learning about community, compassion and collaboration. The elements used to craft the stories are: • normal, every-day activities into which is woven a challenge or a difficult situation. • talking animal characters engaged with human characters, involved in adventures. • lessons relating to teamwork, safety, helping others and kindness. About 2000 words per story.

In 1898, Henry James wrote a novella that would become one of the most famous and critically discussed ghost stories ever written, The Turn of the Screw. Three other examples of James’s tales of the supernatural, “The Altar of the Dead,” “The Beast in the Jungle,” and “The Jolly Corner,” are included in this edition. These texts reveal on both the thematic and narrative levels James’s deepest concerns as a writer. The texts in this edition are all drawn from the New York Edition of James’s works. The introduction traces the extensive critical debate around The Turn of the Screw, and situates the texts in contemporary discussions of the supernatural. Appendices include material on the tales’ reception, James’s writings on the supernatural, and the study of the supernatural in the nineteenth century.

This is a collection of eight fictional short stories on themes such as the intrigues of the civil service, drunkenness, theft, matrimonial relations and living as an African immigrant in the West.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Affinities, and Other Stories" by Mary Roberts Rinehart. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

Told with satiric allusions to the policies and tactics used by Mexico's current ruling party, PRI, to consolidate its power, the play unfolds a history of vain rivalry and decadence, intricate political maneuvers, corruption, and unchecked ambition that determined the course of Mexican history for two centuries before the Spanish conquest.