Two students, from different social backgrounds, in their final year at school come together to work on a science project. This story explores their home backgrounds, their feelings about each other and their changing relationship.

First published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

There was a great flurry in the farmyard. Old dog Spot was yelping; Henrietta Hen was clucking; Turkey Proudfoot was gobbling; Grunty Pig was squealing. “For pity’s sake! What has happened?” Miss Kitty Cat asked the old horse Ebenezer, who stood tied to a hitching-post near the woodshed steps. Ebenezer switched his tail at a fly on his flank before he spoke. “Didn’t you see what Farmer Green led into the barn a few minutes ago?” he inquired. “No! What was it?” Miss Kitty answered eagerly. The old horse Ebenezer yawned, as if there was something that made him very, very weary. “It was a most peculiar person,” he told Miss Kitty Cat. “I made myself known to him; and asked him his name. He said it was ‘Mistah Mule.’ And then what do you think he did?” Miss Kitty couldn’t guess. “He tried to kick me,” said old Ebenezer in a tone of great disgust. “Is he going to live here? Or is he only a guest?” Miss Kitty Cat wanted to know. “He’s here to stay until Farmer Green gets tired of him,” Ebenezer explained. “The worst of it is, he’s going to have a stall right next to mine. I know already that I shall not enjoy having him as a next-door neighbor.” All at once there was a great commotion in the barn. First came a thumping, pounding noise. Then Farmer Green’s voice rose above the racket. And next followed an odd sound, “Hee-haw! Hee-haw!” “What’s that?” Miss Kitty Cat cried. “It’s Mistah Mule,” Ebenezer told her. “He’s laughing. I wonder what the joke is.” At that moment old dog Spot came scurrying out of the barn. He had his tail tucked between his legs; and his face wore a frightened look. “What’s the joke?” the horse Ebenezer called to him. “Mistah Mule just kicked Farmer Green,” Spot yelped. “And then Mistah Mule laughed. Didn’t you hear him?” Ebenezer nodded. “Did Farmer Green laugh at the joke too?” asked Miss Kitty Cat. “He did not,” old Spot howled. “He was so angry that he scared me; though goodness knows I had nothing to do with the affair. I was merely an onlooker.” “Are you sure you didn’t nip at Mistah Mule’s heels?” the horse inquired. “Not I!” Spot assured him. “A good many years ago I went too near a Mule’s heels down at the village. And I’ve never forgotten what happened.”

As the heart, so is the life. The within is ceaselessly becoming the without. Nothing remains unrevealed. That which is hidden is but for a time; it ripens and comes forth at last. Seed, tree, blossom, and fruit is the fourfold order of the universe. From the state of a man's heart proceed the conditions of his life; his thoughts blossom into deeds, and his deeds bear the fruitage of character and destiny. Life is ever unfolding from within, and revealing itself to the light, and thoughts engendered in the heart at last reveal themselves in words, actions, and things accomplished. As the fountain from the hidden spring, so issues man's life from the secret recesses of his heart. All that he is and does is generated there. All that he will be and do will take its rise there. Sorrow and gladness, suffering and enjoyment, hope and fear, hatred and love, ignorance and enlightenment, are nowhere but in the heart; they are solely mental conditions. Man is the keeper of his heart; the watcher of his mind; the solitary sentinel of his citadel of life. As such, he can be diligent or negligent. He can keep his heart more and more carefully; he can more strenuously watch and purify his mind; and he can guard himself against the thinking of unrighteous thoughts: this is the way of enlightenment and bliss. On the other hand, he can live loosely and carelessly, neglecting the supreme task of rightly ordering his life: this is the way of self-delusion and suffering. Let a man realize that life in its totality proceeds from the mind, and lo, the way of blessedness is opened up to him! For he will then discover that he possesses the power to rule his mind, and to fashion it in accordance with his Ideal. So will he elect to strongly and steadfastly walk those pathways of thought and action which are altogether excellent; to him life will become beautiful and sacred; and, sooner or later, he will put to flight all evil, confusion and suffering; for it is impossible for a man to fall short of liberation, enlightenment, and peace, who guards with unwearying diligence the gateway of his heart.

Winner of the 2010 Penguin Prize for African Writing. In this coming-of-age novel, acclaimed author Ellen Banda-Aaku offers a profound exploration into the effects of stigma, class, and family dynamics in 1970s Zambia. Pumpkin is a nine-year-old girl pulled between two vastly different worlds – that of her father, the wealthy and power-hungry Joseph Sakavungo, and her mother, his unstable mistress. As Pumpkin attempts to come to terms with her own identity, she struggles to fashion a future for herself out of the torn patchwork of her parents' lives. Beautifully constructed, Banda-Aaku has crafted a story that is in equal parts uplifting and bittersweet.

Berthold Auerbach (28 February 1812 - 8 February 1882) was a German-Jewish poet and author. He was the founder of the German "tendency novel", in which fiction is used as a means of influencing public opinion on social, political, moral, and religious questions. This is one of his works.

Above the entrance to the Finnish Labour Temple, in what was once Port Arthur in northern Ontario, is the motto labor omnia vincit – “hard work conquers all.” Since 1910, these words have reflected the dedication of the Finnish community in Canada. Hard Work Conquers All is a social history of Finnish immigration and community building in Canada during the twentieth century. Each successive wave of immigration imbued the relationship between people, homeland, and host country with the politics, ideologies, and cultural expressions of its time. The story of Finns in Canada dovetails with the larger literature on Canadian immigration and enriches the history of socialism and ethnic repression in this country. Hard Work Conquers All explores the nuanced cultural identities of Finnish Canadians, their continued ties to Finland, intergenerational cultural transfer, and the community’s connections with socialism and labour movements. It offers new interpretations of the lasting influence of Finnish immigration on Canadian politics and society.