LET us now go to Switzerland, and see its wonderful mountains, whose steep, rocky sides are covered with trees. We will climb up to the fields of snow, and then make our way down to the grassy valleys, with their countless streams and rivulets, impetuously rushing to lose themselves in the sea. The sunshine is hot in the narrow valley; the snow becomes firm and solid, and in the course of time it either descends as an avalanche, or creeps along as a glacier. ??THERE are two of these glaciers in the valleys below the Schreckhorn and the Wetterhorn, near the long village of Grindelwald. They are a remarka-ble sight, and therefore many travelers from all countries come in the summer to visit them: they come over the high mountains covered with snow, they traverse the deep valleys; and to do this they must climb, hour after hour, leaving the valley far beneath them, till they see it as if they were in an air-balloon. ??The clouds hang above them like thick mists over the mountains, and the sun's rays make their way through the openings between the clouds to where the brown houses lie spread, lighting up some chance spot with a vivid green. Below, the stream foams and blusters; but above it murmurs and ripples, and looks like a band of silver hanging down the side of the rock.??On either side of the path up the mountain lie wooden houses. Each house has its little plot of potatoes; and this they all require, for there are many children, and they all have good appetites. The children come out to meet every stranger, whether walking or riding, and ask him to buy their carved wooden ch?lets, made like the houses they live in. Be it fine or be it wet, the children try to sell their carvings.??About twenty years since you might have seen one little boy standing apart from the others, but evidently very desirous to dispose of his wares. He looked grave and sad, and held his little tray tightly with both hands as if he was afraid of losing it. This serious look and his small size caused him to be much noticed by travelers, who often called him and purchased many of his toys, though he did not know why he was so favored. His grandfather lived two miles off among the mountains, where he did his carving. He had a cabinet full of the things he had made. ??There were nut-crackers, knives and forks, boxes carved with leaves and chamois, and many toys for children; but little Rudy cared for nothing so much as for an old gun, hanging from a rafter in the ceiling, for his grandfather had told him it should be his own when he was big enough to know how to use it.

Half way up the side of a tall tree there was a round hole in the trunk. The hole was lined with soft, dried leaves, and bits of white, fluffy cotton, from the milkweed plant. And, if you looked very carefully at the hole, you might see, peering from it, a little head, like that of a very small kitten, and a pair of very bright eyes.??But it was not a kitten that looked from the little hole in the trunk of the tree. Kitties can climb trees, but they do not like to live in them. They would rather have a warm place behind the stove, with a nice saucer of milk.??Now if I tell you that the little creatures who lived in this hole-nest had big, fluffy tails, and that they could sit up on their hind legs, and eat nuts, I am sure you can guess what they were.??Squirrels! That’s it! In the nest, half way up the big tree in the woods, lived a family of gray squirrels, and I am going to tell you about them, or, rather, more particularly, about one of the little girl squirrels whose name was Slicko.

“Star Maker”, regarded as one of the true classics of science fiction, Star Maker is a poetic and deeply philosophical work. The story details the mental journey of an unnamed narrator who is transported not only to other worlds but also other galaxies and parallel universes, until he eventually becomes part of the "cosmic mind." First published in 1937, Olaf Stapledon's descriptions of alien life are a political commentary on human life in the turbulent inter-war years. The book challenges preconceived notions of intelligence and awareness, and ultimately argues for a broadened perspective that would free us from culturally ingrained thought and our inevitable anthropomorphism. This is the first scholarly edition of a book that influenced such writers as C.S. Lewis and Arthur C. Clarke and which Jorge Luis Borges called "a prodigious novel."? Some Books of Stapledon: Last and First Men (1930) Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord (1944) Odd John: A Story Between Jest and Earnest (1935) Last Men in London (1932) A Modern Magician (1979) Death into Life (1946) Darkness and the Light (1942) A World of Sound (1936) A Man Divided (1950) The Seed and the Flower (1916)

“That’s awfully strange!” exclaimed Coppertop.??“If a Book of Travels can’t move about a bit, who can?”?“Not a bit,” replied the Book without turning round. “I must improve my circulation somehow! And if a book of travels can’t move about a bit, who can, I should like to know?”??“Come along,” cried Tibbs.?While Coppertop was wondering what reply to make, the Book reached out its hand and pulled the blind, which went up with such force that it twirled round and round the roller at the top.?“What a day for the first of December!” exclaimed the Book. “I’m going to look for something better,” and so saying, it sat on the floor and rapidly turned over its own pages, saying as it did so:??“North, South, East, West,?Weather’s never at its best.?India, Egypt, or Japan,?Give us better, if you can.”?Coppertop blinked at the book of travels, and then at the window, unable to believe her eyes.??It was daybreak, and RAINING HARD.?“Oh dear, oh dear, how dreadfully botherating!” she exclaimed, almost in tears.??“I simply must get a fine December day somehow. It will never do for ‘them’ to arrive on a soaking wet day like this. It’s all the fault of that stupid old clerk of the weather, he does get things so mixed up! Why, this is more like a horrid July day!”?“That’s what it is,” muttered the Book of Travels.

An ancient English Cathedral Tower? How can the ancient English Cathedral tower be here! The well-known massive gray square tower of its old Cathedral? How can that be here! There is no spike of rusty iron in the air, between the eye and it, from any point of the real prospect. What is the spike that intervenes, and who has set it up? ?Maybe it is set up by the Sultan’s orders for the impaling of a horde of Turkish robbers, one by one. It is so, for cymbals clash, and the Sultan goes by to his palace in long procession. Ten thousand scimitars flash in the sunlight, and thrice ten thousand dancing-girls strew flowers. Then, follow white elephants caparisoned in countless gorgeous colours, and infinite in number and attendants. Still the Cathedral Tower rises in the background, where it cannot be, and still no writhing figure is on the grim spike. Stay! ??Is the spike so low a thing as the rusty spike on the top of a post of an old bedstead that has tumbled all awry? Some vague period of drowsy laughter must be devoted to the consideration of this possibility.??Shaking from head to foot, the man whose scattered consciousness has thus fantastically pieced itself together, at length rises, supports his trembling frame upon his arms, and looks around. He is in the meanest and closest of small rooms. Through the ragged window-curtain, the light of early day steals in from a miserable court. He lies, dressed, across a large unseemly bed, upon a bedstead that has indeed given way under the weight upon it. Lying, also dressed and also across the bed, not longwise, are a Chinaman, a Lascar, and a haggard woman. ??The two first are in a sleep or stupor; the last is blowing at a kind of pipe, to kindle it. And as she blows, and shading it with her lean hand, concentrates its red spark of light, it serves in the dim morning as a lamp to show him what he sees of her.??‘Another?’ says this woman, in a querulous, rattling whisper. ??‘Have another?’

Gabriel Quennec est avocat. Marié, trois enfants, sa vie s’écoule dans l’indifférence totale à tout ce qui l’entoure. Un matin, une voiture le percute violemment alors qu’il se rend à son travail et prend la fuite. Gabriel est tué sur le coup. Dès lors, il n’aura de cesse de retrouver son meurtrier afin de le pousser à se rendre à la justice. Comment se venger lorsque l’on est un fant?me?? Michel, son être de lumière, va l’aider dans cette quête et va lui faire découvrir les maux qui rongent notre société. Au fur et à mesure de son enquête, Gabriel sera confronté au pire comme au meilleur. Gabriel arrivera-t-il à sortir de son indifférence qui le caractérisait de son vivant?? Arrivera-t-il à trouver la paix intérieure?? De sa vie en tant qu'entité, Gabriel laissera à l'humanité un témoignage dans lequel il expliquera son choix. Car Gabriel a une grave décision à prendre. Un récit poignant qui nous pousse à ouvrir les yeux sur ce qu’il se passe autour de nous. Arriverons-nous à réagir avant qu’il ne soit trop tard??

Once upon a time there lived a King and a Queen who had one daughter called Rainbow. When she was christened, the people of the city were gathered together outside the cathedral, and amongst them was an old gipsy woman. The gipsy wanted to go inside the cathedral, but the Beadle would not let her, because he said there was no room. When the ceremony was over, and the King and Queen walked out, followed by the Head Nurse who carried the baby, the gipsy called out to them:?"Your daughter will be very beautiful, and as happy as the day is long, until she sees the Spring!" And then she disappeared in the crowd.?The King and the Queen took counsel together and the King said: "That gipsy was evidently a fairy, and what she said bodes no good."?"Yes," said the Queen, "there is only one thing to be done: Rainbow must never see the Spring, nor even hear that there is such a thing."??So an order was issued to the whole city, that if any one should say the word "Spring" in the presence of Princess Rainbow he would have his head cut off. Moreover, it was settled that the Princess should never be allowed to go outside the palace, and during the springtime she should be kept entirely indoors.??The King and the Queen lived in a city which was on the top of a hill, and had a wall round it, and the King's palace was in the middle of it. In the springtime Rainbow was taken to a high tow-er which looked on to the little round city, and from her window you could see the spires of the churches, the ramparts, and the broad green plain beyond. But a curtain made of canvas was fas-tened outside Rainbow's window, so that she could see nothing, and she was not allowed to go outside her tower until the spring-time was over.??Rainbow grew up into a most beautiful Princess, with grey eyes and fair hair, and until she was sixteen all went well, and nothing happened to interfere with her happiness.

"Die Wege der Menschen deuten ein bestimmtes Ende voraus, auf das sie hinfuhren, wenn man auf ihnen beharrt. Aber wenn man von den Wegen abweicht, andert sich auch das Ende."??In der Erzahlung "Der Weihnachtsabend" begegnet uns eine Wandlung der besonderen Art: der geizige und mitleidslose, nur auf sein Geld fixierte Geschaftsmann Ebenezar Scrooge wird am Heilig Abend mit seinem Schicksal konfrontiert. Bevor dies geschieht, fuhrt ihn uns Dickens jedoch in seiner ganzen seelischen Verhartung vor, beschreibt ihn uns und schildert uns seinen Charakter. Seinen armen Schreiber Cratchit laBt er trotz eisiger Kalte bei einem kaum noch selbst von der Fantasie erkennbaren Glimmen der Kohle in der Feuerstelle arbeiten, seinen Neffen, der ihm einen frohlichen WeihnachtsgruB geben will, wirft er mit dem Wort "Possen" hinaus und dem Sammler milder Gaben fur die Bedurftigen erwidert er nur: "Gibt es denn keine Gefangnisse mehr?"??.. Und so geschieht es. Dem angsterfullten Scrooge erscheinen zur jeweils angekundigten Stunde Geister: der der vergangenen, der gegenwartigen Weihnacht und als letzter der zukunftigen Weihnacht. Sie fuhren ihn zuruck in die Zeit seiner Kindheit, in der Scrooge ein normaler, aufgeweckter Knabe war, ein Schuler, ein Lehrling in einem Geschaft, er schaut auf seine erste Liebe zuruck, die sich von ihm dem das Geld immer wichtiger wurde, weinend trennt … Sie zeigen ihm das Leben seines armen Schreibers zu Hause, fuhren in an die Tafel seines Neffen, an der er so manche Wahrheit uber sich hort und vor allem zeigen sie ihm seine eigene Zukunft, in der er allein sein wird, ausgeraubt noch in der Sterbestunde von menschlichen Geiern, verscharrt in der Erde mit einem Grabstein, vor dem er weinend kniet und seinen Namen liest…??Am nachsten Morgen ist Ebenezar Scrooge gelautert. Frohlichen Herzens geht er durch die kalten, weihnachtlichen StraBen der Stadt, entbietet den Entgegenkommenden seinen GruB und besucht schlieBlich seinen Neffen, dessen Einladung er am Vorabend noch so unwirsch ablehnte. Naturlich ist er hier willkommen und der gewandelte Scrooge feiert voll Freude Weihnachten im Kreis seiner Angehorigen, mit der Aussicht, das er es in der Hand hat, sein Leben zu andern und damit auch sein Ende.??Das ist naturlich eine sentimentale Geschichte mit einer fast schon brachial dargebotenen Moral, aber sie passt, sie ist stimmig, voller Atmosphare und es ist die Meisterschaft Dickens, den Leser schnurstracks mitzunehmen, zuruckzufuhren in diese Zeit vor uber 150 Jahren, eine Zeit der Kalte, der Armut auch sowie des Reichtums, ungleich verteilt beide, kaum abgemildert durch die Gesellschaft, der eine moralische Verpflichtung den sozial Schwachen gegenuber noch fremd war. Einzelne kummern sich zwar, aber sie sind auf die Unterstutzung der Reichen angewiesen, Menschen wie dem "alten" Scrooge, die sich in der Borse mehr zu Hause fuhlen wie in ihrer Stube. Es ist die (immer noch sehr aktuelle) Frage, was mir das Geld nutzt, wenn um mich herum Kalte ist und Einsamkeit, wenn ich mir zwar dies und das kaufen konnte, es aber aus Geiz nicht mache…??Man, jeder hat sein Leben, sein Schicksal in der Hand, so die Moral dieser Erzahlung. Wenn man sein Ende bedenkt, sich vorstellt, wie man zukunftig leben will und vor allem auch sterben, so gibt einem dies die Richtschnur dafur sein Handeln. Eine durchaus "moderne" Lehre, die uns heutzutage in anderer Formulierung begegnet: Der Wunsch nach einem "guten" Tod fuhrt automatisch zu einem "guten" Leben, denn (sehr verkurzt gesagt) nur mit einem solchen lade ich keine/wenig Schuld auf mich, die mich im Sterben belasten konnte.??Aber unabhangig davon ist "Der Weihnachtsabend" eine schone, sentimentale Geschichte, die einfach passt in einen langen Winterabend, in eine warme Stube, wenn Wind und Wetter drauBen toben, wenn Schnee fallt und Eis klirrt, Gluhwein und Kakao die Hande warmen… Ein schones Buchlein auch zum Vorlesen, zum Zuhoren, zum Traumen.. und nicht zuletzt auch zum Verschenken!

A classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually for the first time as an ebook. A woman leaves a fancy dress ball early and is later found to have died from a drugs overdose. Hercule Poirot investigates in this, the first story written about him.

From New York Times best-selling author, Kim Harrison, comes the first book in her brilliant Hollows series; packed with the perfect balance of wry humour and thrilling action, which will delight fans of thrillers and fantasy alike. Rachel Morgan lives in a world where a bioengineered virus wiped out most of the world's human population – exposing the existence of supernatural communities that had long lived alongside humanity. It’s her job as a white witch working for Inderland Security to protect the humans from things that go bump in the night. For the last five years Rachel has been tracking down lawbreaking Inderlanders in modern-day Cincinnati, but now she wants to leave and start her own agency. Her only problem: no one quits the I.S. Marked for death, Rachel will have to fend off fairy assassins and homicidal werewolves armed to the teeth with deadly curses. Unless she can appease her former employers by exposing the city's most prominent citizen as a drug lord, she might just be a dead witch walking.

Rescued by a gorgeous stranger… A secluded cabin nestled in the Rocky Mountains is the perfect place for Melody Crawford to hide from the world. With her two faithful dogs, she fearlessly puts her life on the line to rescue missing people…but the rest of her life is a mystery. Ex-Army Ranger John North needs Melody’s help. She knows the unforgiving mountains better than anyone. He knows Melody sees him as an outsider, but this enigmatically beautiful woman calls to the man inside him. She needs to trust him, and come what may he’ll break down her barriers – kiss by snowy kiss… Heart to Heart Where laughter, tears – and happy endings – are guaranteed!

In case you’re wondering, this is not a love story. Chapters 28-44 of the heartbreaking debut novel, Solitaire. My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that’s all over now. Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden. I don’t know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don’t care about Michael Holden. I really don’t. This incredible debut novel by outstanding young author Alice Oseman is perfect for fans of John Green, Rainbow Rowell and all unflinchingly honest writers.

In case you’re wondering, this is not a love story. Chapters 8-27 of the outstanding debut novel, Solitaire. My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that’s all over now. Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden. I don’t know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don’t care about Michael Holden. I really don’t. This incredible debut novel by outstanding young author Alice Oseman is perfect for fans of John Green, Rainbow Rowell and all unflinchingly honest writers.

A mini-series of four titles aimed at 6 – 8 year old girls on the theme of bridesmaids – a role that every little girl longs to play! THE SUNNY BRIDESMAID Molly’s brother James is marrying Chloe, an Australian girl, on a tropical beach. A laid back bride, Chloe has told Molly she can choose her own dress. Molly’s choice of dress is not ideal for a hot climate, however she makes such fuss, her Mum lets her have it. However when she gets to Australia – shock, horror, her luggage has been mislaid so she and Chloe have to buy her a new outfit – a sarong and skimpy top, perfect for a hot beach wedding. James is football mad and after the wedding he celebrates by a game of footie on the beach. Unfortunately he gets sun-stroke leaving his bride dancing the night away with her favourite sunny bridesmaid!

Nurse Nadia Smith is devoted to the fragile lives in the neonatal intensive care unit. The loss of her own baby has made her care that much more for her tiny patients. Her heart becomes particularly attached to a special set of twins...and their daddy. Single dad Dr. Gideon West refuses to leave the sides of his premature newborn twins for even a second. They are the most precious things in the world. Nadia is taken with the gorgeous doctor, and it is clear to Gideon she has already fallen head over heels in love with his beautiful babies. It's not long before he begins to realize what a wonderful wife and mother Nadia would make--if only she would open her heart to him.

Day one in Paramatta’s ER, and surgical director Jennifer Thorngate’s head is in a spin – she’s just met gorgeous surgeon Jasper Edwards! Simply being near him makes her sizzle. But Jennifer is determined not to allow her personal and professional worlds to collide… Her resolve is tested to the limit when she meets Jasper’s little girls! Watching the loving single dad with his twins puts the smile back on Jennifer’s face…a smile that brings Jasper’s heart back to life. Jasper is left with only one option：he must convince Jennifer that together they can all have the most wonderful life.

SHE WANTED TO HAVE HIS BABY As a nurse at the city's busiest birth center, Lara Mancini knew all about delivering babies. But what she really wanted was a child of her own, and her secret crush–handsome, charming Dr. Derek Cross–was ideal father material. Didn't he have an adorable five-year-old son to prove it? But her biological clock was nearing its final countdown. So Lara would have to light a fire under her reticent boss and do more than steal a passionate kiss in a trapped elevator. Because she didn't just want Derek's baby–she wanted everything that went with it, including a march down the aisle with this sexy single dad….

CAN LOVE CONQUER ALL? Devastated by the discovery of a terrible family secret, Patrick Devaney put a No Trespassing sign on his battered heart and shut out the world. Then Alice Newberry, who had her own wounds to heal, burst into his life and coaxed him out of hiding with her red-hot kisses. Alice's soft brown eyes saw right through Patrick's defenses to the sorrow he'd tried to bury. The enchanting kindergarten teacher taught him a powerful lesson about love and forgiveness, and encouraged him to hope again. But before he could truly claim Alice as his own, Patrick had to face the greatest challenge of his life–his past.

A Christmas Wedding Christmas has arrived in the small town of Ballarat – along with paediatrician Summer Hoyts and her young son! Summer left the city for a fresh start, so she’s not about to act on her unexpected attraction to her handsome new colleague Jason Daniels… Jason’s ex-wife never wanted children, so he gave up on his hopes for a family. But Summer and little Tommy have stolen his heart. He soon finds himself wanting a very special gift this year – and vows to make this single mum his bride by Christmas!

A wise and witty 68-page short story that is full of Christmas cheer from the best-selling author and TV presenter, Fern Britton. This will be one Christmas they’ll never forget… Piran Ambrose is the epitome of brooding male. But Pendruggan’s Mr Rochester is in danger of becoming its Ebeneezer Scrooge when he is driven to distraction by the villager’s over-the-top Christmas celebrations. How could the cringeworthy amateur village production of Aladdin bring seasonal cheer to anyone, he wonders? And do the village children really have to arrive at his cottage door every single night in December with their terrible recorders and discordant singing? But when Piran’s bad temper risks spoiling Christmas for everyone, something drastic needs to be done. So, over one Christmas Eve, three very special people pay Piran a visit, determined to show him what Christmas is really all about…

A sixth title in the popular Bridesmaids series aimed at 6 – 8 year old girls, but not excluding the boys! Milly’s brother is getting married to a girl in England and Milly is coming over with him to be bridesmaid. When she sees her outfit – red velvet and furry accessories, she thinks she’s in some kind of a time warp! After all, she’s a trendy little Australian miss! But when the snow starts to fall, the roads are blocked and she has to get to the wedding on a sledge she soon changes her mind. Now she thinks she’s in the middle of a fairy-tale!