Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© João-Martinho, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.
A young French cavalry soldier took a tremendous risk to rescue a drowning man.
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© Ji-Elle, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.
The soldier went quite deliberately into a burning room full of gunpowder and ammunition.
A firework display in Paris turned to tragedy in the narrow streets of the capital.
© Serena, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
The sly cat hatches a plan to get all the benefits of domestic life without any of the responsibilities.
© Alan Fleming, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.
In 1859, peaceful co-existence on the Canadian border was severely tested by a marauding pig.
© Alan Fleming, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
Railways not only brought fresh, healthy food to the urban poor, they improved the conditions of working animals.