Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Balkowitsch, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Henry Longfellow tells us how his tale of a heroic Native American warrior came to him.
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© Olaf Tausch, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Two men find an axe, and then find some trouble, but they aren’t keen on sharing either of them.
By Edward Altham (1629–1694), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Peter foretold that King John would cease to be England’s sovereign, and he was right, though John still wore his crown.
By William McGregor Paxton (1869–1941), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
If little Maggie Tulliver is going to get her hair cut, it’s going to be done on her own terms.
By Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830), © Sailko, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Elizabeth Bennet stonewalls her way through a disagreeable encounter with Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
© MiNe, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.
In most contests the choices are win, lose or draw, but what happened here remains a mystery.