Nature's Ways

We're surrounded by it,but forget how to see the creatures that we share the world with - from tiny insects to birds and flowers.Long ago Indian Deity Shiva fought the Demon Mahash high above the Earth until one of Shiva's knives found the Demon's heart and he fell to earth and landed deep in the South American jungle. The knife was found by a mortal man that used it's power to build and control the great empire of the Mayans until him and all his kind fell victim to it's power. Now the last of the Mayan Priests has journeyed to the Emerald City of So-Cal to reclaim the Shiv of Shiva, but when Masked Luchador Obscuro is hired to stop him everything takes a turn into pulse pounding insanity.
Views: 375

Bessie at the Sea-Side

THE hotel carriage rolled away from Mr. Bradford\'s door with papa and mamma, the two nurses and four little children inside, and such a lot of trunks and baskets on the top; all on their way to Quam Beach. Harry and Fred, the two elder boys, were to stay with grandmamma until their school was over; and then they also were to go to the sea-side.The great coach carried them across the ferry, and then they all jumped out and took their seats in the cars. It was a long, long ride, and after they left the cars there were still three or four miles to go in the stage, so that it was quite dark night when they reached Mrs. Jones\'s house. Poor little sick Bessie was tired out, and even Maggie, who had enjoyed the journey very much, thought that she should be glad to go to bed as soon as she had had her supper. It was so dark that the children could not see the ocean, of which they had talked and thought so much; but they could hear the sound of the waves as they rolled up on the beach. There was a large hotel at Quam, but Mrs. Bradford did not choose to go there with her little children; and so she had hired all the rooms that Mrs. Jones could spare in her house. The rooms were neat and clean, but very plain, and not very large, and so different from those at home that Maggie thought she should not like them at all. In that which was to be the nursery was a large, four-post bedstead in which nurse and Franky were to sleep; and beside it stood an old-fashioned trundle-bed, which was for Maggie and Bessie. Bessie was only too glad to be put into it at once, but Maggie looked at it with great displeasure. "I sha\'n\'t sleep in that nasty bed," she said. "Bessie, don\'t do it.""Indeed," said nurse, "it\'s a very nice bed; and if you are going to be a naughty child, better than you deserve. That\'s a great way you have of calling every thing that don\'t just suit you, \'nasty.\' I\'d like to know where you mean to sleep, if you don\'t sleep there.""I\'m going to ask mamma to make Mrs. Jones give us a better one," said Maggie; and away she ran to the other room where mamma was undressing the baby. "Mamma," she said, "won\'t you make Mrs. Jones give us a better bed? That\'s just a kind of make-believe bed that nurse pulled out of the big one, and I know I can\'t sleep a wink in it.""I do not believe that Mrs. Jones has another one to give us, dear," said her mother. "I know it is not so pretty as your little bed at home, but I think you will find it very comfortable. When I was a little girl, I always slept in a trundle-bed, and I never rested better. If you do not sleep a wink, we will see what Mrs. Jones can do for us to-morrow; but for to-night I think you must be contented with that bed; and if my little girl is as tired as her mother, she will be glad to lie down anywhere."
Views: 375

The Corner House Girls Snowbound

There was a vast amount of tramping up and down stairs, and little feet, well shod, are noisy. This padding up and down was by the two flights of back stairs from the entry off the kitchen porch to the big heated room that was called by the older folks who lived in the old Corner House, “the nursery.” “But it isn’t a nursery,” objected Dot Kenway, who really was not yet big enough to fit the name of “Dorothy.” “We never had a nurse, did we, Tess? Ruthie helped bring us up after our own truly mamma died. And, then, ‘nursery’ sounds so little.”
Views: 374

The Blind Brother: A Story of the Pennsylvania Coal Mines

Leopold Classic Library is delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive collection. As part of our on-going commitment to delivering value to the reader, we have also provided you with a link to a website, where you may download a digital version of this work for free. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. Whilst the books in this collection have not been hand curated, an aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature. As a result of this book being first published many decades ago, it may have occasional imperfections. These imperfections may include poor picture quality, blurred or missing text. While some of these imperfections may have appeared in the original work, others may have resulted from the scanning process that has been applied. However, our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. While some publishers have applied optical character recognition (OCR), this approach has its own drawbacks, which include formatting errors, misspelt words, or the presence of inappropriate characters. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with an experience that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic book, and that the occasional imperfection that it might contain will not detract from the experience.
Views: 373

The Four Corners Abroad

The Corner SeriesTHE FOUR CORNERS ABROAD By AMY E. BLANCHARDCONTENTSThe Fourth in ParisThe Day of BastilleHousekeepingA Glimpse of SpainA FiestaSpanish HospitalityAcross the ChannelIn London TownWorkA Night AdventureSettling DownAll SaintsThe Fairy Play and Its Consequences"Stille Nacht"In the MountainsHerr Green-CapGood-bye MunichJack as ChampionA Youthful GuideToward the ToeILLUSTRATIONSJean with a pigeon on each shoulder was perfectly happyNan volunteered to go for suppliesMary Lee was snapping her fingers and taking her stepsJo managed to get next to the driverThe children stood in awe and delight at the KrippenCHAPTER I. THE FOURTH IN PARISIt was at Passy that a little party of American girls were discussing the afternoon\'s plans one day in July. The three older girls were most interested; the two younger were too much engrossed in a game of Diabolo to notice very much what the others were talking about."You see it\'s raining," said Nan Corner, a tall girl with dark hair, "so we can\'t go in the Bois as we intended.""Neither do we want to follow Aunt Helen\'s example and go hunting for antiques," put in Nan\'s sister, Mary Lee. "What do you say we do, Jo?"Jo Keyes was drumming on the window-pane and looking out at the rather unpromising weather. "I see an American flag, girls," she said. "Hail to you, Old Glory!—Goodness me!" She turned around. "Do you all know what day it is? Of course we must do something patriotic.""It\'s the Fourth of July!" exclaimed Nan, "and we never thought of it. For pity\'s sake! Isn\'t it ridiculous? We never made very much of it at home, but over here I feel so American when I remember Bunker Hill and Yorktown and our own Virginia Washington, that I could paint myself red, white and blue, and cry \'Give me liberty or give me death,\' from out the front window.""I beg you\'ll do no such thing," said Mary Lee, the literal.Nan laughed. The twins stopped their play and began to take an interest in what was being said. "Do paint your face red, white and blue and lean out the front window, Nan," said Jack; "it would be so funny.""Let Mary Lee do it," said Nan, putting her arm around her little sister; "she\'s already red, white and blue.""Let me see, Mary Lee, let me see," said Jack, eagerly.The others laughed. "Blue eyes, white nose, red lips," said Nan, touching with her finger these features of Mary Lee\'s."You fooled me," said Jack disgustedly. "I thought she might have lovely stripes or something on her face.""Foolish child," returned Nan, giving her a squeeze. "We must do something, girls, and look \'how it do rain,\' as Mitty would say.""Can\'t we have torpedoes or firecrackers or some kind of fireworks?" asked Jean."The gendarmes might come and rush us all off to the police court if we did," Jo told her. "They\'re so terribly particular here in Paris, that if a cab or an auto runs over you, you have to pay damages for getting in the way.""Thank heaven we\'re Americans," said Nan fervently. "I am more eager than ever to flaunt my colors. Of all unjust things I ever heard it is to run you down and make you pay for it. They needn\'t talk to me about their liberté, fraternité, and egalité. I\'ll give a centime to the first one who thinks a happy thought for celebrating, myself included."Jo was the first with a suggestion. "Let\'s have a tea and invite the grown-ups, your mother and Miss Helen. We might ask that nice Miss Joyce, too. We can have red, white and blue decorations and dress ourselves in the national colors, and it will be fine."
Views: 373

Bob, Son of Battle

Bob, Son of Battle, is a sheepdog so canny and careful of his flock, so deeply devoted to his master, James Moore, and so admired for his poise and wisdom by the residents of a small village in the rugged mountains of England’s North Country, that young though he is, he is already known as Owd Bob. In a recent contest, Bob has proved himself a matchless sheepdog, and if he wins the trophy two more times, he’ll be seen as equal to the legendary sheepdogs of yore.  But Bob has a real rival: Red Wull, with his docked tail and bristling yellow fur, a ferocious creature, just like his diminutive master, Adam McAdam, a lonely Scot, estranged not only from his English neighbors but from his son, David. McAdam just can’t stop belittling this strapping young man, all the more so since David began courting Moore’s beautiful daughter Maggie. But what McAdam really wants is for his beloved Wullie to wrest the prize from Bob once and for all.  The story takes a darker turn when a troubling new threat to the local flocks emerges. A dog has gone rogue, sneaking out at night to feast on the flesh and blood of the sheep he is bound to protect. Again and again, new sheep fall prey to this relentless predator; again and again, he slips away undetected. This master hunter can only be among the boldest and sharpest of dogs . . . Bob, Son of Battle has long been a beloved classic of children’s literature both in America and in England. Here the celebrated author and translator Lydia Davis, who first read and loved this exciting story as a child, has rendered the challenging idioms of the original into fluent and graceful English of our day, making this tale of rival dogs and rival families and the shadowy terrain between Good and Bad accessible and appealing to readers of all ages.
Views: 372

Wish You Were Eyre

The Mother-Daughter Book Club says bon voyage to Concord and bonjour to France! It’s a dream come true for Megan, who’s jet-setting to Paris for Fashion Week with Gigi. Meanwhile, back in Concord, Mrs. Wong decides to run for mayor, so Emma and Stewart team up to make her campaign a success. Jess and Cassidy are also hoping for victories, Jess in the a cappella finals with the MadriGals and Cassidy in the national hockey championships with her teammates. In the midst of it all, the girls—along with their Wyoming pen pals, who drop in for a visit over Spring Break—dive into Charlotte Brontë’s classic Jane Eyre. Some real life romance follows, as Becca may have found a Mr. Rochester of her own. And then there’s the matter of a certain wedding. The book club girls, their families, the British Berkeley brothers, and even Annabelle Fairfax (aka Stinkerbelle) will be attending the ceremony, which means there might be some bumps before the bride waltzes down the aisle…
Views: 371

Lily Norris' Enemy

"If Lily Norris isn\'t just the most provoking child that ever lived!" said Maggie Bradford, indignantly."Yes, I b\'lieve she just is," assented Bessie."Why," said Mrs. Rush, who was that day making a visit to Maggie\'s and Bessie\'s mamma, "how is this? Lily the most provoking child that ever lived! I thought Lily was one of your best friends, and that you were so fond of her.""Yes, Aunt May, so we are," said Maggie. "We\'re very fond of Lily indeed; she\'s one of[10] our dearly beloveds, and we like to have her with us; but for all that, she\'s very trying to our patience.""Yes," sighed Bessie, "I think she\'s tryinger than any child we know; and yet she\'s hardly ever naughty,—really naughty, I mean.""How does she try you?" asked Mrs. Rush, though she believed she could herself have answered as to the cause of complaint."She puts off so," said Bessie. "Aunt May, I think she\'s the greatest put-offer we ever saw; and sometimes it makes things so hard to bear. We try not to be provoked \'cause we love her so; but sometimes we can\'t help being a little. I b\'lieve it troubles people as much as if she was real naughty in some way.""Yes, procrastination is a very troublesome fault," said Mrs. Rush."Not a fault, is it, Aunt May?" asked Maggie. "I thought it was only a habit of Lily\'s."[11]"And Lily is a pretty good child," said Belle Powers. "She is mischievous, and makes us laugh in school sometimes; but I b\'lieve that is about all the naughty things she does, and I think that is a pretty good account for one child.""Putting off is not being naughty, is it, Aunt May?" pleaded Bessie, unwilling, even amid her vexation, to have one of her favorite playmates thus blamed."Well, darling," answered Mrs. Rush, "I fear that procrastination and a want of punctuality must be considered as rather serious faults. I see you are vexed and troubled now; why, I cannot tell, more than that Lily has caused it in some way; and I think that any habit which needlessly tries and irritates other people can be called nothing less than a fault, and a bad one, too. What is the matter now?""Why," said Bessie, "you see we are all going to the party at Miss Ashton\'s this afternoon, and Lily was to be here at four o\'clock to go with us; and when grandmamma was going home just now, she said she would take[12] us all around in her carriage; but Lily was not here, and we did not like to go without her, and grandmamma could not wait. But grandmamma said the carriage should come back for us, and it has; and mamma says it is twenty minutes past four, and there Lily has not come yet, and we don\'t know what to do, and we can\'t help being provoked."
Views: 369

Charlie Thorne and the Lost City

In this sequel to the New York Times bestselling Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation—which #1 New York Times bestselling author Chris Grabenstein called "a real page-burner"—Charlie searches for Charles Darwin's hidden treasure in South America.Charlie Thorne is a genius. Charlie Thorne is a fugitive. Charlie Thorne isn't even thirteen. After saving the world, Charlie is ready to take it easy in the Galapagos Islands. That is, until she's approached by the mysterious Esmeralda Castle, who has a code she knows only Charlie can decipher. In 1835, Charles Darwin diverted his ship's journey so he could spend ten months in South America on a secret solo expedition. When he returned, he carried a treasure that inspired both awe and terror in his crew. Afterward, it vanished, never to be seen again... But Darwin left a trail of clues behind for those brave and clever enough to search for it. Enter...
Views: 368

Sugar Moon - Luna de Azúcar

Lisa and Martin do not like to eat their vegetables and would rather eat chocolate cake for every meal! Read about where their adventure takes them and what they learn along the way!Meet Desiree, a teenager just like every other teenager. She's begun her journey through high school, had some major drama with her family, and entered the world of dating. From getting in a fight at school, to her first boyfriend, her diary entries are bound to keep you entertained as you join Desiree in her crazy life.
Views: 368

The Wrong Choices

Would you kill an innocent person if it meant saving your life? Find out what Jackson does in this short story inspired by actual events.Jackson has made a series of wrong choices throughout his life, leading him to a back alley in a Boston neighborhood where nobody cares if a kid is murdered. Now, with no one to turn to for help and the life of a stranger in his hands, he must make one more choice. Will Jackson do the right thing for once?A short story inspired by actual events.
Views: 367

The Riverpark Rebellion

Leopold Classic Library is delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive collection. As part of our on-going commitment to delivering value to the reader, we have also provided you with a link to a website, where you may download a digital version of this work for free. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. Whilst the books in this collection have not been hand curated, an aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature. As a result of this book being first published many decades ago, it may have occasional imperfections. These imperfections may include poor picture quality, blurred or missing text. While some of these imperfections may have appeared in the original work, others may have resulted from the scanning process that has been applied. However, our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. While some publishers have applied optical character recognition (OCR), this approach has its own drawbacks, which include formatting errors, misspelt words, or the presence of inappropriate characters. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with an experience that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic book, and that the occasional imperfection that it might contain will not detract from the experience.
Views: 366

The Perfect Score

No one likes or wants to take the statewide assessment tests. Not the students in Mrs. Woods's sixth-grade class, not even their teacher. It's not like the kids don't already have things to worry about. . . . Under pressure to be the top gymnast her mother expects her to be, RANDI starts to wonder what her destiny truly holds. Football-crazy GAVIN has always struggled with reading and feels as dumb as his high school-dropout father. TREVOR acts tough and mean, but as much as he hates school, he hates being home even more. SCOTT's got a big brain and an even bigger heart, especially when it comes to his grandfather, but his good intentions always backfire in spectacular ways. NATALIE, know-it-all and aspiring lawyer, loves to follow the rules--only this year, she's about to break them all. The whole school is in a frenzy with test time approaching--kids, teachers, the administration. Everyone is anxious. When one of the kids has a big idea for acing the tests, they're all in. But things get ugly before they get better, and in the end, the real meaning of the perfect score surprises them all.
Views: 366