In the ancient country of Orn an old man called the Bee-man spends his life in the company of bees. He lives humbly and contentedly until a Junior Sorcerer happens by with some disturbing news: The Bee-man, he says, has been transformed--he once was someone (or something) entirely different. But who? Or what? A giant or a prince? A dog or a dragon? The now restless Bee-man sets out on a quest to ascertain his original form, telling himself, 'When I see it, I shall be drawn toward it.' He first visits a 'fair domain' featuring topiary-filled gardens and elegantly dressed folk; and then ventures into dark, ominous caverns hidden in a towering mountain, home to 'dragons, evil spirits, and horrid creatures of all kinds.' Here he rescues a baby from the clutches of a monstrous dragon, an experience that leads the aged man to the discovery of exactly what he was transformed from—and desires to become again. This charming, funny and clever fantasy is narrated by Oscar nominated and Emmy Award Winning Special Makeup Effects Artist Edward E. French
Early futuristic “adventure” tale written in 1897, depicting the—then—far-flung world of the year of 1947.
A double adventure written at the end of the nineteenth century, somewhat in the theme of Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Great Stone of Sardis tells of a submarine trip to reach the North Pole and a project to examine the center of the Earth by boring a deep shaft. What they find at the core of the planet surprises the enterprising explorers.
'The Lady or the Tiger?' is the story of a king who devised a particularly inventive form of punishment. When a courtier dares to fall in love with the king's daughter, he is forced to choose between two doors: one with a lady behind it, and the other with a tiger. The plot does not disclose his fate.
In order to provide English learners with extensive reading pleasure, it consists of jewels that span the East and West, from literary works of famous writers such as Aesop's fables, Andersen, Shakespeare, and picture brothers to traditional fairy tales from all over the world.
When a passing magician tells the old Bee-Man of Orn that he has at some time been transformed from another state, he sets off to discover his own origins. Was he formerly a nobleman? A dragon? A giant? After much searching and many adventures, where his faithful bees help him, he finally discovers the truth. And it is not what either he or the magician expected...
