'For me, Watson, life is not so interesting,' says Holmes. 'I loved to read the newspaper, hoping to find some news of an interesting crime for me to investigate or a dangerous criminal for me to catch. Where are all those clever criminals these days?' Then, suddenly, a wild, excited young man runs up the stairs to Holmes' room. He has a story to tell about a strange crime that took place in Norwood. But who is the criminal? And is he dangerous? Life, for Holmes, suddenly starts to get interesting.
One cold winter morning, a famous movie star and her teenage daughter are driving along a country road... A blue van is waiting for them. Tom is in the van, but he's not a kidnapper – he's an artist. He usually draws pictures for adventure stories. Now he's in a real life adventure.
A 'Tall Tale' is a story that's hard to believe, and the five tall tales in this book all tell of ghosts. Some have dark secrets buried in the past, others bring messages for the living. Some are laughable, some are sad, and some are just evil. Sometimes there's a logical explanation for the strangest happenings, but often things cannot be explained by logic alone. Either way, you're sure to find some frightening reading between the covers of this book.
A man from the British royal family leaves an expensive gold and emerald crown at Holder and Stevenson's – one of the best banks in London. When someone tries to take the crown from Mr Holder's desk, he asks Sherlock Holmes for help. Who wants the crown and why? Only Sherlock can find the answers.
Chris leaves his home in a small town in Australia to go and study at the University of Sydney. He needs to find somewhere to live. But it's not easy to find a house to share in a big city. Every house has its problems, and not all of Chris's housemates are easy to live with. In fact, some of them are very difficult people! Can Chris find the house that he needs with housemates that he can live with?
The three stories in this book are about ordinary people, people like you and me; but they find themselves in surprising situations. Lord Arthur Savile, a rich man with no enemies, finds out that he must do something terrible before he can marry. Poor young Hughie Erskine gives money to an old beggar - but the beggar is not what he seems. And Lord Murchison falls in love with a mystery woman - but what is the strange secret behind the door in Cumnor Street?
In the first of these stories, Rip van Winkle sleeps for over twenty years, and then wakes up to a world that he no longer understands. In the other story, Ichabod Crane, the school teacher, meets a headless rider in the middle of a dark night. These two classic tales of the supernatural by Washington Irving have been popular for nearly two hundred years.
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The Happy Prince is a beautiful golden statue high up on a column in the city. Everyone loves him. He feels sad about the city's poor people, but what can he do? He can't leave his column. Then the swallow arrives, and helps the Happy Prince to do many good things. But what about the swallow's dream of flying to Egypt? And what does the Mayor do when the Happy Prince loses all his gold?
Hercules is the strongest man in the world, but one day he does something very bad. The priestess at Delphi tells him: 'The gods are angry with you. For twelve years you must work for King Eurystheus, and do twelve tasks for him. When you finish, the gods can forgive your crime.' Some tasks are easier, and some tasks are more difficult. Can Hercules finish all twelve of them? And what happens when he does?
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Cedric Errol is seven years old. He lives with his mother in a little house in New York. They don't have much money, but mother and son are good friends. Cedric is a kind, friendly little boy, and everybody likes him. His father was English, but he is now dead, and Cedric and his mother are alone in the world. But one day a lawyer arrives from England with some very surprising news about Cedric's grandfather...
