Amelia Bedelia Means Businessby Herman Parish
Amelia Bedelia is very fond of her cycle, though the paint is chipped and the frame dented. However, when she sees her classmate Suzanne's shiny new bicycle, she thinks it’s the most beautiful cycle in the world. Amelia is not able to take her eyes off it. She talks to her parents at dinner that night about buying her a new cycle. They tell her that she will have to earn the money herself, but that they will meet her half-way, in short they mean they will pay half the cost of the cycle. Amelia Bedelia gets up from her chair, walks halfway around the table, and tells her dad, “Okay. Here I am. Are you going to meet me halfway or not?” Amelia Bedelia understands sentences literally and therefore finds herself at the centre of many humorous situations when she decides to go into business.
The Open Window by Saki
Mr. Nuttel goes to the country to recuperate after a nervous breakdown. He has been given a letter of introduction to a Mrs. Sappleton. One evening he visits the Sappleton’s residence. While he waits for Mrs. Sappleton to come down, he is entertained by her niece, the fifteen year old Vera. A few minutes of awkward silence later, Vera begins telling him the story of the open French window. She tells the story of Mrs Sappleton’s husband and her two brothers who supposedly went out snipe-shooting one evening and never returned. It had been three years to that day. Her aunt, Mrs Sappleton, keeps the French window open every evening until it is quite dark and the night is upon them. Mr. Nuttel feels terrible about the tragedy. He is especially uncomfortable about being here on the third anniversary of the disappearance of Mrs. Sappleton’s family. He runs out in horror, imagining he's seeing ghosts, when he sees three silhouettes approaching the French window, carrying guns. When Mrs. Sappleton arrives, Vera spins another tale to explain the hasty retreat of Nuttel.
Among other things, the irony lies in the choice of names. Vera means "truth" but everything she utters is a lie. The name Nuttel suggests a "nutty" person. The unsuspecting Mrs. Sappleton is a simpleton when it comes to sizing up her niece.
Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet traces the story of two feuding families, which culminates in a love-wrought tragedy.
The Capulet family and the Montague family have been feuding for years. They engage in "battle" at the slightest provocation. The first scene in this story involves the servants of the Capulet and Montague family picking a fight on the streets, which later grows into a riot. It reaches a violent crescendo when the prince himself arrives on the scene. He threatens the rioters with the death penalty if they don't stop.
Meanwhile, Romeo is being counselled by his cousin Benvolio. Benvolio convinces Romeo to accompany him to a ball to lift his spirits. At the ball, Romeo sets his sights on Juliet, and is smitten within seconds. Neither Romeo nor Juliet realizes that their families are sworn enemies: Romeo is a Montague, and Juliet is a Capulet. And so begins, the tale of the star crossed lovers.
