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The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu

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The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu Summary – The Paper Menagerie The story is narrated by Jack, a Chinese-American boy who grows up in Connecticut. His mother is a Chinese immigrant who barely speaks English, while his father is American. Jack’s earliest memory is of crying uncontrollably as a baby. His mother distracts him by making paper animals—a tiger, goat, shark, and other creatures—using colorful wrapping paper saved from Christmas gifts. She breathes life into them, and magically, they begin to move and behave like real animals. This becomes Jack’s first experience of wonder and love. Jack grows very attached to these paper animals, especially the paper tiger named Laohu, who becomes his closest companion. His mother tells him stories in Chinese, teaching him about her village in China, her childhood, and her family. Through these stories, Jack unknowingly connects to his mother’s culture and past. As Jack grows older and starts school, he becomes aware that his mother is different...
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Advice to Youth by Mark Twain

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Advice to Youth  by Mark Twain  The following is a lecture Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) delivered to a group of young people, though the original location, date & occasion for the lecture is now unknown.  Being told I would be expected to talk here, I inquired what sort of talk I ought to make. They said it should be something suitable to youth-something didactic, instructive, or something in the nature of good advice. Very well. I have a few things in my mind which I have often longed to say for the instruction of the young; for it is in one’s tender early years that such things will best take root and be most enduring and most valuable. First, then. I will say to you my young friends -- and I say it beseechingly, urgently –  Always obey your parents, when they are present. This is the best policy in the long run, because if you don’t, they will make you. Most parents think they know better than you do, and you can generally make more by humoring that superst...
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Location: Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India
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Abhisar, The Tryst / Upagupta by Rabindranath Tagore

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Abhisar, The Tryst / Upagupta  by Rabindranath Tagore Upagupta, the disciple of Buddha, lay asleep on the dust by the city wall of Mathura. Lamps were all out, doors were all shut, and stars were all hidden by the murky sky of August. Whose feet were those tinkling with anklets, touching his breast of a sudden? He woke up startled, and the light from a woman’s lamp struck his forgiving eyes. It was Vasavadatta the dancing girl, starred with jewels, clouded with a pale-blue mantle, drunk with the wine of her youth. She lowered her lamp and saw the young face, austerely beautiful. “Forgive me, young ascetic,” said the woman; “graciously come to my house. The dusty earth is not a fit bed for you.” The young ascetic answered, “Woman, go on your way; when the time is ripe I will come to you.” Suddenly the black night showed its teeth in a flash of lightning. The storm growled from the corner of the sky, and the woman trembled in fear. A Year had not yet passed. It was evening of a day i...
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Location: Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India
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