Loser By: Val Mulkerns

The story starts off with Dan, the main character, going off to see his sister. He was going there to ask for money. He arrived at the house and his sister was gardening out front. He said hello but she didn't look pleased at his arrival. They went into the house and he started to explain how at work he had booked to important people at the same time but then he explained how his manager had forgot to write down the arrangements of one of the groups. When the time came for the events his manager was away and Dan was entertaining Carl Rosa, one of the important people. Then someone at his work barged in and told him someone was here from Moody Manners. Carl Rosa and people from Moody Manner were the two events booked on the same day. Just as the employee finished explaining about the man from Moody Manners, a large gentlemen barged in and began to yell at Dan. This man was the manager from Moody Manners. Some scalding hot coffee was spilled from the heated argument and landed on some one's foot. A big commotion was caused and now Dan was responsible for the whole thing. Dan's manager convinced the manager to let them pay for the travel arrangements. Dan then explained that he was now responsible for paying for the costs.

His sister asked if there was anything he could do but he explained how he had no money and there was no one he could borrow the money from other than her. He tried his best to get her to give him the money but his sister told him that she didn't have the money to offer him. He said goodbye and left slamming the door behind him. His sister began to cry because she felt horrible about not being able to give away her money towards his crisis. She just didn't have the money to spare. As Dan was walking away, he saw his sister's husband, Richard walking towards his way. He stopped him and asked if he wanted to go get a drink before he went back to his house. Richard said he had to get home but after much time Richard gave in and went with Dan.

When they got to the pub they sat down and before long Dan was telling Richard about his unfortunate circumstance. The difference in this story was that he told Richard how he had tried to earn the money back by betting on horses with some borrowed money. Dan told him about how he had switched his bet at the last minute and it cost him the money. Richard could tell that Dan was hinting towards money but he told him the same thing Dan's sister said. They just didn't have the money to spare. After a quick drink, Richard went home and now Dan was by himself in a pub left all alone with a problem on his hands.

Would you have giving the money to Dan?

Life Drawing By: Bernard MacLaverty

The story starts with one of the main characters, Liam Diamond, on a train on his way to his childhood home. He makes it to his house and a person he couldn't remember answered the door. She knew exactly who he was and informed the other people in the house that he was here. They talk about his father who is the reason that he is there. His father was dying. He started to climb up the stairs when he was met by Bertha, a person who he didn't know well. She began to cry and seeked comfort in his arms. He told her that Maisie, the person who had greeted him, said she had to go downstairs. Bertha followed this command and descended down the stairs. Liam walked into the room to find his father crippled and incapable. He began to talk to his father but he wasn't able to respond. Liam gave his father a sip of water and sat down in a chair. Bertha came back into the room with some tea and Liam and her talked for awhile. He offered money for all of the expenses of his father but she wouldn't accept the money. After, she said goodnight to Liam's father and left.

Liam was now alone in his father's room and began to fell hungry. Once he began to eat, he started to remember the olden times with his father. His father had been very strict and fights in his household was very common. At one point, his father had actually caused harm to him. Liam began to get cold so he went downstairs and grab his overcoat and an electric fire. He sat in his father's room again and then went and visited his own room. He opened some things up and found some charcoal. Then he found his skecthbook from school. He looked through it and realized that even though they weren't good, he saw the talent in which in pursued. When he was younger, he use to paint and wanted to go to art college. His father was against it and did anything he could to destroy his dreams.

He returned to his father's room. Liam had his sketch book and some charcoal in his hands. He sat down and began to draw his father. It took him awhile but then he finally finished his drawing. He turned to ask his father if he was alright but when he got no response he realized the horrible fate. His father was now dead. Liam kneeled down beside the bed and tried to think of all the good times with his dad. All he could feel was anger and hate towards him because of all of the hurt he had put him through. His father had never been a good man. Liam now found that his eyes had filled with tears. There was nothing he could do for his father.

Do you think Liam reacted in the appropriate matter?

The Pedlar's Revenge By: Liam O'Flaherty

The story starts off with the death of Paddy Moynihan. He was found at the bottom of the ravine below the blacksmith's house. Everyone in the village was standing around him with horror look in their eyes. The sergeant looked at the body and then turned to Joe Finnerty and asked him if it was him who had witnessed the death. Joe told him that he had seen Paddy standing on the blacksmith wall. He kept repeating the same message which was "The pedlar poisoned me". Then all of a sudden he dropped everything and reached for his stomach. After that he fell off the wall into the deep ravine. The sergeant and Joe pondered the ideas of how he died until a Anthony Gill told them that he saw Paddy Moynihan walking out of the Pedlar's house a few hours earlier. He had also seen him run into Pete Maloney's shop to buy candles. The sergeant was quite confused about the incidents that happened but then decided that even though the doctor wasn't there, they should get the body of Paddy out of the ravine. They used ropes and slings to get him out because he wasn't the lightest man around. They then put him in a wheelbarrow and pushed him towards the dead man's shed.

The men then started to talk about how the Pedlar had taken Paddy to court one time over a shed. Paddy liked to pull pranks so when he saw the Pedlar's donkey attached to the door of the shed he decided to torment the donkey with turnips. The donkey yanked so hard that the whole shed came crumbling down. The men continued to talk about the incident they reached the shed. Once they got there, they decided they would go over and talk to the pedlar.

When they told him about Paddy's death, he reacted in a different way. He said he felt relieved because of the tension between them in the past. Paddy had made fun of the Pedlar when they were younger because of his height. He did things to him like yell at him and get the other children against him. Joe Finnerty was getting angry at the Pedlar because he said he was making false accusations against Paddy but the pedlar continued to tell the stories of the torture that Paddy put him through. He then began to talk about how he used the lack of courage of Paddy to get back at him.

The men then confronted him and asked if he had poisoned Paddy. He didn't fess up to it but once the Joe had said he had seen Paddy in his house he told them what had happened. The pedlar was cooking some potatoes with some bacon grease when Paddy burst into his house. He asked him where he had got the bacon but the pedlar lied and said he didn't have any. Paddy began to get more and more angry so the Pedlar told him it was candles. Paddy had died because he had eaten the candles. The pedlar began to laugh as the men walked away. He was laughing because he was now free of Paddy Moynihan and he had not caused any crime.

After knowing the outcome, did you feel sorry for Paddy or the Pedlar?

A Handful of Dates By: Tayeb Salih

This story is about a young boy whos looks up to his grandfather as a god. They are muslim which means that they go to mosque. The boy thinks of his grandfather as pure and compares him to a river. He wanted to be just like his grandfather when he grew up.

One day, the neighbour of the grandfather, Masood, told them that he was harvesting the dates and asked if they wanted to help. They said yes. There was a history between the grandfather and Masood. They didn't like each other. The grandfather said it was because Masood had treated him badly. So the grandfather and the boy went to harvest dates. When they got there the grandfather sat on a stool while Masood harvested the dates. Masood had told everyone to be careful not to cut the heart of the palm. Once the dates had been harvested, the grandfather and others went over towards the dates. The grandfather gave some of the dates to the boy and then they started to divide them. The grandfather and the others sepearted the dates and left none for Masood. Then, the grandfather said that Masood was till in debt to him.

After this, the little boy ran off because he know had a feeling of hate towards his grandfather. He was mad at the way he had treated Masood. He ran right to the river and threw up all the dates he had just eaten into the river.

If you were the boy, would you of reacted in the same manner?

A Television Drama By: Jane Rule

Carolee Mitchell was doing her usual routines when she heard sirens and commotion. She looked out to find three police cars parked out in front of her. In addition to the three in front of her house, she continued to see more police cars and police men. The neighbours were outside talking with the police officers until the police told them to go back inside. Now, the police were communicating between radios talking about the suspects last sighting. Carolee decide to go empty the dishwasher to take her mind off of what was happening. She went over to the window in Pete's study and looked out to see the ambulance. She watched it for while and then something else caught her eye.

In front of her window was a young man. Something was wrong with him and this accusation was reassured when he looked up and Carolee saw the blood. She thought she should call the police but decided not to because she wanted to help this man. All of a sudden, he got up and ran towards the parking strip. He then fell on his back without a shot being heard. Carolee turned on her radio and began to hear what had just happened. This guy had robbed a bank, run a car into a tree, shot a police officer and been shot at. He was now in life threatening condition.

Carolee's husband Pete came home and asked her if she was okay. He had heard about the incident and seen only diagrams of it. She told him about everything she had seen except for the part about the suspect by the hedge. They both watched the television and saw the whole footage of the incident. Carolee was now doubting herself about whether she should have told someone about what had happened. After this incident, Carolee felt different about the world and started to feel afraid.

Would an incident like this change your perspective on life?

Sarah By: Mary Lavin

Oliver Kedrigan's wife Kathleen was thinking about getting Sarah Murray to look over her house while she went away to Dublin. The other women in the district felt they should warn her about Sarah's actions. They told her about the way that Sarah looked at their husbands and how they wouldn't trust her if she was in their homes. Kathleen trusted her husband so she hired Sarah to look after the house and left for Dublin. Just after Kathleen left, Sarah met Oliver Kedrigan as he came up to the house with his cart. He spoke few words and as he was leaving she keep her eyes on him in a peculiar way.

When Kathleen got home from her trip, the house was spotless. She paid Sarah and then Sarah went back home. Once Sarah got home, her brothers and her three children were happy to have her back. After a while something changed and the brothers could tell. Sarah was pregnant and the brothers thought that it was Oliver Kedrigan. At the same time, Kathleen was also expecting a baby. One evening, they received a letter in the mail saying Oliver was the father of the child Sarah Murray was carrying. Oliver denied it but Kathleen had her suspicions.

The next evening, Sarah was sitting near the fire. Her brothers confronted her and asked her if the letter was true. Sarah didn't give them a straight answer so one of the brothers decided to take action. He took all of her belongings and threw them into the street. He then kicked Sarah out of the house. The next day, Oliver and Kathleen Keridgan heard of the news. Sarah was found dead in a ditch with her baby beside her. Kathleen was happy to here of this but Oliver's reaction was shocking because he seemed upset and worried.

Do you think the child Sarah Murray was carrying was Oliver's?