This is a story of a tortoise that captivated the animal world with the beauty of his shell, which seemed to illuminate its path with colors of the rainbow. This story takes place in the animal world, where a long-forgotten language was spoken. You will be spellbound by the tortoises demise when his shell ended up with scars and lost its luminous beauty.
This is a story about a grandmother who shielded her grandchildren and diverted their focus from the impending war. Join her as she enthralls her grandchildren with a story of a tortoise that captivated the animal world with the beauty of his shell that seemed to illuminate its path with colors of the rainbow. She will take you to the world of animals when a long forgotten language was spoken, you will be spell bound by tortoise's demise when his shell ended up with scars and lost its luminous beauty. The back drop of this story is a looming war that can be heard far away.
Kidega is a former child soldier who grew up in Acholiland, in the village of Acaya. All Kidega ever dreamed of was playing football for Kampala City Council FC (KCC) just like Latigo. (Latigo originates from Kitgum District in Northern Uganda; he captivated the nation with his football [soccer] talent. What Michael Jordan achieved in basketball, Latigo achieved in soccer.) But then, at the age of thirteen, Kidegas life was eclipsed by the death of his family and his abduction and training as a soldier. Kidega undergoes Mato Oput, a cleansing ceremony, in his journey of forgiveness and reconciliation. Kidega remembered Ladit Naptali Ocoos words: It is possible to break the cycle of hate and revenge. It is possible to find peace again. As Kidega stood there, on the edge of his new life, with the pain and devastation of the past behind him, he knew, finally, that this was true.
This book contains sixty-five old-time bedtime stories! Two opposite faces of Tortoise’s character are revealed here: the good and the bad. Tortoise, once loved and respected for his kindness, hard work, persistence, patience, wisdom, and super intelligence to dig out and solve the toughest puzzles or the most difficult and mysterious problems, is the same Tortoise who lost all that to lying, tricking, selfishness, revengefulness, greed, stealing, jealousy, and exploiting others’ weaknesses under the pretense of helping when he is actually out to hurt those he claims to help so as to achieve his goals. Parents, teachers, or others who use these stories for moral and life skills education should emphasize genuine moral values or virtues and also point out that how one gets to one’s goal should be as morally sound as the goal itself. So their discretion is crucial when addressing moral relativism, if any is obvious.
A hijacked delivery vehicle draws St-Cyr and Kohler back to the killing fields of World War I The last time Jean-Louis St-Cyr visited the ruins of this ancient abbey, during one of the bloodiest campaigns of the Great War, a sniper nearly killed him. Three decades later, death has brought him here again. Ever since the German occupation of France, the chief inspector has worked alongside German detective inspector Hermann Kohler, solving crimes too common to pique the Gestapo’s interest. Now, during the fall of 1943, the war is going badly for the Third Reich, but conflicts continue to plague these two unlikely allies. A bank-owned cargo van is parked near the crumbling monastery, its contents ransacked, its passengers murdered. The killers took small bills but left behind a bounty in smuggled champagne, cheese, and coffee. Even more confounding is the expensive pair of high heels left behind. Were the thieves from the Resistance, or from the underworld? Who is the mysterious woman who was wearing those shoes? St-Cyr and Kohler have a feeling that the answers are hiding in the cold French rain.
There nEver was a sunset so sumptuous as the first, when creation birthed the grand fire that dashed its light out upon the solar system, exploding into a brilliant blue across Earth's vast sky. There nEver was a girl so pretty and perfect as the girl next door, who would thief your heart with a stolen glance and make you dream of angels and futures and love found in your very own backyard. There nEver was a peach, so ripe and full of juices that the mound positively erupted in your mouth, overtaking every sense until you were slave to each bite, and all that was and ever would be again was that fuzzy fruit. There nEver was a day so perfect that you would enjoy every second, savor each moment as if time itself were joy unbound, and to reach the midnight hour and the closing of the day would be like unto death itself. There nEver was a love so grand that it defeated all time and space, not bound by the laws of physics but transcending all rules and crushing them under love's heel, defining its grandness by mocking all the barriers of science and faith, existing not only forever, but beyond even the meek words that bind its August majesty. There nEver was a tale told as thus . . .
