United States | Lecturia

Nathaniel Hawthorne: Feathertop: A Moralized Legend

“Feathertop: A Moralized Legend” is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in February 1852 in The International Magazine. Mother Rigby, a powerful New England witch, makes a scarecrow for her cornfield using sticks, straw, old clothes, and a pumpkin for a head. Fascinated by the result of her handiwork, the witch decides to use magic to breathe life into it. Transformed into a handsome and refined gentleman, the figure—christened Feathertop—is sent by its creator into the vain world of human beings to try its luck.

Philip K. Dick: Colony

“Colony” is an unsettling science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick, published in Galaxy Science Fiction in 1953. A group of explorers arrives on a planet that appears perfectly suited for colonization, with conditions ideal for human life. However, what initially seems like a paradise soon turns into a deadly trap when they discover an unsuspected threat that endangers not only their lives, but the survival of all humanity. To prevent the danger from spreading beyond the planet, they must make extreme decisions and fight for their lives against an invisible and terrifying enemy.

Isaac Asimov: Someday

“Someday” is a short story by Isaac Asimov published in August 1956 in the magazine Infinity Science Fiction. Set in a future in which machines have replaced much of everyday work, the story follows Niccolo and Paul, two friends who discover an old Narrator, a device that automatically creates and tells stories. The two friends complain that the machine only tells stories set in a world with horses, cows, and other things they do not recognize. While Paul tries to improve the device, he tells Niccolo that there was once a time—before computers—when people had to do something called “reading” in order to learn new stories.

Nathaniel Hawthorne: Wakefield

“Wakefield” is a short story by the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in The New-England Magazine in May 1835. Under the pretext of taking a brief trip, a man abandons his home and his wife and secretly installs himself in a room on the street next to his own. For no apparent reason, he observes from a distance the life he has left behind, becoming an invisible spectator of his own absence. What was meant to be a getaway of only a few days gradually stretches on, as Wakefield sinks into anonymity and indefinitely postpones his return.

Fredric Brown: Solipsist

“Solipsist” is a short story by the American writer Fredric Brown, published in 1954 in the anthology Angels and Spaceships. Walter B. Jehovah has been a solipsist all his life: he believes that only he truly exists and that the universe is a creation of his mind. After a series of personal misfortunes, he ends up hospitalized and puts his beliefs to the test: as he contemplates the stars, he wishes that everything around him would cease to exist.

Isaac Asimov: The Fun They Had

“The Fun They Had” is a short story by Isaac Asimov, published in December 1951 in Boys and Girls Page. Margie and Tommy, two children living in a future society, discover something they have never seen before: a real book printed on paper. The two friends—and Margie in particular—are fascinated by this unusual object, which describes a distant time when education was conducted in a way very different from the one they know.