What Happened to Omelas? A Continuation of Ursula LeGuin’s Short Story… by Navin Salem was quiet. He had been quiet for the past three months. Since the moment he laid eyes on the child in the closet, he had not spoken a single word. His parents had tried to get him to open up, then…

By Megan  I watch my grandmother water her plants. She cares for them daily as though they’re her children. On cool mornings, she tucks them in a bit tighter in their soil. On warm mornings, she douses them in a bit of extra water. A variety of plants and fruit trees are scattered in her…

Soundproof Silk Researchers at MIT have engineered a fabric that stifles sound! But what is this fabric made of? How does it work? And what are some uses for a soundproof fabric? Noise pollution has been a problem in society as long as we’ve had cities. With the development of the metropolis came the drilling…

The Crow and the Starling A Tagalog Tale… Retold by Navin In certain parts of the Philippines, one can find the Culeto starling, a little black bird with a bald head. In the old days, it had a luscious crown of feathers. Here is the story of how this came to be… Once upon a…

The Clever Fox A Jataka Tale… Retold by Navin Once upon a time, the king of the fish sat brooding on his throne under the sea. He was the ruler of all the oceans, and all the aquatic animals of the world were his subjects. However, he wanted to make conquest on the lands as…

Why the Cow’s Neck has Loose Skin A Filipino Tale… Adapted by Navin Once upon a time, there lived a mean farmer. He always denigrating his animals and employees alike. One day, he was strolling through the market and decided he needed some new work animals. Two friends, a cow and a buffalo, were on…

The Lost Necklace  A Visayan Filipino Tale… Adapted by Navin Once upon a time, there lived a humble crow. He had many friends and spent his days finding random discarded objects of value and selling them. He could often be found in the dumping ground or junkyard, activ ely converting other men’s trash into his…

Little Hum and the Buffalo By Eusebio Lopez, a Tagalog man… Retold by Navin Once upon a time, there lived a little hummingbird. She flew hither and thither, drinking nectar and doing loops in the air. In that same quadrant of the forest lived a large water buffalo. Whenever the hummingbird flitted by, the buffalo…

The Brahmin’s Pot By Rev. Lal Behari Day, Retold by Navin Once upon a time, there lived a poor Brahmin. He had no trade, and lived primarily on the donations of the wealthy. When he performed marriage or funeral ceremonies, he was able to make ends meet. However, the villagers did not get married or…

Birds Get Wiser With Age,  Demonstrating Improved Decision Making In general, I’ve always wondered what birds’ issue is and why they need to migrate such absurd distances, and then I read about the arctic tern and found this: Arctic terns are true champions in the bird world. They fly about 11,000 miles from their breeding…