Children's Literature

            Mortimer fell down into the armchair. Picking up the old book, he, in extreme shock, recognised the book that contained the story of ‘The Midnight Express’. In great panic, he turned the pages of the book with trembling hands. Beginning to read, Mortimer came to find that the story was regarding a man, who, in his childhood, had read a book with a scary picture.           He tried to understand the strange cycle of events that he was going through. Filled in extreme fear, Mortimer asked himself, “Who was the strange man asking me to come into this cottage?”           The door got opened and the strange host entered at that very moment. The candle put on the table cast a huge shadow on the wall. Although the shadowy figure was standing in front of Mortimer, the figure slowly but surely came forward. Sitting on the armchair, Mortimer e...

            However, Mortimer was aroused. Yes, his instincts got awakened. He stepped towards the dark figure to look into its face. Mortimer became shocked to find that he was looking steadfastly into his own face.           Suddenly, a current of fear gripped his mind. Immediately, he turned. Then gasping for a while, he started running wildly. Stumbling out of the platform, he hastened down a moonlit street. Yes, he could even hear the echo of his own footsteps behind him. What is more, the footsteps were constantly approaching him. After taking a breath and a pause for a moment, he started running once again.           After some time, Mortimer found a little white cottage a little distance away. He kept on pounding on the wooden door of the cottage to seek a shelter desperately. Again, he could hear that the sound of heavy footsteps was ne...

Then Mortimer was twelve years of age. He found a tattered old book that was bound in red leather in his father’s library. As and when the rest of his family members were asleep, Mortimer stealthily took the book. Where? To his bedroom for reading it by candlelight. The roaring sea outside as well as the ticking clock in the hall were in their flow.           Anyway, Mortimer was deeply attracted by the old book that contained a story named ‘The Midnight Express’. The illustration on the fiftieth page of the book scared Mortimer due to some unknown reason. What was in the illustration? It showed a vacant railway platform. It was night-time. So, a dull and yellow lamp lit the platform. A lonely man was seen standing under the lamp. He turned his face towards the dark mouth of a tunnel. Everything seemed so sound. Still, Mortimer did never read beyond that fiftieth page.           A number of yea...