The Lagoon

In the stillness of the air every tree, everyeaf, every bough, every tendril of creeper and every petal of minute blossoms seemed to have been bewitched into an immobility perfect and final. Nothing moved on the river but the eight paddles that rose flashing regularly, dipped together with a single splash<Br>Somewhere deep in the jungles, in a boat anchored on aagoon, a manistens to the doomedove story of his friend and his dyingover. In an apple orchard, a philosopher tries hard to decipher the codes ofove,ittle realizing that he is ruining his own chances. With stories from writersike O. Henry, Joseph Conrad, Guy de Maupassant, Anton Chekov and others, this collection brings alive the many shades ofove, from the heartbreaking to the joyous.