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The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents
''The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents'' is a children's fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, published by Doubleday in 2001. It is the 28th novel in the ''Discworld'' series and the first written for children. The story is a new take on the German fairy tale about the Pied Piper of Hamelin and a parody of the folk tale genre. Pratchett won the annual Carnegie Medal from the British librarians, recognising the year's best children's book published in the U.K. It was his first major award. Series ''Discworld'' had been a comic fantasy series for adults, beginning with ''The Colour of Magic'' in 1983. ''Amazing Maurice'' was marketed as a children's book, to be followed in that respect by ''The Wee Free Men'' (2003, #30). It differs from earlier Discworld novels also by its division into chapters, though chapters become far more common in later books of the series. Contrary to the contrast between adult and child markets, reflected in catalogues, ''The Guard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first novel, ''The Carpet People'', was published in 1971. The first ''Discworld'' novel, ''The Colour of Magic'', was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final ''Discworld'' novel, ''The Shepherd's Crown'', was published in August 2015, five months after his death. With more than 85 million books sold worldwide in 37 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for ''The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents'', the first ''Discworld'' book marketed for children. He received the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wee Free Men
''The Wee Free Men'' is a 2003 comic fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, which takes place in his Discworld setting. It is labelled a "Story of Discworld" to indicate its status as children's or young adult fiction, unlike most of the books in the ''Discworld'' series. A sequel, ''A Hat Full of Sky'', appeared in 2004 (both books were republished in a combined edition, ''The Wee Free Men: The Beginning'', in August 2010); a third book called ''Wintersmith'' appeared in 2006; and the fourth, ''I Shall Wear Midnight'', was released in September 2010. The final book in the series, ''The Shepherd's Crown'', was released in 2015. While Terry Pratchett's first ''Discworld'' book for children, ''The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents'' had swearing translated to rat language, in this book it is in the dialect of the Nac Mac Feegle which is taken from Scots and Scottish Gaelic. An illustrated edition of the novel, with pictures by Stephen Player, appeared in print ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dream
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, although the dreamer may perceive the dream as being much longer than this. The content and function of dreams have been topics of scientific, philosophical and religious interest throughout recorded history. Dream interpretation, practiced by the Babylonians in the third millennium BCE and even earlier by the ancient Sumerians, figures prominently in religious texts in several traditions, and has played a lead role in psychotherapy. The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology. Most modern dream study focuses on the neurophysiology of dreams and on proposing and testing hypotheses regarding dream function. It is not known where in the brain dreams originate, if there is a single origin for dreams or if multiple regions of the brain are i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and inept old wizards. The university's name is a pun on the Invisible College, and many aspects of the university are references to Oxford and Cambridge University. The exploits of the head wizards of the Unseen University are one of the main plot threads in the long-running fantasy series, and have played a central role in 13 novels to date, as well as the four supplementary ''Science of Discworld'' novels and the short story, '' A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices''. Motto and Coat of Arms The official motto of Unseen University is "Nunc Id Vides, Nunc Ne Vides", loosely translated as "Now you see it, now you don't". The unofficial motto is "η β π", or "Eta Beta Pi" ("Eat a Bit of Pie" or "Eat a Better Pie" (according to the novel ''Hogfather'')). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albino
Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the terms mean that written reports of albinistic animals can be difficult to verify. Albinism can reduce the survivability of an animal; for example, it has been suggested that albino alligators have an average survival span of only 24 hours due to the lack of protection from UV radiation and their lack of camouflage to avoid predators. It is a common misconception that all albino animals have characteristic pink or red eyes (resulting from the lack of pigment in the iris allowing the blood vessels of the retina to be visible), however this is not the case for some forms of albinism. Familiar albino animals include in-bred strains of laboratory animals (rats, mice and rabbits), but populations of naturally occurring albino animals exist in the wil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Death (Discworld)
Death is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series and a parody of several other personifications of death. Like most Grim Reapers, he is a black-robed skeleton who usually carries a scythe. His jurisdiction is specifically the Discworld itself; he is only a part, or minion, of Azrael: the universal Death. He has been generally used by Pratchett to explore the problems of human existence, and has become more sympathetic throughout the series. Works Death has appeared in every Discworld novel, with the exception of ''The Wee Free Men'' and ''Snuff'', and had a possible cameo at the end of ''Johnny and the Dead'' (the character was not identified, but spoke in unquoted small caps as Death does in the rest of the series). The Discworld books in which Death is a leading character, starting with ''Mort'' in 1987, are: *''Mort'' – 1987 *'' Reaper Man'' – 1991 *''Soul Music'' – 1994 *''Hogfather'' – 1996 *''Thief of Time'' – 2001 Character Death's hollow, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Death Of Rats
Death is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series and a parody of several other Death (personification), personifications of death. Like most Grim Reapers, he is a black-robed skeleton who usually carries a scythe. His jurisdiction is specifically the Discworld itself; he is only a part, or minion, of Azrael: the universal Death. He has been generally used by Pratchett to explore the problems of human existence, and has become more sympathetic throughout the series. Works Death has appeared in every Discworld novel, with the exception of ''The Wee Free Men'' and ''Snuff (Pratchett novel), Snuff'', and had a possible cameo at the end of ''Johnny and the Dead'' (the character was not identified, but spoke in unquoted small caps as Death does in the rest of the series). The Discworld books in which Death is a leading character, starting with ''Mort'' in 1987, are: *''Mort'' – 1987 *''Reaper Man'' – 1991 *''Soul Music (novel), Soul Music'' – 1994 *''Hogfat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rat King (folklore)
A rat king is a collection of rats whose tails are intertwined and bound together in some way. This may be a result of an entangling material like hair, a sticky substance such as sap or gum, or the tails being tied together. Historically, this phenomenon is particularly associated with Germany. A similar phenomenon with squirrels has been observed, which has had modern documented examples. Etymology The original German term, , was calqued into English as ''rat king'', and into French as . The term was not originally used in reference to actual rats, but for persons who lived off others. Conrad Gesner in (1551–58) stated: "Some would have it that the rat waxes mighty in its old age and is fed by its young: this is called the rat king." Martin Luther stated: "finally, there is the Pope, the king of rats right at the top." Later, the term referred to a king sitting on a throne of knotted tails. An alternative theory states that the name in French was (or a spinning whee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Near-death Experience
A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detachment from the body, feelings of levitation, total serenity, security, warmth, the experience of absolute dissolution, and the presence of a light. When negative, such experiences may include sensations of anguish, distress, a void, devastation, and vast emptiness. People often report seeing hellish places and things like their own rendition of "the devil." Explanations for NDEs vary from scientific to religious. Neuroscience research hypothesizes that an NDE is a subjective phenomenon resulting from "disturbed bodily multisensory integration" that occurs during life-threatening events. Some transcendental and religious beliefs about an afterlife include descriptions similar to NDEs. In the U.S., an estimated 9 million people have repo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coursing
Coursing by humans is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight, but not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, the landed and wealthy, as well as by commoners with sighthounds and lurchers. In its oldest recorded form in the Western world, as described by Arrian, it was a sport practised by all levels of society, which remained the case until Carolingian period forest law appropriated hunting grounds, or commons, for the king, the nobility, and other land owners. It then became a formalised competition, specifically on hare in Britain, practised under rules, the ''Laws of the Leash''. As a zoological term, it refers to predation by running down prey over long distances, as opposed to stalking, in which a stealthy approach is followed by a short burst of sprinting. Sport and hunting Animals coursed in hunting and sport include hares, foxes, deer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shoelaces
Shoelaces, also called shoestrings (US English) or bootlaces (UK English), are a system commonly used to secure shoes, boots, and other footwear. They typically consist of a pair of strings or cords, one for each shoe, finished off at both ends with stiff sections, known as aglets. Each shoelace typically passes through a series of holes, eyelets, loops or hooks on either side of the shoe. Loosening the lacing allows the shoe to open wide enough for the foot to be inserted or removed. Tightening the lacing and tying off the ends secures the foot firmly within the shoe. The laces can be tied in different shapes, most commonly a simple bow. Shoelace construction Traditional shoelaces were made of leather, cotton, jute, hemp, or other materials used in the manufacture of rope. Modern shoelaces often incorporate various synthetic fibers, which are generally more slippery and thus more prone to coming undone than those made from traditional fibers. On the other hand, smooth synth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rat Trap
A rat trap is a trap designed to catch rats. Designs are often larger variations on mousetraps. Types of traps Spring traps for large rodents such as rats or squirrels are powerful enough to break the animal's neck or spine. They may break human fingers as well, whereas an ordinary spring-based mousetrap is very unlikely to break a human finger. Rat spring traps may not be sensitive enough to spring when a mouse takes the bait. A ''rat cage trap'' is a metal cage box-shaped device that is designed primarily to catch rats without killing them. Food bait (not poisoned) is put in the cage trap. When an animal enters the cage and moves toward the bait, the mechanism triggers and closes a door over the entry point. The animal is caught alive and without injury. The animal can be transported and released elsewhere or subsequently killed. Glue traps are non-poisonous sticky glue spread over card boards and the like and kept in places rats frequent, which gets them stuck to it whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
