1 . Kathleen Rooney knew that writing Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey, from the point of view of a pigeon, was a risk. Rooney, perhaps best known for her 2017 bestseller, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, says her interest in a feathered narrator was excited by one of her students at DePaul University, where she is an English professor. “A student named Brian mentioned Cher Ami in a poem. It blew my mind that this pigeon was so heroic and is stuffed and on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.”

Rooney learned that Cher Ami, a British homing pigeon, helped save a group of American troops during a horrific, multi-day World War I battle. The story of this amazing pigeon and the extraordinary man who commanded the battle, Major Charles Whittlesey, was altogether attractive.

In Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey, Charles reflects on his happier prewar days in New York City, where he ran a law firm with a college classmate. When it came time for battle, though, he and his fellows found themselves cut off from supply lines, surrounded by enemy German troops.

Carrier pigeons were the group’s only hope of contacting headquarters and getting the other Americans to stop dropping bombs on them. Cher Ami flew through gunfire to deliver Charles' message, which finally stopped the attack. She lost an eye and a leg, among other wounds, but was eventually able to hobble (蹒跚) on a tiny wooden prosthesis (义肢) that the Army made for her. She lived another year before dying of her injuries in 1919, but in the novel she continues speaking to readers behind glass in the Smithsonian where she’s been since her death.

There’s an interesting lesson to be learned from Charles’ decisions in the battle, too. “He was famous for something we’d describe as passive,” Rooney says. “Once they were in the pocket, he waited as long as he could. I’m an impatient, active person ... His act was stillness, waiting, keeping everybody’s spirits up. The way he did that was amazing.”

Rooney also hopes the book, with its portrayal of the charming and brave Cher Ami, will boost the appreciation of our furry and feathered friends.

3 . August or "Auggie" Pullman, a ten-year-old boy living in New York City, was born with a facial deformity(畸形) that has made it difficult for him to make friends. He has been homeschooled up until fifth grade, but his parents have decided that it is time for him to go to real school. They send him to Beecher Prep, neighborhood private school, and take him to meet the headmaster, Mr. Tushman. While August is there, some of the kids take him on a tour of the school; one of them, Jack Will, is nice, but another, Julian, is noticeably rude. Jack is nice to him, and August believes he has found a friend.

August's classmates slowly get used to the way his face looks. He is friendly to others and performs well in class. August becomes friends with Jack, and with a girl named Summer who sits with him at lunch on the first day. However, things get worse on Halloween, August's favorite day of the year, when August overhears Jack say to Julian and some other boys that he would kill himself if he looked like August. He also says he is only nice to August because Mr. Tushman asked him to be. Jack is completely unaware that August himself is sitting nearby. August gets hurt deeply and stops talking to Jack. When Jack finds the truth, he feels guilty(内疚的) about being mean. He really does want to be friends with August. One day, Jack hits Julian for saying mean things about August. After that, Jack and August become friends and start eating lunch together with Summer.

At wilderness camp, August is attacked by a group of seventh graders in order to protect Jack. Public opinion swings in favor of August. In the end,August wins the Henry Ward Beecher medal, a special award for courage and kindness. August is amazed that he survived fifth grade. His. friends and family make him feel like a regular kid. The novel ends with his mother whispering in his ear, calling him a “wonder”.

4 . “My wife's locked in,” explained Wilson calmly, “she's going to stay there till we move away.”

Michaelis was surprised to hear words like those from his neighbor. He tried to find out what had happened, but Wilson didn't want to explain. After seven he heard Mrs. Wilson's voice, loud and angry, downstairs in the garage. She was shouting at her husband.

A moment later she ran out into the dark night. Before Michaelis could do anything, it was over.

The car, as reported, didn't stop. Michaelis wasn't even sure of its color. He told the policeman later that it was light green. Another car heading for New York stopped and its driver hurried back to where Mrs. Wilson lay dead in the road.

“Crash！” said Tom “Good. Wilson'll have some business.”

He stopped at the garage.

“We'll take a look,” he said.

A wailing (恸哭) sound was coming from the garage — it was Wilson. “Oh, my god!” he cried over and over again.

“There's some bad trouble here,”said Tom, trying to look over the heads of the crowd.

Suddenly he made a strange sound and started pushing through the people. Jordan and I followed. Mrs. Wilson's body lay in a blanket on a table by the wall. Tom was bending over her. Tom turned to the policeman, “What happened？”

“A car hit her. She was killed instantly.”

“Killed instantly,” repeated Tom.

“She ran into the road,” said Michaelis. “There were two cars. The one coming from New York hit her.”

Another man said, “It was a big, new, yellow car.”

“Did you see the accident?”

“No, but the car passed me down the road. It was going very fast.”

Some of this conversation reached Wilson.

“You don't have to tell me！I know what kind of car it was!” he shouted.

The muscles in Tom's shoulders tensed. He walked over to Wilson and took hold of him.

“Pull yourself together,” he said quietly. “I got here a minute ago, from New York. I was bringing you that coupe (敞篷车). That yellow car I was driving this afternoon wasn't mine.”

5 . Throughout history, people have promoted stories of curse. Here are some famous ones.

King Tut's Curse

In 1923, a British archaeological team opened the tomb of "King Tut". Two months later, when the team's sponsor died from a bacterial infection, British newspapers claimed that was because of "King Tut's curse". Whenever other members of the team died, the media mentioned the curse gain.

Though it's not clear how many people took the curses seriously, these stories became popular subjects for some horror movies and comedies.

The Curse of the Polish King's tomb

In 1973, a group of archaeologists opened the tomb of Polish king Casimir IV in Poland. European media covered the great event, and the researchers joked they were risking a curse on the tomb by opening it.

When some team members began to die shortly after, some media suspected it was due to a curse. Later, experts discovered traces of deadly bacteria inside the tomb that could cause lung illnesses when breathed in.

The Curse of Tippecanoe

In the mid-20th century, US media began to note a pattern that, starting with Harrison and ending with Kennedy, every 20years the country elected a president to die in office.

Believe It or Not claimed the "pattern" was due to a curse placed by the chief of Shawnee, Tecumseh, on Harrison and future presidents after Harrison's troops defeated Tecumseh's at the battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. This story bears a similarity to other "curses" in US books and movies about disturbing Native burial grounds.

6 . Located in the Bahamas, Andros Island is also known as “The Sleeping Giant”，yet with only about 8.000 people living on it. Now the island has a new luxury resort Caerula Mar Club- which opened this February. The once-abandoned property was discovered by a well- known HGTV reality star couple who transformed it into a hotel. The Canadian design duo Bryan and Sarah Baeumler were vacationing in the Bahamas in the summer of 2017 when they discovered a once-abandoned resort. They instantly decided to purchase it with hopes to transform the 10-acre beachfront property into a luxury hotel.

However, they had no idea how much the investment would end up costing them. Here most supplies had to be shipped in, and the property was in bad shape. The budget for the remodelling should be around $ 4 million, but they've spent well over $ 10 million. What's worse, in the fall of 2019, category 5 Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas, and their employees and friends were affected.

Finally, several months later, as they prepared to open the resort to the public, the Coronavirus pandemic （大流行病）struck. They'd just been fully booked throughout the fall and winter months when the new disaster stopped everything as the Bahamas were put on lockdown.

With tourism opening up again, new plans are now for an October launch, but they're just taking things one day at a time. "I think at the end of this pandemic, well find many people are searching for a different experience，” says Bryan. "Instead of crowding into large resorts, they'll be going to properties where they can meet people, connect with the locals and experience nature. Our hotel is just such a place.”

Now the couple is focusing on the future while creating new development for visitors. “We certainly have plans to responsibly and sustainably develop the island that will help support the local economy says Bryan.