The story opens with Mrs. Pumphrey, a wealthy and excessively pampering lady, bringing her pet dog, Tricki, to the veterinary surgeon, Mr. James Herriot. Tricki is gravely ill, appearing bloated and listless. Mr. Herriot immediately diagnoses the problem: Tricki's condition is due to overfeeding and lack of exercise. He knows that the only way to save Tricki is to admit him to his surgery for proper care, despite Mrs. Pumphrey’s reluctance and emotional attachment. Tricki is admitted and for the first two days, Mr. Herriot gives him no food, only plenty of water, allowing the dog to recover naturally. Gradually, Tricki is introduced to a strict diet and allowed to socialize and play with the other dogs in the surgery. He slowly regains his energy, becomes active, and starts enjoying physical activity. Mrs. Pumphrey, meanwhile, is distraught and constantly calls for updates, sending over luxuries like eggs, wine, and brandy, which Mr. Herriot and his staff enjoy themselves, knowing they are detrimental to Tricki. After a fortnight, Tricki is completely transformed into a lean, hard-muscled dog. Mrs. Pumphrey collects him, overjoyed at his recovery, and declares his recovery a "triumph of surgery," unaware that it was simply due to controlled diet and exercise, not a complex medical procedure.

The story is narrated by Hari Singh, a fifteen-year-old experienced thief who changes his name monthly to evade the police. He approaches Anil, a twenty-five-year-old struggling writer, with the intention of robbing him. Anil, a kind and easygoing person, hires Hari as a cook and teaches him how to cook, write his name, and even do simple addition. Hari enjoys the trust Anil places in him, even though he often makes a small profit by short-changing Anil on daily purchases. One day, Anil brings home a small wad of notes, having sold a book. Hari, seeing this opportunity, steals the money while Anil is asleep and flees. However, as he walks away, a feeling of remorse and the thought of Anil's kindness and the education he was receiving begin to weigh on him. He realizes that education could make him a far more successful and respectable man than stealing ever could. Unable to bring himself to board a train, he returns to Anil's house, silently slipping the money back under the mattress. The next morning, Anil offers him a fifty-rupee note, which is still wet from the rain, indicating Anil knew about the theft but chose to forgive and offer another chance. Hari feels a surge of gratitude and understanding, realizing Anil's gesture of forgiveness and belief in his potential.

The story introduces Ausable, a seemingly ordinary and rather portly secret agent, who defies the stereotypical image of a glamorous spy. He meets a young writer, Fowler, who has come to meet him, hoping for thrills and adventure. Fowler is initially disappointed by Ausable’s mundane appearance and small, dusty room. Suddenly, they find Max, another secret agent, in Ausable’s room, pointing a pistol. Max is there to steal a report about new missiles, which he believes Ausable possesses. Ausable, with remarkable presence of mind, calmly invents a story about a balcony outside his window, complaining that it has been a nuisance as people have used it to enter his room before. He tells Max that the police are coming to check on him (another fabricated detail). A knock then comes at the door. Max, panicked and believing it to be the police, attempts to escape through the non-existent balcony, falling to his presumed death from the sixth floor. Ausable then reveals to a stunned Fowler that the 'police' were merely the waiter bringing his ordered drinks, and there was no balcony, effectively outwitting Max with his clever deception.

The story revolves around Horace Danby, a fifty-year-old, seemingly respectable locksmith who suffers from hay fever. He is a good and honest citizen, but for one crucial flaw: he robs a safe once a year to finance his passion for rare and expensive books. He meticulously plans his annual heist. This year, his target is a wealthy house at Shotover Grange. He thoroughly researches the house's layout, its wiring, and the location of the safe. On the night of the robbery, he disables the alarm system and is about to open the safe when he encounters a young, elegant lady dressed in red. She claims to be the owner of the house, having returned unexpectedly. Horace, initially startled, attempts to convince her that he is a friend of the owner or a professional, but she outsmarts him. She claims she has forgotten the safe's number combination and needs his help to open it, promising to let him go if he does so. Gullible and eager to avoid trouble, Horace opens the safe for her without wearing his gloves, leaving his fingerprints everywhere. A few days later, he is arrested by the police. The 'owner' he encountered was, in fact, another, more seasoned female thief who used Horace to open the safe for her. He had fallen victim to a clever trick and was caught because of his own 'question of trust.'

The story begins with two boys in London discovering fresh muddy footprints on the stairs of a house, but no sign of the person who made them. This leads them on a curious chase until the footprints disappear. This mysterious phenomenon is attributed to Griffin, a brilliant but eccentric scientist. Griffin has discovered a drug that can make the human body invisible, causing light rays to pass through it. However, he is a lawless and unethical person. Having set his landlord's house on fire in a fit of rage, he swallows his concoction to escape, becoming invisible but also naked in the cold London winter. He enters a London store, dresses himself in clothes from the shop, and eats, then escapes after attacking the shopkeeper. He then goes to a theatrical company's shop to get more clothes to hide his invisibility, where he steals bandages, dark glasses, a false nose, side whiskers, and a large hat. He then assaults the shopkeeper and robs him. To escape the crowded city, he travels to the isolated village of Iping. At the inn, his strange appearance and unexplained payments arouse suspicion. When the innkeeper, Mrs. Hall, attempts to investigate his room, he becomes furious, throws furniture around, and reveals his invisibility, terrifying everyone. He then escapes to a nearby science laboratory of a local college. He continues his criminal activities, robbing people and assaulting them. When cornered by a village constable, Mr. Jaffers, he sheds his clothes piece by piece, becoming completely invisible, and escapes, leaving the constable fighting an unseen enemy, and the village in chaos.

The story traces the inspiring journey of Richard Ebright, a brilliant scientist, from a curious child to a renowned biologist. Ebright’s scientific journey began in his childhood in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he was a keen observer and collector of various objects like rocks, fossils, coins, and butterflies. His mother played a crucial role in nurturing his curiosity, providing him with a children's book, 'The Travels of Monarch X,' which ignited his passion for butterflies. This book encouraged him to tag butterflies for research, leading him to realize that butterfly migration was a complex topic requiring serious scientific inquiry. He entered a county science fair, but initially, his entries of slide preparations of frog tissues were disappointing. This spurred him to conduct real experiments. He began studying monarch butterflies and their life cycle, leading to his discovery of a hormone that controls their growth and the tiny gold spots on their pupa being responsible for hormone production. This research eventually led to his theory on how cells read their DNA, a groundbreaking concept. The chapter highlights that Ebright’s success wasn't just due to intelligence but also his mother's support, his persistent curiosity, his competitive spirit, and his willingness to conduct rigorous experiments. He also had a strong interest in public speaking and debates.

The story is set in 19th-century Paris and revolves around Mathilde Loisel, a beautiful young woman who is constantly dissatisfied with her humble life. She believes she was born for luxury and suffers from a perpetual sense of envy and poverty, despite her husband, Monsieur Loisel, being a hardworking, modest clerk. Mathilde dreams of a lavish lifestyle and yearns for the glamour of high society. One day, her husband proudly brings home an invitation to a grand ball hosted by the Minister of Public Instruction. Instead of being thrilled, Mathilde is distressed, claiming she has nothing suitable to wear. Her husband sacrifices his savings to buy her a dress. Then, she worries about lacking jewels. On her husband's suggestion, she borrows a magnificent diamond necklace from her wealthy friend, Madame Forestier. Mathilde attends the ball and enjoys herself immensely, feeling beautiful and admired. However, upon returning home, she discovers the necklace is lost. Devastated, they search frantically but find nothing. Fearing Madame Forestier's wrath, they decide to replace the necklace. They mortgage their future, borrow heavily, and buy a similar-looking diamond necklace for thirty-six thousand francs, which cripples them financially. For the next ten years, the Loisels endure a life of abject poverty, working tirelessly to repay their debts. Mathilde ages prematurely, losing her beauty and charm, while her husband takes on extra jobs. After a decade of immense suffering and sacrifice, Mathilde encounters Madame Forestier by chance. Mathilde, now looking old and haggard, reveals the truth about replacing the lost necklace. Madame Forestier, genuinely surprised, then reveals the devastating truth: the original necklace was a fake, made of paste (imitation jewels), and worth no more than five hundred francs.

The narrator, a young and inexperienced junior assistant clerk from the city, is sent to the country town of New Mullion to serve a summons to a man named Oliver Lutkins, a key witness in a legal case. The narrator finds the town rather dull. At the station, he meets a cheerful, friendly hack driver named Bill Magnuson, who offers to help him find Lutkins. Bill presents himself as a local who knows everyone and claims Lutkins is a notorious character, always hard to find. Bill takes the narrator on a long, expensive, and fruitless chase, visiting various places where Lutkins supposedly hangs out—a barber shop, a poolroom, a restaurant, Lutkins' mother's farm—always narrowly missing Lutkins, according to Bill. Bill, meanwhile, subtly extracts information from the narrator and enjoys the free meal and the ride. Throughout the day, Bill paints a vivid, humorous, and sometimes critical picture of Lutkins. By the end of the day, having spent a lot of money and found no one, the narrator returns to the city feeling frustrated and foolish. The next day, his chief scolds him and sends him back with a senior colleague who knows Lutkins. To the narrator's utter astonishment, his colleague immediately identifies the cheerful hack driver, Bill, as none other than Oliver Lutkins himself, who was duping him all along.

Bholi, whose real name is Sulekha, is the fourth daughter of Ramlal, a prosperous farmer in a small village. From childhood, she is an unfortunate child: at ten months old, she falls from a cot, damaging a part of her brain, making her a 'simpleton.' At two years old, she contracts smallpox, leaving her body disfigured with pockmarks and her face permanently scarred. Her stammer also makes her the subject of ridicule, earning her the name Bholi (meaning 'simpleton'). Unlike her siblings, she is neglected by her parents and often criticized. When a primary school for girls opens in the village, the Tehsildar (revenue officer) persuades Ramlal to send his daughters to school to set an example. Ramlal, reluctantly, decides to send Bholi, as she is considered a burden and less likely to find a good husband anyway. At school, Bholi is initially terrified and struggles to speak. However, her teacher, a kind and understanding woman, encourages her, listens patiently, and helps her overcome her stammer and gain confidence. Years pass, and Bholi transforms into a confident, educated young woman. Ramlal arranges her marriage to Bishamber Nath, a rich but elderly, lame man who also limps and has grown-up children. On the wedding day, Bishamber demands a dowry of five thousand rupees upon seeing Bholi's pock-marked face. Bholi, now empowered, refuses to marry such a greedy, contemptible man, despite her father's pleas and the family's humiliation. She announces her decision to serve her parents in their old age and teach in the same school that gave her a new life. Her brave act shocks everyone, and her teacher is proud of her.

This humorous one-act play is set in the 25th century, in the Museum of Ancient History. The historian, addressing the audience, introduces the '20th Century,' which she describes as the 'Era of the Book.' She then recounts a hilarious historical event from the year 2040, when Earth was almost invaded by Martians. The invasion was led by the pompous and egocentric Commander Think-Tank, who believes himself to be the most intelligent being in the universe. Accompanied by his apprentice, Noodle, and Captain Omega, Lieutenant Iota, and Sergeant Oop, Think-Tank lands on Earth, specifically in a public library, which they mistake for a 'storehouse of odd items.' They pick up a book, which they cannot identify. Thinking it's a sandwich, Think-Tank orders his crew to eat it. When they realize it's not food, Think-Tank orders them to decipher it. They use vitamins to increase their intelligence to read the book. The book they are trying to read is 'Mother Goose,' a collection of nursery rhymes. They misinterpret the rhymes wildly. For example, 'Mistress Mary, Quite Contrary' makes Think-Tank think Earthlings have developed agriculture and mining. The rhyme 'Humpty Dumpty' with its image of Humpty Dumpty falling and breaking, particularly alarms Think-Tank, as he mistakenly believes Humpty Dumpty resembles him and that Earthlings have discovered him and plan to capture him. Terrified by these misinterpretations, Think-Tank frantically aborts the invasion and orders his fleet to retreat to Mars. The historian concludes by stating that this seemingly simple nursery rhyme book inadvertently saved Earth from a Martian invasion, leading to Martians establishing friendly relations with Earth a century later.