Grammar: Past progressive vs Simple past

Past progressive

• actions in progress at a started time in the past.
  He was driving to work at 9 o'clock yesterday afternoon.
• actions that were happening simultaneosuly in the past.
  Bob was walking while Ben was running to catch the bus.
• past action in progress interrupted by another action. The action that interrupted the action in progress is the simple past.
  Jenny was having a shower when the phone rang.

Simple past

• action that happened at a started time in the past.
  He left yesterday afternoon.
• past actions that happened one after the other.
  She oppened the door, went into the office and walked toward the desk.

Ghost stories: Bloody Mary

She lived deep in the forest in a tiny cottage and sold herbal remedies for a living. Folks living in the town nearby called her Bloody Mary, and said she was a witch. None dared cross the old crone for fear that their cows would go dry, their food-stores rot away before winter, their children take sick of fever, or any number of terrible things that an angry witch could do to her neighbors.

Then the little girls in the village began to disappear, one by one. No one could find out where they had gone. Grief-stricken families searched the woods, the local buildings, and all the houses and barns, but there was no sign of the missing girls. A few brave souls even went to Bloody Mary's home in the woods to see if the witch had taken the girls, but she denied any knowledge of the disappearances. Still, it was noted that her haggard appearance had changed. She looked younger, more attractive. The neighbors were suspicious, but they could find no proof that the witch had taken their young ones.

Then came the night when the daughter of the miller rose from her bed and walked outside, following an enchanted sound no one else could hear. The miller's wife had a toothache and was sitting up in the kitchen treating the tooth with an herbal remedy when her daughter left the house. She screamed for her husband and followed the girl out of the door. The miller came running in his nightshirt. Together, they tried to restrain the girl, but she kept breaking away from them and heading out of town.

The desperate cries of the miller and his wife woke the neighbors. They came to assist the frantic couple. Suddenly, a sharp-eyed farmer gave a shout and pointed towards a strange light at the edge of the woods. A few townsmen followed him out into the field and saw Bloody Mary standing beside a large oak tree, holding a magic wand that was pointed towards the miller's house. She was glowing with an unearthly light as she set her evil spell upon the miller's daughter.

The townsmen grabbed their guns and their pitchforks and ran toward the witch. When she heard the commotion, Bloody Mary broke off her spell and fled back into the woods. The far-sighted farmer had loaded his gun with silver bullets in case the witch ever came after his daughter. Now he took aim and shot at her. The bullet hit Bloody Mary in the hip and she fell to the ground. The angry townsmen leapt upon her and carried her back into the field, where they built a huge bonfire and burned her at the stake.

As she burned, Bloody Mary screamed a curse at the villagers. If anyone mentioned her name aloud before a mirror, she would send her spirit to revenge herself upon them for her terrible death. When she was dead, the villagers went to the house in the wood and found the unmarked graves of the little girls the evil witch had murdered. She had used their blood to make her young again.

From that day to this, anyone foolish enough to chant Bloody Mary's name three times before a darkened mirror will summon the vengeful spirit of the witch. It is said that she will tear their bodies to pieces and rip their souls from their mutilated bodies. The souls of these unfortunate ones will burn in torment as Bloody Mary once was burned, and they will be trapped forever in the mirror.

Past Progressive

Form: was/were + main verb + -ing

Use: We use the past progressive to talk about actions in progress at a certain time in the past

Affirmative: 

I was running.

You were running.

He/She/It was running.

We/You/They were running.

Negative:

I wasn't running.

You weren't running.

He/She/It wasn't running.

We/You/Trey weren't running.

Time expressions used with the past progressive:

while, when, as, all day/night/morning yesterday, etc.

Spelling

• verb + -ing work - working
• verb - e + -ing dance - dancing
• one syllable verb ending in vowel + consonant -> double consonant + -ing sit - sitting
• a stressed vowel between two consonants -> double consonant + -ing begin - beginning BUT travel - traveling

Legendary creatures: Xiezhi or Haetae.

Xiezhi or Haetae is a legendary creature in Chinese and Korean mythology.

China

Mentions of the xiezhi in Chinese literature can be traced back to the Han Dynasty, where it is described by the scholar Yang Fu as a "righteous beast, which rams the wrong party when it sees a fight, and bites the wrong party when it hears an argument". It is also described in the Shuowen Jiezi as being "a cattle-like beast with one horn; in ancient times, it settled disputes by ramming the party at fault".

As an inherently just beast, the xiezhi was used as a symbol of justice and law. The Censorate of the Ming and Qing eras, who were responsible for the monitoring of the civil service, wore the xiezhi as a badge of office. Similarly, military policemen of the Republic of China wear badges bearing the xiezhi, and it is engraved on the gavels in the law courts of the People's Republic of China.

Korea

According to Korean records, Haetae's body is shaped like a lion and it has a horn on its forehead. It has a bell in its neck,and its body is covered with scales.It lives in the frontier areas of Manchuria.

In ancient Korea, Haetae sculptures were used in architecture during the early Joseon dynasty, as their image was trusted to be able to protect Hanyang (now Seoul) from natural disasters and to give law and order among the populace. Seoul city has officially used Haechi (origin of Haetae) as the symbol of Seoul since 2009.

In English, it is called "the Unicorn-lion"or "an omniscient mythical beast."