The Indians of the Arawak tribe were waiting for the migration of the ducks but sword-wielding strangers showed up. Under Christopher Columbus’s command, they had an assignment by the Spanish kingdom to capture a lot of Indians and take them to Spain for slavery, and also, extract large amounts of gold and jewelry from their land. A thousand and five hundred Indians were captured and thrown into large cages aboard ships, and with huge amounts of gold and jewelry extracted from their mines, they set sail for Spain. In Spain, these Indians were forced to do hard labor and any of them who refused to do so would have his hands cut off. Then, the Spaniards attacked the Aztec tribe. The Indians thought they could give away gifts to prevent them from invading their land. So, they gave them the gold they had gathered. But the Spanish who were intoxicated by seeing so much gold sought gold mines. It was not long after the Spanish arrival to the land when the kings of other European countries decided to plunder the gold mines of the Indian lands. The Indians were suffering a strange and dire fate when . . . The present book contains 22 short and simple stories about the exploitation of Indians by American and European colonists. The author has attempted to retell and narrate some parts of the history of Indian tribal life in the form of a story to inform the adolescent audience about the ancient history of Indians and the atrocities that have been imposed on them by the looters throughout history. The book, besides its educational purpose, has provided short readable stories. Since the author himself is a historian, he has provided credible and documented information using authentic historical references. Book Expert: On his second trip to the Americas in 1496 A.D., Christopher Columbus again invaded the gentle Arawaks and hunted for slaves. A thousand and five hundred Arawak Indians, including men, women, and children; were captured and imprisoned in large cages. Then, five hundred of them were selected and transported to the ship. Of this five hundred, two hundred died during the sea voyage. The rest arrived in Spain and were kept in large cages to be sold.

Mehdi Mirkiaei (1973-Tehran) Mehdi Mirkiaei is a contemporary writer and scholar who is also an academic of Allameh Tabataba’i University. He began his literary career by penning stories for children, but later expanded his activities by attaining an academic certificate in history. In the years after the Islamic Revolution, Mirkiaei’s works gained the attention of many literary critics and award juries and beside the book of the year award, he managed to nab a variety of literary awards including the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults’ book of the year award and the Council for Children’s Books’ book of the year award. Furthermore, two translations of his works have been published in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some of his Books: -Legend of the Marble Lair (Afsaneye Laneye Marmarin). Tehran: Shabaviz, 2004 -The Song of the Charred Tree (Avaz-e Derakht-e Sookhteh). Tehran: Taka, 2010 -Fire and Water (Ab o Atash). Tehran: Amir Kabir, 2015 -Let’s Write a Story (Biaid Dastan Benevisim). Tehran: Talaee, 2015