Short Stories (Mark Twain)

The Signet Classic Book of Mark Twain's Short Stories

The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

by Mark Twain

“In compliance with the request of a friend of mine, who wrote me from the east, I called on good-natured, garrulous old Simon Wheeler, and inquired after my friends friend, Leonidas W. Smiley, as requested to do, and I hereunto append the results.”

Simon Wheeler was asked if he knew a Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley.  Simon never smiles nor frowns when he answers back that there used to be a Jim Smiley who lived there back in ’49 or ’50.  He then proceeds to tell the story of Jim Smiley who would make a bet on anything.  He would bet on a horse race, dog-fight, cat fight, or a chicken fight.  He had even been to known to bet on how far a bug would travel.  If something could be bet on, he bet on it.

One day Jim Smiley be this man that his frog could out jump any other frog in Calaveras County.  While Jim is out searching for the man a frog to use, the man does something that ensures this is one bet that Jim Smiley won’t be winning.

The Story of the Bad Little Boy

“Once there was a bad little boy whose name was Jim-though, if you will notice, you will find that bad little boys are nearly always called James in your Sunday school books.  It was strange, but still it was true, that this one was called Jim.”

Jim really had no excuse for the way he acted.  His mother wasn’t sick like a lot of bad little boy’s mothers were.  In fact Jim was so bad that his mother didn’t care if he broke his neck.  She never kissed him goodnight but instead she spanked him and boxed his ears.

Jim could steal apples from the neighbors orchard and never get hurt by falling out of the trees like other bad little boys.  In fact nothing bad ever happened to Jim.  Where other bad little boys would go fishing or boating on Sunday would either drown or get hit by lightning,  Jim on the other hand would enjoy a nice day of fishing or boating.

Jim would finally grow up, marry and have a very large family.  Jim murdered his whole family.  Still he was respected by everyone.  This Jim lived a charmed life.