Showing results for "Frog" in Anthologies

First published in an 1849 edition of The Flag of Our Union, "Hop-Frog" is a revenge tale akin to "The Cask of Amontillado". Told from the perspective of a crippled jester who was taken from his homeland and has been abused by the king he serves, the story focuses on the revenge Hop-Frog takes after the king strikes his fellow countrywoman and performer, the dancer Trippetta.

Hop-Frog, a crippled court jester, endures indignities at the hands of a temperamental king and his ministers. But when the king brutalizes Hop-Frog's love, Tripetta, the jester plots revenge.

"Hop-Frog" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1849. The title character is a dwarf taken from his homeland who becomes the jester of a king particularly fond of practical jokes. Taking revenge on the king and his cabinet for striking his friend and fellow dwarf Trippetta, he dresses them as orangutans for a masquerade. In front of the king's guests, Hop-Frog murders them all by setting their costumes on fire before escaping with Trippetta.

According to an LA Times, May 14, 2014 article, the following entry came from a notebook of a gold-seeking prospector, Samuel Clemens, in 1864. "Coleman with his jumping frog - bet stranger $50... - stranger had no frog & C got him one - in the meantime stranger filled C's frog full of shot and he couldn't jump - the stranger's frog won." Little did Clemens know that this would be the source for his short story that would launch his career as one of America's greatest authors.

This is a story within a story by Mark Twain. The one within is the tale of the gambler Jim Smiley and his jumping frog Dan’l. After many winning bets on Dan’l’s jumping ability, a cunning stranger comes along and that day Jim loses.

In Gold Rush-era California, Jim Smiley, a minor who loves to gamble and will bet on anything, obtains a frog. Sniley spends three months training this talented amphibian athlete to become a champion jumper. Smiley finds his mark in the form of a stranger who comes to town and shows an interest in the frog, and would love to bet but if he could find his own frog. "No problem, you hold my frog and I'll go find a frog for you." When hustler meets hustler, the results can be interesting. You might say Smiley didn't know his frog was loaded.

This is a story from the Classic American Short Stories collection.

Leonidas W. Smiley would bet on anything. Horse races, dog fights, cat fights, chicken fights - all were fair game to the gambling nature of Smiley. But he meets his match when a stranger comes into town, and puts his champion jumping frog to the test.

Here are 10 unabridged stories by the greatest American authors. These treasured stories from the most influential authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries were selected for their literary importance as well as their dramatic oral qualities.

Here are five of Mark Twain's best short stories, including "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" - classic humor from the author of Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, and other great American novels.