Showing results for "Jumping" in Literature & Fiction

Mark Twain’s "The Jumping Frog", also know as The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is one of America’s most beloved humorous short stories—a tale brimming with wit, mischief, and the charm of small-town life. When a visiting stranger hears the outlandish story of a gambler and his extraordinary frog, “Dan’l Webster,” he’s drawn into a web of good-natured trickery and tall-tale tradition. Twain’s keen ear for dialect and his playful satire of human gullibility make this story a timeless piece of frontier folklore.

An 1865 short story by Mark Twain. It was his first great success as a writer and brought him national attention. In it, the narrator retells a story he heard from a bartender, Simon Wheeler, at the Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, about the gambler Jim Smiley.

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 hilarious classic by America's favorite author, Mark Twain tells the wry tale of a big frog jumping contest and the controversial outcome that results.

"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is an 1865 short story by Mark Twain. It was his first great success as a writer and brought him national attention. The story has also been published as "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" (its original title) and "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County". In it, the narrator retells a story he heard from a bartender, Simon Wheeler, at the Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, about the gambler Jim Smiley.