Guy de Maupassant

A French author of many short stories.

“The Necklace”

Madame Forestier lets the protagonist borrow the necklace to wear at a ball.

“The Ball of Fat”

The protagonist, the “ball of fat” (boule de suif) shares a picnic basket with her companions in a stage coat. Cornudet whistles Le Marseillase as she weeps at the end.

“Madamoiselle Fifi”

Villagers suggest that a church bell is bewitched because it rings at random times.

“Le Horla”

A young man is haunted by “Le Horla”, a vampire-like creature after waving at a Brazilian ship.

The Umbrella

En Famille

Le Rendezvous

Une Vie

Bel-Ami

Pierre et Jean

The Accursed Bread

Daddy Taille is the main character. Touchard the cooper asks for his daughter Rose’s hand. Touchard sings the title song at the wedding dinner. They were going to have the wedding somewhere else, but his estranged daughter Anna comes back and offers a venue and everything paid for. Touchard sings the title song at the wedding dinner. It talks about bread gained dishonestly, specifically by women in a certain profession. Turns out Anna was in that profession. Everyone cries.