The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Stories

Summary

Originally published in 1865, “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” began Mark Twain’s remarkable career and immediately demonstrated his masterful storytelling and brilliant sense of humor.

This delightful tale introduces Jim Smiley, a man who loved to gamble, whether on horse races, dogfights, catfights, or even how long it took bugs to cross the Mexican border. When a gullible stranger came to town, Smiley boasted that his pet frog, Dan’l Webster, could outjump any frog in the county. Smiley, figuring it would be easy money, eagerly made a bet with the stranger, who had a secret plan to stop Dan’l in his tracks.

This wickedly funny collection also includes several of Twain’s other great short stories, including “A True Story,” “Jim Baker’s Blue-jay Yarn,” “The Private History of a Campaign That Failed,” “Extracts from Adam's Diary,” “Eve's Diary,” “The 1,000,000 Bank-Note,” and “How to Tell a Story.”