One-minute review: A boy playing joyfully with his dog on the beach. A petulant little girl is upset that Kong, the dog, has collapsed her sand canals as he runs on the beach. The little girl begs her father to buy the dog so she can shoot him. The father keeps upping the ante to the boy who remains steadfast that he will not sell his dog in order to have it killed. At the moment that the price is quite high—a hundred pounds, from a starting price of ten—the little girl breaks into laughter and says that it is just a joke. The boy’s father thinks back to several years ago when he was impoverished. At that time would he have sold the dog?
75 Short Masterpieces: Stories from the World’s Literature. Ed. Roger B. Goodman. New York
This is a terrific story that cuts to the heart of class and art. It's well and good to love nobility and honor once you have a full stomach; without the full stomach, honor is an adornment you can't afford. Great story for teenagers--theme is just at the right level of difficulty.
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