Short Stories

 A Cup of Tea 

Katherine Mansfield

Rosemary Fell, a wealthy young married to Istat and woman, goes to Curzon Street to shop at a florist's and in an antique shop (in which she admires, but does not buy, a beautifully painted small ceramic box). Before going to the car, Rosemary is approached by Miss Smith, a poor girl who asks for enough money to buy tea. Instead, Rosemary drives the girl to her plush house, determined to show her "that dreams do come true" and "that rich people did have hearts." At the Fells' home, Miss Smith eats her fill of food and tea. She then begins to tell Rosemary of her life until Rosemary's husband, Philip, comes in. Although initially surprised, Philip recovers and asks to speak to Rosemary alone.

In the library, Philip conveys his disapproval. When Rosemary resists dismissing Miss Smith, Philip tries another, more successful, tactic: He plays to Rosemary's jealousy and insecurity by telling her how pretty he thinks Miss Smith is. Rosemary retrieves three-pound notes and, presumably, sends the girl away (a far cry from Rosemary's first vow to "look after" and "be frightfully nice to" Miss Smith). Later, Rosemary goes to her husband and informs him that "Miss Smith won't dine with us tonight." She first asks about the antique box from the morning, but then arrives at her true concern, quietly asking Philip, "Am I pretty?" The story ends with this question.

The Nightingale and Rose 

The Nightingale and the Rose’ is about a Student who is in love with a woman, a Professor’s daughter. She has told him she will dance with him if he brings her red roses, but the Student’s garden does not contain any roses. The Nightingale listens to the lovelorn student lamenting his hopeless love, and feels sorry for him. She knows how rare true love is, and she knows it when she sees it. The Prince is giving a ball the following night, but although the Student and the woman he loves will both be there, she will not dance with him without a red rose.

A Lizard, a Butterfly, and a Daisy all tell the Nightingale that it’s ridiculous that the young Student is weeping over a red rose, but the Nightingale sympathises with him. She flies to a nearby grass-plot and asks the Rose-tree to give her a red rose, and in exchange she will sing for it. But the Rose-tree says it produces only white roses, so cannot give her what she wants. It suggests going to the Rose-tree by the sun-dial.

The Nightingale proposes the same deal with this tree, but it replies that it only produces yellow roses, so cannot help. However, it directs her to the Rose-tree right under the student’s window. However, although this Rose-tree does produce red roses, the winter has frozen its branches and it cannot produce any.

The Nightingale asks if there is any way she can get one red rose for the Student. The tree replies that the only way of producing a red rose is for the Nightingale to sing by moonlight while allowing a thorn to pierce her heart, so her blood seeps through to the tree and produces a red rose. The Nightingale agrees to this, because she believes Love to be more valuable than Life, and a human heart more precious than hers.

She goes and tells the forlorn Student what she is going to do, but he doesn’t understand her, because he only understands things written down in books. The Oak-tree, in which the Nightingale has built her nest, does understand her words, however, and requests one last song from the Nightingale. She sings, but the Student, taking out his notebook, is rather unimpressed, because the bird’s song has no practical use.

That night, the Nightingale sings with her heart against the thorn, until it eventually pierces her heart while she sings of love. Her heart’s blood seeps into the tree and produces a red rose, but by the time the flower is formed the Nightingale has died.

The next morning, the Student opens his window and sees the red rose on the tree, and believes that it is there thanks to mere good luck. Plucking the rose, he goes to the house where his sweetheart lives, and presents her with the red rose. But another suitor, the Chamberlain’s nephew, has sent her jewels, which are more valuable than flowers, so she says she will dance with him instead at the ball that night.

The Student denounces the girl for her fickleness, and she calls him rude. He throws the red rose into the gutter, where a cart rolls over it. As he walks home, he decides to reject Love in favour of Logic and Philosophy, which have a more practical use.

The trunk of Ganesha

The trunk of Ganesha is a short story by an Indian writer Jayant Mahapatra. It is a story of an idol maker who finds himself in trouble in completing idol of Ganesha. Because strangely trunk was breaking every time. In the end mystery is solved.

Govinda is a skilled idol maker. He had learned this skill from his father who has learned from his father. He was living with his wife Sulochana and three son. Two of his sons were not interested in idol making but his younger son Ranju was learning this skill from his father. Govinda was happy for that.

Govinda was best idol maker in his valley and so Sulochana was proud for her husband. But now one strange thing had started happening. Govinda was working on idol of lord Ganesha but could not complete it because for some reason its trunk was breaking every time. He finish it at day but when night passes, in the morning they find the trunk broken. They couldn't find out why? Govinda starts to think about possible reasons. He thinks about clay, it's weight but all was right. Then he thinks that God must have angry with him. He has been making idols eye catching. He had started making figures of goddesses slim. He thought because of this God maybe was angry on him. He also thinks about price. He may be taking more cost for his idols.

And one day he determines to find out truth behind this mystery. He and his son decided to hide themselves in corner of the room where idol of Ganesha is. After finishing idol, they hided themselves. They wait for so long but nothing has happened. Ranju falls asleep. Suddenly Govinda sees one dark shadow in the window. It moves and jumps on the trunk of Ganesha. It was cat who at the night used to slide over the Ganesha's trunk and break it. Govinda feels great relief.

So, the story ends in witty way.

The Sage of Tarungiri & Seven Old seekers

This is a short story by Indian writer Manoj Das.

The seven old friends were sitting in the club house discussing their problems. Judge Jekyl, Lall, Khanna, Tapan, Mishra and others.

When Lall mentions weeping in his talk, Tapan remembers Tukan baba. He says that the Baba is the greatest weeper he know. He will weeps all the twenty four hours. Khanna askas Tapan if he has ever met Tukan baba? Tapan replies that he had passed short time with him twenty years ago.

He was director of the state forestry. One day he finds his schoolmate Meghananda while inspecting the forest. He was now disciple of Tukan baba. He led Tapan to his guru who lived in a cave has halfway up a hill in the denser part of the forest. The Baba never come out by day. It was only on full moon night that he was certain to come out. He then tells how he was weeping all the time.

As he ends his story, other men pledge to Tapan for taking them to Tapan baba. They went there at night of full moon. They sat before Baba's cave and started weeping as baba was going to come out. One minute later baba comes out but they were shocked when they found baba smiling. Baba smiled toward seven men and went into the cave again. They feels that they were cheated. It was embarrassing. But Meghananda was very happy. He said that you all are very lucky. The Baba smiling is a rare and remarkable event which occurs once in several years. Last time he smiled was twenty years ago. Whoever touch his feet in this occasion, all his desires will be fulfilled. But non of them had touched Baba's feet and so they were repenting. They requested Meghananda to bring baba back but Meghananda denied. They said that if Meghananda do not call baba out, they will go inside the cave forcefully. Meghananda smiles and says that you can try. As they tried to enter the cave one huge roar comes from inside the cave and shakes the hill. All of them started to roll down the hill except Tapan. Meghananda tells him that they can try after twenty years and tap on Tapan and He also starts to roll down the hill.

Blow Up with The Ship

The story is narrated in first person. The narrator was sent to sea when still a boy and became a mate at the age of twenty five. The setting is sea during the year 1818, when the Spanish colonies in South America were fighting for independence.

The writer sailed in the ship named, ‘The Good Intent’. The ship was laden with gun powder. It was sent to help a revolution. She had a crew of eight. As the ship contained gun powder, They were not allowed to smoke or light the lanterns. But the Captain used to light the candle when he went to bed or when he looked over his charts on the cabin table. Therefore the regulations didn’t apply to him.

Finally they reached the coast of South America and a boat came towards them rowed by two men, one was an Irishman and the other was an evil-looking native pilot. The native pilot was “skinny, cowardly, quarrelsome fellow”. He picked quarrel with everyone. He lighted the pipe and the narrator became angry and tried to stop him. The pilot tried to push him. He raised his hand and the pilot fell down and pulled out his knife. The narrator slapped his murderous face. The next morning when the narrator awakened, he found himself bound. His hands and legs were tied. The ship was in the hands of the Spaniards and all the seven members of the ship were killed except him.

The pilot came there with a pilot’s stick and carpenter’s drill in one hand and a long piece of thin rope in the other. He put the candle stick, with the new candle lighted in it. He drilled a hole in the side of the barrel and the gun powder came trickling out. He rubbed the powder into a whole length of thin rope. He then tied the rope to the candle which was just one feet away from him. He then whispered to the narrator “blow up with the ship” and everyone left the place with the gun powder. The narrator was filled with fright and fainted.The narrator woke up after eight months. He came to know that an American ship which came that way had saved him. The story like other adventure stories, end on a positive note with the rescue of the protagonist.