The Jumping Frog by Mark Twain

In this tall tale set in the American frontier, a narrator seeks a curious story about a jumping frog, only to be caught in an endless, meandering yarn by an eccentric storyteller. The humor lies in the contrast between the eager listener and the speaker’s slow, deadpan delivery of an outlandish bet involving a frog that may—or may not—be extraordinary. Mark Twain’s classic showcases his gift for dialect, character, and satire. It’s a humorous slice of Americana that celebrates the art of storytelling itself. A short, but unforgettable piece of literary mischief.