Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog

by Emma

Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog by Mark Twain was very interesting. It starts off with a man, whose name you never find out, complaining to a friend in a letter. He humorously describes the events that happen when he goes to Simon Wheeler’s house to ask about Leonidas W. Smiley. When the man inquires about Leonidas, Simon immediately is reminded of Jim Smiley and begins to regale the man with stories of Jim. Jim is best known for gambling, it is said that he would go so far as to bet on which pigeon would fly away first. One time Jim trained a frog, he trained this frog to jump far and high. He sat by a pond for three months nudging the frog to jump higher and higher until he knew that the frog could out jump any other. Jim won bet after bet after bet on his frog it truly was the best jumping frog. One day a stranger saw Jim and his frog, who is kept in a lattice box, and inquired as to what was inside. Jim replied saying that his frog can out jump any other frog the man was intrigued saying that he would take him up on his bet if only he had a frog. At hearing this Jim promptly left the frog in the strangers care and went off to find another frog. While Jim was doing this, the stranger took out Jim’s frog and filled him up with quail shot. When Jim returned with the other frog the set them both down to race, but when Jim nudged his frog he couldn’t move while the other frog leaped away. Jim handed over the money, and just when the stranger was about to leave Jim’s frog coughed up two quail-shots. At this Jim raced off to catch the stranger but never succeeded.