The Walls are Cold
The story “The Walls are Cold” takes place at a house party whose hostess is the main character Louise. Louise wants everyone to leave the party. She gets approached by a young sailor called Jake and after a short conversation they end up in her room. Jake comments about the green color of the walls and the coldness of it. After Louise’s encouragement he starts kissing and groping her. Louise suddenly pushes him away and slaps him.
Leaving the room, Louise calls for Mildred to get everyone to leave the party. She goes to her mother’s room to sleep where the walls are pale pink and warm
A Mink of One’s Own
Mrs. Munson is excited that her dear friend Vini is back in America and is coming for a visit. She is very proud of her friend, whom she believed to be a well known and accomplished woman. After receiving Vini’s visitation Mrs. Munson can’t help but notice the ragged and unpolished look of her friend. It takes a few moments for her to realize that her friend isn’t living as well as she expected.
Vini explains that the reason of her visit is, so she can sell her precious mink coat to Mrs. Munson stating that Mrs. Munson is the only one that should have it. Mrs. Munson reluctantly agrees to a decent price and after her friend leaves takes the coat to hide from her husband in the closet.
While hanging the coat Mrs. Munson hears the dreaded ripping of the fabric. Upon closer inspection she realizes that the coat is falling apart. She realizes that she’s been tricked and will never see her dear friend Vini again.
The Shape of Things
This story is set on a train where a couple and a woman are sitting together engaging in a pleasant conversation. They are suddenly interrupted by a drunk soldier who sits next to them and orders coffee. The soldier suddenly has a convulsive attack where his neck and head twist into awkward positions. He tries to explain himself to the company by saying that it’s not his intention to scare anyone, but he can’t help it since his nerves had been damaged.
The woman suddenly gets up to leave but the soldier stops her, saying that she should eat, and leaves instead. The woman pays for his coffee.
Jug of Silver
A drugstore owner called Mr. Marshall gets overtaken by competition when another drugstore opens next to his by a stingy owner called Rufus McPherson. To get rid of competition Mr. Marshall decides to lure in the customers by filling a jug full of coins and have them guess how much is in there. The one who gets the closest to the number will be awarded the entire jug on Christmas after the number gets revealed.
The jug sparks interest in everyone, but most notably of two poor siblings called Appleseed and Middy. The brother, Appleseed, is determined to win the jug, so he decides to count the coins. Everyone takes him to be a little crazy, because his counting means staring at the jug every day until the Christmas.
Just before the big reveal Appleseed comes into the store to make his guess. He guesses there to be seventy-seven dollars and thirty-five cents. And indeed, at the big revelation, the money in the jug turns out to be exactly that amount. The story becomes a legend of the small town, and Appleseed decides to keep it a secret how he counted the silver.
