SHORT STORIES

OSCAR WILDE

LORD ARTHUR SAVILE'S CRIME

Chapter 1

It was lady Windemere's last reception, every one was there. All the beautiful pepole were there. Lady Windemere's asked her palm reader to read some hands. When he read Lord Arthur Savile's hand he went pale and his hands clammy. He said Lord would lose a distant relative. He said Lord Arthur was a charming man. It wasn't all the truth. Later, Lord Arthur asked Mr. Podgers to be told all the truth , all the horrible truth. Mr. Podgers accepted for some money.

Chapter 2

Lord Arthur was told that he would comit a murder. He was horrified and walked all night without knowing what to do, he heard blows and curses. He went home in the morning.

Chapter 3

The next day, Lord Arthur had a diferent view of what was happened. He took what Mr. Podgers said as a duty to be able to marry Sybil. He thought that he couldn't marry Sybil until he had no pressure having to comit a murder; if not it was a betrayal. As soon as the murder was committed, the better it would be for both of them. So he made a list of his posible victims. He decided that it would be Lady Clementina , an old lady, his second cousin on his mother's side. He prepared her a pill filled with poison. He gave it to her as an american pill against indigestion so it must be taken when he had an attack.

Lord Arthur told Sybil to postpone his marriage, and she felt very sad but he trusted him. He left for Venice.

Chapter 4

He spent 2 weeks in Venice with his brother and then his brother convinced him to go down the coast to Ravenna. He became anxious about Lady Clementina and he took a train to Venice. He found a telegram that said that she had died; he felt good. He had to go back to London because she had left him his house and furniture , it wasn't a fortune but that touched Lord Arthur. Arthur planned his marriage for the 17Th of June.

He , Sybil , and the lawyer went to the house; the surprise was when Sybil found the box where there was the pill and it was still there. Arthur discovered that Lady Celementina had died a natural death.

Chapter 5

Mr Merton and Sybil's mother were really upset at the second postponement of the marriage and they did everything to end the relation, but they couldn't change her mind. Lord Arthur Savile thought that dynamite was the proper thing to try in his next attempt, he decided to blow up his uncle , the Dean of Chinchester who loved clocks. He decided to send him an explosive clock and for that asked for his friend Count Rouvaloff, a young Russian of revolutionary tendencies to find a place where he could get the clock. He went there and they gave him the clock without any charge and it was supposed to explode on Friday at noon but nothing happened at all. A few days later they received a letter from the Deanery , it was his cousin, who told about the clock , they thougth it was a toy , a present from someone which liked them very much.

Lord Arthur was in despair, he went out , he was sad, he had tried to do his duty but Fate wasn't kind to him. We sat by the river and then saw Mr. Podegs, and he had an idea, he drowned him in the river.

The following days he was afraid of failure, he saw Mr. Podgers everywhere, finally came the news that talked about a suicide, Mr. Podger's suicide. Then he felt relieved , he was happy then he could marry Sybil.

Chapter 6

They got married , they were a handsome couple and happy. Two little children were born. Lady Windemere went there to visit them some time. Once she was talking to Sybil about love and also talked about Mr. Podgers she liked him although he was an impostor and didn't tell the truth at all. When Arthur was asked if he trusted in palm readers he said yes and said he owe them his marriage and his happiness. Lady Windemere dind't understand anything and said it was nonsense.

THE MODEL MILLIONAIRE

Hughie Erskine was an enchanting, useless young man with a perfect profile and no profession and he was in love. The girl he loved was Laura Merton and was the daugther of a retired Colonel who would not hear of any plans for marriage unless Hughie had 10,000 . One day he entered his friend's (trevor) studio , he was an artist. He was painting a beggar which looked so piteous. Models ean a shilling an hour . Trevor had to go a few minutes to talk to the framemaker.

The beggar rested for a moment and Hughie could not help pitying him and gave him a sovereign. Then he left.

At night he saw trevor at the club. The beggar had been really interessed in Hughie, and Trevor told him all about Hughie.

Trevor discovered Hughie that the old man was the richest man in Europe and actually he had paid Trevor to be painted as a beggar, the fantasy of a millionaire. Hughie went blushed , he had been ridiculous but the next morning he received a visit on behalf of Baron Hausberg ( the beggar ) and brought a letter where there was a cheque for 10,000 that said : A wedding present to Hugh Erskine and Laura Merton, from an old beggar.

They got married, both Trevor and The Baron where invited and made a speech. Milionaire Models!

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

Chapter 1

The Otis family wanted the country estate called Carterville Chase, the owner Lord Canterville worn him about the hauting. A ghost (1584)was living there and told him some incidents that had happened there. But they didn't feel frightened , they were Americans and they didn't believe in ghosts. Mrs Umney was the housekeeper gave them welcome. They went to the library and theys saw a boold stain on the floor. Mrs Umney told them it was the blood of Eleanore de Canterville, sir simon de Canterville's wife who had been killed by him in 1575. They decided to remove the spot and went away easlily. A stroke was heard in the house ans mrs. Umney was terrorised because it would happen terrible things. Mrs Otis and his wife smiled at the old lady's warnings.

Chapter 2

The stain reappeared the they afther it was removed , Otis family was intrigued and amused . The existence of the ghost was proved that night when he walked along the corridor after midnight and sounded lika metal clanking. Mr. Otis didn't scare, he jus gave him a lubricator to lessen the noise. The ghost threw the bottle against the floor and went back groaning and on this attempt to scare the twins the almost got hit with a pillow. He felt very bad, he had never happened this to him, he had terrorised during his brilliant career and now was insulted by some hateful modern Americans.

Chapter 3

The family discussed about the ghost, the twins had been very impolite.The only thing that generated any attention was the continued renewal of the bloodstain on the library floor, and they were particularly fascinated by the changes in the colour of the stain. Virgina found it not funny, actually they were her paintings which stole the ghost. The second appearance of the Ghost was a failure too, he tried to wear a large suit of armour but it was to heavy for him and he had hurt his knees. The twins shot him with two pellets and when he tried withi his demonic laugh Mrs Otis gave him a cure for his “illness”. He felt extremely weak for the next few days. He planned another apearance , consisted on stab himself in Washington's room and then to appear as a corpse in the twins room, groan in Virginia's room , he would touch mrs otis face, etc.. But his plans were broken when he met another horrible , motionless ghost in front of him. First, he ran but then the went back to talk to him and discovered that the twis were disguised as a ghost.

Chapter 4

The ghost was very weak and tired. It was his solemn duty to appear in the corridor at least once a week. He took every possible precaution to keep from being seen or heard, walked as lightly as possible but the twins didn't leave him in peace. He decided to visit them the following evening like the Headless Earl. He prepared for nothing because when he approached the door's room a heavy buchet of water fell on him, and was soaked, felt cold and ran as fast he could to his room . He had now lost all hope of ever scaring this rude American family. He contented himself wiht patrolling the corridors in slippers and for fear of catching a cold he wore a thick red scarf. The final insult he received aws at the hall , he was surrounded on all sides by his enemies. It was generally assumed that the Ghost had permanently left the mansion.

Chapter 5

Virginia found the ghost in his room very sad and she felt sorry for him . He knew he had been very wicked but he admitted it, he told her it had been a purely family matter . His wife's brothers straved him to death. The ghost needed a little girl ,beautiful and full of love to cry for his sins for him becuase he had no tears and pray with him for his soul because he had no faithe and then, the Angel of Death would forgive him and take him at peace. Virgina said she was not afraid to bring him to the Angel of the Death and went there.

Chapter 6

Virginia had desappeared , the whole family looked for her, the Minister sent telegrams to all the police inspectors in the county , and he went whith Cecil ( The Duke of Cheshire ) they were so worried. At the stroke of twelve appeared Virginia holding a box in her hands, and the family sorrounded her. At first, they thought it was a trick but she told them that she had been with the ghost now he was at peace, they entered a room and saw the skeleton stretched out at full length on the floor and it seemed to be trying to reach an old jug and bowl.

Virginia knelt beside the skeleton and prayed. The twins saw the almod tree blossomed.

Chapter 7

Fout days later a funeral was celebrated at 11 o'clock, Lord Canterville was the chief mourner . The coffin was buried in the Garden of Death. The minister wanted to tald to Lord Canterville before going back to Wales about the jewels the ghost had given to Virginia. The Lord told himt hat there Virginia's and conviced the Minister to permit his daughter to retain the Ghost's present.

When the yound Duchess of Cheshire was presented to the Queen on The occasion of her marriage, her jewels wre the subject of uniiversal admiration. They got married as soon as he legally became an adult. Once at the Canterville Chase the Duke asked her for the secret she had never told : what happened with the Ghost. She said she couldn't tell , she made her see what life is, what Death means, and why love is stronger than both.He let her to keep her secret.