George and Martha: "The Trick"

Like "The Diary," "The Trick" has a three-act structure.

George wants Martha's attention.

Act One: He tries to win it by nailing Martha's slippers to the floor.

Act Two: He tries to win it by baking Martha a cake.

Act Three: He tries to win it by opening the cake-box for Martha.

Coda: Martha claps back. She gives George attention, but it's not the kind he wants. She has slipped live frogs into the cake-box, and she has secretly devoured the cake.

"By the way," she says, "your baked goods were delicious." A chillier sentence has never been born.....

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