Guy de Maupassant was a master of the short story．This collection reflects his remarkable dliversity，with stories that vary in theme and tone．anld range from tragedy and sati re to comedy and farce．With a simplicity of style that masks complex philosophy，Maupassant can illuminate an entire cbde of values by means of a few telling details．He exposes the brutality of war and the hypocrisy it spawns，and depicts the petty Limitations，the dissimulations and the vanities inherent at different levels of society．His stories are Iinked by a trenchant ir6ny and by a preoccupation with the frailty of human nature and the futility of so many lives．

   Boule de Suif

2  Two Friends

3  Madame Tellier's Establishment

4  Madamoiselle Fifi

5  Clair de Lune

6  Miss Harriet

7  The Necklace

8  Madamoiselle Pearl

9  The Piece of String

11  Madame Husson's 'Rosier'

11  That Pig ofa Morin

12  Useless Beauty

13  The Olive Orchard

14  A Sale

15  Love

16  Two Little Soldiers

17  Happiness