The Piece of String Short Story Project

The Piece of String by Guy de Maupassant Short Story Project.

Group Memebers submit your part below for rewiew, and feel free to edit other people's part.

If you lost the story I printed for you, go here: String\Story

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Presentation on 2/7/06- Please have your paragraph/thoughts completed by Thur. 2/2/06 on the web or Fri 2/3/06 in class.

Background

We are doing a 20 min presentation. First, we will have a 5 reenactment of the plaz written by Plaz. Each section/person then has 3 minutes to tell about their section and how it relates to the necklase story.

Reenactment (Plaz)

Here is my rough draft --Plaz 14:16, 27 February 2006 (EST) Feel free to leave me comments at User_Talk:ThePlaz

Characters

Maitre Hauchecome of Breaute
Malandain (also) tavern guest
shopper (as) town crier
shopper (as) mayor
shopper (as) Marius Paumelle (the person who finds the wallet)
Shopper (as) Matrie Houlbreque (person who lost wallet) (also) tavern guest)'

Props

wallet with ID card
piece of string
3 desks aranged as table
chair (couch?) for mayor
something to drum
headgear and bonnets for the women (costume) (just kidding, no costumes)

Outline

(everyone wondering around the room miming shopping and doing business; Houlbreque drops wallet, [not near Malandain's store] Paumelle comes around and picks it up looking at it, and squinting at the ID card, then puts it in his pocket;

Hauchecome steps out and argues w/ Maitre Malandain, harness maker, silently for a bit, then bends over slowly and picks up the string, puts in his pocket and hobbles back into crowd

Everyone continues mimming doing business afor a few seconds then

Hauchcome enters Jourdain’s tavern (host never shown) with 2 tavern guests. They sit down and start to mime eating, and mime conversing

Drum beating heard and town crier talks (for the first time in the play, someone talks)

"Be it known to the inhabitants of Goderville and in general to all persons present at the market that there has been lost this morning on the Beuzeville road, between nine and ten o'clock, a black leather pocketbook containing five hundred francs and business papers. You are requested to return it to the mayor's office at once or to Maitre Fortune Houlbreque, of Manneville. There will be twenty francs reward."

3 people in tavern start talking about accusation (out loud this time) and wither Fortune will get his wallet back

Town crier returns: "Is Maitre Hauchecorne, of Breaute, here?"

Maitre Hauchecorne answered: "Here I am, here I am."

And he and the crier walk to the Mayor’s office

The mayor was waiting for him, seated in achair. He was the notary of the place, a tall, grave man of pompous speech.

"Maitre Hauchecorne," said he, "this morning on the Beuzeville road, you were seen to pick up the pocketbook lost by Maitre Houlbreque, of Manneville."

The countryman looked at the mayor in amazement frightened already at this suspicion which rested on him, he knew not why.

"I--I picked up that pocketbook?"

"Yes, YOU."

"I swear I don't even know anything about it."

"You were seen."

"I was seen--I? Who saw me?"

"M. Malandain, the harness-maker."

Then the old man remembered, understood, and, reddening with anger, said: "Ah! he saw me, did he, the rascal? He saw me picking up this string here, M'sieu le Maire." And fumbling at the bottom of his pocket, he pulled out of it the little end of string.

But the mayor incredulously shook his head: "You will not make me believe, Maitre Hauchecorne, that M. Malandain, who is a man whose word can be relied on, has mistaken this string for a pocketbook."

The peasant, furious, raised his hand and spat on the ground beside him as if to attest his good faith, repeating: "For all that, it is God's truth, M'sieu le Maire. There! On my soul's salvation, I repeat it."

The mayor continued: "After you picked up the object in question, you even looked about for some time in the mud to see if a piece of money had not dropped out of it."

The good man was choking with indignation and fear. "How can they tell--how can they tell such lies as that to slander an honest man! How can they? Search me!"

they search him, find nothing

mayor: “Ok. Leave, I see we are getting nowhere. I will investigate and see you tmo.”

Two tavern patrons: “Did you hear, Hauchecomb stole the wallet”… (and continue ab-libbing)

Then Marius Paumelle walks to the mayor and hands in the wallet

Patrons continue talking "Hauchecomb stole the wallet”… (and ab-libbing)

Hauchcombe walks to them and tries to explain that is wasn’t him who stole it

Patrons continue and other townspeople join in "Hauchecomb stole the wallet”…