Whilomville Stories

Whilomville Stories, 13 tales by Stephen Crane, published in 1900. Except for The Knife, concerned with the humorous tribulations of two black men in the town of Whilomville, when both try to steal the same watermelon, the stories deal with typical childhood incidents among boys and girls of this small New York town.

The Angel Child tells of an ingenious birthday entertainment invented by little Cora Trescott, who treats her friends to haircuts at the shop of an unperceptive barber, to the alarm and sorrow of their parents. Lynx‐Hunting details the adventures of three small boys with a rifle, who seek a lynx, aim at a chipmunk, and hit a farmer's cow. The Lover and the Telltale is concerned with the tragedy of Jimmie Trescott, who attacks his school‐fellows because they have derided him for writing a love letter to his cousin Cora, and is kept after school by his teacher. The Trial, Execution, and Burial of Homer Phelps tells of the imaginative play of a group of boys, and the misfortunes of their unwilling victim. A Little Pilgrimage deals with the disastrous error of Jimmie Trescott, who leaves his Sunday school because it has been announced there will be no Christmas tree this year, only to join another that follows the same policy. “‘Showin' Off’” is a humorous account of the rivalry between two youngsters for the favors of a vain little girl in a red hood.