Today we have two light-hearted comedies from James Thurber. The stories involve the same house, the same family (notionally Thurber’s), the same attic bed, and the same message common in slapstick humor: Things aren’t always as they initially seem. In the first story, confusion over the location of a collapsing bed results in chaos and the mother’s permanent misunderstanding as to whom a bed actually fell on. In the second, ghostly sounds in the night lead to pandemonium, embarrassment, and the near death of a policeman. Themes: fond memories of life in a close-knit, rather unusual family.
Night the Bed Fell Original Text / PDF / Audio (1,750 words)
Night the Ghost Got In Original Text / PDF / Audio (1,950 words)