This story by H. H. Munro (aka Saki) has perhaps the shortest surprise ending of all: a single word that comprises the last line of the story. Two families have been feuding for years over the use of a poor piece of forest land. When the heads of the families find themselves trapped under a fallen tree, they realize how silly they have been and promise to be friends for life. Sadly, just as they are looking forward to a more peaceful future, some unexpected visitors spoil it all. Themes: greed, pride, inherited hatred, man vs. nature, social class.
Original Text / PDF / Audio (2,150 words)
General Comments
The Interlopers was first published three years after Munro’s death in a book called The Toys of Peace and Other Papers. An interesting question is just who or what are the “Interlopers” referred to in the title of the story.
Georg uses the term to describe two different groups of external characters who could be classed as interlopers. First he talks about people who are trying to stop the fighting between the two families:
We fight this quarrel out to the death, you and I and our foresters, with no cursed interlopers to come between us.
Later he refers to other people who would try to stop them if they wanted to make peace:
And if we choose to make peace among our people there is none other to interfere, no interlopers from outside.
It could be said that these human interlopers are mirrored in the story by two interlopers from nature. First, the falling tree comes between the two men and stops them fighting to the death. Then the wolves arrive, seemingly preventing the families from making a lasting peace.
I like to think that there may also be another set of interlopers: Ulrich and Georg themselves. They disturb the natural order of things by bringing their feud into the forest. Munro uses personification to give the storm and the forest an almost human quality:
the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the branches… a fierce shriek of the storm… the weary screeching of the wind… where the trees can’t even stand upright in a breath of wind… with the wind tearing in fitful gusts through the naked branches and whistling round the tree trunks…
Video Versions
2007 Video Adaption: Of the two videos presented here, this one from Boulevard Avenue Films remains closer to the original setting and dialogue. For me, the story loses something due to the strong American accents and overly careful pronunciation of the actors. However, because of this, non-native speaking English learners may find this film easier to understand than the 2008 video. Watch and enjoy!
2008 Video Adaption: This video from Fueld Films changes the setting from somewhere in Europe to the American “wild west”. Because of this the American accents of the actors may seem more natural than those in the 2007 video. Watch and enjoy!