Goals:

1. To form the concept of funny in a literary text as a means of expressing the author's position
2. Promote aesthetic education.
3. Help develop the ability to see artistic means literature, perceive the work in the unity of form and content.

Equipment:

• Portrait of O. Henry.
• Drawings of students based on the story.
• Posters with statements about humor.
• Directory linguistic terms edited by D.E. Rosenthal

Epigraph of the lesson:

During the classes

1. Motivation for learning activities, checking homework

Teacher:

My friends! I'm very happy
Enter your friendly class.
And for me already a reward -
Attention of your smart eyes.
I know everyone in the class is a genius
But without labor, talent is not for the future,
Cross the swords of your opinions
Let's write a lesson together!

Yes, we will compose a lesson together. And the topic of our lesson today is “Sad and funny in the story of O. Henry “The Leader of the Redskins”. You have already met the funny, encountered in life - whether it is a funny incident, someone's story or a literary work.

This year you got acquainted with the works of Gogol - name it.

- Chekhov - what kind?

You met funny things in fairy tales, fables, in riddles. Why can a word cause laughter? How do you understand the epigraph of our lesson?

Laughter keeps a person from bad things, and therefore makes them better.

What works make us laugh? (Humorous, satirical).

– What do you think of O. Henry's story?

STUDENT'S REPORT about the writer:

- The American writer William Sydney Porter, who published his works under the pseudonym O. Henry, began writing stories in a prison cell, where he was unfairly accused of embezzlement. He never killed anyone, stole nothing, robbed nothing. That's how fate happened. Worked honestly. He was an apprentice druggist, spent two years in Texas - the land of cowboys and adventure, became a quiet accountant in a small bank. And one day there was not a large sum of money in his cash register. He could not prove his innocence, and to whom to prove it? The accountant is on the run.

But the little daughter remained at home, and William Sydney Porter returned home to immediately go to prison.

It was very sad, and especially before the Christmas holidays. People rush from store to store to buy gifts for their loved ones, Christmas trees are sparkling, and his daughter will not wait for a gift .. Can you make money in prison? You can't send money.. But you can send another one - and a miracle happened! He wrote a story, signing under the pseudonym O. Henry

The story was printed, a gift was sent to the daughter with the money received. A new writer appeared in literature - a humorist.

A person who knows how to laugh when he is very sad, probably a very strong-willed person, strong-willed, has the gift of creating a good mood for others, this is a very kind person who knows how to truly love.

What is this story that you read at home about?

One student made a plan for the hero's adventures at home:

1. Rogue plans.
2. Kidnapping of a boy.
3. At the cave:

a) the leader of the Redskins and the kidnappers;
b) Bill's suffering;
c) at dawn
d) the decision to reduce the ransom;
e) a letter to old Dorset;
e) dashed hopes;
g) return.

2. Work in groups

The 1st group prepared the characteristics of the heroes.

– What discrepancies did we see in the behavior of crooks?

To get rich, they decided to play on the love of children, confident that their father would pay a large ransom. The father is in no hurry to pay and does not even look for connections with the kidnappers.

Bill, a strong man of desperate courage, squealed like a woman afraid of a caterpillar or a ghost; was not afraid of earthquakes, or dynamite explosions, or policemen, almost crying.

Conclusion: there are many surprises in the behavior of the characters.

The 2nd group prepared quotes from the text: what is funny in the very situation of the story, in the plot?

Kidnapping a child doesn't look terrible

The criminals are not terrible, on the contrary, they even feel sorry for them, the child threw a stone at the kitten, fought, almost scalped Bill, brought the man almost to a heart attack, turned him into a “horse”, forced him to eat oats, put a hot potato in his collar, crushed it with his foot , instead of profit, the bandits themselves are forced to pay a ransom under the cover of night.

The 3rd group observed the language features of the story, with the help of which a comic effect is created.

Reading in the faces of the scene "Playing scouts",

Students: Bill rolled out, the boy crept, grinning; I grab, I drag, I kick, I turn pale, I plop down, I start grabbing at the grass. Cause a smile and comparisons used in the text: The town is flat, like a pancake.

The boy has bulging freckles all over his face.
Hair the color of a magazine cover.
He fought like a “medium weight brown bear”.
Comparison of a boy with a freckled wild cat.
Bill's squeal is "a howl like a ship's siren"
Expressions like: “I wanted to stay true to our predatory charter.
“Lighted” Bill in the very eye with a piece of brick; from time to time he "let out a war cry", "clung to Bill's leg like a leech."

Teacher: Thus, the funny is created by combining the incompatible, the unexpected in the plot, the behavior of the characters and language means.

Accordingly, he received the characteristics from the side of two scoundrel-kidnappers: “devil”, “hooligan”, “two-legged rocket”.

- And what can you say about the character of the leader?

He is active, energetic, very inquisitive, not devoid of fantasy and imagination, he is bold. But at the same time, he is lazy, does not want to go to school, is cruel to animals, people, his pranks are far from harmless, he is selfish, disobedient, unpredictable. Apparently, the uncontrollability of actions on the part of parents who love their child too much, satisfying all his whims, made him a real monster,

Teacher: Guys, would you like to have such a friend? What does the piece make you think about? Why did the boy grow up like this? How to help him? And what will be his future fate?

These questions set us in a sad mood, because how much adults will have to work to eradicate selfishness, laziness, frivolity,
The author managed, by combining the sad and the funny, to say that the upbringing of children is a necessity and a huge work.

3. Vocabulary work:

SHARABAN - light carriage, two-wheeled.

VIEWS OF PALESTINE IN THE MAGIC LANTERN - an idyllic depiction of the places where Jesus spent his childhood,

DAVID KNOCKED GOLIATH - the biblical king of Judea, knockout - victory.

KING HEROD - Bill alludes to the biblical episode in which King Herod orders the slaughter of all male babies,
CONSTABLE - here: village policeman.

ILLINOIS is the name of a US state.

4. Homework

Make up a story about the funniest incident in your life, remembering the ways to create funny.

PLAN- SUMMARY OF A LITERATURE LESSON FOR STUDENTS OF THE 4th CLASS. TOPIC: Fr. HENRY, “RED SKIN LEADER” (LESSON 2)

GOAL: CONTINUE STUDYING THE STORY "The Leader of the Redskins" by O. HENRY

TASKS:

1. CONTINUE WORK ON THE STORY Plot.

2. DEVELOP THE ABILITY TO WORK WITH TEXT, IN GROUPS, SKILLS OF INTERACTION IN A COLLECTIVE.

3. EDUCATE INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT.

EQUIPMENT: TEXT PART 2 OF O. HENRY'S STORY, DIVIDED INTO PARTS, WORKBOOKS, A4 SHEETS, MARKERS, FLOOR-PENS.

DURING THE CLASSES:

1. ORG. MOMENT.

Fly, fly, petal,

Through the west to the east

Through the north, through the south,

Come back, make a circle.

As soon as you touch the ground

To be, in my opinion, led!

Tell the children to work in class today

Only on "5"!

2. MOTIVATION.

- Guys, yesterday we started studying the story of the American writer O. Henry "The Leader of the Redskins." Please remember the description of the main character of this story and write a syncwine for the word "Boy". The task is group, you perform it on A4 sheets, the execution time is 5 minutes.

FOR EXAMPLE:

1. Boy.

2. Aggressive, pampered.

3. Throws, rests, does not obey.

4. Fights like a brown bear.

1. REALIZATION.

- Continuing to study the story "The Leader of the Redskins", today, using the directed reading method, we will get acquainted with the 2nd part of the story.

Students receive 1 piece, read it and answer the question:What did the boy name one of his kidnappers? Why?

The boy liked living in a cave, he forgot to think that he himself was a prisoner. He immediately dubbed me Snake-Eye and Spy, and explained that when his brave warriors returned from the campaign, I would be roasted at the stake as soon as the sun rose.

After working in pairs and groups, students write down nicknames in a notebookSerpent's Eye and the Spy.

Next, the students receive 2 pieces of text, read it and answer the question:Guess why the boy asked so many questions to his captors? Write in your notebook the most interesting, in your opinion, questions.

Then we sat down to supper, and the boy, stuffing his mouth with bread and brisket, began to chat. He made a dinner speech in this way: - I like it here very much. I have never lived in a forest; but I had once a pet opossum, and on my last birthday I turned nine years old. I can't stand going to school. The rats ate 16 eggs from Jimmy Talbot's aunt's pockmarked hen. Are there real Indians here in the forest? I want more gravy. Why does the wind blow? Because the trees sway? We had five puppies. Hank, why is your nose so red? My father's money seems to be invisible. Are the stars hot?

After working in pairs, groups, students write down the general opinion of the group in a notebook.

We believe that the boy was very inquisitive. We liked his questions: Are there real Indians here in the forest? Why does the wind blow? Are the stars hot?

Work continues on the next passage. Students read it and answer the question:Why didn't the boy want to come home? (Write out the abstracts in a notebook).

Every five minutes the boy remembered that he was red-skinned, and, grabbing a stick, which he called a gun, he crept on tiptoe to the entrance to the cave to hunt down the scouts - the hated pale-faced. “Leader of the Redskins,” I say to him, “don’t you want to go home? - Well, why didn't I see them there? he says. - There is nothing interesting at home. I don't like to go to school. I like living in the forest. You won't take me home, Snake Eyes, will you? - While I'm not going, - I say. - We'll live here in the cave. “Well, okay,” he says. -That's great! I've never had so much fun in my life.

After working in pairs, a group, the children write down the general opinion of their group in a notebook and present it to the class:

1. There is nothing interesting at home.

2. I don't like to go to school.

3. I like living in the forest.

4. I have never had so much fun in my life.

Reading the last part of the text, the children answer the question:How did the Chief of the Redskins behave when the kidnappers put him to bed?

We went to bed at 11 o'clock. We spread woolen and quilted blankets on the ground, laid the Leader of the Redskins in the middle, and ourselves lay down on the edge. That he would run away, we were not afraid. For three hours, not letting us sleep, he kept jumping up and grabbing his gun; at every crack of a twig and rustle of leaves it seemed to his young imagination that a gang of robbers was creeping up to the cave, and he squealed in my ear, then Bill: "Hush, mate!" In the end, I fell into an uneasy sleep and dreamed that I was kidnapped and chained to a tree by a ferocious red-haired pirate.

After working with this part of the text and discussing in pairs and groups, an entry appears in the notebooks:kept me awake, jumped up, grabbed my gun, squealed in my ear “Hush, buddy!”

4. REFLECTION.

Now I will ask you to write a mini-essay of 5-6 sentences in 5 minutes on the topic “Would I like to have a friend of the Leader of the Redskins?” Students complete the task, choose the best essay and read it from the group. Willing children read their essays. Homework: draw a filmstrip for part 2 of the story that we read.

The real name of the American writer O. Henry is William Sydney Porter (1862-1910). When William was three years old, his mother died. Porter Sr. was a doctor, but eventually lost his job, and the family began to beg. AT youth William worked as an assistant in a pharmacy, where there were residents of a small town. He heard many sad and funny stories, which eventually turned into the plots of his short stories. William had to visit the "country" of cowboys, in hot Texas. There he added to his "education" knowledge of cowboy life. There he wrote the first humoresque. After the marriage, William worked for some time as a cashier in a bank. It so happened that he was charged with embezzlement of bank money, and the future writer was forced to seek salvation from prison in various American states. Nevertheless, William still ended up in prison. The news of the illness of his wife and daughter called him to an American town, where he was arrested and convicted. In prison, he found a literary pseudonym - O. Henry.

In order to see the world of the works that were born behind bars, he began to sign them with a pseudonym and send them to freedom. Time passed, and William received the long-awaited freedom. And since that time, he devoted all his strength, all his literary talent to creativity. The writer O. Henry entered the history of literature as an unsurpassed master of short action-packed stories about ordinary "little" people who often find themselves in difficult situations, often cry and laugh through tears, who are unlucky in life, but they do not lose hope for at least one a ray of happiness. “Life is neither a tragedy nor a comedy,” O. Henry wrote in one of his stories. “She was a mixture of both. High above us, almighty hands are pulling the rope, and suddenly our laughter is replaced by weeping, and a strange hum of joy breaks into our deepest sorrow. We - puppets - dance and cry ... ". It seems that in these words there is a key to understanding most of the works of the American writer, in particular - and to the story "The Leader of the Redskins", which you recently read.

Questions and indicative answers:

1. Why did two misfit robbers Sam and Bill end up in Alabama? They decided to kidnap the son of Esquire Ebenezer Dorset and ransom him.

2. Who was the first among them? Who considered himself a leader? Sam was the leader. On his behalf, the story of the kidnapping of the robber Johnny is told.

3. What made the people of the town happy when they heard about Johnny's disappearance? Little Dorset disturbed the peace of the townsfolk, aroused indignation with his hooligan ideas.

4. Is there any mention in the text of the story about these “undertakings” of his? The reader must guess for himself about Johnny's actions. O. Henry helps this with lines from old Dorset's letter: "Better come at night, as the neighbors think he is missing, and I cannot be held responsible for what they will do to anyone who brings Johnny home."

5. Did the "kidnappers" have the opportunity to come to their senses and not commit a crime? There was such a possibility if they understood who was being “kidnapped”. Even at the very beginning of the work, when they had barely arrived in a charabane to the Dorset house, Johnny "hit Bill in the eye with a piece of brick."

6. What game did Johnny come up with? Why was Big Bill worried after this game? Johnny invited Bill to become a member of the game of Indians. Bill, unaware of the consequences for him, agreed. Johnny instantly "turned" into an Indian, stuck two hawk feathers into his red hair. And Bill was supposed to become the "pale-faced" hunter Hank - Johnny gave him such a name. At the end of the game, "hunter Hank" was captured, by the way, very tired, with bruises on his legs, and in the morning the Leader of the Redskins - as little Dorset dubbed himself - had to scalp him.

7. What cruel undertakings of little Dorset led to the fact that big Bill almost went crazy? At night, the Chief of the Redskins, when the kidnappers fell into a deep sleep, “jumped up and grabbed his gun and shouted to Bill: “Hush, mate!”

Sam awoke in the morning to a "terrible, piercing scream" to find that "The Chief of the Redskins was sitting on Bill's chest, grasping his hair with one hand," and in the other hand he was "holding a sharp knife" and "unequivocally trying to scalp Bill, performing the verdict that passed on him in the evening." "He stuck a hot potato" up Bill's collar and then "crushed it under his foot."

If not for Sam, the little robber would have thrown at Bill "a stone almost the size of a coconut." He made a sling, spun it over his head - and "a stone the size of an egg hit Bill behind his left ear", after which Bill "fell right into the fire, on a pan with hot water for dish washing".

He pulled Bill into the game again ... This time, Johnny "turned" into a scout who was supposed to warn the settlers "that the Indians were coming." And he “turned” Bill into ... a horse, jumped on Bill when he got on all fours, on his back and beat him with his heels in the sides. So he was going to ride the "horse" at least ninety miles!)

8. How could Johnny know about the cruel white conquerors of the Indians? Who told him about the noble scouts who often saved the "pale-faced" settlers from Indian revenge? Where did he hear such names as "hunter Hank", "Snake eye"? (He probably heard from someone about the works of Fenimore Cooper, since it is unlikely that he himself read them, and perhaps he heard about the Indians, their legends, Hiawatha from the Indians themselves, but this is not mentioned in the work of O. Henry).

9. Why are we so sure that Johnny hasn't read Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans? Johnny is almost ten years old, but the questions he poses to the "kidnappers" are too naive for his age. These questions are: “Does the wind blow because the trees sway? Are the stars hot? Why are oranges round? A dozen - how much will it be? And he also asked Bill, "why there is nothing in the holes, why the road goes both ways and why the grass is green." And in addition, Johnny twice said to the "kidnappers": "I hate going to school." And probably didn’t go to classes or missed most of them.

10. Did the "kidnappers" try to rein in Johnny? (“we still pushed him to the bottom of the charaban”; “I took the knife away from the boy and forced him to lie down again”; “I crushed his ear”; “I went out of the cave, caught the boy and shook him until all of his freckles didn’t rattle one against the other”; “Listen, stop kicking me, otherwise I’ll get up and give you pepper!”; “I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him off the mountain”; “I showed him the way to the city and gave him such kick that he was probably eight feet closer to the city").

11. What does Bill call the boy? (“rocket”, “imp”…) This is how this idea sounds without abbreviations: “We all once had fun with an imp that jumped out of a chest. You press it and it jumps. If you press harder, it will jump higher. "Crush" it with a lid - it will open it from time to time. "Imp on a spring" is code name mechanism of the funny that works in O. Henry's story "Leader of the Redskins". Any physical "influence" on Johnny from the "kidnappers" - and he "jumps" even higher. Let's remember: Bill "knocked his ear" - and Johnny made a sling, after which Bill "fell right into the fire"; Bill "grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down the mountain" - and Johnny bit him three times "on the thumb" and so on. Seasoned Sam and big Bill can't tame the little robber.

"Kidnappers" turned into "fugitives". They not only did not receive a ransom from Dorset for Johnny, but also paid him to agree to take his son home. Sam and Bill took to their heels, followed by laughter. And this laughter was stronger than the Leader of the Redskins: neither run away nor hide from him.

Questions with answers to the story of O. Henry "The Leader of the Redskins"

Other essays on the topic:

1. Two adventurers - narrator Sam and Bill Driscoll - have already earned something, and now they need a little more to set off ...
2. The American William Sidney Porter is well known all over the world as the writer O. Henry. He was orphaned early. I worked in a pharmacy...
3. Questions with answers to the topic "The development of European literature on the border of the XIX-XX centuries" What key features break of the XIX-XX centuries? Culturologists believe that at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, three phenomena are inherent: decadence, socialist (utopian) tendencies ...
4. What does the term "folklore" mean? The literal translation of the term "folklore" is folk art. What are the main features of folk art? The main features of folklore are...

The deal seemed to turn up profitable

Inveterate scammers Sam and Bill stopped in the town of "Top" Alabama, located on a flat, like a pancake, plain. To conduct fraudulent speculation land plots in Western Illinois their combined capital was two thousand dollars short. Then it was decided to commit the kidnapping.

Kindness, as you know,

strongly developed among the villagers, - the two friends reasoned sensibly, sitting on the porch of the only hotel in the city, - and the local, carefree and sentimental people fell into this category. And the search for the missing child would be limited to prowling around the neighborhood by two or three rural constables, a couple of inexperienced bloodhounds, and ads in the local newspaper, Farmer's Weekly Budget. Everything was going awry. The kidnappers chose the son of the most prominent of the townspeople, Ebenezer Dorset, a stingy, honest and incorruptible church collector. The boy was about ten years old, and his freckled face and shock of fiery hair was already known to the whole neighborhood. It seemed as if two thousand were swimming into their hands. But first things first. One evening, friends, having hired a chaise in a nearby village, drove past the house of old Dorset. The kid was walking along the street and amused himself by throwing stones at the kitten. Bill offered the younger Dorset some candy and a ride with them, but got hit in the eye by a broken brick.

Getting off the charaban, Bill said

That it would cost an extra five hundred dollars to old Dorset. The boy desperately yelled and resisted, leaving deep scratches on the face of the kidnapper. Finally, he was pushed to the bottom of the charaban and taken to a prearranged place, two miles from the city. There was a small, cedar-covered mountain with an abandoned cave. Leaving his companion in the cave with the boy, Sam drove the wagon to the village and returned late. The younger Dorset stood by the blazing fire and peered sharply into the darkness. Two hawk feathers flaunted in his red curls. Seeing Sam, he aimed his stick at him and let out a heart-rending scream. The battered swindler's chest went cold. Then fat Bill explained that the boy had decided to play the Chief of the Redskins, and Bill himself was now the old hunter Hank, who would be scalped at dawn. The kid dubbed Sam Snake Eyes and Spy, promising to roast him alive at the stake at sunrise.

At dinner, friends heard that the Chief of the Redskins liked them very much, that he would never return home and to school, that he used to live with a pet opossum. At the same time, they learned all the local news. The boy bombarded them with a thousand pointless questions, jumping up from time to time and uttering the victory cry of the redskins, which completely finished Bill. Finally the Leader was put to bed. Half the night he yelled in the ear of the swindlers

• “Hush, buddy!”, grabbed a gun and sneaked to the exit of the cave to check if a gang of robbers was approaching. In the morning, everyone was forgotten by an anxious dream. Sam dreamed that he was kidnapped by a red-haired pirate and tied to a tree. He woke up from a piercing squeal - not a scream, not a scream, which vocal cords men, namely screeching. The boy sat on the chest of the frightened Bill and tried to remove the unfortunate scalp from the unfortunate Bill with a knife for cutting the brisket. Bill's spirit was broken. Sam took the knife from the Chief and dozed off again, but immediately woke up, remembering the second sentence.
• “Why are you up so early, Sam?” Bill asked.
• - Me? - Sam said. - Something hurts my shoulder. I think it might get easier if you sit a little.
• - You're lying, - says Bill. - You're afraid. He wanted to burn you at dawn, and you are afraid that he will do so. And I would burn it if I found matches. It's just awful, Sam.
• “I think,” says Sam. And now you and the Leader of the Redskins get up and cook breakfast, and I will go up the mountain and make reconnaissance.

Sam carefully got up.

to the top, expecting to see below a crowd of burly farmers, rummaging around in search of kidnappers. However, he saw a completely peaceful picture. Only person plowed on a mule. There was no longer a soul around. Slightly annoyed, Snake Eyes returned to his native tribe. Life was in full swing here. The Redskin chief thrust a hot potato down Bill's collar and crushed it with his foot. When old Hank hit the boy, he grabbed a stone the size of a coconut and tried to hit the fat man with it. Sam arrived in time: he took away the stone and somehow reconciled them. Little Dorset promised to take revenge on Hank. Breakfast went smoothly. Then, after conferring, the partners decided to send a letter to the Leader's father with threats and a demand for a decent ransom. The amount of the ransom instead of the previously planned two thousand dollars, at Bill's tearful request, decreased to one and a half thousand. The letter was signed: "Two villains."

Meanwhile, the Chief of the Redskins

He took a homemade sling out of his pocket and waved it over his head. Sam managed to dodge, and fat Bill got hit on the head with a stone. Suddenly groaning, he abruptly sank down and fell into the fire, right on the pot of boiling water for washing dishes. Poor thing for a long time! did not come to his senses ... Snake Eyes grabbed the Leader and shook him until he was up! promised to behave "decently" (if they did not take him home).

Sam insisted that the boy ask Bill for forgiveness, and they almost did! reconciled. While Sam was going to the neighboring village to find out news about the boy and send a letter to Dorset, the kid had already saddled Bill, who was assigned the role of a scout horse. He spurred the fat man, kicked his heels in the stomach, and drove the "horse" to the crossing. "Just don't linger!" shouted a friend to Sam and briskly crawled away on all fours into the thickets.

Having talked in the village with the farmers about the weather and about the harvest

Sam heard from a bearded man about the commotion in the city because of the loss of the Dorset son. The contented thief threw the letter into the box and quickly returned to the mountain. There was no one at the cave. Alarmed, Snake Eyes called out several times. There was no answer. Half an hour later, out of breath, red, sweaty, but happy Bill came. Twenty paces away, the Leader of the Redskins crept silently. Old Hank looked guiltily at his companion and said that he had sent the boy home. He is strong, courageous man, who had seen a lot in his lifetime, could not stand it any longer. Sam asked what happened. Then the friend, puffing and puffing, told about his misadventures. First he rode all ninety miles to the outpost, then he chewed sand instead of oats, then he listened to a sea of ​​endless questions. Finally, his patience snapped. Having dragged the boy from the mountain, he showed him the way to the city and, bitten, scratched, but satisfied, returned to the cave. Bill turned around...

Seeing the Leader of the Redskins

He changed his face, flopped down on the ground and began senselessly grabbing at the chips and blades of grass. Sam was afraid that his friend had gone crazy, but after about an hour old Hank felt better. The matter had to be ended immediately.

In the evening, climbing a tree an hour before meeting at the appointed place, Sam expected the appearance of a dozen constables and bloodhounds. At half past nine, a teenager on a bicycle drove up, put a folded piece of paper in a cardboard box under a tree, and left.

For about another hour, Sam sat up in the tree, fearing an ambush, but no one else appeared. The thief climbed down from the tree, took the letter and, stealthily, quickly walked back. By the fire, nervously, he and Bill unfolded the paper. Mr. Dorset generously offered to return the boy at night (while the neighbors were sleeping), paying him two hundred and fifty dollars.

• "Great Pirates! - Sam exclaimed. - Why, such impudence ... "

But, catching Bill's eye, he fell silent

Having promised the Chief that a silver-notched rifle and moccasins were waiting for him at home, and tomorrow they would go hunting for bears, friends knocked at the door of old Dorset at midnight. As soon as the boy understood everything, he grabbed Bill's leg with a sticky plaster and howled disgustingly. Ebenezer Dorset got the money, tore his son away from Bill, and promised to hold him tight for ten minutes. They didn't need more!

• "Although it was a very dark night, Bill was very fat, and Sam was a very fast runner, he caught up with a friend only a mile and a half out of town."

Brilliant idea.(“It seemed like a profitable business was turning up,” O. Henry begins the story of how two friends decided to kidnap the only son of “the most prominent of the townspeople,” Ebenzer Dorset. The kidnappers were going to get a good ransom for the boy. They needed money to carry out fraudulent speculation They reckoned that the town could send nothing more terrible than the constables in pursuit, and besides, they counted very much on Mr. Dorset's love of children.) The only son of Ebenzer Dorset is Chief of the Redskins.(It was a boy of about ten, freckled and red. The kidnappers caught him throwing stones at a kitten sitting on the fence. But they did not even suspect who they would have to deal with. The boy fought desperately when they stuffed him into a chaise, but, having recognized , that he was kidnapped and he would live in a cave, was terribly delighted and declared himself the Leader of the Redskins, and his captors Snake Eyes and Spy.) First night.(The kidnappers did not sleep a wink. All night the Chief of the Redskins jumped up and, seizing a stick, which he called a gun, fired at the imaginary robbers. Finally he jumped up on Bill's chest and announced that he decided to scalp him.) A letter from the kidnappers to the boy's father.(The kidnappers decided to ask one and a half thousand dollars for the boy. According to their calculation, no one will give more "for this freckled red cat". With a letter, one of the kidnappers went to the city to the post office. boys.) The antics of the Leader of the Redskins.(In the meantime, the boy began to play a scout who should ride to the outpost: he saddled poor Bill and, beating him with his heels, drove him through the forest. Then he decided to feed the “horse” with oats, whose role was played by sand). Mr. Ebenzer Dorset's letter to the kidnappers.(At the appointed hour, the kidnapper went for an answer to his ransom demand. The essence of the answer was this: the boy's father made a counteroffer - the kidnappers brought the boy home (preferably at night) and paid two hundred and fifty dollars to be taken back.) Happy denouement.(The friends were willing to part with the money in order to get rid of the Chief of the Redskins. At twelve at night they brought him home. Mr. Dorset gave them ten minutes, during which he could hold the resisting son, so that the hapless kidnappers had time to escape "from the scene of the crime." )