I read this a while ago in school and I'm not sure if this a Poe story or not, but I have a feeling it is for some reason. It's about a servant of a king and he is sort of deformed and he's a midget (he may be the jester). He has a girlfriend and he is devoted to her. One day the king has a masquerade and the midget tells the king to dress up as an Orangatan. Then something happens to his girlfriend and it's at the kings fault, so the midget drops the chandelire on the king and he catches on fire because his costume was highly flamable. The midget grabbs his girlfriend and they run away. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Because I have this stuck in my head and I can't remember what the name of it is. Help! -Emily

-- Anonymous, August 19, 2002

Answers

Yes, the tale is by Poe. It is called "Hop-Frog," after the name of the dwarf who is the "hero" (so to speak) of the story.

-- Anonymous, August 19, 2002

Thanks very much!

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2002