The Scorpion (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Paul Bowles
- First Published: 1945
- Type of Plot: Fable
- Time of Work: Unspecified
- Setting: Unspecified
- Principal Characters: An old woman, One of her sons, An old man
- Genres: Fable, Short fiction
- Subjects: Parents and children, Dreams, Folklore, Old age or elderly people, Insects, Aging
The Story
An old woman lives in a tiny cave that was carved out of a cliff by her sons long ago. Her existence is animal-like. Neither happy nor unhappy, she does not have to argue with or share her meager existence with anyone else. She realizes that she will soon die and assumes that her sons, who now live far away in the town, have forgotten her.
Occasionally an old man from a nearby village passes by, always resting on a rock within sight of the entrance to the cave, but he never acknowledges the woman's existence. The old woman suspects that he does this to annoy...
[The entire page is 1360 words long]
