Blow of leg

Coup of leg ( Lamb to the Slaughter ) is a Romance for children writes by Roald Dahl. It was published initially in 1954, then rewritten in 1961.

Summary

Mary Maloney, wife and enclosure of the detective Patrick Maloney, assassinate her husband with a leg frozen after having learned from its mouth that it leaves it. It makes cook its leg, is done pretty and leaves to buy vegetables and a dessert in the grocer of the corner. She is convinced of a scenario in order not to be made stop by the police force for the crime which she has just committed: she returns to, calls her her husband, finds it dead, calls the police force and simulates her sorrow in front of them. The police officers inquire and end up letting themselves convince to eat the leg assassin and in spite of them, the evidence eats: the perfect crime, all in all.

History

Mary and Patrick Maloney live peacefully. Mr Maloney is in the police force, while his wife (pregnant 6 months at the time of the account) awaits it every evening, per same hour.

However, this evening, Patrick Maloney has terrible confidences to make with its wife. However, in spite of the pain of the latter, there remains calm and for Mary all became automatic. She does not support it and leaves to the cellar to seek an object in the refrigerator; she plunges the hand there and a leg of wrapped lamb leaves there of which she withdraws paper, then with which she assassinates her husband. She makes, at once after, some races to prepare her dinner and thus to get an alibi for the murder of Patrick Maloney.

While returning, conspicuous her husband deceased, the shock is real. Upset, it calls the police force which makes its investigation.

The inspectors hardly suspect this woman, more especially as it invited them to dine and that they devour the weapon of the crime.

Roald Dahl is a great writer of black stories. It is known for stories such as: Charlie and the chocolate factory, James and large fishing… it is those which made it very famous. But it was also illustrated in the art of the news.

French edition

Coup of leg is published at Folio Junior, translated by Elisabeth Gaspar and Hilda Barberis. The edition is accompanied by three other news, initially published in the collection KIS KIS :

All the ways lead to the sky ( The Way Up to Heaven ) tells the preparation of voyage of a woman not supporting to be late, while her husband exploits this morbid practice.

the Landlady ( The Landlady ) tells the arrival of an young man in mysterious Bed&Breakfast.

William and Mary ( William and Mary ) tells the death of a man following a cancer but whose brain is maintained in life artificially. Monique

Films

Under the title the inspector sits down at table , an episode of the series Alfred Hitchcock presents diffused over CBS, on April 13rd, 1958. Emmy Nomination (1959): better scenario (Roald Dahl) and better realizer (Alfred Hitchcock).
Lamb to the Slaughter , feature-length film carried out in 2002 by Nicole Barnette.

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