Summary
邱逸诗
Miss Martha, our protagonist in this story, owns a small bakery. She is
middle-aged and single, but still holds out some hope for a love
connection. When a man with a German accent comes in two or three times
a week, Martha begins to think of him as a possibility. Strangely, he
always asks for two loaves of stale bread. Martha begins to think about
the gentleman and how to find out more about him. Noticing his stained
fingers, she assumes he is an artist, so she hangs up a painting for him
to notice and discuss. She takes to dressing up for his regular
appearances and mixes up a face cream formula to look her prettiest. The
man does talk about the painting briefly, but otherwise seems to take no
notice of poor Miss Martha's fervent efforts to get his attention and
interest. If you have ever had this experience of having a romantic
interest ignore you, you can likely sympathize with Miss Martha's
frustration. Finally, she resorts to food to please him and show him how
much she cares. If you have been wondering about the title, knowing that
there are no witches in the story, here may be a clue. Think of how many
times witches use food to entice victims in fairy tales: Snow White and
the poison apple, Hansel and Gretel and the Candy House, and others as
well. Perhaps O. Henry wanted us to think of Miss Martha as luring the
man in by providing him with a treat. After Martha sneaks fresh butter
into the man's loaves as a present from her, she has high hopes that
this gesture will win him over. Soon the German man and a younger man
come into the bakery. The artist is furious at Miss Martha, much to her
surprise. He pounds angrily on the bakery counter, shouting, '''You have
shpoilt me,' he cried, his blue eyes blazing behind his spectacles. 'I
want to tell you. You vas von meddingsome old cat!''' The younger man
explains that he works in the same architectural office as the older
man. Her ''artist'' was actually an architectural draftsman who had been
working for months on an entry for a contest to design a new city hall.
He says, ''You know, a draftsman always makes his drawing in pencil
first. When it's done, he rubs out the pencil lines with handfuls of
stale bread crumbs.'' Of course, bread slathered with butter-well-we can
easily imagine the mess that resulted. Poor Miss Martha is once again
resigned to the single life. She takes off her fancy clothes and throws
her beauty formula in the ash can.
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