This is a collection of three short stories including Mademoiselle Cocotte, The Piece of String and The Beggar. "The most simple and humble things are sometimes those which touch our hearts most deeply. " Mademoiselle Cocotte tells such a touching story between a "dull, kind-hearted, simple" coachman and a thin female dog he adopts. Can you imagine that a little bit of string should be responsible for the death of a man? The Piece of String discloses the magic power of a bit of rope. Nicholas Toussaint, whose legs were crushed by a carriage at the age of fifteen, is "a vagabond all his life afterward." He is shut up in the town jail because of his "committing theft." The poor guy who has eaten nothing for two days is left alone until the following day when he is found dead on the floor. What has he suffered before he goes to heaven? The Beggar will tell you everything.
莫泊桑不追求色彩浓重的形象，抑或惊天动地的遭遇，而是致力于从最简单、最平常的故事中寻找突破。《科科特小姐》刻画的正是一位老实、善良的农民与一条温顺、忠心的狗之间的动人故事。透过这个小故事，作者把人性与个人利益的矛盾冲突展现了出来。《绳子》则讲述了一小段绳子所引起的风波，小说侧重摹写人情世态，构思布局别具匠心，细节描写、人物语言和故事结尾均有独到之处。《乞丐》描写的是一个双腿残废的乞丐由于乞讨被关押在宪兵的监牢里，第二天一清早来审讯他时，已经死在地上。通过读这部小说，我们不难发现莫泊桑对弱者的同情，以及他对资本主义社会的谴责。
