This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice.
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County begins with a narrator who visits a mining camp to ask a man named Simon Wheeler about his friend’s friend, Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley.
Wheeler launches into a long monologue about a man named Jim Smiley from the camp's past who was obsessed with betting on anything—including his trained jumping frog named Dan'l Webster. Confident in his pet's ability, Smiley initiates a forty-dollar wager with a passing stranger, leading to an unexpected turn of events.
This short story, first published in 1865, served as Mark Twain's breakout comedic masterpiece, earning him widespread recognition across the country. Over the years, the piece has circulated under alternative titles, including its initial headline, Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog, as well as The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.
