Original Short Stories — Volume 11

In a modest Parisian flat, a frugal wife named Madame Oreille watches every cent with the vigilance of a banker, while her husband, a low‑ranking clerk at the War Office, endures the sting of her penny‑pinching ways. When a new umbrella—her husband’s only hope of escaping office mockery—becomes the latest purchase, the couple’s differing attitudes toward money and pride collide in a comic yet tense domestic showdown.

The story follows the tiny, everyday drama that erupts over the damaged silk canopy, exposing both the absurdities of thrift and the fragile balance of marital power. As the couple argues over the mysterious burn marks, their exchange crackles with sharp humor and a lingering sense of dread that even the simplest objects can become battlegrounds. Listeners will be drawn into the vivid portrait of a household where love, embarrassment, and the cost of a single accessory intertwine, leaving them to wonder how far a seemingly trivial dispute can really go.