The story takes place in a small village in the Vosges Mountains during the Franco-Prussian War. The villagers are poor and superstitious, believing in witches and demons. They accuse a deaf-mute of being responsible for their misfortunes and sentence him to death. However, as the execution is about to take place, a stranger arrives, revealing that the true culprit is actually the village mayor's son.
By Émile Erckmann · First published 1840 · Genre: Literary Fiction, Philosophical Fiction, Historical Fiction