Daily puzzle

Put The Piece of String back in order

Seven beats from our edition of The Piece of String by Guy de Maupassant, shuffled. Drag them, or use the arrows, until the story runs straight. No account, no streak to lose.

  1. Market Day Peasants gather in Goderville for the weekly market, and the thrifty Hauchecorne spots a piece of string in the road.
  2. The Stooping He picks up the string to save it, and his rival Malandain watches and assumes he has hidden something of value.
  3. The Accusation A lost wallet is announced, and Hauchecorne is summoned to the mayor, accused on Malandain’s word despite finding nothing on him.
  4. The Wallet Returned Another man returns the wallet he found, seeming to clear Hauchecorne, but the town keeps its suspicion.
  5. The Obsession Hauchecorne wanders telling his story of the string to everyone, but his desperate repetition makes him look guiltier still.
  6. Decline Worn down by mockery and disbelief, the old man falls ill, consumed by the injustice he cannot dispel.
  7. Death On his deathbed he is still pleading his innocence, dying with the words about the little piece of string on his lips.