Despite the rustic charm of their settings, the bitingly humorous short stories of Dorothy Thomas (1898-1990) challenge stereotypes of good-hearted country people-a harried woman tries to rid herself of her impertinent son as he refuses to cooperate with her plans to leave him and his father for another man; an old woman given a late second chance to marry the man she loves loses out once more because of her literal mindedness; a child's fib grows into a detailed fiction leading one family to embarrassment and another to stretch beyond their means; and two little girls with childish ingenuity...