Springtime à la Carte (Henry)

Disclaimer: This summary was generated by AI, so it may contain errors.

O. Henry

Springtime à la Carte

Summary of the book
from the Collection «The Four Million»

Microsummary: A young typist, heartbroken over her farmer lover's silence, accidentally typed a love message on a restaurant menu. The farmer, who had been searching for her, recognized her typing and they reunited.

Sarah was a young woman living in a city. She was a free-lance typewriter and was struggling to make ends meet. One day, she made a deal with a restaurant next door to her hall-room. She was to provide them with typewritten bills of fare for their twenty-one tables in exchange for three meals per day.

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Sarah — young woman in her 20s; typist for Schulenberg's Home Restaurant; brown hair, slim; imaginative, gentle, romantic.

One day, Sarah was typing the bill of fare for the restaurant when she came across the item "dandelions with hard-boiled egg". This reminded her of the summer she had spent at Sunnybrook Farm with her beloved Walter Franklin, the farmer's son. They had made a crown of dandelions for her hair and had promised to marry in the spring.

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Walter Franklin — young farmer in his 20s; Sarah's fiancé; strong voice, modern agriculturist; caring, determined, resourceful.

However, Sarah had not heard from Walter in two weeks and she was filled with despair. She started to cry over her bill of fare, remembering the happy days she had spent with Walter.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was Walter, who had come to find her. He had gone to the restaurant next door and had seen the bill of fare with the item "DEAREST WALTER, WITH HARD-BOILED EGG" written in Sarah's handwriting. He had immediately known it was her and had come to find her.

Sarah was overjoyed to see Walter and they embraced. Walter explained that he had been looking for her for a week and had finally found her. They were both filled with joy and happiness and Sarah knew that spring had finally come.