The truth of an idea is not a stagnant property inherent in it. Truth happens to an idea. It becomes true, is made true by events. Its verity is in fact an event,, a process, the process namely of its verifying itself, its verification.

Pragmatism is a philosophical approach that measures the truth of an idea by experimentation and by examining its practical outcome.

Mark Twain's short story, The Five Boons of Life, is a fable signifying the meaning of life. The tale is a series of interactions between a fairy and a man who grows to learn the lesson the fairy tries to teach him, only to understand the moral before his death.

The War Prayer", a short story or prose poem by Mark Twain, is a scathing indictment of war, and particularly of blind patriotic and religious fervor as motivations for war.

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” by Mark Twain, is a tall tale about a man who bets on anything and wagers that his frog can out-jump a stranger's frog, with surprising results.

tells the story of a decorated war hero, Lieutenant-General Lord Arthur Scoresby, who succeeded beyond the limits of his own stupidity

Set in 1547, it tells the story of two young boys who were born on the same day and are identical in appearance: Tom Canty, a pauper who lives with his abusive, alcoholic father in Offal Court off Pudding Lane in London, and Edward VI of England, son of Henry VIII of England.

Life on the Mississippi was released in 1883 as a memoir by Mark Twain of his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War, as well as travels on the river after the war. The writing shows Twain's love for the river and how it was uniquely American. The book was the first submitted for publishing as a typewritten manuscript.

is a short story by Leo Tolstoy written in 1909.According to the Cambridge Companion on Tolstoy, the work is directed against the death penalty.

The story begins with a background on Martin's life. He was a fine cobbler as he did his work well and never promised to do anything that he could not do. He stayed busy with his work in his basement which had only one window. Through this window he could see only the feet of people.