contains the beastly baby the nursery frieze the pious infant the evil garden the inanimate tragedy the gilded bat the iron tonic the osbick bird the chinese obelisks bis the deranged cousins the eleventh episode the untitled book the lavender leotard the disrespectful summons the abandoned sock the lost lions story for sara by alphonse allais the salt herring by charles cros leaves from a mislaid album and a limerick richard sharpe and the defence of the tormes august 1812it is the summer of 1812 and richard sharpe newly recovered from the wound he received in the fighting at salamanca is given an easy duty to guard a commissary officer posted to an obscure spanish fort where there are some captured french muskets to repair but unknown to the british the french are planning a lightning raid across the river tormes and they reckon the obscure spanish fort which guards an ancient bridge across the river will be lightly guarded sharpe is in for a fight