Mark Twain’s short story “The celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County” is a fascinating one that basically deals with a Western Man’s tale to a man from the East who happens to be the narrator of this story. I was completely moved by the theme of cunning and cleverness that is at the centre of this short story. It was been pointed out in this story that Jim Smiley used to always win bets but it was not only luck that favored him. It was also his cunning nature and cleverness that helped him to win all those bets. The story took a different turn when he got cheated and defeated by a stranger.