Edgar Allan Poe's tale of Hop-Frog, the practical-joke-loving king's crippled dwarf servant, draws upon Poe's affinity for tales of vengeance and the horrific.

The fat king and his seven ministers treat Hop-Frog and his female friend Trippetta, who is also a dwarf but beautifully proportioned, with disrespect whenever the king loses his temper. As long as the king and the likewise raucous seven are about their merriment and Hop-Frog joins them in their 'play', all is well. But beneath this lightness, the King has a dark and violent nature.

When the king forces his crippled joker/fool to drink wine, which he despises, Tripetta tries to intervene on Hop-Frog's behalf.

The king knocks her to the floor and dumps wine in her face. This angers Hop-Frog, and his plans to wreck vengeance upon the king and his court are quickly decided.