The Ball by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Short summary

5 seconds

Akiko hurried with her father to the first ball. A chrysanthemum-lined staircase led up to the ballroom. Soon a French officer asked her to dance. Then they admired the fireworks, and he sadly remarked that our life was very much like them. Years later, she, a married lady, was on her way to her estate, and told this story to her companion. He told her it was the man who later wrote the story «Mistress Chrysanthemum.»

1 minute

A father accompanies a seventeen-year-old girl to the first ball of her life. The luxurious dance club has opened its doors, and they step onto the chrysanthemum-adorned staircase. She was delighted to catch admiring glances, but the rows of flowers ended, and they entered the hall to the bravura sounds of the orchestra. Noticing her girlfriends, she joined the young chatterboxes, but soon Akiko was asked to dance by a French officer.

Tired after the waltz and mazurka, the girl gladly agreed to eat ice cream. The cavalier was suspicious after all, and she struck up a conversation about Parisian amusements. He sadly remarked that they were not much different from Tokyo’s. The exclamations of delighted guests could already be heard on the balcony.

The fireworks had started. As she said goodbye, her companion remarked that the lights were very much like a human life. Many years later, she told this story to a casual acquaintance on his way to the country estate. And he remembered the author of a story called Mistress Chrysanthemum.