The Truth About Pyecraft by H. G. Wells. Short summary

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The gluttonous Piecraft dreamed of losing weight. The narrator gave him his Indian great-grandmother’s recipe. Piecraft remained obese, but became lighter than air. The narrator invented underpants made of lead.

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The narrator told the author an amazing story. It was back in the days when he had just arrived from India. Piecraft was a regular at the club and had taken it upon himself to patronize the newcomer. But the storyteller did not like the arrogant attitude toward him.

Piecraft was shunned in the club — and no wonder: he whined all the time that he couldn’t lose weight. At the same time, he ate an awful lot of food. The storyteller once let it slip that he had a recipe left by his Hindu great-grandmother. If you stick to this diet, you can become lighter than air.

Piecraft begged for the recipe. Neither the exotic ingredients nor the fact that the manuscript was in Hindi stopped him. For a long time, Pycraft left the club’s regulars alone, and then sent a telegram to the storyteller, demanding to see him.

When he arrived, the fat man was still stout, but flying under the ceiling like a balloon. The narrator came up with lead-lined underpants. Piecraft started going to the club again and pestering everyone about his obesity.