Lamb to the Slaughter

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For other uses, see Lamb to the Slaughter (disambiguation).

Lamb to the Slaughter is a short story by Roald Dahl, first published in Harper's in 1953.

The plot concerns a woman who kills her husband by assaulting him with a frozen leg of lamb, after he had told her that he was leaving her (not written in the story why, the readers can form their own opinion). When she realizes what she had just done she arranges an alibi for herself and calls the police. When the police arrive at her home, she explains to them that her husband has been attacked. To thank them for their hard work she feeds the policemen the leg of lamb she used to kill her husband with, and quietly laughs to herself while they eat.

The story was later adapted into a classic episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

This work is a classic example of the literary style popular in the 1950's, Dark Humor.

The story's inspiration came after having dinner with Ian Fleming, the author of James Bond. It is said that Dahl asked him what the best weapon of choice would be from the newly-invented freezer.