1. Sredni Vashtar by Saki Summary
Conradin, a ten-year-old boy whom the doctor has given less than five years to live, is antagonized by his cousin and guardian, Mrs. De Ropp, who seems to take delight in being horrible to him under the guise of taking care of him. Conradin finds escape in his vivid imagination and in an unused toolshed, in which he keeps two pets—a Houdan hen, on which he lavishes affection, and a ferret, which he fears and comes to venerate as a god.
Conradin names the ferret Sredni Vashtar and worships the beast as his god, bringing it flowers in season and celebrating festivals on special occasions, such as when his cousin suffers from a toothache. When his cousin notices him spending too much time in the shed, she discovers the Houdan hen and sells it. She is surprised when Conradin fails to show any emotion at the news, but Conradin changes his usual worshiping ritual. Instead of chanting Sredni Vashtar’s praises, he asks an unnamed gift from his god. Every day he repeats his request for the one wish from the ferret. Mrs. De Ropp, noticing his frequent visits to the toolshed, concludes that he must have something hidden there, which she assumes to be guinea pigs. She ransacks his room until she finds the key to the cage and goes out to the shed.
As she goes to the shed, Conradin watches her and imagines her triumph over him and his subsequent declining health under her oppressive care. He does not see her emerge from the shed for a long time, and he begins to hope, chanting to Sredni Vashtar. Finally, he notices the ferret coming out of the shed with dark, wet stains around its mouth and throat. Conradin calmly butters his toast, relishing every moment as he hears the scream of the maid.

2. Sredni Vashtar by Saki Themes
Revenge: This short, macabre story is chilling in its portrayal of the fiendish young boy. Saki takes the boy’s point of view toward the annoying, officious cousin, who, the boy believes, delights in tormenting him. The boy lives almost entirely in his imagination. The real world is that which is ruled by disagreeable adults such as his cousin. What sets Conradin apart from other children is his almost pathological escape from reality and his desire to achieve revenge through the agency of a wild animal. What is usually only imaginary to a child is carried to fruition, and the child relishes it. In a sense, then, the story can be seen as a child’s fantasy of getting even with the nonunderstanding world of adults. It is a kind of wish fulfillment of which many children dream. The horror is that Saki presents it as a reality, and the boy as fully enjoying the event.
Reality versus Fantasy: Conradin’s veneration of the ferret comes to take up more and more of his waking hours after his cousin has sold his beloved hen. It becomes an obsession with him, and the reader finally comes to understand that the fantasy world is real to him and he prays that the beast will kill his cousin. When the ferret actually kills the cousin, the most shocking thing is the boy’s nonchalant, almost happy acceptance of the event. It is the boy’s reaction to the killing that takes the story out of the realm of reality. The realization that his prayers have been answered and his cold, calm acceptance of the death of his cousin/guardian are shocking.
Escape: Although Conradin’s condition is unusual in that he has been diagnosed as having a short time to live, he could, to an extent, be perceived as a typical boy escaping in his imagination from a cold cruel world. Sometimes normal children imagine killing their adult antagonists, and in this case, it could be considered accidental that his cousin is killed, but only through the death of his cousin can Conradin escape the harsh reality of his life.

3. Sredni Vashtar by Saki Style
A third person narrative but told form the point-of-view of and unloved, 10 year-old orphan.
All of Saki’s short stories are very short and to the point, and “Sredni Vashtar” is no exception. Many of his stories are also as macabre as this one. What distinguishes Saki’s stories is his ability to capture the feelings and attitudes of children toward their elders. That he was reared by two aunts, one of whom acted sadistically toward children, is probably what motivated Saki to fill so many of his stories with young children and sadistic elder guardians. So the narrator is an adult narrating the perceptions of a child.
Mrs. De Ropp is hated by Conradin and so is hated by us as readers and Saki allows her to do nothing in the story to change our attitude towards her. She seems to take delight in her cruelty, especially in the way she removed the hen and the delight she seems to take in going to discover and remove his other pets.
Saki cleverly omits mentioning the subject of Conradin’s supplication to Sredni Vashtar, and while the cousin is in the toolshed to get rid of the ferret, the narrator describes Conradin’s imagining his cruel cousin’s final triumph over him by exterminating the one creature he so venerates. Then Saki does not directly describe Mrs DeRopp’s death, but does this through the ‘offstage’ reactions of other characters, leaving us to imagine the scene in the shed. He cleverly conveys Conradin’s victory through his description of Conradin calmly eating and enjoying his butter and toast, which heightens the reader’s sense of shock.

4. Sredni Vashtar by Saki Symbols & Metaphor
Imperialism. The story is a metaphor for British Imperialism with the harsh, cruel and sadistic Mrs DeRopp representing the colonial power of Britain and Conradin a subjugated country like India. This reflects the authors early life being born and brought up in a colony.
The fight for freedom. The death of the domineering Mrs DeRopp represents the often brutal fight indigenous people have to undertake to win their freedom and escape oppression.
The ferret symbolises Conradin’s hatred for his cousin/guardian and his hopes for some sort of release form his miserable, loveless existence.
The hen is a symbol of Conradin’s innocence and a pure and simple love that he is unable to experience or express in the real world.
The toast symbolizes Conradin’s freedom. He can’t eat the toast after the hen has been sold as he has been crushed by his cousin, but he can eat the toast with unbounded delight once she is dead.

5. Sredni Vashtar by Saki Background
Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916) was born in Akyab, British Burma, which was then still part of the British Raj, and was governed from Calcutta under the authority of the Viceroy of India. Saki was the son of Charles Augustus Munro, an Inspector General for the Indian Imperial Police, by his marriage to Mary Frances Mercer (1843–1872), the daughter of Rear Admiral Samuel Mercer.
In 1872, on a home visit to England, Mary Munro was charged by a cow, and the shock caused her to miscarry. She never recovered and soon died. After the death of Munro's mother, Charles Munro sent his children, including two-year-old Hector, home to England. The children were sent to North Devon to be raised by their grandmother and sadistically cruel aunts in a strict and puritanical household. It is said that they were most likely models for a few of his characters, notably 'The Lumber Room' and 'Sredni Vastar".