She Stoops to Conquer
By Oliver Goldsmith
Cover: The Cottage Door (c. 1778), oil on canvas by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (artist died 1788)
Two young gentlemen travelling to a country house are tricked by a practical joker into thinking it is an inn, and treat their host as an innkeeper. Kate Hardcastle, who finds the shy suitor tongue-tied before ladies, passes herself off as a barmaid to win him.
Summary written with Claude Sonnet 5.5.