Guy de Maupassant ( 5 August 1850 â `` 6 July 1893 ) was a popular 19th century French writer . He is considered one of the fathers of the modern short story . Henri RenÃ Albert Guy de Maupassant ( 5 August 1850 â `` 6 July 1893 ) was a popular 19th-century French writer , considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form 's finest exponents .