"The Piece of String" (French: La Ficelle) is an 1883 short story by Guy de Maupassant.
It is included in the short story collection "Miss Harriet".
While walking along, Maître Hauchecorne saw a piece of string in the road and thought that he could make use of it in the future, and so bent to pick it up.
The town of Goderville did not believe Maître Hauchecorne was innocent, even though someone found the wallet in the street and returned it.
In irony, Maître Hauchecorne died of a broken heart, despairing of being thought a liar.