Saki was the pen name of British author Hector Hugh Munro. He was a master of the short story, compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker. His work is widely anthologized, and "Sredni Vashtar" was adapted for television by the old Twilight Zone series.
The Toys of Peace is a collection of 33 of his stories, including the title work, in which well meaning parents decide to give their sons toys that aren't war toys. The dissapointed boys find ways of indulging bloodthirsty instincts.
Saki delighted in satirizing convention, contrasting the conventions of Edwardian England with the life and death struggles of nature. Nature generally won in the end.
