The Gift of the Magi and Other New York Stories

Table of Contents: - The Voice Of The City - The Making Of A New Yorker - A Retrieved Reformation - The Cop And The Anthem - The Duplicity Of Hargraves - The Gift Of The Magi - The Last Leaf - The Ransom Of Red Chief - The Skylight Room - The Trimmed Lamp - The Whirligig Of Life - A Harlem Tragedy - Biography of O. Henry - The Gift of the Magi is a story about a young couple who are short of money but desperately want to buy each other Christmas gifts. - The Cop and the Anthem is about a New York City hobo named Soapy, who sets out to get arrested so that he can be a guest of the city jail instead of sleeping out in the cold winter. - A Retrieved Reformation tells the tale of safecracker Jimmy Valentine, recently freed from prison. - The Duplicity of Hargraves is a short story about a nearly destitute father and daughter's trip to Washington, D. C. - The Ransom of Red Chief is a short story, it follows two men who kidnap and attempt to ransom a wealthy Alabaman's son; eventually, the men are driven to distraction by the boy's spoiled and hyperactive behavior, and end up having to pay the boy's father to take him back. - William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer. O. Henry's short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise endings.