LitReading - Classic Short Stories

This story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comWhen does the end justify the means and who gets to decide? One person's definition of morality may not be shared by others.

This story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comHow many times have you read “A Christmas Carol” or seen it performed. Every year millions of families rewatch classic Christmas movies like “It a Wonderful Life,” "A Christmas Story" or even "Christmas Vacation?"For some reason these traditions never get old and create a sense of comfort in their ritual. There are a few short stories that occupy a similar place in our hearts. Like this special holiday reading of O. Henry’s enduring 1905 tale of unselfish love, "The Gift Of the Magi."

This story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comThe Burglar’s Christmas is Willa Cather’s deeply human Christmas tale—published under the pseudonym Elizabeth L. Seymour—about a young man who has utterly failed in life and reached the end of his rope on a slushy Chicago Christmas Eve. Hungry, cold, and convinced he has squandered every opportunity he ever had, he turns to theft as a last act of survival.But the home he slips into isn’t just any home. It’s the place where his past—and his pain—wait in the shadows. What follows is a moving story of recognition, forgiveness, and the kind of unconditional love that can pull even the most broken soul back from the brink.Cather’s tale blends realism with emotional clarity, delivering a Christmas story that avoids sentimentality while celebrating the deepest meaning of the season: the moment when grace replaces despair, and a prodigal child returns to the arms that never stopped waiting.Willa Cather (1873–1947) was one of America’s finest novelists, best known for My Ántonia, O Pioneers!, and Death Comes for the Archbishop. Early in her career she wrote under the pen name Elizabeth L. Seymour, producing short stories and sketches that revealed her gift for capturing human frailty and quiet courage. The Burglar’s Christmas, first published in 1896, shows her emerging voice—clear, empathetic, and profoundly attuned to the inner lives of ordinary people.This episode is part of Short Storyverses, a storytelling universe of classic tales, original fiction, children’s adventures, and holiday stories. Explore them all at ShortStoryverses.com.

This story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comThis seasonal story features a theme that will resonate with most couple’s in the weeks leading up to Christmas.Beginning his writing career as a newspaper reporter George Ade went on the become a nationally syndicated columnist, playwright, humorist and popular author in the early 20th century. Ade is best know for his series of fables based on American slang.

This story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comUnlike Christmas stories Thanksgiving stories are sparse. To celebrate the season, here is the tale of a proper New England celebration combined with a classic love story.The 19th century novels and stories of Edward Payson Roe were very popular in their day. Being a Presbyterian minister, his works had a religious and moral foundation. One of his greatest criticism were the sermonly characteristics of his stories which may explain their wide acceptance during the Victorian age.

This story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comO. Henry often found the heart of a story in the everyday moments most people overlook. The Purple Dress is one of those pieces — a small, vivid glimpse into life in early-1900s New York, told with his familiar mix of humor, warmth, and gentle surprise.William Sydney Porter, or O. Henry, wrote more than six hundred short stories marked by humor, warmth, and his famous twist endings. His work captures the daily lives of ordinary Americans — especially the clerks and shopgirls of early-20th-century New York — with compassion and insight.About Short StoryversesThis story appears as part of Short Storyverses, a collection of storytelling podcasts for every mood:Explore them all at ShortStoryverses.com.

This story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.com.Somewhere there’s a great story for almost every holiday, even the decidedly American tradition of Thanksgiving and who better to tell such a story than one of America’s finest authors, O. Henry.

Without individual compassion, the good, old days were rarely good for orphaned or disabled children.