Ririro.com - Short Stories

"A Christmas Sermon" by Robert Louis Stevenson opens not with festive cheer but with a searching question: what have we truly made of our time? Delivered in four meditative movements, the essay challenges readers to measure their lives not by grand moral victories but by small, daily acts of kindness and honesty. Stevenson argues that cheerfulness is a higher duty than rigid morality, that failure...

"Christmas" by Washington Irving is a reflective essay in which Irving mourns the slow disappearance of England's rich holiday traditions while celebrating what endures. Writing as a wistful outsider, he conjures roaring hearth fires, carol-filled manor halls, and the feudal generosity that once drew peasant and peer together under one roof. Against the cold and darkness of winter, he argues, huma...

Papa Panov's Special Christmas follows Martuin Avdyéitch, an aging shoemaker whose grief over his son's death has left him hollow — until a stranger's words and a night spent reading the Gospels reignite his faith. On Christmas Day, after a dream in which a voice promises to visit him, Martuin watches his window with quiet anticipation. One by one, a cold old laborer, a destitute mother and her in...

"The Burglar's Christmas" follows a penniless, starving 24-year-old on Christmas Eve in Chicago, who has spent years drifting through failed ventures and hollow pleasures. Cornered by hunger and despair, he slips into a stranger's home to steal — only to discover something that shatters him entirely. The story builds quietly toward a moment of raw emotional collision between a son who has given up...

Where Love Is There God Is Also tells the story of Martuin Avdyeitch, an elderly shoemaker who loses his wife and only son and falls into despair. After reading the teachings of Jesus, he learns to live for God and regains hope. One day, he dreams that Christ will visit him. As he waits, he welcomes and helps several needy people: an old laborer, a poor mother with her baby, and a boy caught steal...

"The First Christmas Tree" takes readers to 8th-century Germany, where the missionary Winfried — known as Boniface, Apostle of Germany — leads a small band through snow-covered forests on Christmas Eve to confront a pagan ritual beneath a great thunder-oak. When a chieftain's young son is chosen for sacrifice, Winfried intervenes with one fierce stroke — and what follows transforms an ancient clea...

A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas draws readers into a boy's snow-blurred memories of Christmas in a Welsh seaside town, where no two holidays can be separated and all of them shimmer together like one long, glittering afternoon. Firemen pour into the Protheros' smoke-filled parlour, useless presents are catalogued with gleeful absurdity, uncles doze by the fire, and carol singers flee...

"The Dead" by James Joyce follows Gabriel Conroy through a warmly lit Christmas party at his aunts' Dublin home — a night of dancing, toasts, old songs, and gentle social friction — before a single piece of music overheard on a staircase unravels everything. When Gabriel and his wife Gretta retire to their hotel room, he discovers that she has been quietly grieving a boy named Michael Furey, who d...

A Christmas Memory is a short story narrated by seven-year-old Buddy, who shares an unlikely and deeply tender friendship with his elderly distant cousin. Each November, she declares it "fruitcake weather," and the two set off on their beloved ritual: gathering pecans, scraping together pennies, and baking thirty cakes for near-strangers who have captured their hearts. Capote renders their bond wi...

Charles Dickens’s "The Signal-Man" tells of a chance encounter between a rational narrator and a solitary railway signalman who is haunted by a mysterious apparition that cries “Halloa! Below there!” and makes a frantic gesture by the red danger-light; the spectre’s appearances precede two real tragedies on the line—a crash and the instantaneous death of a young woman—so that the man, conscientiou...

This reflective essay meditates on how Christmas, once the narrow, perfect center of youthful imaginings, becomes for adults a larger, more compassionate celebration that embraces unfulfilled dreams, bygone loves, reconciled enemies, and even the dead; the narrator traces youthful "visionary" Christmases of imagined marriages and triumphs, acknowledges the pain of what never was, rejects despair a...

Set in Rome, Politian is a dramatic tale of passion, betrayal, and revenge. Alessandra is betrothed to Count Castiglione, who appears emotionally distant and tormented. Meanwhile, Lalage, a woman scorned and ruined by Castiglione, is consumed by sorrow and social disgrace. As her despair deepens, she contemplates revenge and finds an ally in the brooding English nobleman, Earl Politian. Haunted by...

The text is a detailed letter critical of contemporary poets and critiques surrounding poetry, focusing on themes like the value of audience opinion, authenticity in criticism, and the true purpose of poetry. It highlights the struggle of American writers against the established European literary tradition and debates the validity of self-assessment by poets themselves. The author expresses skepti...

The discussed text is a critique of old English poetry, emphasizing how much of its appreciation arises from the antique nature rather than intrinsic poetic quality. It points out the misinterpretation of metaphysical poetry, highlighting that some poets prioritized moral teaching through artifice, unlike others who infused poetic sentiment through natural channels. The critique assesses an anthol...

The narrative satirically chronicles the ambition and rise of Thingum Bob, who aspires to the literary world after being inspired by an impromptu poem while working in his father’s barber shop. Thingum's journey involves attempting to publish pilfered verses under a pseudonym, facing harsh criticism and ridicule from various magazines, and finally composing an original poem that receives favorable...

This story is a humorous tale of a young man's attempt to win the approval of his stubborn and eccentric grand-uncle Rumgudgeon for his marriage to Kate. The grand-uncle, known for his contradictory nature and fondness for the literal interpretation of conditions, agrees to the marriage only when three Sundays come together in a week. The clever young couple, with the help of two naval acquaintanc...

In The Spectacles, Edgar Allan Poe spins a farcical tale of romantic folly in which a vain young man, refusing to wear glasses despite poor eyesight, falls instantly in love with a beautiful widow glimpsed at the opera. Determined to win her without delay, he pursues her with passionate letters and an impetuous proposal, only to discover—after their supposed wedding—that she is in fact his own gre...

This text is a dark and surreal tale following two seamen, Legs and Hugh Tarpaulin, during their escapades in plague-ridden London. In a drunken stupor, the duo ventures into forbidden areas marked by the pestilence and ultimately stumbles into a macabre gathering led by King Pest and his peculiar court. The setting is bizarre, featuring characters adorned in funeral attire, seated around a table...

The story is about the narrator's encounter with Mr. Augustus Bedloe, a young man of mysterious origins and peculiar physical traits, who becomes the subject of fascination and curiosity. Bedloe, who is under the care of Dr. Templeton, a physician practiced in magnetic remedies, is subject to neuralgic attacks and uses morphine habitually. During one of his solitary excursions into the Ragged Moun...

The story discusses the essence of poetry and the 'Poetic Principle,' emphasizing that true poetry elevates the soul through beauty and emotional resonance, rather than through length or didactic purposes. It challenges the notion that longer poems hold more merit and criticizes the perspective that poetry should convey morals or truths. Instead, poetry is celebrated as an art form dedicated to th...

The narrative unfolds with the protagonist being invited by Doctor Ponnonner to witness the examination of an ancient Egyptian mummy, which they find remarkably well-preserved. After a hearty supper that induces sleepiness, the protagonist receives a note that prompts immediate action. During the examination, they decide to apply electricity to the mummy, resulting in a surprising revival of the a...

The narrative revolves around Pierre Bon-Bon, a French restaurateur and self-proclaimed philosopher, whose life takes an unexpected turn on a stormy night. Known for his culinary skills as well as his philosophical musings, Bon-Bon embodies a blend of the gastronomical and the intellectual. The story takes a whimsical twist when Bon-Bon encounters the Devil, who appears intrigued by Bon-Bon's pers...

The story revolves around Sir Patrick O'Grandison, a flamboyant and self-assured character who arrives in London, making quite the impression on his neighbor, the widow Mrs. Tracle. His narrative is filled with confident declarations, and he considers himself the epitome of charm and sophistication. As Sir Patrick attempts to court Mrs. Tracle, he encounters his rival, a diminutive Frenchman refer...

The narrative revolves around the mysterious disappearance and presumed murder of Mr. Barnabas Shuttleworthy, a respected and wealthy citizen of Rattleborough. His bosom friend, Charley Goodfellow, leads the search for Shuttleworthy and cleverly incriminates the nephew, Pennifeather, who stands to inherit his uncle's wealth. Through various planted evidence and Goodfellow's manipulations, Pennifea...

The narrative revolves around an unnamed protagonist who observes the bustling streets of London from a coffee-house window, becoming particularly fixated on a strange, decrepit old man with a unique and captivating expression. With curiosity piqued by the mysterious aura of the old man, the protagonist decides to follow him through the crowded and diverse districts of the city. The journey unfold...