The Killers
Ernest HemingwayTwo strangers take over a small-town lunchroom and wait for a former prizefighter who knows exactly why they have come.
13 min · Suspenseful
The story shelf
Follow your curiosity.
A name you know. A mood you’re in. Ten minutes to yourself. Start anywhere.
The Revolutionist
Ernest HemingwayA young Hungarian revolutionary crosses postwar Italy with no money, a party credential, and an unwavering faith in the world revolution.
2 min · Adventurous
The Three Day Blow
Ernest HemingwayAs an autumn storm lashes Michigan, Nick Adams and Bill drink by the fire and talk around the breakup Nick cannot quite explain.
14 min · Melancholy
Today Is Friday
Ernest HemingwayAfter the crucifixion, three Roman soldiers drink, joke, and circle the question of what it means to endure suffering.
5 min · Bleak
Up in Michigan
Ernest HemingwayIn a small Michigan town, Liz Coates builds a private romance around the blacksmith whose return from a hunting trip changes everything.
9 min · Melancholy
The False Rhyme
Mary ShelleyA king's cruel rhyme inspires his sister to prove a missing lady's fidelity.
5 min · Playful
A Retrieved Reformation
O. HenryA celebrated safecracker tries to build an honest life under a new name, but his old skills are not finished with him.
13 min · Hopeful
A Service of Love
O. HenryTwo young artists quietly sacrifice for each other when money runs out and their shared creative life is threatened.
10 min · Tender
After Twenty Years
O. HenryTwo old friends keep a twenty-year appointment, but the lives they built have carried them to opposite sides of the law.
6 min · Bittersweet
An Unfinished Story
O. HenryA shopgirl living on six dollars a week faces the glittering promise of dinner and the danger hidden behind it.
11 min · Bleak
By Courier
O. HenryA young man sends a street boy to plead his case to the woman who has forbidden him to write or speak to her.
6 min · Romantic
Conscience in Art
O. HenryTwo veteran swindlers target a Pittsburgh millionaire’s passion for antiquities, while one partner tries to keep his conscience intact.
10 min · Humorous
Hearts and Hands
O. HenryOn a train crossing the West, a chance reunion forces a young man to choose between truth and the image he once hoped to become.
4 min · Bittersweet
Jeff Peters as a Personal Magnet
O. HenryA traveling medicine seller uses personal magnetism to outwit a town's mayor, its doctor, and the law itself.
11 min · Humorous
Lost on Dress Parade
O. HenryA young architect spends his carefully saved evening posing as a wealthy clubman when he invites a stranger to dinner.
11 min · Romantic
Mammon and the Archer
O. HenryA millionaire father bets that money can solve his son's romantic dilemma, while the young lover searches for one uninterrupted moment.
11 min · Romantic
Memoirs of a Yellow Dog
O. HenryA yellow dog surveys his unhappy New York home and decides that he and his henpecked master both deserve a better life.
8 min · Humorous
One Thousand Dollars
O. HenryA carefree young heir must explain how he spends a thousand-dollar bequest before learning what the money may truly be worth.
10 min · Bittersweet
Springtime à la Carte
O. HenryA struggling typist finds spring, memory, and a lost love hiding among the daily dishes on a restaurant menu.
10 min · Romantic
The Brief Debut of Tildy
O. HenryA plain waitress mistakes one impulsive kiss for her long-awaited entrance into the glamorous world of romance.
10 min · Bittersweet
The Cactus
O. HenryAfter watching the woman he loves marry another man, a proud bachelor reconstructs the misunderstanding that destroyed his chance.
6 min · Melancholy
The Clarion Call
O. HenryA detective recognizes an old friend as a murderer, but an unpaid debt makes arrest more complicated than duty should allow.
12 min · Suspenseful
The Coming-Out of Maggie
O. HenryA shy paper-box worker arrives at her Saturday dance with a glamorous escort and suddenly becomes the center of attention.
11 min · Humorous
The Cop and the Anthem
O. HenryA homeless New Yorker tries every trick he can think of to secure a warm winter bed behind bars.
10 min · Humorous