By: Washington Irving
Week: 34
Henpecked Rip Van Winkle has a shrew for a wife, ragged children, and a pestilent farm. However, the people of the village adore him and he has a trusty dog, a group of layabout friends, and leisurely rambles in the Catskill woods. One day in the woods, Rip Van Winkle hears a voice call out his name, and he meets group of stout, bearded men playing ninepins. They offer Rip Van Winkle drinks, which he accepts, and then he falls into a deep sleep. When he awakens, it is to a much different world twenty years into the future.
By: O. Henry
Week: 34
It's Christmas Eve, and Della Dillingham has scrimped and saved to buy her husband, Jim, a Christmas present. Unfortunately, she hasn't been able to save enough. Although she (and Jim) loves and values her lovely hair, she sells it to buy him a beautiful chain for his pocket watch. She nervously awaits Jim's return from work, hoping he will still find her pretty without long hair. When Jim arrives home, he reacts strangely to Della's short hair. Then he shows his Christmas present for Della, a lovely set of combs for her long hair. Della gives Jim the watch chain for which she's sacrificed her hair, and Jim tells her he's traded the watch for the hair combs. Although perhaps neither received a currently "useful" Christmas present, their gift exchange demonstrated their love for one another and the spirit of the Biblical story of the magi who brought presents to the newborn Jesus Christ.
By: Washington Irving
Week: 35
The inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow believe in ghosts, goblins, witchcraft, and hauntings, and their favorite specter is the Headless Horseman. Lanky schoolmaster and singing master Ichabod Crane falls for the lovely Katrina Van Tassel and the riches of her father, a wealthy Dutch farmer named Heer Van Tassel. Of course, there are many competitors for the heart of the lovely and rich Katrina, especially the Herculean horseman Brom Van Brunt, called 'Brom Bones.' Ichabod refuses to fight Brom Bones for Katrina's affections, so Brom Bones and his gang resort to playing pranks on Ichabod. When Heer Van Tassel hosts a party at his mansion, Ichabod releases his students early to prepare and borrows a horse to attend. The party, replete with delicious foods and dancing, takes a sinister turn when the partygoers begin regaling one another with spooky tales of the Headless Horseman. At the end of the party, Ichabod converses with Katrina, and from his desolate manner afterward, it did not go well. As Icabod rides home, he is plagued by the Headless Horseman. The Headless Horseman throws his head at Ichabod, striking Icabod's skull. The next morning, Ichabod's horse, saddle, hat, and a pumpkin are found, but Ichabod is never seen in those parts again. An old farmer passes on a rumor that Ichabod fled due to being rejected by Katrina and fearing retribution from Hans Van Ripper over the destroyed saddle. Ichabod supposedly went on to study the law and became a judge. Brom Bones married the lovely Katrina and smirks whenever anyone mentions Ichabod or the pumpkin. However, the country wives maintain that Ichabod was stolen by the spirit of the Headless Horseman.
By: Mark Twain
Week: 36
The narrator travels to a tavern in Angel's Camp, a mining town in California, and asks a man named Simon Wheeler about Leonidas W. Smiley. In response, Simon tells him stories of a gambler named Jim Smiley who trains up all sorts of weak-looking underdog animals to be champions and to win him bets. Smiley usually wins too, until he's hoodwinked by a stranger. Jim Smiley trains up a frog he calls Daniel Webster. He bets a stranger forty dollars that Daniel Webster can outjump any frog in Calaveras County. When Jim Smiley goes out to fetch a frog for the stranger, the stranger pours quail shot down Daniel Webster's thoat, weighing the poor frog down. Of course, the random frog defeats poor Daniel Webster and the stranger wins. Jim Smiley figures out too late that he's been tricked. The stranger escapes with Smiley's forty dollars. Realizing Simon Wheeler will never tell anything about Leonidas W. Smiley, the narrator leaves before Wheeler can tell him about Jim Smiley's one-eyed cow.
By: Frank R. Stockton
Week: 36
In older, harsher times, a man is to be punished for being the secret love of the barbaric king's daughter. Justice in the kingdom is meted out in an arena, where the accused must choose between two doors. Behind one door is a vicious tiger and certain death. The other door leads to a lovely lady and an immediate wedding. The princess uses her clout to learn which door will hold the lady and which will hold the tiger when her beloved chooses a door. She points to the right, indicating her beloved should choose the right door. Without hesitation, he opens the right door. Seems like it should be a (relatively) happy ending. However, the princess despises the lady behind the door and cannot stand the thought of her hated rival married to her beloved. It is also revealed she has inherited some of her father's barbarism. It is up to the reader to decide - did the princess send her beloved to his death or did she allow him to be married to her despised rival?
By: L. Frank Baum
Week: 36
The Daemons of the Caves of Selfishness, Envy, Malice, Hatred, and Repentance are piqued at Santa Claus for destroying their business in unhappy children. They kidnap Santa on Christmas Eve while he's out delivering toys to the boys and girls of the world. In a twist, the Daemon of Repentance lets Santa Claus go on Christmas Day, sure their plot to destroy Christmas and make the children selfish, envious, malicious, hateful, and repentant has succeeded. However, the Daemons do not count on the fairies, knooks, pixies, and ryls rallying around Santa to deliver the toys and form an fearsome rescue army.
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