introduction
o.henry, originally named william sydney porter, was a distinguished american storywriter. he wrote more than 300 short stories in his life, and all of his stories were ingeniously conceived, with the endings always contrary to readers' expectations. though his stories' endings are always surprising, yet not beyond reason, for both ways conform well to the logic of life. actually, his style had a great influence on modern american fiction, especially stories printed in magazines. therefore, some critics called him "the founder of american stories". being gifted with humor and a keen awareness of details, he objectively shows us what america looks like. all his stories put together constitute a true panorama of american life, or as someone said, "the encyclopedia of american life".